OEM Deals Boost Competitors

Emboldened by antitrust-related restrictions on Microsoft, computer manufacturers are trying alternatives to bundling Microsoft products with their systems. The moves are driven by both immediate financial benefits and the need to reduce costs to attain ever-lower PC prices. The result could be a smaller Microsoft presence in the consumer market, but as long as the company continues to be the dominant player in PC operating systems, a slightly lower profile with consumers is unlikely to have much impact on its business.

Dell and HP Select WordPerfect over Works

The two largest manufacturers of consumer PCs, Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP), have both agreed to replace Microsoft Works on low-end consumer PCs with the WordPerfect Productivity Pack, which includes Corel’s WordPerfect word processor, Quattro spreadsheet, and CorelCentral e-mail and calendar software.

Dell will put the Corel bundle on the Dimension 2300 series of desktop PCs, which start at US$529, and on Inspiron 2600 notebooks, which start at US$999. HP will put it on the Pavilion line of desktop PCs, which start at US$529. Higher-priced PCs from these OEMs might still come with Works, although no such plans have been announced.