Arguably the most important date for Microsoft next year is April 8, 2014. The software titan will stop providing support for the old operating system, and it continues its efforts to move existing users to a newer platform.
And the way how things are shaping up, it sounds that Redmond does not care too much which platform the Windows XP user base chooses — Windows 7 or Windows 8.
But Richard Edwards, an Ovum analyst has brought up quite an interesting alternative. He suggests that many of the Windows XP users can switch to Windows RT. Sure, it may not offer the same level of productivity, but the operating system can still live up to a number of expectations.
The analyst was quoted by PCPro as saying:
“When a lot of folks bought that XP computer, there wasn’t anything else they could buy.
They could buy a laptop, but there was no such thing as an iPad or Nexus 7. There’s an opportunity there for those with old XP devices to pick up a replacement RT device and plug in that Windows printer, keyboard and other peripherals and stick with familiar apps such as Office.”
Windows RT adoption currently is not all that impressive. The ARM based operating system is said to have a rather modest market share. To top it off several hardware vendors have announced that they are abandoning the platform.
But Microsoft is still standing by Windows RT, and the technology titan seems really keen to continue improving this flavor of its latest operating system, with both enterprise and end user features. A number of new devices are expected to hit the store shelves before the end of the year.
What are your thoughts on this, folks? Do you see Windows RT as a valid (and affordable) alternative to Windows XP computers in your organization?
Share your thoughts on this rather interesting topic in the comments section below.
All Comments
Why move from XP to RT, when you can just move to Windows 8? I think RT does have a place for people leaving Windows XP but as a tablet that supplements their PC.
I totally agree with Ray C. There’s at least one solid reason why an XP user would not like have RT as his main operating system : legacy applications (classic programs) are not running on it at all.
Win8 will not run on XP era hardware and their software will not run on RT. New Win8.1 hardware and a little training seems to be the cheapest route. If your still running XP you need new hardware and you might be familiar with the cheapest route.