Dell bows to customers' demand for Windows XP

Bowing to overwhelming demands from consumers, Dell Inc. on Friday has decided to bring Windows XP Operating System back to home PCs, apparently reversing a policy begun in January that meant Windows Vista was the only operating system available on almost all new home machines.

On its IdeaStorm Web site, Dell has announced that due to overwhelming demand, Windows XP Home and Professional will be available once again on at least some consumer machines.

"We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to our Dell consumer PC offerings," Dell said on IdeaStorm Web site’s ‘Ideas in Action’ page.

Consumers can opt for the Home or Professional version of XP on six models, including Dell Inspiron 1405, 1705, 1505, 1501 and Dell Dimesnion E520, E521, Dell said on its feedback based IdeaStorm Web site, launched on February 16, 2007.

The decision came after Dell's IdeaStorm site, where users post their suggestions and vote on the best ones, was flooded with calls for the return of XP. It received more than 11,000 votes demanding not to eliminate the age-old software. Consumers posted comments throughout February on Dell's Ideas in Action page, saying Vista isn't compatible with most available software yet.

Earlier this month, Dell had reinstituted Windows XP as an option on small business machines. "Dell recognizes the needs of small business customers and understands that more time is needed to transition to a new operating system," wrote Dell Small Business Marketing Director Tom West on a company blog at the time. "The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this summer."

But the company did not intend to provide XP for home users because "the preference and demand is for the 'latest and greatest' technology, which includes Windows Vista," Tom West wrote.

On contrary, the significant customer demand for XP has forced the computer company to once again allow home PC buyers choose between Microsoft's Windows XP and Vista when they purchase certain new machines.

The new XP option is available only to U.S. consumers.

Astonished with the consumers’ response, Michael Silver, research vice president at analysts Gartner said, "This is really odd," adding that "On new PCs, consumers usually do want the latest and greatest."

However, Michael Gartenberg, Vice President and Director of Research at Jupiter Research, said that consumers would continue to buy XP because it is well-known, compatible with their existing hardware and programs, and is overall good enough.

Like many other PC manufacturers, Dell too had stopped offering machines with Windows XP after Microsoft's launched Vista for consumers in January this year. The XP option was continued only on two home user models, and some models for business users.

In an attempt to boost Windows Vista sales, Microsoft last week asked PC manufacturers to discontinue selling PCs loaded with Windows XP, starting January 2008. The Redmond giant said it will stop selling Windows XP to major PC manufacturers by January next year.

Dell, which is currently the second-largest PC seller in the world and has a 15.2% share of the overall PC market, has, though, reversed its ‘Vista only’ policy, but it is still ambiguous how long it will be able to keep its offer to install XP going.