In an interview given to Computerworld last week, Kyle Thornton a manager for HP’s business notebooks mentioned that future models of the HP Mini series will have up to three different versions of Windows 7 available.
The versions available will be: Windows 7 Starter (only three applications can be run simultaneously), Home Premium (no limitations on number of applications running, plus touchscreen functionality), and Windows 7 Professional (location aware printing, file system encryption, and presentation support). Thornton did mention that HP had also tested Windows 7 Ultimate (which is the current beta version many of us are testing). He also mentioned that they have seen it “running very well” on HP’s Mini line, inluding the running of Windows 7’s Aero interface (also available in Vista).
HP does plan to continue offering Windows XP and Vista Business support for some of these ultraportables, as well as SUSE Enterprise Linux on select lines (such as the Mini 2140).
The article goes on to discuss HP’s views on the 2140’s target audiences, as well as how they see the 2140 performing sales-wise and where they expect it to do better.
I can’t see them offering the Starter edition outside of a few select countries, given the fact that it limits the number of applications that you can run at one time to only three – that would turn a lot of people off to these devices, especially as they continue to get more powerful over time.
Read: Computerworld