The company is planning to offer Windows 8 discounts to OEMs

Mar 6, 2013 09:24 GMT  ·  By

Just as we told you a couple of hours ago, Microsoft is planning to launch a new Windows 8 discount campaign for OEMs in order to boost the number of devices available on the market and capable to run its newest operating system, in preparation for the debut of Windows Blue, reportedly scheduled for summer.

A report by Digitimes claims that OEM licensing rates for Windows 8 Pro are currently standing at approximately $80 (€61) to $90 (€69), so Microsoft plans to make the operating system cheaper, to cut the final price of the devices they build.

11.6-inch and below notebooks will get a discount of $20 (€15.5), the aforementioned source writes, citing Taiwan-based vendors and ODMs.

Notebooks, tablets and hybrids featuring displays smaller than 10.8 inches will get the same $20 discount plus a free Office 2013 license in order to attract a bigger number of clients.

While Microsoft will start offering the discounts to manufacturers in April or May, touchscreen devices running Windows 8 should get cheaper starting with June, just in time for the arrival of Windows Blue, the first major upgrade for the operating system launched last October.

Out of all PC makers, Acer and Asustek are believed to benefit the most from Microsoft’s new discount program, as the two companies are already selling 10-inch devices, so a significant price cut would boost customer appeal for their products.

While Microsoft is yet to publicly confirm these discounts, they pretty much make sense, as the company urgently needs to increase the number of sold Windows 8 licenses, mostly because we’re quickly approaching the rumored launch date of Windows Blue.

Blue will be an upgrade exclusively addressed to Windows 8 users, so without a significant number of sold licenses for the current operating system, Blue may also experience a slow uptake after general availability.