HP is expecting Windows XP finally being killed off to have more of an impact on its PC sales than Windows 8 ever managed, with the OS retirement expected to open up a huge market of upgraders who have so far held off from buying fresh hardware. The change in platforms, as Windows XP extended support finally ends in April 2014, will see many users - particularly in businesses - finally replace their PCs, HP said on Monday, Computerworld reports, something the company aims to capitalize on.
April 8 also spells doomsday for another small build, the Internet Explorer 6. What this means is both XP and IE6 will be shelved to avoid a larger offering of security patches and updates, which is understandable now that former CEO Bill Gates is a full time philanthropist and internal smart man Satya Nadella has been lofted to position of CEO after a lackluster performance by the Redmond St, Seattle-based tech firm.
Enrique Lore, senior VP and GM of HP's business computing division commented, "We think this will be a big opportunity for HP."
In a sense, Windows 8 had been seen as the magic wand, something that the likes of former CEO Steve Ballmer would be not be repeating in the PC industry. The concept idea of Windows 8 has also made Windows 7 sales plummet.
For Microsoft and its pressure to create profitability for stockholders is not being helped by XP's troubles. The XP failed to deliver on monetary value amid a host pf products like smartphones and the Lumia line. on those expectations, particularly in business use, with its perceived focus on touchscreen interaction being seen as a play more for the tablet and consumer markets.
"Meanwhile, XP has refused to die in the way that Microsoft had expected it might. Although official support for the last Service Pack 2 release ended on July 13, 2010, extended support under Microsoft's Support Lifecycle Policy continues until April 8, 2014. Beyond that point, no further security patches will be released," reported SlashGear.
Gartner analysts say that the "end of Windows XP support next year will spur on increased PC sales. Considering around 37% of world PCs still run Windows XP, if all (or at least half) those users are to upgrade between now and April 2014 we should see a revival of PC sales."
"Our preliminary results indicate that this reduced market decline was attributed to solid growth in the professional market, Three of the major professional PC suppliers, HP, Dell and Lenovo, all registered better than U.S. average growth rate. The end of Windows XP support potentially drove the remaining PC refresh in the U.S. professional market.” Said Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst.
With Reports by From Microsoft, eTeknix, SlashGear
