Microsoft?s latest PC operating system, Windows 7, is promising to reboot the PC market. Leading PC vendors expect a bigger demand for desktop and notebook PCs of lower configuration as Windows 7 can run on lower memory and processing power. Average PC prices could take a dip, if lower configurations become mainstream as widely expected.
As they refresh their PC lines, companies are waiting to check for an uptick in demand for ?lighter PCs? and retune their configurations accordingly. ?Introduction of Windows 7 could encourage people to chose models of lower configurations as Windows 7 is less resource hungry,? says HP director (mobility products), Rajiv Grover. Clearly, PC vendors are looking out for changes in buying patterns as they launch 100 new computers running Windows 7 in the next 30 days. ?I would not be surprised if people were to go for models with lower specs because Windows 7 requirements are quite modest,? agrees Microsoft India chairman, Ravi Venkatesan. Operating system, itself starts at Rs 5,899 for the basic home version and goes upto Rs 11,000 for Windows Ulitmate.
Reduced memory seems to be topmost on the list of lowered specs. Notebooks running Vista required 2 GB memory, but Windows 7 is promising a similar experience with 1GB memory. Smaller memory, alone, could mean a price cut of about Rs 1,000, according to Grover. Systems running Windows 7 will need processor speeds of 1GHz or higher; 512 KB RAM works but one is better off with a 1GB RAM (32-bit)/2GB RAM (64-bit), 16GB of free disk space (32-bit)/20GB (64-bit) and DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. Promise of extended battery life could mean many of those who buy two batteries would stick to a single battery. ?Windows Vista focused heavily on graphics among other features, thereby consuming more computing resources. On the other hand, an optimised Windows 7 offers a greater level of customisation to suit the individual PC user, hence reducing the need for larger amounts of processing power and memory,? explains IDC India lead PC analyst Sumanta Mukherjee.
At the same time, many vendors are expecting to add several new features to the PCs with lower specs, without increasing the cost. Touchscreens and multimedia features could also get a jumpstart as Windows 7 becomes mainstream operating system. While touchscreens have already become popular on mobile phones, very few notebook and desktop PCs offer touchscreen interface. Vendors like HP are hoping to ride on Windows 7 touchscreen features to promote computers with touchscreens. Even enterprise users like Maruti are hoping to launch touchscreens in their customercare outlets.
?Earlier, we had tried installing touchscreen kiosks at our retail outlets , but were not satisfied. Windows 7 touch features are encouraging us to test touchscreen applications which we plan to start rolling out at our retail outlets this year itself,? says Maruti Suzuki India chief general manager (IT), Rajesh Uppal. Microsoft is also touting slick new hardware and consumer-oriented features such as watching TV on the PC, creating home networks, making videos and playing music with the Windows 7 launch.
While majority of Indian users upgrade their operating system when they buy a new PC, users looking to refresh their existing PCs is also a sizeable segment, according to research reports. About 36% of consumers expect to upgrade to Windows 7 on their existing PCs, according to iYogi, an on-demand tech services company. However, 68% are not entirely comfortable that they will be able to easily move their favourite applications over to the new Windows 7 platform.
Upgrade plans look healthy, with 28% expecting to move to Windows 7 this year alone. ?We are very encouraged by the growing anticipation of the Windows 7 operating system, and from what we?ve seen it represents a significant improvement in the user interface and manageability for users,? says iYogi co-founder and president, Vishal Dhar.
Windows 7 has surely added excitement to the Indian PC market, as it starts showing signs of revival after a period of de-growth. Indian PC market grew by 5.2% during April-June quarter, a reduction of 15% compared to last year, according to the latest data compiled by IDC. PC vendors, however, claim that the market has significantly improved and Windows 7 could help push the sales up, especially if it brings a wave of low-cost notebook and desktop PCs.