Microsoft Doubtful of Win XP's Netbook Future

Windows 7 is here and it's pretty good. If you're a road warrior armed with a netbook, however, it seems that Windows XP is still the choice for those who demand the longest battery life. But Microsoft doesn't foresee that Windows XP will be living much longer on those tiny little laptops.

With Windows 7 being the main product now that Microsoft, it sees little reason to market and push Windows XP as the operating system of choice for netbooks. In fact, instead of pushing the low-cost Windows 7 Starter for netbooks, Microsoft is giving it the full treatment with Home Premium.

The director of netbook PCs in Microsoft's Windows client group, Don Paterson, told The Register in an interview, "We will continue to make Windows XP available for those devices [netbooks], but it doesn't make sense to put marketing effort behind those devices. As much as we make Windows XP available for a year, we won't see it last in the market that long. We will get through the holidays. My gut [feeling] is we will walk away from the holidays and see that it's not worth keeping it in market."

Paterson added that those who "do their homework and understand the value proposition [of Windows 7 Home Premium] will migrate," while those who choose Windows XP are just looking for "absolutely the lowest cost device" or are just resistant to change.

From here on out, it seems that Windows 7 Home Premium is that main choice for nearly all consumer PCs.