TruckWEB Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Now that Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will be "free" for device with 9" screen or less, when should we expect to see price drop for current crop of Windows 8.1 tablet, like the Lenovo Miix 2 8" or Dell Venue Pro 8"? Or do we have to wait for a refresh of those tablet before we see any change in price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LogicalApex MVC Posted April 4, 2014 MVC Share Posted April 4, 2014 I don't think any price drop will materialize. I'm sure Microsoft has already been doing this with OEMs for a lot longer than the announcement. Keep in mind, Microsoft prices to OEMs are negotiated behind the scenes and don't need to be publicly disclosed. MS made this announcement hoping that it would spur interest in consumers who may now pay attention to MS devices if they are price sensitive. Additionally, I think it was also aimed at the budding open source hardware movement who are largely deploying Linux on their devices due to Windows licensing costs. Basically, everyone is talking about this for tablets and I don't think MS was aiming this at tablets at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhangm Supervisor Posted April 4, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted April 4, 2014 I expect that a price drop, if any, will be in a generation or two. Wouldn't expect anything more substantial than 25$ or so per device if any at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcfan Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 current tablets might get a price cut, but the free license, coupled with the reduced requirements(1gb ram,16gb storage) means a flood of really cheap tablets soon. gohpep and Tha Bloo Monkee 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruckWEB Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Basically, everyone is talking about this for tablets and I don't think MS was aiming this at tablets at all... If MS was not talking about tablets, I can't imagine a 9" phone... At that size, it's not a phone, it's a tablet that can be used as a phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+John Teacake MVC Posted April 5, 2014 MVC Share Posted April 5, 2014 Wonder if you can install it on a Nexus 7 haha Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark-Heart Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I've got a device with slightly less than 9", but I can't install windows on that... LOL Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LogicalApex MVC Posted April 5, 2014 MVC Share Posted April 5, 2014 If MS was not talking about tablets, I can't imagine a 9" phone... At that size, it's not a phone, it's a tablet that can be used as a phone. My point is, Microsoft doesn't need to publicly announce its OEM pricing adjustments. I'm sure MS had already made pricing changes well before this announcement to OEMs like Nokia and Samsung working on Windows Phone and Lenovo working on tablets. The price for Windows tablets had largely dropped to be very deeply discounted, or free, prior to this announcement... See the Dell Venue 8 Pro, for instance, priced nearly identical to the Nexus 7 while sporting "full" Windows 8 and an Intel CPU. The Open Hardware movement with devices like Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Beagle Board, etc. doesn't seem to be an area that matters this much on the surface, but taking it in its totality you can understand the concern Microsoft has about this space. There is a growing market segment for the "Internet of Things" where people are inventing and tinkering with building loads of connected devices doing a lot of interesting things. This entire space is blossoming without using Windows in any fashion largely due to licensing costs. You end up with new devices emerging with little to no Windows support while fully embracing Android, iOS, and Mac. Microsoft is aiming at correcting this problem and trying to stop themselves from losing another emerging market space... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted April 5, 2014 Reporter Share Posted April 5, 2014 I've got an old Asus EeePC lying around, I should install it on that. :rofl: Hum 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shifts Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 (edited) snip No.. Exactly the opposite (providing i've read your post the way it;s intended). Embrace it. See the change that the worlds biggest conglomerate can change the market as we know it. This is a major company embracing change and seeing what they have to do to compete in a market. Ok so i dont agree with everything being free or reduce to the most minimalist costs, after all if everything comes down to being the cheapest how do people earn a wage, but it's a sign that MS are entering the arena once again. No one really competed against Office, as an example, in a serious way. Sure Apple release iwork, google with their docs system but MS remained dominant and yet really made a dent in the office eco system. Now with 12 million download I would bet MS are seeking to win the smartphone wars by becoming completnly platform independant. If you use office documents on another phone platform, that fine youll still have to cough up BUT if you use a windows phone and perhaps dont have to pau as much for full office editing features, thats also a win. A smart move by MS P.S. I really wish that MS had continued to give windows 8 away for that $19 or ?14 price at the start. I'd have upgraded all my systems to the latest os at that price even if it meant a barrier to "getting used to it" time frame Edited April 6, 2014 by zhangm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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