Windows XP launched in three editions

agencyfaqs! news bureau

NEW DELHI

As part of the worldwide launch, Microsoft's Windows XP was unveiled in the capital on October 25, 2001. The new operating system will be available in three editions - Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional and Windows XP 64 bit. Further, Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional come in two types, full pack and upgrade. The costs differ accordingly. While the Windows XP Professional full pack costs Rs 12,400, the upgrade costs Rs 6,100. And for Home edition, the prices for full pack and upgrade are Rs 7,100 and Rs 4,200 respectively.

Microsoft India is confident that Windows XP will be a hit with PC users. According to a pre-launch survey (conducted by IDC across five India), 82 per cent of business users were ‘eagerly awaiting' the launch of Windows XP and 20 cent said they would ‘immediately adopt' the product. The rest of the business users are likely to upgrade in the next 12 months. Another key finding indicated that 63 per cent of the home users would purchase PCs after the launch of Windows XP.

Talking about the response to the launch of Windows XP, Rajiv Kaul, managing director, Microsoft Corporation India, said, "We have seen unprecedented momentum for this launch in terms of partner support, early adoption in the corporate segment and the anticipation among the home users." Companies like Intel, AMD, Compaq, HCL, Wipro and Sony have partnered Microsoft for the launch of Windows XP. Intel and AMD will provide Windows XP ready versions of their popular microprocessors and Compaq, HCL and Wipro are shipping Windows XP ready PCs.

Some of the key features of interest for home users are a unified NT code base, extending the reliability, security and performance reserved for enterprise desktops. The product also claims to provide better experience in areas of mobility, communication, help and support, Home PC sharing and working with digital media. Additional features include fast users switching, remote desktop, application sharing and the integration of Windows Messenger and Windows Media Player 8 into the operating system.

Windows XP will also provide support for nine Indian languages, among which are Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Punjabi. Commenting on the efficiency of Windows XP, S Somasegar, vice-president, Windows engineering group, Microsoft Corporation India, says, "Windows XP is 36 per cent faster than Windows 98 and 13 times more reliable." Windows XP will be available with over 2,000 resellers throughout the country and over 100 Microsoft retail outlets.

Fuelling the excitement among consumers will be the Rs 6-8 crore ad campaign. The launch of the campaign coincided with the launch of Windows XP. While the print ads are to appear in all national dailies and a few business papers, the TV commercial is being aired on the four STAR channels, HBO and BBC. The campaign will run till December. Interestingly, while Contract Advertising, Microsoft's India agency, has created the print ads, its role in TV will be limited to releases only. The creative for TV will run internationally. The agency might launch a local TV ad campaign for Windows XP in January.

Supporting the ad campaign would be ground level activities such as consumer launch events planned in the cities like New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. After Mumbai, the launch event will take place in other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata.

© agencyfaqs! 2001