HP Kicks Off Aggressive Incentive for Windows 7 PCs
The good news is the share of PCs and tablets running Windows 8/8.1 is on the rise. But the bad news is that despite now surpassing the 10-percent share mark, according to Net Applications, some PC vendors are reportedly not pleased at the pace of uptake for the vastly altered operating system.
Many enterprises with Software Assurance or other licensing agreements can deploy Windows 7 when they roll out new PCs to users. Most PC vendors offer consumers a limited number of Windows 7-based systems or give the option to have a system shipped with it. But it's not something they have promoted in the past year. That is until now.
HP has kicked off a promotion and is offering $150 off for customers who chose a PC loaded with Windows 7. And the promotion isn't buried on the company's Web site. In fact, it couldn't be more prominent: just go to HP.com and it's in your face.
The timing could be good for those who have to bite the bullet and get rid of their Windows XP systems, which Microsoft will stop supporting April 8. Although Microsoft said last week that it will extend antimalware support for Windows XP until July 2015, the company will stop issuing security and other patches for Windows XP once the deadline hits. Hence experts are warning that users should upgrade their systems in advance.
A spokeswoman for HP told me the Windows 7 promotion is not because of dissatisfaction with Windows 8. "We've been offering Windows 7 since the availability of Windows 8 and we will continue to offer a broad set of choices for our customers," the spokeswoman said." There are promotions on HP Shopping all the time, this is just another promotion."
Moreover, this is a brief campaign, she said. It will end this Saturday.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 01/21/2014 at 12:06 PM