Microsoft eyes 8.5 mn households with Windows Starter Edition

Lucknow, June 8: Leading IT player Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd is eyeing to penetrate 8.5 million households in the country with its 'Windows XP Starter Edition for India' personal computers, designed specially for the first time users.

The edition provides a multi-lingual interface, allowing users to easily switch between the languages based on their requirements.

These entry level PCs will be available in three different configurations, for which Microsoft has tied up with HCL and Sahara Computers.

Addressing a news conference here today Windows Client Business Group of Microsoft India Director Rishi Srivastava said in the first phase spanning three months, the product will be available at 250 retail outlets in 75 Indian cities.

''About 1,000 schools will also be included in the first phase to create awareness about the entry level model,'' he informed.

In the next phase spanning 12 months, the edition will be available at 1,000 retail outlets in 300 cities.

Priced at Rs 13,999 excluding taxes, Microsoft has also entered into an agreement with the SBI Card for an installments scheme, that allows price points as low as Rs 399 per month.

The company launched the product in Uttar Pradesh market today, while Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have already been covered.

''Next in line is Chennai, since the edition is currently available in English, Hindi and Tamil only. Other local languages such as Marathi, Bengali and Malayalam would be added soon,'' Mr Srivastava told UNI.

''The product is entirely India-centric and was launched after incorporating our research about PCs, that we conducted in the local market and households for 18 months.'' ''This product also includes extensive user training and support to help a first time user get familiar with a PC,'' Mr Srivastava underlined.

In UP, the product will be available across 13 major cities including Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Agra, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Jhansi, Bareilly, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar and Moradabad.

UNI