Courtesy Techtree.com
Acer and HP, among others, do not want you upgrading your current computer to Windows 7.
Maybe that’s a little dramatic – let me clarify. Often, when a new OS releases, PC manufacturers will simply begin selling it on their current machines instead of the older version of the operating system. Things are a little different now than they were when Windows Vista was released, though – flagging PC sales and the excellent press that Windows 7 has been getting means that computer makers are milking the new OS for all it’s worth.
First, HP, who yesterday announced nearly a dozen new PCs in their new Windows 7 PC lineup. Most notable among these is a new consumer-oriented TouchSmart tablet PC starting at $799, and two new TouchSmart all-in-one desktop PCs which start at $899 for a 20-inch model and $1049 for a 23-incher.
Key in HPs strategy for both home and office PCs is Windows 7′s multi-touch capabilities, and if these models are successful I can see touch capability becoming standard on computers just as webcams are becoming standard. HP’s DV3 laptop, a Europe-only model for now, is a standard laptop which happens to have a touch screen – this could be a glimpse of the future.
Acer’s lineup is more modest than HP’s – just two laptops, one a 15-inch touchscreen model going for $800, the other an 11.6-inch not-quite-a-netbook that lists for $600. As with HP, if Acer’s touchscreen model is a hit, expect to see more of them.
The smaller of Acer’s offerings highlights another interesting trend in computing lately, the combination of the netbook and the ultraportable computer.
The rise of the netbook let PC manufacturers know that bigger was not always better, that there was a market for smaller, less powerful, less feature-rich PCs. The problem for consumers is that these computers were sometimes too stripped-down, not offering enough functionality or being too small to use comfortably. The problem for manufacturers is that, at $300-$400, margins on these products are razor-thin.
Now, Acer and Dell and others are offering something in between – 11 and 12-inch screen sizes offer the portability and weight of a netbook, while low-voltage Core 2 Duo processors and newer integrated graphics provide more computing power than the standard Intel Atom paired with the anemic and aging GMA 950. These units also sell in the $500-$600 range, the same as low-end 15-inch notebooks, a price point with which manufacturers seem more comfortable. Windows 7′s more modest system requirements means that these ultraportables can finally run a modern OS instead of the eight-year-old Windows XP.
What’s my point, you ask? When Vista came out, faster was better, not least because you wanted the fastest computer you could get to run Vista at a reasonable speed. Now, Windows’ increased flexibility in terms of features and system requirements is leading to a larger variety of computers on the market. In short, consumers get more choice – it seems like lately there’s a computer tailored to almost any task you could imagine, and that’s definitely a good thing.
