Windows 7 Retail Pricing: What It Means to the Enterprise
Ending months of speculation, Microsoft today revealed the prices for retail editions of Windows 7. They're a bit lower than the were for Vista, and there's a pre-order upgrade program that'll let consumers get the OS at a significant discount. Okay, but what does that mean for enterprise customers? Microsoft has yet to reveal any OEM or volume-license pricing, but there may be clues in what's happening on the retail side. Here's the rundown, as provided by The Windows 7 Team Blog: The estimated retail prices for upgrade packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:
And the estimated retail prices for full packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:
Among other things, that translates to a $40 savings on the Windows 7 Home Premium full retail product versus Windows Vista Home Premium. Microsoft is also allowing customers to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium for $49.99 and Windows 7 Professional for $99.99. In other words, it appears the marketing department up in Redmond has gotten the message: Windows needs to cost less. Call it a nod to the rotten economy or a subtle acknowledgment that Vista irritated legions of users; either way, Windows 7 is getting some much-needed price breaks. Thus, it's a safe bet enterprises will get some breaks as well, though we'll have to wait a while longer for the official word. What do you think? Are these reasonable reductions, or did Microsoft need to go farther and create some truly buzzworthy bargains? |
Comments (1)
>Vista irritated legions of users
I use a Vista Preinstalled computer every day, and don't have any real complaints.
>Are these reasonable reductions
Apparently retail buyers think so. On Amazon.com's "Bestsellers in Software" list, Windows 7 upgrades are currently Number 1 (Home Premium), Number 2 (Professional), and Number 9 (Ultimate.)
Posted by JohnJ | June 28, 2009 1:12 AM