Microsoft is readying a new Windows-Vista based version of its FlexGo hardware-software-services bundle aimed at emerging markets.
As part of FlexGo ‘Next,’ Microsoft plans to shift its emphasis from pay-as-you-go to subscription-based pilots, company officials said at the Windows Hardware Engineering (WinHEC) conference in Los Angeles this week.
Microsoft rolled out the first version of its FlexGo program in May 2006. With a group of hardware, telecommunications, retail and financial services partners, Microsoft began testing pay-as-you-go and subscription-based rentals of PCs and software in Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia.
A year into the trials, Microsoft has decided to shift its focus to subsciption pilots with 20 or so telcos in Brazil, India and Mexico, officials said this week.
Microsoft also is beginning to phase in Windows Vista into the FlexGo trials, officials said. Starting in the first quarter of 2008, Microsoft will begin offering all of the different 32-bit Vista SKUs via the FlexGo pilot program.
“In the past, you had to have a separate SKU for a FlexGo-enabled system. Now every version of 32-bit Vista will be offered,” said Mike Wickstrand, a Director of Product Management with Microsoft’s Market Expansion Group.
In explaining the pilot program’s change in focus, Wickstrand acknowledged that pay-as-you-go had “high consumer appeal, but not enough usage for the financial institutions” providing credit to the user base. Given the explosion in availability of consumer credit, subscriptions are emerging as a more popular option.
Under the FlexGo program, users make initial down payments on mid-range PCs and make monthly payments for software and broadband services from their local telcos, much the way customers pay cable providers for TV and Internet access. Microsoft and its partners will allow users to sign up and pay for their subscriptions in a variety of ways, ranging from ATMs and point-of-sale terminals, to the Web.
News source: blogs.zdnet.com
Showing posts with label MicroSoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MicroSoft. Show all posts
5/19/07
Vista Sales Near 40 Million, Gates Says At WinHEC
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates also revealed that the official name of the next version of the company's server operating system--heretofore code-named Longhorn--will be Windows Server 2008.
Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) has sold nearly 40 million Windows Vista licenses in the first 100 days that the latest version of the operating system has been available, Chairman Bill Gates said Tuesday.
Gates said an accelerating consumer shift to digital lifestyles had helped make the operating system the fastest-selling in history, and that premium editions have accounted for 78 percent of Vista sales.
Windows operating systems run on more than 95 percent of the world's computers and represent the Redmond, Washington-based company's biggest profit driver.
Vista, which Microsoft introduced on Jan. 30, also marks the first major operating system upgrade in more than five years from the world's biggest software maker.
During a speech in Los Angeles, Gates said the company named its next-generation Windows Server software -- formerly known as "Longhorn" -- Windows Server 2008.
Windows Server is the server operating system equivalent to the Vista PC operating system, with an emphasis on many of the same features, such as better security.
Microsoft, which controlled an estimated two-thirds of the global server software maker in 2006, has said the product is on track for a debut in the second half of 2007.
The company also said three new hardware manufacturers -- Gateway Inc. , Lacie and Medion - plan to build products for Windows Home Server. That software is aimed at helping families with multiple PCs easily centralize, share and protect digital content, such as pictures, music, documents and videos.
Microsoft shares were up 15 cents to $31.02 in early afternoon Nasdaq trade.
News source: informationweek.com
Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) has sold nearly 40 million Windows Vista licenses in the first 100 days that the latest version of the operating system has been available, Chairman Bill Gates said Tuesday.
Gates said an accelerating consumer shift to digital lifestyles had helped make the operating system the fastest-selling in history, and that premium editions have accounted for 78 percent of Vista sales.
Windows operating systems run on more than 95 percent of the world's computers and represent the Redmond, Washington-based company's biggest profit driver.
Vista, which Microsoft introduced on Jan. 30, also marks the first major operating system upgrade in more than five years from the world's biggest software maker.
During a speech in Los Angeles, Gates said the company named its next-generation Windows Server software -- formerly known as "Longhorn" -- Windows Server 2008.
Windows Server is the server operating system equivalent to the Vista PC operating system, with an emphasis on many of the same features, such as better security.
Microsoft, which controlled an estimated two-thirds of the global server software maker in 2006, has said the product is on track for a debut in the second half of 2007.
The company also said three new hardware manufacturers -- Gateway Inc. , Lacie and Medion - plan to build products for Windows Home Server. That software is aimed at helping families with multiple PCs easily centralize, share and protect digital content, such as pictures, music, documents and videos.
Microsoft shares were up 15 cents to $31.02 in early afternoon Nasdaq trade.
News source: informationweek.com
5/10/07
Microsoft Launches Windows Live Hotmail Worldwide
Built from the ground up, the new Windows Live Hotmail is now safer, more powerful and available virtually anywhere.
Microsoft Corp. today announced that Windows Live™ Hotmail®, the successor to MSN® Hotmail, is launching globally in 36 languages. The most significant upgrade for Hotmail since it pioneered the webmail industry in 1996, the new service has been built to be a vast improvement over the previous Hotmail offering, having incorporated input from more than 20 million beta testers. Windows Live Hotmail will deliver a safer, more powerful and productive e-mail experience than previous versions with flexible access via the Web, on a mobile phone or with an e-mail client. Microsoft also announced that later this month Windows Live Hotmail customers will be able to access their Windows Live Hotmail e-mail and contacts for free* using Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2003 or Office Outlook 2007 via the new Microsoft Office Outlook Connector beta.
As Windows Live Hotmail begins rolling out on May 7 and continues over the coming days, consumers will be able to visit http://www.hotmail.com to sign up for a new Windows Live Hotmail account. Current MSN Hotmail customers can also update their existing account to Windows Live Hotmail by logging into their account and clicking on the green Join Windows Live Hotmail button.
“We’re thrilled to deliver Windows Live Hotmail to the more than 280 million active MSN Hotmail accounts around the world,” said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. “Windows Live Hotmail represents an extremely compelling end-to-end e-mail experience that makes it easy for customers to get best-of-breed e-mail access across PCs, mobile devices and the Web. Windows Live Hotmail is a cornerstone online service for Microsoft and a critical part of our online advertising business because e-mail is a key point of influence for consumer purchases. We’re pleased to announce the launch of the service to advertisers in addition to consumers on the eve of the Microsoft Strategic Account Summit.”
Millions of pieces of customer feedback played an instrumental role in the development of the look and feel of the new Windows Live Hotmail. Key customer benefits include the following:
Access: Hotmail, Where You Want It
Today’s Windows Live Hotmail customers don’t necessarily sit behind a computer screen all day; they want flexibility for their busy lives. As a result, Microsoft has developed new technologies to meet their needs:
• Outlook Connector. Available later this month in 11 languages worldwide, the new Microsoft Office Outlook Connector beta will enable people to view and manage their Windows Live Hotmail account from Outlook for free, with full contact, e-mail and e-mail folder synchronization.
• Mobile. Using Windows Live Hotmail for mobile (http://mobile.live.com), customers can access their e-mail when they are on the go on a Web-enabled mobile phone or PDA. In the future, Windows Mobile® customers will receive a richer online and offline Windows Live Hotmail experience with Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which will ship with Windows Mobile v6.
• More to come. In the coming weeks, Microsoft will introduce an additional e-mail client option for Windows Live Hotmail with the release of Windows Live Mail beta, a free consumer e-mail client available via download that will be a successor to Outlook Express and Windows Mail on Windows Vista™.
News source: microsoft.com/Presspass
Microsoft Corp. today announced that Windows Live™ Hotmail®, the successor to MSN® Hotmail, is launching globally in 36 languages. The most significant upgrade for Hotmail since it pioneered the webmail industry in 1996, the new service has been built to be a vast improvement over the previous Hotmail offering, having incorporated input from more than 20 million beta testers. Windows Live Hotmail will deliver a safer, more powerful and productive e-mail experience than previous versions with flexible access via the Web, on a mobile phone or with an e-mail client. Microsoft also announced that later this month Windows Live Hotmail customers will be able to access their Windows Live Hotmail e-mail and contacts for free* using Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2003 or Office Outlook 2007 via the new Microsoft Office Outlook Connector beta.
As Windows Live Hotmail begins rolling out on May 7 and continues over the coming days, consumers will be able to visit http://www.hotmail.com to sign up for a new Windows Live Hotmail account. Current MSN Hotmail customers can also update their existing account to Windows Live Hotmail by logging into their account and clicking on the green Join Windows Live Hotmail button.
“We’re thrilled to deliver Windows Live Hotmail to the more than 280 million active MSN Hotmail accounts around the world,” said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. “Windows Live Hotmail represents an extremely compelling end-to-end e-mail experience that makes it easy for customers to get best-of-breed e-mail access across PCs, mobile devices and the Web. Windows Live Hotmail is a cornerstone online service for Microsoft and a critical part of our online advertising business because e-mail is a key point of influence for consumer purchases. We’re pleased to announce the launch of the service to advertisers in addition to consumers on the eve of the Microsoft Strategic Account Summit.”
Millions of pieces of customer feedback played an instrumental role in the development of the look and feel of the new Windows Live Hotmail. Key customer benefits include the following:
Access: Hotmail, Where You Want It
Today’s Windows Live Hotmail customers don’t necessarily sit behind a computer screen all day; they want flexibility for their busy lives. As a result, Microsoft has developed new technologies to meet their needs:
• Outlook Connector. Available later this month in 11 languages worldwide, the new Microsoft Office Outlook Connector beta will enable people to view and manage their Windows Live Hotmail account from Outlook for free, with full contact, e-mail and e-mail folder synchronization.
• Mobile. Using Windows Live Hotmail for mobile (http://mobile.live.com), customers can access their e-mail when they are on the go on a Web-enabled mobile phone or PDA. In the future, Windows Mobile® customers will receive a richer online and offline Windows Live Hotmail experience with Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which will ship with Windows Mobile v6.
• More to come. In the coming weeks, Microsoft will introduce an additional e-mail client option for Windows Live Hotmail with the release of Windows Live Mail beta, a free consumer e-mail client available via download that will be a successor to Outlook Express and Windows Mail on Windows Vista™.
News source: microsoft.com/Presspass
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