HP To Expand Desktop Linux Push in Asia

In an effort to seize an opportunity created by regional resistance to the Windows operating system, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has said it plans to begin shipping more desktop computers loaded with the Linux operating system in Asia.

HP said it will partner with Turbolinux to ship the open-source desktop platform starting in June to a dozen countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. The machines will be targeted toward small and mid-size corporations.

As the second largest seller of PCs worldwide, HP's move could be just the latest shot across the bow of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which has struggled to attain and maintain the same type of dominance in the Asian software market that it enjoys in most other markets around the world.

Real and Present Danger

Although Linux on the desktop is still a relative blip on the radar screen, Windows alternatives are likely to be more warmly received in the Asian market, IDC analyst Roger Kay told the E-Commerce Times.

"The Chinese have made it clear that they have a choice and they want to choose flexibility," Kay said. "They're not in the same position as the U.S. and Europe, where millions of machines already have older forms of Windows on them. They can actually start from scratch."

Asia is a hotbed of support for Linux, largely because governments in the region think its adoption will help local software companies compete with more established counterparts around the world, such as Microsoft. Late last year, three key Asian nations -- China, Korea and Japan -- announced they would work together to promote Linux uptake.

Microsoft has tried to answer that challenge by opening up its source code to governments in the region. The move also is designed to help answer questions about the security of its Windows operating system.

The challenge in Asia comes as Microsoft has its hands full in another part of the world. Company president Steve Ballmer reportedly has been in heated discussions recently with European Union regulators who say they will announce next week what sanctions, if any, they plan to levy against Microsoft to help create a more level and competitive playing field.

Feature Creature

HP and Turbolinux touted the features in the latest version of Turbolinux, including built-in wireless capabilities, CD-burning drives and software that allows images to be loaded from digital cameras. The machines also will come packed with OpenOffice 1.1, which is designed to have the same look and feel of Microsoft's Office suite and can exchange documents with the Windows-based system.

They also focused on the ease of keeping the software up to date, saying it can be updated automatically with newer Linux kernels and security patches by using a graphical update tool that does not require machine rebooting to take effect.

Cheap Date

Although specific pricing for the machines was not disclosed -- and likely will vary by country -- Gartner (NYSE: IT) analyst David Smith told the E-Commerce Times that HP probably can shave the price substantially by loading Linux.

That, in turn, will enable HP to get a foothold in emerging markets that it one day may be able to leverage into more high-end sales to enterprises. Smith said movement away from Windows by Asian governments also may drive private adoption of Linux. "From a strategic point of view, it's a good move for HP," he said.

Other companies have tried to leverage Microsoft's misfortune into their own gains, with results of those experiments still too difficult to measure. For instance, Sun Microsystems used the public-relations disaster of the Blaster worm to push its Mad Hatter open-source Windows alternative.