Brief

Microsoft to launch Hindi XP Starter edition

The company hopes to penetrate the local language market with a low price, barebones starter pack

Rajiv Kaul Managing Director, Microsoft India

Microsoft will be launching a 'substantially' low-priced Windows XP Starter edition in the Indian market early next year. Though the company is tight-lipped on the pricing of the new product, international reports quoting industry analysts have estimated the price tag to be between $30 and $40 for each user licence of XP Starter.

Microsoft India, in a media conference organised in New Delhi, announced that it has included India in its five-country Windows XP Starter edition pilot programme. The company announced in August that it would launch XP starter in five countries but named only three: Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Russia was included in the programme last week.

The Starter edition is a stripped down version of Windows XP Home edition that's targeted at beginners. The operating system will be available only in Hindi language interface right now. The company will add a few more regional languages if the product gets a good response.

The Starter edition cannot be networked. Users will also not be able to open more than three programs on this version; nor will they be able to change configurations such as screen resolution.

Microsoft India managing director Rajiv Kaul said XP Starter will be available only through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and assemblers as an installed system on computers.

"It will not be available as out-of-box software in the retail market," he said. He, however, declined to comment on the pricing of the product.

"It will be substantially lower. The exact prices will be announced closer to the actual launch in the five designated countries," he said. A regular Windows XP Home edition currently costs around Rs 4,500. This is expected to come down by 60-70 per cent if the company fixes the price as per analysts' expectations. According to experts, the new low-cost XP will also result in a drop in computer prices by up to 20 per cent.

Apart from the few limitations, the XP Starter Edition will have all basic Windows XP features, including Internet, security, messengers, media player, among others. Microsoft claimed that the product is aimed at 99 per cent of India's population that does not have access to computers right now. "Even the interface is designed in such a way so that a beginner can use the computer without any problem," Kaul pointed out.

Speaking on the occasion, telecommunication and information technology minister Dayanidhi Maran suggested a 20 per cent reduction in prices of starter edition-based computers. He asked computer makers to pass on the benefits of any price reduction to consumers. "Microsoft needs to make its products affordable. Spread of IT to the rural areas is possible only if all ICT products are within reach of the common man," the minister said.