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Microsoft launches new low-cost PC effort in India | |
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| Time: 17:44 EST/22:44 GMT | News Source: News.com | Posted By: Jonathan Tigner | ||
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Beginning next month, Microsoft and its partners plan to start selling the IQ PC through computer retailers, bookshops and other stores in Bangalore and Pune, with plans to sell it throughout the country by November. The company expects the machines to start selling for 21,000 Indian rupees ($513), though it hopes to bring those prices down over time. The computers are aimed at students from kindergarten to 12th grade, and the IQ PC will be built on AMD-developed hardware made by Zenith Computers. The PCs are set to include Microsoft's Windows Vista Basic, Works and Student 2007, as well as third-party software, including exam preparation, homework help and English-language learning programs. Microsoft also announced a test version of an online MSN IQ Education Channel. | ||
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| #1 By 81196 (67.84.233.173) at 6/27/2007 10:44:20 PM |
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Typical Microsoft hypocrisy.
Instead of pressuring hardware manufacturers to give up margin and build dirt-cheap PC's with rock bottom performance, how about charging less for the software? Then you address two problems: accessibility and software piracy and take the profit margin out of the components with the most price bloat. Look at HP and Dell's performance data and see that their gross margin is about 17%, with 37% of revenues coming from high-margin products like servers, storage and add-on products. That means that PCs and Notebooks -- the most competitive part of the market -- probably earn less than 10% margins. Then look at Microsoft's performance data and see their gross margin is almost 30%, and because they're a de facto monopoly in operating systems and general productivity software, there's plenty of bloat in those numbers, I'm sure. If Microsoft was forced to actually compete for Windows and Office sales, like Dell, HP and Lenovo have to compete for PC sales, I bet they could streamline their operations significantly to drop prices and still make very generous margins. While there's always a group of people who will pirate software regardless of the cost, if you cut the full version of Windows Vista Ultimate to $99 ($50 OEM) and a version of MS-Office with Word, Excel, Publisher, Powerpoint and Outlook to the same price, most people in industrialized nations would gladly pay rather than go through the trouble and risk of pirating. Sell the basic versions for half the prices. BTW, those prices are about what the largest corporations pay per-seat for Microsoft Enterprise Select license: ~$120/year/employee for Vista Enterprise and Office Enterprise. I work for a Fortune-25 corporation, I see the pricing. Charging the average consumer $750 for the same products (Vista Ultimate and Office Pro) is just financial rape. At these prices the software should come with full technical support and free upgrades for 3 years! It is no wonder that Microsoft products are the biggest target of software pirates. |
| #2 By 3653 (68.52.143.149) at 6/28/2007 12:48:50 AM |
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"Charging the average consumer"... "is just financial rape"
that does not compute, when you remember its THEIR PRODUCT. Fortunately, "ownership" conveys the RIGHT to determine HOW, WHEN, WHERE, and HOW MUCH. |
| #3 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 6/28/2007 9:04:07 AM |
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#2: And without the competitive pressure of a free market, the price will tend to be high as there is no incentive to not gouge. Tell me why MS, with $38+ billion in the bank, needs to charge more than $100 for Vista. Especially when it's not selling well and MS is getting desperate to move it, going so far as to beg customers to try it and telling business to not bother waiting for SP1. I'll tell you why: M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y. Aren't monopolies wonderful? This post was edited by Latch on Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 09:05. |
| #4 By 3746 (216.16.225.210) at 6/28/2007 10:46:49 AM |
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I thought that they OSS movement says that there are lots of choices to Windows? I mean you have the option to run Linux or you can buy an apple. Companies can charge whatever they want for their product. If the price is too high then don't buy it.
#3 The funny thing is most people are paying close to $100 for the copy of Windows. They get it as an OEM copy when they buy a new system or through licensing options for businesses. I think it is a very small percentage that actually pays full retail for their copies. |
| #5 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 6/28/2007 10:58:52 AM |
| #4: Those sentiments work well in a free market, which the PC OS landscape certainly is not. |
| #6 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 6/28/2007 1:19:18 PM |
| Is this another example of MS' innovation, where they copy the OLPC concept? Funny how they didn't give a crap about cheaper PCs for developing countries until one preloaded with Linux appeared. |
| #7 By 3653 (68.52.143.149) at 6/28/2007 4:09:13 PM |
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but gentlemen, it was just last week that I was reading how linux desktop was about to hit the 'tipping point' and how mac os x was driving like 40%+ growth per quarter.
make up your minds boys! |
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