In the News
And so it begins: On Tuesday, online retailing giant Amazon.com
began shipping its Windows 7 preorders to customers around the globe for
delivery on Thursday. But Amazon also had some good news to share with
the world: Windows 7 is already a bestseller, and its preorders are
stronger than the preorders for both Windows Vista and Windows XP ...
combined.
Amazon UK representatives were even more effusive than their US
counterparts. "The launch of Windows 7 has superseded everyone's
expectations, storming ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows as the biggest-grossing preorder product of all time at
Amazon.co.uk, and demand is still going strong," said Brian
McBride, a managing director at Amazon UK. "Over the past three
months, only Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol has sold more copies
than Windows 7, which is an incredible achievement for a software
product."
And compared with just its direct predecessor—the unfairly
maligned Vista—Windows 7 is an even bigger smash hit: Amazon says
it sold more copies of Windows 7 preorders in three weeks than it sold
of Vista over three years.
As of today, Amazon and other retailers are offering literally hundreds
of Windows 7-based PCs for sale. The ranks include about 30 netbook
models from Acer, Asus Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony, Toshiba, and many others.
They're offered with a mix of Windows 7 Starter and Home
Premium.
These are all incredibly positive signs for Microsoft and the wider PC
industry, of course. But for all its positive reviews and user-friendly
features, Windows 7 is entering the market at a tough time. There are
still uncertainties about the economy, and many people are switching to
cloud- and smart-phone-based solutions; both trends make traditional
desktop OSs less viable.
That said, PC makers should still ship almost 300 million PCs over the
next 12 months. And let's not forget that, even in Microsoft's most
trying fiscal year, Windows accounted for almost $15 billion in
revenues, $11 billion of which was pure profit. For all the silly
hand-wringing over Windows, it's still a cash cow. And Windows 7 is the
best version the company has ever produced, by far.
I'll be in New York this week for the Windows 7 launch, so you can
expect ongoing coverage on the SuperSite for Windows and the SuperSite
Blog. And if you're in New York this week, please come by the Antarctica
Bar in Manhattan after 5:30pm on Thursday: I'll be co-hosting a
Windows 7 launch party with prominent Windows community members such
as Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, and Tom Warren. See you in New York!
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On Monday, Apple announced blockbuster financial results for
the most recent quarter, proving that—once again—the company
appears to be immune to the economic woes that are dogging the rest of
the industry. Then, the next day, it updated almost its entire Mac
product line, although the company, in typical form, refused to lower
prices.
Apple announced that it earned $1.67 billion on revenues of $9.87
billion for the quarter ending in September. The company sold more than
3 million Macs in the quarter, enough for 3.86 percent market share
worldwide, and about 9 percent in the United States. The biggest gain,
perhaps, was with the company's best-selling iPhone, which racked up 7.4
million unit sales in the quarter, up 7 percent year over year. The iPod
was down 8 percent, however, with sales of 10.2 million units.
A day later, Apple wiped out almost its entire stable of Macs and
replaced them with new models. The flagship iMac line was overhauled
with two new 21.5" and 27" 16:9 widescreen displays, with prices ranging
from $1,200 (about three times the average price of a PC) to over $2,000
(about the average price of a used car). Even in the all-in-one
category, the iMac is expensive: HP sells a 20" all-in-one PC with
multi-touch features the iMac lacks for just $900.
The low-end Mac mini line, which hasn't seen a form factor update
in—well, ever—soldiers on with slightly faster processors
and similarly high $600-to-$1,000 pricing. Curiously, Apple is now
selling a Mac mini server of sorts, as well, though the lack of two
networking ports limits its appeal and speaks volumes about Apple's
inability to grasp this market.
On the notebook side, the previous-generation MacBook that Apple still
sells to keep a foot in the bargain bin (a strategy it also sneakily
employs with the iPod touch) was updated with more RAM and hard drive
capacity. But the big change in the $1,000 device was the addition of a
sealed, non-removable battery, just like the even more expensive MacBook
Pros.
Apple also introduced a new multi-touch mouse, the Magic Mouse, which
provides support for swiping gestures and multi-finger presses. It
appears to work only with Macs and won't ship until November. But the
Magic Mouse might just be the most compelling product Apple ships this
year. I'm curious to see how well it works.
Rounding out the updates, Apple also shipped new versions of its AirPort
wireless networking hardware, Time Capsule network storage devices,
and—why not?—the tiny Apple Remote, which can remotely
control a Mac or iPod with dock.
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