A research firm has contradicted earlier assertions from Microsoft that Linux accounts for a paltry 4% of U.S. netbook shipments.
ABI Research says that close to a third of the 35 million netbooks shipped worldwide this year will include some variant of Linux. ABI analyst Jeff Orr told Computerworld that as ARM-based smartbooks and netbooks become more widely available, Linux will overtake Windows as the dominant OS by 2013. That, he says, will be driven partly by users in developing countries who do not have an ingrained reliance on Microsoft software. It’s also likely driven by reluctance to pay more for Windows when Linux is free.
We wonder, with the increasing popularity of Web-based applications of all sorts, whether in time users will even make purchasing decisions based on familiarity with an operating system. That is, will Windows, Android, Moblin, etc., be the gating factor? Or will users be concerned more with robust connectivity, portability, sleek design and diversity of applications?
Orr also predicts that 17% of netbooks will be sold through mobile carriers this year, a low figure he says is the result of an unwillingness for consumers to pay $60 or more for monthly 3G service. “Wi-Fi is good enough today,” he told Computerworld.
That leads us to wonder when 3G will reach critical mass enough for operators to do the right thing and lower prices.
Lisa
