Posted by Tom Greer on December 4, 2009 in Operating Systems
The introduction of Windows 7 has complicated the choices when purchasing a netbook. It used to be a simple choice. Want a netbook with Microsoft Windows? The only choice was XP Home Edition.
If you look at the today’s netbook offerings, you will find three groups:
- Windows XP Home Edition
- Windows 7 Starter Edition
- Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (of which there are 32 and 64 bit flavors)
Why two different versions of Windows 7? Price, of course!
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Posted by Tom Greer on August 1, 2009 in Netbook Market, Operating Systems
Windows 7
There is a lot of hubbub today about the Microsoft’s pricing plans for Windows 7 and the impact on the netbook market niche.
In a nutshell, Microsoft’s current plan is to have netbooks ship with a crippled version of Window 7 called the Starter Edition. Then to charge $80 to upgrade to the Home Premium Edition. With the typical purchase price of a netbook in the $300 – $400 range, this represent a 20% increase in the cost of a netbook.
To ensure that many netbook owners will be willing to fork over the the $80, Microsoft is crippling the Windows 7 Starter Edition by eliminating remote media streaming, changing desktop background and other “advanced” features.
Of course, netbook manufacturers can bypass all that by installing Windows 7 Home Premium at the factory. As a result, the list prices will rise by $50 or so.
We forecasted all this back in June in our article “Netbook Market: What Is Coming Next?“, where we said:
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Posted by Tom Greer on June 1, 2009 in Netbook Market, Operating Systems
The netbook market is hot. All of the major players are looking to maximize their opportunities in the netbook market niche.
Here is how things are shaping up.
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Posted by Steve Greer on May 11, 2009 in Netbook Market, Netbooks
Over the weekend we did an unboxing video of the Samsung N120. After the video I had a crazy thought…. Why not put Windows 7 RC1 on this thing. It is inevitable that Windows XP will soon go away and be replaced by Windows 7.
So my question to the readers is “Are you looking forward to using Windows 7?”
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I will have a video review of the Samsung N120 running on Windows 7 RC1 later this week and give you a glimpse into the near future.
Posted by Tom Greer on May 8, 2009 in Netbooks, Operating Systems
Brooke Crothers recently interviewed Intel executive Noury Al-Khaledy, general manager of Nettop and Netbook Computing. While much of Brooke’s article describes how the explosion of demand for netbooks caught Intel (and the rest of the computer industry) by surprise, Al-Khaledy’s comments about Windows 7 on netbooks was more interesting to me.
Here are some key quotes from the article:
Unless Windows 7 is priced aggressively, Al-Khaledy doesn’t see it as a catalyst necessarily for a spike in Netbook sales. “I don’t see it as a big tipping point. It’s all about pricing. If you have to pay $30 more for Windows 7, it might make (consumers) pause.
There’s just not a lot of margin in the box,” he said. “(But) if Microsoft prices Starter and Basic aggressively, why wouldn’t you?”
“I would expect most (PC makers) will launch a Netbook with Windows 7,” Al-Khaledy continued. “The Starter, Basic (versions) should run well.”
I think this is a very realistic assessment of the situation facing Microsoft.
In the beginning, all netbooks ran on Linux. When their popularity began to soar, Microsoft saw a threat to their OS monopoly. They responded as they always do, by raising fear, uncertainty and doubt about their competitor and cutting their prices to the bone until the competitor is vanquished.
Offering XP Home Edition at bargain basement price on netbooks did not cost Microsoft anything. But they need to make a profit on their investment in Windows 7. But they can’t raise the price much. Heck. the $30 that Al-Khaledy mentions would be a 10% increase for many netbooks.
That won’t fly. Mostly because Linux is not gone. As proof, see my article earlier today about how Linux continues to grow market share at a client OS on the Internet.
It is still the #1 server operating system. And, although Microsoft would like you to believe that it’s being developed by geeks sitting in their underwear at night coding in their basements, in reality, Microsoft’s competitors (IBM, Novell and many others) continue to polish and improve it.
So you chould expect that Microsoft will continue to provide Windows for netbooks at a sweetheart price. They will transition from XP to Windows 7 with a nominal price increase.
Even the most diehard Microsoft fanboys should be appreciative. Without Linux challenging Microsoft, the price of netbooks would be a lot higher. And maybe the netbook craze would have never happened. After all, netbooks don’t run Vista very well at all.
Posted by Tom Greer on January 14, 2009 in Operating Systems
There has been a lot of press over the past week or so about Microsoft Windows 7 and netbooks. Specifically, CNET in the UK wrote that they had confirmed that Microsoft would be providing a version of Windows 7 specifically designed for netbooks.
Microsoft responded to Computer World: “We have not made any announcements regarding Windows 7 SKUs.”
Microsoft’s response reminded me of those Watergate-era Nixon Administration “non-denial denials”. They did not deny that they were going to introduce a netbook-specific version of Windows 7.
Last July, in an article about how netbooks (which were referred to as Ultra Low-cost PCs or ULPCs back then) would disrupt the computer industry, I wrote:
Microsoft’s low-cost XP licensing program for ULPCs is not a long-term fix for the company. It is like putting a band-aid on your skin cancer. It keeps the public from viewing the wound, but it doesn’t make the problem go away.
Microsoft still has a problem. If they force netbook manufacturers to pay full license cost for Windows 7, then the manufacturers will pass along the increase to buyers. This will make the Linux versions more attractive.
So Microsoft must offer an ultra low-cost version of Windows 7 for netbooks. They only question is which features will be stripped out to justify the difference.
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