Microsoft launches Windows 10 in Seoul

Microsoft released its latest operating system in South Korea on Wednesday, offering one single platform that works on PCs, as well as smartphones, as the world‘s top software giant sets its sights on claiming the mobile and cloud segments.

Windows 10 for desktops and tablet PCs is now available for purchase, with the mobile version to be introduced later in the year, its local unit said at a press briefing. 

The price for Windows 10 Home, the version for general users, is set at 172,000 won ($148), while the professional version for businesses, Windows 10 Pro, is 310,000 won, according to Microsoft Korea.

The Seoul launch of the new OS came as part of the global launch in 190 countries, after it was first unveiled in late January at an unpacking event at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters in the United States.

Windows 10 allows users to work between different devices that share one universal platform, a big shift from the separate operating systems that had been required for desktops, smartphones and tablet PCs.

Such a transformation by Microsoft is seen by analysts as being aimed at recouping its market dominance in the mobile and cloud realms, after the world‘s top software firm has been lagging in competition for smart devices and tools against rivals like Google Inc. In Korea, the market share for Windows phones is feeble.

Nonetheless, industry watchers said challenges still lie ahead for Microsoft to make a breakthrough here. Its new Internet browser, Microsoft Edge, no longer supports a downloading tool widely used as a standard in Korea, known as Active X, and it could hamper the spread of the new OS in the country. 

Microsoft’s Korean unit said earlier that Korean users will get access to Internet Explorer 11, which will keep Active X running, but it leaves users at the potential risk of incompatibility in the future as the new OS will continue to roll out upgraded versions.

The Active X program, while it has proven less effective in the U.S., is embedded as a security tool in almost every online payment system from e-commerce to mobile banking in Korea.

Microsoft will offer a one-year free upgrade service of the new OS to existing Windows 7 and 8 users. It plans to expand its ecosystem with Windows 10 to over 1 billion installations by 2017, the company said. (Yonhap)