Market research firm Gartner recently described Windows 8 as a must-take gamble for Microsoft in order to stay relevant within a world where mobile devices are becoming the norm. Now the Redmond-based software giant has revealed that it has sold more than 40 million Windows 8 licenses, following the PC and tablet operating system’s (OS’s) launch at the end of October.

This means that Windows 8 is outpacing the upgrade speed and user adoption rate of Windows 7, which took two months to reach 60 million licenses sold. Redmond’s new OS still has some ways to go before catching up to its predecessor though, which passed the 600 million mark for licenses sold back in June 2012.  

Windows 8 was not the only new product that Microsoft launched this year. Earlier this year the company replaced its free, cloud-based email service, Hotmail, with the spiffy new Outlook.com. Redmond has now announced that more than 25 million active users have signed up for this new email service.

 

In related news, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer recently revealed that sales of the firm’s new Surface tablet are off to a “modest start.”