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Everex PC Bundles OpenOffice for Walmart

PR Newswire runs a release announcing Everex Launches $298 Back-to-School PC with OpenOffice.org Productivity Software.

Everex is the 7th largest retail PC brand in the US and has broken ground in two areas with this product: it’s probably the least-expensive mass market new PC I’ve ever seen, and it proudly bundles OpenOffice.org, with significant fanfare and marketing support for it. (It is also being sold at Walmart, but I don’t think that is particularly unusual–though there are no Walmarts in New York City, so I’m not too familiar with them.)

The release states “For the first time, Everex has also included OpenOffice.org 2.2, the critically acclaimed open-source office suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. “For years now, industry restrictions and tightening profit margins have forced PC manufacturers to shy away from offering productivity software on their new PCs,” states Eugene Chang, Product Manager for Everex. “In creating the eco-friendly GC3502, our main focus was to build a no-compromise, back-to-school PC with all the software applications a typical student would require, without resorting to bundling frivolous trial versions or increasing prices 30%.”

Bask in the presence of this new machine, model name GC3502!

And yes, you should expect and prepare to receive ODF files more and more frequently in the coming months. Download OpenOffice now so you aren’t rushing to get it installed later!

2 Responses to “Everex PC Bundles OpenOffice for Walmart”

  1. JZA Says:
    July 20th, 2007 at 1:30 pm

    I am excited about the Asus EEE laptop which includes OOo for $200 USD. I think Erwin blog about it a bit.
    Reg Hardware,
    Notebook Review.

  2. Benjamin Horst Says:
    July 20th, 2007 at 3:10 pm

    Yes, I had meant to post about that one too, and I still might in the next few days.

    It seems like we’re seeing the thin end of the wedge here. I expect OpenOffice.org will be preinstalled on more and more computers, creating a positive reinforcement cycle as it gets ever more popular. Price pressures and the network effect of documents being saved in ODF will provide further incentives for manufacturers to install it and for customers to demand it. Exponential growth is on the horizon!

    Thanks for the links!