Windows 10 officially launched today, Microsoft announced.
The operating system is currently being rolled out as a free upgrade to eligible systems running Windows 7 and 8.1. During an overseas trip, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, tweeted, “Woke up in Nanyuki, Kenya for the start of #Windows10 … inspired by the students & educators here,” followed by the Upgrade Your World hashtag and a link to a brief YouTube video discussing his tour of area schools.
Back at home, Microsoft and its hardware partners are gearing up for back-to-school season and beyond.
Dell, with 70 Windows 10 hardware configurations already available, got an early start with a preorder program that offered next-day delivery. Demand has been brisk, with “equal anticipation among SMBs and with consumers,” Marissa Tarleton, executive director of Dell Consumer and Small Business Marketing, told eWEEK.
Buyers don’t seem to be favoring a particular form factor over another, according to Dell Client Solutions spokesperson Peter Fontana, indicating that some of the operating system’s mobile-centric enhancements are resonating with some shoppers. Dell’s Windows 10 product slate includes desktop PCs, notebooks, all-in-ones and 2-in-1 systems. Early orders represent a “healthy mix across the board,” said Fontana.
“Many more devices will follow in the coming weeks from a broad range of partners including new devices designed specifically for Windows 10 features like Windows Hello,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft Windows and Devices, in a launch-day announcement. “Our OEM partners have over 2,000 distinct devices or configurations already in testing for Windows 10 upgrades, as well as hundreds of new hardware designs.”
On day one, online sentiment surrounding Windows 10 has been generally positive, according to new data from the Adobe Digital Index based on more than 3 million social media mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other sites. Forty-four percent of the buzz surrounding the new OS relates to joy or admiration, said Adobe. Another 30 percent is indicative of sadness, 20 percent of surprise and 6 percent of anticipation.
Adobe’s online analytics group also noted that Microsoft is enjoying a victory of sorts over its rival and social media darling, Apple.
“Windows 10 has 875,000+ mentions over the past 30 days—23x more mentions than Apple’s El Capitan release, and 40x more mentions than OS Yosemite. Windows 10 also has 3x more buzz relating to anticipation than El Capitan (46 percent joy and admiration, 2 percent anticipation, 17 percent surprise, 35 percent sadness),” said Adobe in a research note sent to eWEEK.
Meanwhile, Microsoft executives are cautioning users that their Windows 10 upgrades may take awhile to reach them.
“We’re really pleased with the strong response to Windows 10 since we kicked off upgrade reservations in early June, with millions of reservations,” said Microsoft’s Myerson. “As we shared in early July, we want to make sure all of our customers have a great upgrade experience, so we’ll roll-out Windows 10 in phases to help manage the demand.”