14 DAY TRIAL // A Dell official has recommended Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to ditch the Windows brand for its new Windows RT operating system designed for tablets because such a designation could create confusion among users and lead to poor sales.
Dell’s Vice-Chairman and President of its PC business, Jeffrey Clarke, said during the Dell World conference in Austin that he has personally talked to Ballmer to recommend him to choose a different name for the company’s new tablet operating system.
Since it’s not capable of running legacy Windows apps, but it's still called Windows, the RT version of Microsoft’s famous operating system could disappoint buyers and thus affect sales of devices running it.
Ballmer, on the other hand, replied that Windows is a franchise that plays a key role, so adopting the “Windows RT” designation was a priority for his company, Financial Review reports.
Windows RT is Microsoft’s very own operating system developed to be deployed on tablets, including on the Surface RT, the company’s first such device in history.
It’s not capable of running legacy Windows applications, but instead it can only handle apps designed for ARM chips available in the integrated Windows Store.
Of course, plenty of apps are still missing from the Store, but Microsoft promises that more developers are going to port their software to Windows 8 anytime soon.
While official sales figures are yet to be disclosed, analysts are suggesting that Surface RT could miss sales expectations, especially because of the available software and the hefty price. The cheapest Surface RT is priced at $499 (€380) and offers 32 GB of storage space, but it does not include a Touch Cover.
Microsoft will launch an upgraded Surface tablet called Surface with Windows 8 Pro in January. This new version will support legacy Windows apps, just like a traditional laptop, with pricing to start at $899 (€685).