From: mike 


http://news.com.com/2100-1046_3-6177619.html?tag=nefd.top

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Dell is bringing XP back.

Amid significant customer demand, the computer maker said on Thursday that
it has returned to offering the older Windows version as an option on some
of its consumer PCs.

Like most computer makers, Dell switched nearly entirely to Vista-based
systems following Microsoft's mainstream launch of the operating system in
January. However, the company said its customers have been asking for XP as
part of its IdeaStorm project, which asks customers to help the company
come up with product ideas.

"We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to
our Dell consumer PC offerings," Dell said on its Ideas in Action
page. Users get to vote on various suggestions, and the notion of bringing
back XP got 10,000 "points," making it among the most popular
requests but well below top picks such as adding Linux or OpenOffice.org to
its PCs.

Windows XP systems became scarce, but not impossible to find, after Vista
arrived. For example, Hewlett-Packard said it would continue selling XP on
some machines aimed at small and midsize businesses, while CompUSA still
stocks a couple of business-oriented XP systems in its retail stores.
Lenovo has also continued shipping XP on many of its business systems.

Starting immediately, Dell said, it is adding XP Home and Professional as
options on four Inspiron laptop models and two Dimension desktops.

Earlier this month, Dell added XP back as an option for small-business
customers, but at the time, it said it would not add it back for home
users.

"Dell does not have plans to launch Windows XP for home users as the
preference, and demand is for the 'latest and greatest' technology, which
includes Windows Vista," Tom West, director of small-business
marketing at Dell, said in a blog posting at the time.

Analysts say Dell's move is not a good sign for Windows Vista.

"That there is remaining demand from some segment of (the) consumer
market points to the inability of Vista to resonate with consumers,"
IDC analyst Richard Shim said.

There was an initial bump for Vista sales right after its launch, Shim
said, but some of that may have been from consumers who delayed purchasing
a PC late last year. Sales in the later part of the first quarter were less
strong, he said. The overall response to Vista will become clearer
throughout the year, he said.

Current Analysis research director Samir Bhavnani said most of the demand
for XP he sees is from small businesses, rather than consumers.

"They know that XP works," Bhavnani said. "It's not that
they don't want to upgrade to Vista. They just don't want to upgrade to
Vista yet."

In a sense, the issue isn't the relatively small number of PC buyers
demanding XP, but it's whether Vista is having any affect on the PC market
as a whole.

In announcing PC sales data, Gartner said this week that Vista's launch
"had very limited impact on overall worldwide shipment demand on a
quarterly basis."

Bhavnani blamed some of the lackluster results on a lack of marketing,
noting he sees more ads for Apple than for Vista.

"It's been a very soft launch," Bhavnani said. "I think you
will see Vista create additional demand for PCs in the back half of this
year."

Microsoft product manager Michael Burk said in a statement: "Dell is
responding appropriately to a small minority of customers that had this
specific request. But, as they have said before, the vast majority of
consumers want the latest and greatest technology, and that includes
Windows Vista."

The software maker has said it will stop selling Windows XP to large PC
makers by January. Smaller computer sellers, known as system builders, will
be able to sell XP machines for an additional year.

In a statement last week, Microsoft said such a move is normal after a new
operating system comes out.

"Windows Vista is safer, easier to use, better connected and more
entertaining than any operating system we've ever released, and we're
encouraged by the positive customer response we've seen to date," the
company said. "It's standard practice to allow OEMs, retailers and
system builders to continue offering the previous version of Windows for a
certain period of time after a new version is released."
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  /m

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