"Tech-Advice: Should I wait for Windows 8?"

Windows 8 will be most different from Windows 7 on tablets

With a new Windows operating system on the way, it's tempting to put off buying a new computer. But upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 may not yet make a major difference to laptop owners, and should be inexpensive anyway.

Microsoft’s new operating system is due out later this year, with crucial announcements coming in the next few weeks. Consumers in the market for a new laptop may be tempted to wait until Christmas, but unlike the previous upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, that may not be necessary.

In part that’s because the major upgrades between Windows 7 and Windows 8 will add much-improved capabilities for touchscreens. The desktop part, that most users will need on conventional laptops, will largely be based on the existing, more than adequate Windows 7.

Top of the range models from all companies will include laptops with touchscreens, and Intel has already been demonstrating such hybrid models. Although they make zooming in to web pages simpler, for instance, they do demand a slight rethink on how you use your PC. Swapping between the keyboard and the screen feels ergonomically odd, but does make some operations much easier.

If you’re thinking about buying a Windows tablet, waiting for 8 makes perfect sense – but newer laptops will be upgradeable for a small fee (it’ll be just $15 in the US) and will do their job perfectly well for now.

Until Windows 8 launches properly, it would be silly to say definitively whether waiting or not to buy your next computer is a sensible idea. But with the focus on touchscreens and the likely inexpensive price, if you see a bargain now, there are likely to be few reasons not to snap it up.