Initial touch-enabled laptops and tablets could be priced at a premium, Brookwood said. Budget buyers may have to wait even longer for prices to drop to get Windows 8.

Windows 8 will also work on devices with ARM processors, which usually go into tablets and smartphones. Users could buy ARM-based laptops or tablets, and Windows RT will come with Microsoft's Office 15 software, which could attract some buyers. Software running on Windows 8 on x86 and Windows RT for ARM may be incompatible as the operating systems are designed to run on different instruction sets.

"If you are going back to school and you don't have a huge commitment of running legacy applications, then Windows RT may be interesting," Brookwood said.