All Windows 7 SKUs are OK for Netbooks

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Windows 7 Ultimate on a netbook? Sure, if you want.

Worried that you'll be buying a netbook a month from now and all you'll be getting is Windows 7 Starter Edition? You have nothing to fear, and for a couple of good reasons.

First of all, you can easily upgrade any version of Windows 7 to a higher version through Anytime Upgrade. Secondly, as confirmed to TG Daily, Microsoft will not be putting any restriction on the type of Windows 7 that'll go on netbooks.

"OEMs and ODMs have the choice to install any version of Windows on a netbook," said a Microsoft UK spokesperson. "[But] Starter is an entry version and doesn’t have many of the consumer or business features. The three application limit isn’t there anymore."

Microsoft revealed months ago that the Starter Edition would no longer have the three application limit that was originally planned to limit netbooks. Starter Edition, however, will still not run any of the fancy effects of the Aero GUI.

While most netbooks are of modest specifications, we can see higher-end models – such as those with the Nvidia Ion chipset – sporting Home Premium.

What would really blow our minds though is a netbook packing Windows 7 Ultimate from the factory.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dman3k
    WOW. Microsoft is listening... What a change from "we tell you what you want" strategy!

    Now if Microsoft could just get rid of the Starter Pack all together.
    Reply
  • hellwig
    Did MS ever say Vista couldn't be installed on a netbook, or was it simply understood that Vista wouldn't run on a netbook, as it was no where near the minimum system specs?
    Reply
  • Honis
    I'd like to see a bench of the $2.4k system builder marathon with both Ultimate and Starter installed. I wonder if somethings would run slightly faster with 90% of the OS disabled but still functional.
    Reply
  • hellwig
    HonisI'd like to see a bench of the $2.4k system builder marathon with both Ultimate and Starter installed. I wonder if somethings would run slightly faster with 90% of the OS disabled but still functional.Agreed, I hope Tom's is already prepping for a Win 7 SKU showdown.
    Reply
  • jhansonxi
    They're just paranoid that Linux (UNR, Chrome OS, Moblin, etc.) will take over the netbook market. Linux just saved the Windows fans from stupid restrictions even if they never use Linux.
    Reply
  • abnderby
    Hey running win7 ultimate on my ibm thinkpad x32. pentium M 1800 single corewith 512MB ram. Runs fine much better than RC did. If I had a 5400 RPM drive and 2GB memory it would be much better. Howmy system stacks up against the atom I do not know. Toms should bench the new netbooks against he older mini notebooks like IBM's x30, x31, x32, x40 and x41. All were single core cpu's banias and dothan I believe
    Reply
  • abnderby
    Tom's, please revisit your atom and ion netbooks against our older mini notebooks. you know the ones with 12" screens running pentium M and older PIII Tualatin cpu's at 1.2 GHz. It would be interesting to see how the stack up. I just bought several older thinkpad X 32 and x40's for friends and family off ebay for $200. Great little laptops. They actually run windows 7 better than windows xp. Only issue I have seen is win 7 uses generic video driver. other tha that it runs great.

    give us some data to compare please
    Reply
  • steiner666
    win7 ult runs great on my asus 1005ha, even w/ aero, seems to boot faster than it did with xp
    Reply
  • cabose369
    hellwigDid MS ever say Vista couldn't be installed on a netbook, or was it simply understood that Vista wouldn't run on a netbook, as it was no where near the minimum system specs?
    No you are wrong. I had an HP Netbook 1035NR and I was running Vista Ultimate on it with Aero on. It works.
    Reply
  • buwish
    Turn off all of the fancy aero features and I think W7 would do pretty well on an a medium to high end netbook; regardless of the version.
    Reply