Microsoft has announced that sales of Windows XP Starter Edition, the company's entry-level computer operating system promoted to 'emerging markets', has hit the one million unit milestone. The program was launched, just over two years ago with a pilot of only five countries, with the goal of putting PCs in the homes of low-income families in order to increase computer literacy in developing cultures. The software is tailored for every market to which it's introduced. Area-specific details, like languages, dialects, and appropriate interface design, are altered for each country, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft, Senior Vice President of Microsoft’s Market Expansion Group Will Poole said that due to the fact that the average income in the markets that they are targeting are much lower than developed markets, "the OS needed to be lightweight enough for low-cost hardware to run efficiently, and we needed to reduce the base cost of the operating system as well."
The massive outreach began in 2003 when Microsoft jumped on a request from the government of Thailand for help with a program that would put computers in the hands of lower income families. That led Microsoft to pursue other areas of the world that were behind the technology curve.
According to Poole, throughout the research in emerging markets, they identified a number of key factors that had to be considered for any emerging markets technology solution to be successful. Three key areas addressed were tailoring to beginner users, affordability, and deeper localisation.
so what does Windows Starter mean for the future of computing in these emerging markets? Poole says that on a fundamental level, the product is seen as laying a foundation for a new generation of users, computer-literate children who otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity. Also, in many of the emerging markets the government has objectives around increasing the digital literacy and productivity of its citizens, so Windows Starter is also helping these governments achieve their objectives.
Some of the countries that Microsoft has reached with Starter Edition include Argentina, Chile, Hindi, Namibia, Vietnam, and Brazil.
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