One of Microsoft’s biggest threats has been Google’s Chromebook line. Chromebooks have been relatively cheap and functional, primarily using the Chrome web browser for “apps.” Since Google doesn’t charge high licensing fees for Chrome OS, and they’ve marketed the simplicity and virus-immunity heavily against traditional Windows laptops, Chromebooks have been steadily eating Microsoft’s laptop market share from the bottom up.
It looks like competition is going to get a bit tougher on Google, however. Microsoft has announced a slew of cheap Windows 8 laptops will be coming from their partners in time for the holidays, primarily to compete against budget Chromebooks. HP has a $199 laptop in the works, as well as smaller 7 and 8 inch versions of these “Stream” computers for just $99. At that price range, that’s going below even Chromebooks and competing against cheap tablets that have also taken a slice of the market.
Aside from HP, Acer and Toshiba have some laptops coming out running Windows 8.1 and using Intel’s low-end Celeron processors. These laptops are hitting the $249 price point, and for the most part, the specs seem pretty decent. A good bit of this price drop is coming from Microsoft lowering Windows license fees for OEMs, allowing them to push out cheaper devices.
Time will tell if Microsoft can stand up against Google’s extremely budget pricing and simple interface.
source: The Verge
Come comment on this article: Microsoft planning on launching ultra-cheap laptops to compete with Chromebooks
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