Microsoft: Distinction between PC and phone gets even blurrier |
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Microsoft: Distinction between PC and phone gets even blurrier
An HP Mini 1010nr netbook
Speaking at the CTIA Wireless convention in Las Vegas this morning, Microsoft's Robbie Bach started not by touting Windows Mobile but by talking about computers -- specifically, netbooks. His comments, via webcast, demonstrated how much the tiny, Web-oriented machines are blending the worlds of personal computers and mobile phones.
Bach said Microsoft foresees more netbook PCs being offered with wireless access plans that let them connect to the Internet using mobile broadband. He predicted that, by 2012, a third of netbooks will be sold by mobile operators.
"One of the things we've seen is that many of our operator partners have now taken on the idea that they can sell these netbook PCs in many ways much like they do phones," Bach said, calling it "a very interesting trend and a very big shift."
The upcoming Windows 7 has been better-tuned to work with netbooks, and one Microsoft representative predicted that the new operating system will expand wireless 3G usage in the same way that Windows XP boosted WiFi usage.
Bach noted that the economy is driving the trend toward the lower-priced netbooks. But he glossed over the business impact on Microsoft, citing the rising sales of Windows on netbooks without noting that the company gets a lower average selling price for those copies of the operating system than it does on traditional computers.
That's one of the reasons netbooks are seen as risky for Microsoft's revenue. The question over time is whether netbooks will expand the market overall or cannibalize traditional PC sales. Bach, for one, sounded an optimistic note, pointing out that many netbooks are used as second machines, supplementing primary computers.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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