14 DAY TRIAL // According to the latest news on the Web, the shipment of netbooks featuring a Linux OS has dropped dramatically in favor of machines that run Microsoft Windows XP. The percentage of such ultra-portable mobile PCs is quite high, reaching 90% of the total netbook shipments registered by some of the largest industry players.
The Acer Aspire One and the Toshiba Satellite NB100 are reported by their makers to be sold with Windows XP at these leveraged percentages, while the compact Linux builds that can be spotted on the budget ultraportables are left aside. Another big industry player, Dell, has also confirmed that its netbooks shipments are dominated by machines that sport Windows XP, the same as in the traditional PC space. In addition, ASUS revealed having shifted its Eee PC development priorities as to fulfill the consumer demand.
ASUS stated in an announcement that its notebook shipments were rather low when the ultraportable machines were offered with Linux in a larger proportion. On the other hand, the company did not unveil any information on the exact number of machines sold running Linux compared to those running XP.
“At the time of launch Linux volumes were higher as it was the only offering … ASUS recognised a demand for a Windows-based netbook. As such, the shift now is more towards Windows due to customer demand for Windows XP being that consumers are more familiar with the Windows platform,” ASUS' spokesperson stated.
The fact that Windows XP netbooks are preferred over those running Linux may prove disappointing to open-source enthusiasts, who have seen the fact that the OS came pre-loaded on the low-power machines as a great way of popularization. On the other hand, earlier reports showed that netbooks running Linux were more likely to be returned as users found it difficult to adapt to the new OS, while still familiar with Windows XP.