Dirt cheap Windows PCs already hitting the streets, with help from Microsoft
Microsoft is helping hardware makers build low-priced Windows PCs to combat Chromebooks and the early results of that effort are hitting the market.
Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Lenovo are selling laptops priced less than $250 that run on Windows 8.1 with Bing, a royalty-free version of the OS. The OS is the same as Windows 8.1 but with Bing as the default search engine in Internet Explorer.
Microsoft is using Windows 8.1 with Bing, which was unveiled in May, to spread Windows to more low-cost PCs and tablets. It’s also an attempt to take on Google’s free Chrome OS, which is used in Chromebooks, an inexpensive and lightweight laptop family growing in popularity among the Web-based computing audience.
The first PCs with Windows 8.1 with Bing were shown at Computex in June. The cheapest PC is a desktop sold by Lenovo for $225, while the laptops start at $249. Microsoft has promised to bring down laptop prices to $199 with HP’s Stream 14, which has not been unveiled, although information about it has leaked out.
Computing on the cheap is already here
Some Acer Chromebooks sell for less than $200, but HP, Dell, and Lenovo are selling Windows laptops that are priced less than their Chromebooks. The laptops have basic processors and specifications, much like comparable Chromebooks.
The Windows laptops have common features such as 1366 x 768 pixel resolution screens, hard drive storage and HDMI ports. The processors from Intel and AMD are good for basic computing and casual gaming, but the laptops have some deficiencies…
email browsing and some music lessons is all I ever do and pay bills so Chome PC will be for me at $179 it sounds like a good basic PC. tired of Microsoft and its faulty up dates and discontinuing one of the best OS of all time : XP
Maybe have dvd player or maybe not watche out if youi need one
I loved Windows XP. Bring it back!!!
If it sounds too good to be true, well, it probably is. You get what you pay for.
My husband and I purchased a acer lap top from Alabama power a couple years ago. We sent it back to manufacturer once to restore original settings and think it had a virus. It still hasn’t worked right . Its slow and has a lot of trouble.I want to give cloud eight a try. but it will be around the end of the week before I can consider paying the amount required. My friend has cloud eight and I was amazed at how quickly a problem was resolved. Thanks ,Ms. dale