La apuesta de Microsoft por Windows 7 Starter

Interesante articulo en inglés en la edicion digital del Wall Street Journal de hoy, donde hablan de la estrategia de mercado de Microsoft para Windows 7 y los netbooks.

Todo el artículo en sí es interesante, pero remarco ciertos aspectos que creo que son los mas relevantes.

Netbooks -- compact laptops that can cost less than $300 -- pose problems for Microsoft because it can't charge computer makers as much for software used on the low-end systems as for standard desktops and laptops. The financial effects were felt in the quarter ended in December, when it contributed to an 8% decline in Windows revenue. Investors will be searching Microsoft's quarterly financial results this Thursday for further signs of netbooks' impact.

Problema economico para MS debido a que no puede cobrarle igual por el software de equipos de gama barata tanto como para los de gama normal o alta. MS ha notado esa pega en los resultados economicos debido a los Netbook, que cuestan menos de 300 dolares, pero quizas se note mas todavia.

Microsoft managed to grab the lion's share of netbook sales last year, but at a heavy cost. It was forced to offer Windows XP -- a version of the operating system it had largely phased out -- at bargain prices to counter Linux versions.

MS ha tenido que contrarrestar la expansion de SO's basados en Linux ofreciendo licencias de Windows XP a precios de saldo para los portatiles, aun siendo un SO desfasado.

A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to discuss prices it offers PC makers, but people familiar with the matter say the company takes in less than $15 per netbook for Windows XP once marketing rebates are taken into account -- far less than the estimated $50 to $60 it receives for PCs running Windows Vista, a newer operating system that runs on standard desktop and laptop PCs

Segun fuentes cercanas al mercado de fabricantes de PC, MS gana menos de 15 dolares por una licencia de Windows XP para portatiles, frente a los 50 o 60 dolares que gana por una licencia de Windows Vista.

Brad Brooks, corporate vice president for Windows product marketing at Microsoft, said it created Starter so it can offer Windows 7 on even the least expensive netbooks. Even with its limits, Mr. Brooks said Starter is an easier and more reliable operating system than Windows XP.

"When you see Starter on netbooks, there are a lot of impressions that it is limited," said Mr. Brooks. "It's a pretty robust operating system for customers at the price points we're giving it to them."

Windows 7 Starter, la versión mas baja de Windows 7, se creó para los netbooks de menor precio, pero aun así, es mas eficiente que Windows XP. Parece ser que se nota a simple vista que el sistema esta capado.

Customers who aren't satisfied will have the option to pay an additional fee to upgrade to a higher-end version of the software, a process that will involve unlocking advanced Windows 7 features that are already stored on their PCs. Pricing for Starter, or for the upgrade, isn't yet known.

Parece ser que la version básica de Windows 7, será la misma que las demas, pero con elementos bloqueados que podran dejar de estarlo pagando.

Intel has financed the development of Moblin, a Linux-based operating system for netbooks and other devices whose oversight was recently shifted to the nonprofit Linux Foundation.


Acer Inc.
Acer's Aspire One netbook.
The debate over Windows 7 is one of many triggered by the rapid rise of netbooks. Gartner, a market research firm, recently predicted unit sales of netbooks will grow nearly 80% this year to 21 million units, while overall PC sales decline a record 11.9%.

One question is whether chip makers that license designs from ARM Holdings PLC -- whose technology is best known on cellphones -- will be able to displace Intel on lower-priced systems running versions of Linux.

Jim Zemlin, the Linux Foundation's executive director, thinks Microsoft faces the greatest pressure as the computer market takes on more aspects of the cellphone market -- with carriers subsidizing hardware prices with fees for data-service plans. Those carriers won't want to pay much for operating systems, he argues, and will want to customize Moblin or other Linux versions in ways Microsoft doesn't typically allow.

Intel ha financiado el desarrollo de Moblin, un SO basado en Linux que previsiblemente desplazará a MS del mercado de SO porque dejará personalizar aspectos que MS habitualmente no deja.

Fuente original:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018108488732939.html