The lack of a cheap Starter edition of Windows 8 ensures that the costs for manufacturers is too high to be any longer netbooks, according to a system builder. Also the system requirements are too high for netbooks.
Microsoft brings in contrast to the release of Windows 7 no Starter edition of Windows 8: the two main versions are Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro, in addition to the Enterprise and RT or arm-based versions. The lack of a Starter version may be the cost for netbooks with up to 100 dollar increase, said an unnamed large system builder from PC Pro. The company would still netbooks, but the cost increase would be disastrous for the category, which is already struggling with a huge decline in demand and fierce competition from tablets.
In addition, the system requirements for Windows 8 is probably too high for the limited processing power of netbooks. Ars Technica notes that Microsoft’s stated requirements of a 1GHz processor, DirectX 9 gpu, 1GB ram and 16GB storage memory is insufficient for a good experience. Especially with the integrated GMA video chip of the Atom and the still common screen resolution of 1024×600 would lead to problems. This last because the minimum resolution for Metro apps on 1024×768, and even at 1366×768 with regards to the Snap functionality. Some manufacturers such as Dell, Toshiba and Lenovo have their netbookproductie already scaled down.