Microsoft's Upcoming Cheap Windows Laptops to Counter Chromebook Threat

Microsoft appears to have no intention to cede the low-end PC market to Google's Chromebook offerings, as it has announced HP, Acer, and Toshiba will soon unveil inexpensive Windows OS-based laptops at $199 and $249 price points.

The news came from Kevin Turner, Microsoft COO, during the firm's Worldwide Partners Conference (via The Verge) held on Monday in Washington D.C.

The cheapest of the announced laptops is HP's 'Stream', with a $199 price tag. Turner did not provide any details on the HP Stream's specifications, but did reveal the low-cost upcoming Acer and Toshiba laptops will feature 15.6-inch and 11.6-inch displays respectively. The Acer laptop will be powered by a 2.16GHz Intel Celeron processor, feature 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD.

Toshiba's inexpensive 11.6-inch Windows laptop offering on the other hand will feature a 32GB SSD onboard, and weigh roughly 1.1kgs.

Turner also added that HP is planning to reveal 7-inch and 8-inch versions of its Stream PCs for a super-low $99 price tag.

"We are going to participate at the low-end," stated Turner in the conference. "We've got a great value proposition against Chromebooks, we are not ceding the market to anyone."

Notably, Acer last week revealed its refurbished C720 Chromebook with a starting price of $349.99, powered by an Intel Core i3 processor instead of a Celeron one.

Similarly, HP also launched its refreshed 11.6-inch Chromebook PC in June with a starting price tag of $249 for the Wi-Fi model.

One of the other threats that Google might be facing in the low-end PC segment is Microsoft reduced licensing fee for Windows OS and Windows Phone OS.

In April, Microsoft said it was giving away its Windows licences to makers of smartphones and small tablets for free in order to make more of an impact on those fast-growing markets and counter the massive success of Google's free Android platform.

In February, the Redmond-based firm was reported to have slashed the price of its Windows 8.1 OS licences by 70 percent, aiming to get a strong hold in the low-cost PC segments. It was noted that the manufacturers will now be charged only $15 instead of the usual fee of $50 to get the Windows 8.1licence and sell it pre-installed on devices costing less than $250.

Mac vs. PC: Here are the real differences

The burning rivalry between Mac and PC is one of the most storied rivalries in the history of technology – ruining friendships, bringing down corporations and inspiring some very creative commercials — but do we truly understand the fundamental difference between a Windows PC and a Macintosh? I’m sure many of you do, but for those who don’t have a grasp of the finer details, Computerphile has put together a short video primer explaining how Macs and PCs differ.

Professor Tom Rodden begins by discussing computer systems in their most basic form. You start with the physical hardware, then an operating system, then the applications on that operating system and finally the windowing system which the user directly interacts with. Of course, the way we interact with our computers has changed drastically over the years, but the basic interactions remains the same.

Moving on to the advent of the Macintosh computer, Rodden explains that historically,Microsoft has been a software company. The Surface tablets are the first hardware built by Microsoft in quite some time. Apple, on the other hand, controls both the hardware and the software in its computer business. This means that Apple can “optimize and protect” its computers in ways that Microsoft can’t.

Apple’s operating system can therefore make presumptions about the hardware it will be functioning on because Apple can extensively test its operating system with every piece of hardware it releases. Microsoft doesn’t have this luxury, as dozens of manufacturers create hardware for Windows. This is where device drivers come into play, and why certain accessories or programs might be incompatible from one Windows computer to another.

The obvious downside to siding with Apple is that you’ll only ever have one machine to choose from. This leads to inflated prices, which is why an $1,099 iMac is seen as a bargain. OS X and iOS are both regularly lambasted for bring closed off in comparison to other mobile and desktop operating systems as well. You have more freedom on Windows to customize both hardware and software than you ever will on a Mac.

All of this may sound redundant to those of you who understand the technical distinctions between Macs and PCs, but everyone else should take a few minutes to watch the video above.

SOURCE:

YOUTUBE (COMPUTERPHILE)