Windows 8.1 May Come As A Freebie

Microsoft is supposedly building a version of Windows, codenamed “Windows 8.1 with Bing,” which might come as part of an experiment to offer the newest edition of Microsoft’s operating system with tight integration into Microsoft’s native software and services, namely Bing search engine. The rumor goes that the company will be giving this version of Win 8.1 for free, in a move to boost adoption of Bing search engine and IE browser to both individual users and companies interested in upgrading their Win XP and 7 machines. We hear rumors Microsoft is going to give away this Bing-bundled version of its OS for free on a large variety of trusted online resources, so it might as well be true.

In addition, Bloomberg reported Microsoft is cutting down prices for its Win 8.1 by staggering 70% for users who plan to install the new OS on low-cost computers of $250 and less. If Microsoft currently charges laptop and computer manufacturers $50 per OS, Win 8.1 will cost them only $15.

Microsoft has been explicitly desperate to promote Win 8, which, even though surpassed 200 million licenses, happened to be only the third OS after Win 7 and XP. Earlier, we reported Microsoft is ceasing support for Win XP OS, literally forcing users to upgrade. Even Microsoft’s official reasoning as to why they chose to abandon Win XP included references to Win 8 alone, without any mentioning or suggestions to upgrade to Win 7. Does it mean we might see a “no support” notification for Win 7 sometime next year?

What we see now is another stage of Microsoft vs Google competition, and Microsoft is pushing its cloud and app services to “seduce” Google users hooked on Chrome, Chromebooks, Google Drive and Android. Obviously, Microsoft is facing tough times realizing how quickly Google chipped away a large market share of desktop and smartphone users that used to be in the Microsoft sector.

Numerous reports have surfaced suggesting that the company is considering free or low-cost versions of Windows Phones as well, and possibly a software blend of Windows Phone and its hybrid tablet-desktop OS Windows RT.

It won’t be long until we see how events evolve with Win 8.1 release, so stay tuned to our news feed.