Just when you thought, after years and years of decline, it was safe to give up on the desktop it has roared back with a vengeance. Revenue has been positive for five consecutive months as of February 2010, and that is the result of improvements across the board. Windows 7 is propelling the PC side of the market where desktop ASPs have been higher than notebook/netbook ASPs in three of the last four months. We are seeing even more stunning growth numbers from the iMac in what had been generally accepted at this time last year as a fading product line.
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As Windows 7 begins its assault on the consumer retail marketplace today, so far, despite a few questionable decisions, the marketing, merchandising, and retail preparation appear to be clicking on all cylinders. Since I’m not a product reviewer I can’t comment on how “insanely great” Windows 7 might be, but I can give Microsoft kudos for the preparation and first spate of advertising. Let’s look at 3 buckets.
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Microsoft released lots of interesting details today on Windows 7 release schedules and pricing. There were three main announcements: First, and one that is pretty good but that has already been widely reported, is that PC upgrades on Vista machines bought between now and the end of October would be free from Microsoft, with any cost (normally S&H) being charged by the PC OEM. This is within expectations and is the good for both the consumers and the OEMs. We should see a very minimal stall from the transition as these very low cost upgrades are offered to consumers. In addition, the excellent timing of the general availability of Win7 (between back-to-school and Black Friday) ensures that student buyers can’t wait until general availability to buy and holiday consumers are taken care of. All-in-all a big A+ for timing, pricing, and for ensuring that this will be the smoothest transition within the industry of any Windows OS upgrade yet.
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Consumer Technology | Stephen Baker, Vice President, Industry Analysis | 
March 16, 2010 1:25 pm | 
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