End of the line for Windows XP(2)

A smooth transition?

But Microsoft China's Cao stressed the importance of users taking action before the end of the deadline to ensure their PCs are as secure as possible.

"We're working closely within the ecosystem and our partners to help users transition smoothly from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1," said Cao.

In a bid to save firms costly expenses during the transition, equipment manufacturers like Dell are offering Windows XP migration services, which are meant to free customers from the long and boring updating process, media reports said October 7.

That may be helpful for companies with a computer network of thousands of desktops, a transition for which could take nearly three years to plan and execute, said Liu from iResearch.

Microsoft also plans to open retail stores in the Chinese market to "brand the end-to-end experience that users have with premium devices from OEMs and our own," said Ralph Haupter, chairman of Microsoft Greater China in a June interview with South China Morning Post.

But it seems a bit late for the company to be finally making a move on "educating Chinese consumers," given that the main channels for selling the software - via advertisements or the advice of salespeople - are now outdated, said Shanghai-based Hao.

Hao added that because consumers nowadays require a positive user experience before they're willing to commit to a gadget, Microsoft would be smart to put their efforts on creating a device that shows off the features of its newer operating systems, if it wants to get more users on board.

A failure on Microsoft's part to achieve this could even threaten its market position in the future, said Liu from iResearch. And as more OEMs move away from the traditional default of Microsoft software, the company should be wary of the shift, he added.

Add rivalry to the mix and US IT company Hewlett-Packard, which launched several new devices running on Android and Chrome this week, could also contribute to a weakening reliance on Windows operating systems. But Hao said that a bit of healthy competition could be just the kick that Microsoft needs to get on developing a revolutionary product that users will not want to go without.