Lenovo and Tencent team up with Microsoft to support Windows XP in China

According to a recent report by Reuters, Windows XP users located in China will get security services (but no more updates) for the aging operating system which has been discontinued for customers across the rest of the world on April 8. Lenovo and Tencent are two of the big names to join the Redmond giant in this effort.

The article, published on April 9, also reveals that Windows XP has no less than 200 million users in China and a market share of 70 percent - estimations made by Zhongguancun Online, cited by Xinhua. While Lenovo did not comment on this matter, Tencent mentioned they will provide two 24/7 hotlines that will provide free support to Chinese Windows XP users.

There are even more companies involved in this effort than Lenovo and Tencent, for example Qihoo 360, which "will continue to provide Windows XP support to Chinese users as long as there are still XP users in China."

Considering that a lot of computer users in China use their computers only for basic tasks such as email and light office work, continued support for Windows XP could be the only thing keeping them from choosing to jump into the Linux wagon.

For most Chinese users, the cost of upgrading an old Windows XP computer with new hardware to support Windows 7 or Windows 8 is too much or simply not justified, so Microsoft is making the right choice.