After failing on smartphones and tablets, Microsoft is hoping it can find redemption back on the desktop Microsoft has flopped on smartphones and tablets. At the same time, its Windows 8.x has continued to be such an abject failure, with a mere 13.4% share of the PC market, that it’s trailing even legendary fiasco Vista in market acceptance. So what’s Microsoft to do? Why, go back to its old playbook and kill profits entirely in the hope of regaining market share. Back in 2009 when Linux-powered netbooks were cutting into Windows’ market share, Microsoft brought back XP Home and almost gave it away. Simultaneously, Microsoft pushed Windows 7 out the door as fast as possible to replace Vista. It worked. And users have yet to lose their fondness for Windows XP. In August 2014, XP was still running on 23.9% of all PCs, while Windows 7 was hanging in at 49.9%. Will it work again? We’ll see. Here’s what Microsoft is planning. First, it has made Windows 8.1 With Bing royalty-free for OEMs. This bottom-end version of Windows 8.1 is being sold on systems with prices ranging from $199 to $249. The object of this is to persuade bargain-hunting users to come back from Chromebooks. While Microsoft and its apologists have consistently denied that they were worried about Chromebooks, evidence like this suggests otherwise. It’s true that Net Applications has never shown Chromebooks as having a significant market share, but then again, Net Applications is a Microsoft partner. Other analysts, such as Gartner, expect Chromebooks to triple in sales over the next three years. And Google is making the Chromebook much more of a threat to Windows by finally bringing Android apps to the devices. Second, just as in 2009, Microsoft isn’t just relying on cheap machines to save its bottom line. It’s rushing Windows 9, a.k.a. Threshold, into the market as fast as it can. The company is also doing its best to create hype around Threshold by leaking screenshots that promise a return to the WIMP-style interface (as in windows, icon, menu and pointer) that Windows users crave. It’s a tried and true formula that gives Microsoft an excellent chance of retaining the desktop despite all of its Windows 8 blunders. Nonetheless, its dominance will recede a bit. I expect Chromebooks to eventually make at least as big a dent in the PC market as Macs have. Gartner thinks so too, predicting that Chromebooks will move from 2% of all PCs sold today to 5% by 2017. So everything is going to be fine and dandy for Microsoft, right? Owning the traditional PC market doesn’t count for as much as it used to. IDC and Gartner both see the PC market continuing to shrink, albeit not as quickly as they’d previously expected. And ironically, if it hadn’t been for Chromebooks and Macs, the PC market would have shrunk even more. So, yes, Microsoft will be king of the PC mountain, but that mountain is looking more and more like a hill. Where the real end-user growth remains is in tablets and smartphones. And, there, Microsoft trails far, far behind Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. In the end, Microsoft’s desktop victories will not be enough to win the end-user war. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe