Microsoft have announced that Windows devices with screens less than 9-inches will now have zero license cost.
This is a great announcement that follows all the other amazing announcements made in the opening keynote at BUILD today.
The 8-inch tablet prices should now drop by $25-$50. (Current license cost.)
Other announcements include a new start menu and the ability for Windows Universal apps to run on the desktop with the Windows 8.1 update which will be available on April 8th.
Update: That new Start menu and desktop-based Universal apps will come in ‘an’ update. Not ‘this’ update.
Universal apps will change the developer economics.
Office on Modern was demonstrated as were new development tools and languages that reduce the cost to port. We also saw that Windows 8.1 Update 1 will introduce changes that will appeal to keyboard and mouse users.
BUILD has just started and already there’s a huge amount of news to consider. We’ll be tracking detail over the next few days so stay with us at UMPCPortal for all the important mobile PC-related news.
Microsoft BUILD press releases and blog posts:
I take it we still have to register with MS over this?
Sorry. I don’t get the question.
While it may be free in price, i guess we can’t just grab a W8 iso somewhere and bump any old 7-8″ inch device to W8.
It sounds like it’s an OEM discount. So regular users don’t get it.
@chippy
Do you think the 8 inch tablet prices will drop?
For example Lenovo Miix2 and Dell Venue 8 Pro from 249€ to … 219€ maybe.
And Acer W4 and Toshiba WT8 from ~280€ to 249€?
Current licences cost between $25 and $50 so I expect $25 price drop from average. Microsoft and partners seem to have been doing a lot of promotions though so the question is, will the lowest prices drop? Probably not. However we’ll see up to 60% reduction in image size with 8.1 update so it enables the 1-16 (1GB RAM, 16gb ssd) VERY LOW COST windows tablets. I’m expecting this to be a $199 play for some devices but it will mean that offers may be reduced on the 32 and 64GB versions in order to keep those prices up. I’ll keep a close eye on this movement.
Chippy, do you know something about windows RT licenses, are those free as well, it will be very sweet to be able to put in one Android device, like the note 3 with wacom or the xperia one which has the 6.3″ and full hd