Why OEMs Still Use The Same Old Netbook Formula
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The politics of the tech industry are rarely discussed, save for in the most conspiratorial of circles, but they are often of great importance for understanding the market. One question that we have often asked is – why do so many netbooks only offer the same boring formula as others?
While it’s been proven that Intel Atom/160 GB/1 GB RAM/XP netbooks work, manufacturers aren’t just taking the easy road with a tried and true setup that others did the work to figure out. After all, laptop manufacturers follow diverse paths in making their machines. So why all the repetition?
It turns out that Microsoft enacted some restrictions when it decided to sell XP for netbooks. Early in the days of netbooking testers found that Vista was too beefy for the diminutive machines, and Microsoft wasn’t about to let Linux take the whole market. So although XP won’t rake in the profits of newer operating systems, Microsoft was forced to bite the bullet and let manufacturers sell netbooks with XP… with a few conditions.
Reports have surfaced that netbook manufacturers would only put Windows XP on machines too weak to run Vista. This created a problem for netbook makers – should they undercut the RAM of their systems to satisfy Microsoft, or sell netbooks with a clumsier OS just for the freedom to crank the power a little?
As netbooks are a budget product (with a few exceptions), most decided to obey and keep RAM to 1 GB. But Microsoft wasn’t yet satisfied, calling for OEMs to restrict screen size to 10.1 inches and HDD space to 80 GB. As the netbook market proved to be a profitable one Microsoft’s cannibalization fears were assuaged and the restrictions were stretched to accomodate devices up to 14.1 inches and 160 GB, though only if low-powered chips were used.
At least we don’t have to blame a lack of innovation for netbooks’ repetitive formula – manufacturers are just following restrictions set up by Microsoft.
What does this mean for the future? While Microsoft claims Windows 7 will be slim enough to run on netbooks, not everyone’s convinced. Will consumers drop more cash for a snappier version of Windows, or remain content with XP? Nobody can say for sure, but answers will only be a matter of time.
Via NYTimes.
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