Intel: The future of Netbook vs. Notebook

 

Friendly Computers found this interesting article which looks into the future of Notebooks & Netbooks. Which one will be more popular and cost effective in the upcoming months and years? Read below:

A report Wednesday said Netbook cannibalization of notebook PC sales is about 20 percent in Europe. But this trend may ebb later this year when the "affordable" ultra-thin laptop category takes off, leading to a cannibalization reversal of sorts.

Cannibalization of notebook computer sales by lower-priced netbooks is currently about 20 percent, Intel's European sales chief told Reuters on Wednesday. Intel's Christian Morales said netbook sales were about 16 percent of all notebook sales globally, and a little higher in western Europe, according to Reuters. "In Britain and Italy they may account for as much as a quarter of all notebook sales," he told Reuters.

Intel's marketing chief Sean Maloney, presenting at the company's investor meeting on May 12, said that the share of Netbooks out of the total mobile PC market is was at about 16 percent in March of 2009 (see "Netbooks Mix of Mobile PCs" chart.) And he showed that the market share for Netbooks--month-to-month--hovers around 15 percent.

"The market has not all leapt over to Netbooks," Maloney said at the meeting. "We're very comfortable with having established the (Netbook) category. We believe now that Netbooks are an under-distributed product line." Cannibalization, when it occurs, tends to affect low-end laptops based on Celeron processors, he said. "Atom is eating into Celeron. And we're quite fine with this," Maloney said.

Then later in his presentation, alluding to Intel Consumer Ultra-Low-Voltage (CULV) chips due to appear in inexpensive laptops starting in June, he said that this is "an opportunity for upsell. We don't need to give this stuff away. The industry doesn't need to give this stuff away. We can reach new price points and we can also get paid for it."

That sounds very much like CULV-based laptops will offer stiff competition for Netbooks, especially Netbooks priced above $400. Many CULV notebooks should fall into the $599 to $799 price range--the upper range of Netbooks--according to Ashok Kumar, an analyst at investment bank Collins Stewart. And some major PC makers expect CULV to become one-third of total latop sales by next year.

Though no one can forecast how popular these new inexpensive thin laptops (think: MSI X-Slim series or a hypothetical $800-$900 Apple MacBook Air) will be, Intel is obviously expecting the category to take off (see "Ultra-Thin Affordable Volume Ramp" chart).

Maloney said growth markets for Netbooks are children--he said this market is still under-served--as well as Netbook bundles with telecommunications service providers. Verizon, for example, is now offering Hewlett-Packard Netbooks with 3G functionality built in.

 

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10250182-64.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0

Windows 7 HomeGroup links computers with ease

A new feature on Windows 7 allows you to share media and printers with ease by using what is called “HomeGroup”. Friendly Computers thinks this will be helpful when creating your next home network:

think I've found the secret code name for Microsoft's Windows 7: Kudzu.

If you have multiple computers in the house, this software may spread faster than germs in a preschool.

At least that's my expectation after seeing the new "HomeGroup" and media-sharing features that are among the coolest of the new operating system.

HomeGroup automatically links computers in a home so they can share photos, music, videos and documents, as well as printers.

There are lots of ways to do this already but it's often a hassle. Windows 7 automatically configures sharing after you tell the software whether you're connecting to a home, work or public network.

On a home network, HomeGroup builds a shared digital library from the media spread across different machines. So you won't have to remember which computer has the vacation pictures from 2007 — you search across the "home group," and view the pictures on whatever machine you're using.

You can decide to play the media back on a different machine, if you have another computer or a digital media player connected to the TV or stereo system.

Best of all may be the remote streaming feature that lets users access home-media libraries from anywhere, in full fidelity, over the Internet.

HomeGroup also shares things like printer drivers, so you can share a printer without having to use a print server or manually load printer drivers onto each machine.

Making these things simpler, and building them into the operating system, is one of the ways Microsoft tries to advance computing with each new version of Windows.

HomeGroup alone is probably worth the price of the software, now that many U.S. homes are running multiple computers and are flooded with digital files.

Digital media has gone mainstream, but mainstream users are still figuring out how to manage it all.

Microsoft and computer makers are also going to push consumer — as opposed to corporate — benefits especially hard this year, since companies aren't buying much technology.

But there's a huge asterisk on these new features: They only work with Windows 7.

That means that you can't have only one Windows 7 computer to take full advantage of HomeGroup or the remote media streaming.

You'll either need to buy all new PCs after the operating system ships this fall, or upgrade existing PCs to the new operating system.

If you add a Windows 7 machine to a network that has PCs with Windows XP and Vista, "You could still share media the traditional way — sharing folders and sharing files — but you won't have this sort of seamless home integration," said Chris Flores, Windows marketing communications director.

Flores said not many households would replace all their computers at once, but a lot of people will probably try upgrading older PCs since Windows 7 was designed to run well on "less powerful machines."

The $64 billion question is how the upgrade will be perceived.

If consumers are excited about features such as HomeGroup and media sharing, they could make Windows 7 viral, like Facebook or YouTube: It enables and encourages sharing, which in turn should propagate the software, spreading it through homes like kudzu.

My guess is this will boost sales of the boxed version of Windows, which have dwindled in recent years as most people now get the software preloaded on a new PC.

But there's also a risk that buyers will be disappointed if their new Windows 7 computer doesn't do all of its promised tricks until they upgrade additional PCs.

The lawyers have surely been through this already.

Microsoft is still involved in a lawsuit filed by people who felt misled because their new computers couldn't run all the new features in Windows Vista.

The company is also being scrutinized by antitrust regulators, watching for any sign that Microsoft is using its dominance to strong-arm customers.

Maybe the solution is for Microsoft to offer a drastically discounted version of Windows 7 that will encourage people to upgrade multiple computers at home.

Apple does this with its OS X operating system, offering a $199 version that can be installed on up to five home machines, in addition to its $129 single copy version.

Microsoft already does this with the home version of its Office suite, which can be loaded on up to three machines.

It's also similar to the way it prices entry-level servers, with licenses for five users.

Flores didn't rule out a Windows 7 "family pack" when I asked.

"We'll definitely have more detail on that, my guess will be somewhere around summertime," he said, intriguingly.

"We'll make it as favorable as we can, certainly."

They better.

 

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2009259103_brier25.html

Report: Microsoft readies new maximum specs for Windows 7 netbooks

Friendly Computers found out that Microsoft is preparing a guideline for maximum netbooks specs, which will determine which pricing tier different “small notebooks” will fall under when installing Windows 7. Read below for more information:

Microsoft is readying a set of maximum specs for Windows 7 netbooks –or, as Microsoft prefers to call them, “small notebooks” — that will likely dictate which PCs will qualify for lower per-copy Windows 7 pricing.

The alleged Windows 7 netbook specs were published earlier this month on the TechARP technology enthusiast site.

Microsoft established a similar set of specs for XP and Vista netbooks, a category the company had been referring to as ultra-low-cost PCs (ULPCs). The ones it is developing for Windows 7 are designed for netbooks that have smaller screens and single-core 2 GHz CPUs, TechARP said.

(Just to be clear: Microsoft’s Windows unit isn’t confirming any of the information that TechARP is providing and updating regularly about Microsoft’s alleged plans for Windows 7. But a lot of what the site is getting surely seems plausible — and if I were guessing — is coming directly from OEMs.)

A quick refresher as to what Microsoft has said to date about Windows 7 on netbooks:

* All Windows 7 SKUs will be able to run on netbooks. But the ones Microsoft expects most netbook makers to preload are Windows 7 Starter Edition and Windows 7 Home Premium.

* Starter Edition will limit users to running three concurrent applications. Windows 7 Starter Edition, unlike XP Starter Edition, will be for sale to users in both developing and developed nations.

* Microsoft has not shared publicly what it intends to charge PC makers per copy of Windows 7. But it is said to be charging them about $15 a copy for XP when they are preloading it on netbooks — a price significantly lower than it charges PC makers per copy of XP or Vista preloaded on full-fledged laptops and PCs.

When Microsoft unveiled its Windows 7 SKU line-up back in February, I asked how the company intended to determine pricing for Windows 7 running on netbooks vs. laptops/desktops. Would Microsoft charge PC makers less per copy for Home Premium than it charges to run the exact same Home Premium SKU on a full-fledged notebook or desktop system? Would Microsoft attempt to establish itself as the judge of what is a “netbook”?

Microsoft officials had nothing more to say about my questions. But the new maximum spec list — if it pans out — may indicate how the Softies are planning to address these thorny questions.

TechARP claims Microsoft is planning to focus its strategy around SKUs tailored for the netbook market. The site says that Microsoft will be offering netbook makers plain-old Windows 7 Starter; Windows 7 Starter for Small Notebook PC; and Windows 7 Home Basic For Small Notebook PCs (China only). (Microsoft officials said in February that Windows 7 Home Basic will be in developing nations only.)

For Windows 7, “Microsoft has made several critical changes to the maximum hardware specifications allowed for Windows 7 Start / Home Basic editions, as well as the Windows XP and Windows Vista Small Notebook PC program,” TechARP said. Among these changes are:

• “(A) greatly simplified and universal CPU criterion designed for easy understanding and management
• Removal of the graphics and touch limitations
• Limiting screen size to a maximum of 10.2 inches (measured diagonally) as the defining boundary between a Small Notebook PC and a full-featured laptop”

Specifically, according to TechARP’s information, Microsoft’s maximum specs for machines it will consider to be netbooks/”small notebooks” will change in the following ways:

Screen size: With XP and Vista, maximum allowable screen size was 12.1 inches; with Windows 7, it will be 10.2 inches

Storage: Maximum limits for XP and Vista: 160 GB HDD or 32 GB SDD; with Windows 7, it will be 250 GB HDD or 64 GB SDD

Graphics: With XP and Vista, netbooks/small notebooks was “less than or equal to DX9; with Windows 7, there will be no limitation

CPUs: With XP and Vista, netbooks/small notebooks had to have “single core processors that do not exceed 1 GHz frequency, or Intel Atom (N270, N280, 230, Z500, Z510, Z515, Z520, Z530, Z540, Z550);  Intel Celeron 220; AMD (MV-40, 1050P, TF-20, Geode LX, Athlon 2650e, Sempron 210U); VIA (C7-M ULV, Nano U1700, U2250, U2300, U2400 or U2500). With Windows 7, the maximum will be “single core processors that do not exceed 2 GHz frequency, and have a CPU thermal design power that is less than or equal to 15 W, not including the graphics and chipset.”

Recent reports claim netbook demand is down — which is a mixed blessing for PC makers and Microsoft, given that netbooks have been the only bright spot in an otherwise declining PC market. Whether that trend will continue through the Windows 7 launch this year will be interesting to see.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=2859

Not an easy time to pick a computer

Friendly Computers knows that when buying a new computer you want the best and you don’t want it to be outdated soon after purchasing it. Windows 7 is going to be released soon and this information may help you make an informed decision about when to get your new computer. Read on below…

If you're shopping for a computer now, it may feel like purgatory.
Early reviews of Windows 7 are glowing, but Microsoft's new operating system won't be available for at least three months.
Meanwhile, most computers on store shelves have Windows Vista, which had a bad reputation even before Windows 7 started making it look like day-old bread.

Buying a Mac is no longer an easy solution. Apple's also entering the homestretch on a new operating system that's set to come out later this year, presumably with new hardware as well.

This situation is especially tough during the "dads and grads" season when millions of people usually buy computers for Father's Day or graduation gifts.

Microsoft is putting them in a quandary by releasing nearly complete test versions of Windows 7 that should give pause to anyone considering a new PC.

Vista has improved since its debut in early 2007 and it's working for 180 million people. But Windows 7 performs and looks better. It's as if Vista went on summer vacation, lost its awkwardness and pimples, and came back elegant and poised.

So what are computer buyers supposed to do? Here are a few options and tips that may help.

1. Wait for upgrade coupons.
To keep computers moving off the shelves, Microsoft and PC makers are likely to offer coupons for free and discounted upgrades to Windows 7. They haven't said when this will happen, but it might be around August, in time for back-to-school sales.

Upgrade coupons were announced three months before Vista went on sale. Windows 7 is supposed to be on sale during the holiday season, so that suggests coupons in early fall.

Upgrade coupons won't necessarily be free, though. Some PC makers gave coupons with a 50 percent discount on Vista, and there were charges for shipping and handling discs.

2. Go ahead and run Windows 7.
If you're comfortable with the process, you can start running Windows 7 today. Many enthusiasts are doing this on their home machines. A near-final "release candidate" version of the software is available free from Microsoft, but you'll have to buy a full version after it expires in June 2010.

Prices aren't out yet, but it will probably cost around $200 for a new consumer version or less for an upgrade from Vista.

You can even install Windows 7 on a partition on a big hard drive, so you can decide at startup whether to run it or Vista.

But this is complicated and potentially risky. Be sure you've saved your files and proceed with caution. Windows 7 is still test software and Microsoft advises people not to run it on a primary or essential PC.

3. Don't sweat it. Buy a computer when you need one.
You'll probably be fine with Vista if you buy a current, reasonably powerful system. You can upgrade to Windows 7 later.

Vista, with its "service pack 1" upgrade installed, is now a "very solid product," said Christopher Flores, Windows marketing director.
"I'll be the first to admit that we had Vista hiccups out of the gate - drivers weren't ready, certain things weren't working," he said. "With Vista SP1, Vista performs really, really well - extraordinarily well."

So why bother with Windows 7?

Flores said the new software is "faster, more responsive, much easier to use, more refined, more reliable."

If you buy a Vista computer now, thinking you may upgrade to Windows 7, you won't need a top-dollar system. Microsoft's line is that systems that can handle Vista can handle Windows 7.

The release candidate requires at least a 1 gigahertz processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM for the 32-bit version or 2 gigabytes for the 64-bit. It also needs a graphics processor that supports DirectX 9.
To be safe, I'd get a system with a discrete graphics processor, which is best for premium versions of Vista.

You can also check a PC's preparedness by downloading and running the "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" tool from Microsoft.com.

4. Wait for Windows 7.
This is basically the advice big companies are getting.

Last week, Microsoft Windows Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said companies gearing up for Vista should "switch over" and start testing the Windows 7 release candidate.

Consulting firm Gartner said the same thing in a May 13 report, advising companies that haven't started upgrading to Vista to skip it altogether. Even if it means delaying desktop upgrades by six months, it's worth the wait, the firm said.

Companies in the midst of upgrading to Vista should continue but plan to switch to Windows 7 in late 2010 or early 2011, it said. "The Vista ship has pretty much sailed," said Stephen Kleynhans, co-author of the report. "If you're not on it already you might as well wait for the next one, which is Windows 7, because it's just right around the corner."

Source:  http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/052109_computer_shopping.html

Dell says Windows 7 price is possible barrier

Friendly Computers found this article which tells us that Windows 7 may cost you more then Vista did. Check it out: 

Windows 7 pricing is potentially an obstacle to Windows 7 adoption for some users, though in just about every other aspect the operating system is beating Vista, according to a Dell marketing executive.

"If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," Darrel Ward, director of product management for Dell's business client product group, said in a phone interview, referring to the various versions of the Windows 7 operating system that are expected to appear.

Ward continued. "In tough economic times, I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista."

In the business market, Windows 7 Professional is expected to be more expensive than Windows Vista Business, the version that Professional is replacing, he said.

Some schools and smaller businesses may not be early adopters due to price. "Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford (the additional cost). Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they'd like," Ward said.

Pricing aside, Ward said momentum behind Windows 7 is big compared with Vista. "When Vista came out we didn't have the motivation to do the types of services that we're doing now. We didn't have the clear customer demand for such services," he said. "We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they're asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past," Ward said.

And Dell is already getting its service organization in gear for Windows 7. "Our professional service organization is beginning to structure service offerings specifically designed to help customers migrate their images, their applications, and their management infrastructure, security capabilities and so forth."

More than half of Dell's business customers are still using Windows XP and these customers will eventually have to upgrade, according to Ward. "XP cannot live forever," he said.

To help users migrate from XP to Windows 7, Dell supports the upcoming operating system's XP mode. "It's one of the things that Microsoft is doing that we think is helpful. Putting an instance of XP virtual machine in the higher end SKUs (models). This is another alternative for compatibility. We'll fully support that in our product and consulting services." he said.

Driver readiness is good, with some exceptions. "Driver readiness--it looks pretty healthy compared to the past. (There are) some things that haven't been worked out. The WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Lab) drivers for AMT VPRO is a little behind," he said, referring to Intel's Active Management Technology, which allows remote access to PCs for security, maintenance, and management.

Generally, however, Windows 7 is much further along than Vista was at this stage, he said. "But if you look at the ecosystem enabling for Windows 7, it is much further along that it was at the same time for Vista," he said.

 

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10242555-64.html?tag=rtcol;pop

Dell says Windows 7 price is possible barrier

With all the hype surrounding Windows 7, its price may be the only thing bringing it down. Friendly Computers has more info below…

Windows 7 pricing is potentially an obstacle to Windows 7 adoption for some users, though in just about every other aspect the operating system is beating Vista, according to a Dell marketing executive.

"If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," Darrel Ward, director of product management for Dell's business client product group, said in a phone interview, referring to the various versions of the Windows 7 operating system that are expected to appear.

Ward continued. "In tough economic times, I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista."

In the business market, Windows 7 Professional is expected to be more expensive than Windows Vista Business, the version that Professional is replacing, he said.

Some schools and smaller businesses may not be early adopters due to price. "Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford (the additional cost). Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they'd like," Ward said.

Pricing aside, Ward said momentum behind Windows 7 is big compared with Vista. "When Vista came out we didn't have the motivation to do the types of services that we're doing now. We didn't have the clear customer demand for such services," he said. "We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they're asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past," Ward said.

And Dell is already getting its service organization in gear for Windows 7. "Our professional service organization is beginning to structure service offerings specifically designed to help customers migrate their images, their applications, and their management infrastructure, security capabilities and so forth."

More than half of Dell's business customers are still using Windows XP and these customers will eventually have to upgrade, according to Ward. "XP cannot live forever," he said.

To help users migrate from XP to Windows 7, Dell supports the upcoming operating system's XP mode. "It's one of the things that Microsoft is doing that we think is helpful. Putting an instance of XP virtual machine in the higher end SKUs (models). This is another alternative for compatibility. We'll fully support that in our product and consulting services." he said.

Driver readiness is good, with some exceptions. "Driver readiness--it looks pretty healthy compared to the past. (There are) some things that haven't been worked out. The WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Lab) drivers for AMT VPRO is a little behind," he said, referring to Intel's Active Management Technology, which allows remote access to PCs for security, maintenance, and management.

Generally, however, Windows 7 is much further along than Vista was at this stage, he said. "But if you look at the ecosystem enabling for Windows 7, it is much further along that it was at the same time for Vista," he said.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10242555-64.html

Is Your PC Ready for Windows 7? This Tool Lets You Know

Today, Microsoft released its Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Friendly Computers found some more information, which you can read below…

Microsoft has released the beta version of its Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, a free utility that tells you if your PC is ready to run Windows 7. It scans your computer, checking internal components, external peripherals, and programs, and alerts you to potential compatibility issues. It also offers upgrade suggestions, such as which drivers to replace, should you make the move to Windows 7.

It's a good idea to run Upgrade Advisor, which takes only a few minutes, if you plan to install Windows 7 Release Candidate, which is also available as a free download. (The RC expires August 1, 2010.)

After downloading and installing Upgrade Advisor, you'll see an opening screen that advises you to connect all of your external devices, such as hard drives, cameras, MP3 players, and so on.

I ran the Upgrade Advisor on a 2-year-old Gateway MX8734 notebook that with a 1.6GHz Intel Pentium T2060 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive. This system runs Vista sluggishly-no surprise given the 1 gig of memory-and based on initial reports from Redmond, I thought it might perform better with Windows 7. However, a recent PC World Test Center report says that may not be the case.

The compatibility check took about 6 minutes and found a few potential issues. While the Gateway's processor, memory, and hard drive met Windows 7's minimum requirements (I expected this), Upgrade Advisor recommended that I download the latest driver for the Realtek Wireless 802.11b/g USB 2.0 network adapter before installing Win 7. It didn't find potential conflicts with any installed programs.

Upgrade Advisor also pointed out that Windows 7 doesn't include Web filtering (Windows Mail and Parental Controls), and it included a link to Microsoft's Windows Live Essentials site, where you can download the free Family Safety utility.

Upgrade Advisor runs on Windows Vista and Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/164628/is_your_pc_ready_for_windows_7_this_tool_lets_you_know.html

Microsoft releases final Windows 7 system requirements

Friendly Computers discovered that Microsoft recently released the official system requirements for Windows 7. Read more below…

When Microsoft released the Beta of Windows 7 in January, it released a set of recommended system requirements for the Beta (which its officials noted were subject to change). On April 30, concurrent with the beginning of the delivery of the Release Candidate, Microsoft released the final system requirements for Windows 7.

Here are the minimum Windows 7 requirements Microsoft offered in January when it released the Beta:

1GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)

1GB of RAM

16 GB of available disk space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB of memory (for the Aero interface)

Here are the minimum Windows 7 system requirements Microsoft released on April 30 when it made available the Release Candidate to MSDN and TechNet testers:

1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)

1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)

16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of avaiable disk space (64-bit)

DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Note: If you are planning to run Windows XP Mode along with Windows 7, Microsoft is recommending a PC with a minimum of 2GB of memory and 15 GB of additional disk space. “In addition, Windows Virtual PC requires a PC with Intel-VT or AMD-V enabled in the CPU, as it takes advantage of the latest advancements in hardware virtualization,” according to company officials.

I asked whether Microsoft had different requirements for the different SKUs of Windows 7 that it is planning to release and was told (via a spokesperson): “The system requirements are final and not SKU-specific.”

If you’re curious how these final Windows 7 requirements compare to Vista’s requirements, they aren’t all that different. Here are the final Vista system requirements:

1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)

512 MB of RAM (for Home Basic); 1 GB of RAM for all other versions

15 GB of available disk space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory (for Home Basic); 128 MB of graphics memory plus WDDM support for all other versions

Microsoft also announced on April 30 that it is readying a beta of a new Windows Upgrade Advisor (WUA) designed to support Windows 7. A spokesperson provided the following information:

“Windows Upgrade Advisor will check any devices that are connected to the PC (with the appropriate driver installed) at the time of the scan. WUA will identify any known potential compatibility issues and will communicate this in the report. Our beta tester feedback has been critical in ensuring Windows 7 is a quality OS and we hope our testers can continue to partner with us on testing this software to ensure the best end-user experience.”

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=2643

Acer confirms Windows 7 available 23 October

According to Acer, Windows 7 will be available much sooner than expected. Friendly Computers found an article that discusses this more in-depth. Read more below…

Acer has confirmed that Windows 7 will be available pre-loaded on their new all-in-one Z5600 PC from the 23 October 2009, not by the end of January 2010 as Microsoft has been previously suggesting.

Although some rumours have put the OS' release closer to the end of 2009, Microsoft has yet to officially confirm that the software will be launched sooner than the 3-years-after-Vista timescale.

Acer also confirmed to us that any Vista-based models purchased in the 30 days prior to this date will be eligible for Microsoft's free upgrade programme.

"23rd October is the date the Windows 7 will be available. There is a 30 day upgrade time so that customers don't wait to buy a new computer, so if you buy during that 30 day period, you'll get a free upgrade to Windows 7", Bobby Watkins, Acer's UK MD told Pocket-lint.

Source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/23846/acer-confirms-windows-7-23-october.phtml