• silicon.com
• Technology
• Software

By Winston Chai, 18 March 2005 10:00

NEWS

Microsoft may have started shipping its cheap Windows package in Asia, but getting support for its low-cost computing vision is still very much a work-in-progress.

The software giant first launched the Windows XP Starter Edition in Thailand last October, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia in February this year. The product, a localised version of the full-fledged Windows operating system (OS) with reduced features, has received initial backing from over 15 local system builders and multinational computer makers in these three countries.

Unlike Microsoft's flagship Windows offerings, however, Starter Edition is not for retail. The firm is banking on its partners to bundle and promote the software with their low-end PCs, a strategy which has so far received lukewarm response.

Kharisma Shintara, director of Arta Computer Centre, a computer assembler in Indonesia that has licensed Microsoft's scaled-down offering, said: "We're not focused on Starter Edition."

Shintara told silicon.com's sister site CNETAsia that his primary product line will remain to be Pentium 4 PCs pre-loaded with Windows XP Home Edition, and not the lower-end Intel Celeron machines Starter Edition is designed for.

"We've only used it in some projects for schools," he said, adding that the price of such Starter Edition-based PCs is around three million rupiah ($321).

In Thailand, a number of Microsoft's Starter Edition partners like ATEC and Belta, are still promoting PCs that ship without any operating system. Supreme Computer - one of the largest PC manufacturers in the country - is even selling a low-end Celeron PC pre-loaded with Linux for 15,490 baht ($402), alongside a similar system featuring Starter Edition which costs 16,990 baht ($441). Microsoft declined to provide sales figures for the new OS in Thailand.

Martin Gilliland, principal analyst with research firm Gartner Asia-Pacific: "Starter Edition has not gained much interest from vendors nor has it generated much interest from end users."

Gilliland attributed the tepid response largely to the high piracy rates in these emerging countries.

He added that the smaller computer retailers in these countries tend to buy their systems from larger PC OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and then load them with cheaper, unlicensed versions of Windows.

Microsoft recognises these issues and plans to tailor its distribution and marketing efforts for Starter Edition to suit individual countries as part of the 12-month pilot program, a senior company official told CNETAsia.

"We'll be testing several go-to-market approaches," said Mike Wickstrand, Microsoft's director of Windows product management.

He said the firm has decided on a "focused" approach in Malaysia by partnering with furniture and electronics mega-store Courts Mammoth. On Tuesday, the retail giant announced it will start selling Starter Edition PCs made by local computer manufacturer FTEC in its 20 outlets.

Besides Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, Starter Edition is also bound for Russia and India this year, although the latter's launch has been postponed from March to June.

Winston Chai writes for CNET Asia. CNET Asia's Cordelia Lee contributed to the story.