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MeneameLatin America has been responsible for 90% of global sales of Microsoft's Windows XP Starter Edition operating system since the software was launched in the region in April, according to Martín Naor, information worker/Windows client business group leader for Microsoft Latin America.
The company has no sales projections for Starter Edition, but has said it expects demand in the region to lead to the sale of 12 million PCs, including those with rival operating systems.
"We expect to surpass the 100,000 units sold in Latin America this week. Once we launch the product in more Latin American countries we expect further important growth in sales," Naor told BNamericas.
Starter Edition was launched in Brazil in April, and in Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile at the end of June. The operating system includes text processor, email, internet browser, games, digital music, video and photo applications.
The software was launched in Asia in September 2004, but has only registered sales of 5,000 units, according to other Microsoft sources.
"Microsoft developed this product for users that are just getting in touch with computers. It offers an easy to use and an advanced option so the user will not be in danger of security issues. The product is also customized in Portuguese and Spanish," Naor said.
Starter Edition has been selected as the operating system in several government programs to increase PC penetration, such as the Chilean Mi Primer PC program.
"This combination of public and private efforts to make PCs available also helps to reduce piracy rates, because most people should opt to buy PCs within these programs rather than PCs with pirated software," he added.
One of the largest criticisms to Starter Edition is its limited capacity for home networking and the limited number of programs that can be opened simultaneously.
Also, US online magazine BetaNews cited a study by consultancy Gartner criticizing Microsoft for the software's inability to grow with users as they advance their technical skills.
"So far, this has been a theoretical criticism since no one has had a PC with Starter Edition for over one year. But in the vast majority of cases, if users believe they have grown beyond Starter Edition, it is 100% likely that they would want to grow also in terms of hardware. So before needing a new operating system, they will need a new PC," Naor said.
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