Samsung to Microsoft: Our Netbooks can Run Full Version of Windows 7

Posted 03/26/2009 at 12:00pm | by Paul Lilly

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Today's netbooks typically ship with either Linux or Windows XP, each of which places low demands on hardware so you can focus more on basic computing tasks and less time lamenting how woefully inadequate that Atom processor is compared to your Core i7 desktop. Moving forward, Microsoft plans to release a gimped version of Windows 7 for netbooks and nettops called Starter Edition, which will limit users to running just three applications at a time. But according to Samsung, such restrictions are unnecessary.

"Currently Microsoft provides Windows XP for netbooks. For Windows 7 they would like to give us Windows 7 Starter Edition for netbooks. That's the current plan. [Different versions are a] matter of how much we need to pay to Microsoft. It is an open issue. So we can ship other Windows 7 versions, but it is a matter of royalties," said Kyu Uhm, Samsung's Head of Worldwide Sales and Marketing during an interview with TechRadar.

The pricing structure for Microsoft's upcoming operating system has not yet been announced, but it's safe to say the Starter Edition will ring in the lowest, an important factor when it comes to marketing netbooks and other low-power PCs. So even though netbooks could probably handle an uncrippled version of Windows 7 -- and according to users running the Windows 7 beta on current netbooks, performance isn't much of an issue -- OEMs might have a tough time upselling consumers on a fully functioning version of the OS if it drives the price too high.

How much would you be willing to pay for a full version of Windows 7 on a netbook? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image Credit: Samsung