Windows 7 Wins on Netbook PCs

[AWS]

Brad Brooks, corporate vice president for Windows Consumer Product Marketing, discusses Microsoft’s take on netbook PCs and how Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 7, will support these small computers.

Small, mobile and affordable PCs, often referred to as “netbooks” or “mini-notebooks,” were one of 2008’s hottest technology trends. Virtually unknown a year ago, these PCs pushed the design innovation envelope by enabling easy Web surfing, instant messaging, general-purpose computing (e.g., e-mail, social networking and photo sharing) and media playback in one small, ultra-portable device. This convenience, coupled with an affordable price tag, makes these PCs a great option for many consumers.

Brad Brooks, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Windows Consumer Product Marketing, sat down with PressPass to discuss the company’s take on small-notebook PCs.

PressPass: Almost everyone seems to have an opinion on how netbook PCs will evolve in 2009. What is Microsoft’s view on small-notebook PC prospects in the coming year?

Brooks: The term “netbook” was coined by Intel to define notebook PCs that run on their Atom processor. They’re also sometimes referred to as “mini-notebooks” and “sub-notebooks.” But at the end of the day they are just small, portable PCs, and we’re committed to delivering the same exceptional Windows experience on these machines as any on other notebook or desktop PC.

Over the last 10 months we’ve seen pretty strong demand for these PCs and we expect that to continue in 2009. In fact, research firm IDC recently increased its initial mini-notebook sales forecast for 2008 to 11.4 million, and predicted that number would climb to 42.2 million by 2012.*

PressPass: Most small-notebook PCs today run Windows XP, and this has raised many questions about the impact strong sales of these machines have on Microsoft’s bottom line. What can you tell us about that?

Brooks: We’ve seen spectacular Windows growth on small-notebook PCs as folks opt for the familiarity, compatibility, and ease of use of Windows over Linux.

We value every Windows customer, and we’re excited that the vast majority of small-notebook PC users want Windows.

To share some numbers: since February 2008, Windows OS share has gone from 10 percent to over 80 percent on these machines, and our research shows that these are overwhelmingly new PCs and/or PC users. To put it another way, we think most small-notebook PC buyers are either purchasing a secondary machine or buying a PC for the first time. And we think purchasers are drawn to these PCs by their small size and affordability, particularly given the current environment.

Source: Microsoft Presspass