Microsoft will not extend availability of XP

Microsoft announced yesterday the worldwide extension of the availability of Windows XP Home for an emerging, new class of mobile personal computers commonly known as ultra-low-cost PCs, or ULCPCs. Windows XP Home for ULCPCs will be available until the later of June 30, 2010, or one year after general availability of the next version of Windows.

That extension does not apply to other editions of Windows XP; such as Professional, Tablet and Media Edition.

PressPass: Will Microsoft extend sales of other editions of Windows XP?

Dix: No, there is no plan to extend sales of other editions of Windows XP beyond June 30, 2008. We are very proud of the progress that we have made with Windows Vista over the last sixteen months. Since its launch, Windows Vista has become the fastest-selling operating system in Microsoft history, and more than 100 million Windows Vista licenses have been sold worldwide.

Last fall, our OEM partners asked us to extend sales of Windows XP to give their customers more time to transition to Windows Vista while we worked with other software vendors to expand application compatibility. Today, more than 2,500 applications have received the Windows Vista logo (a ten-fold increase since launch) and more than 78,000 devices and components are supported by drivers either in-box or on Windows Update. On NPD’s list of the top 100 consumer applications selling at retail, 98 are now compatible—and the latest versions of the top free downloads (Adobe Reader, Shockwave and iTunes) are all compatible.



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