The analysis of this brand segment is quite predictable, because essentially
the race is between only two Operating Systems-Windows and Linux. Here again,
there are no surprises, as majority of the market is owned by Windows, with
small fragments of users preferring to go with Linux or MacOS.
Even though Linux for desktops has become much more user friendly in the
recent past, it still has a long way to go, mainly because it has a very low
current base. But it is gaining traction, and in fact it is higher on the brand
persuasion and brand pull index than Windows XP.
Vista of course tops the charts across all parameters. It has the highest
brand momentum, giving it the highest future consumer share, making it the
winner of this year's Users' Choice awards.
The interesting thing however, is that Vista still competes with WinXP, at least
till the time Microsoft doesn't phase it out.