Thursday, June 25th 2009
Microsoft Announces Windows 7 Retail Prices Ahead of General Availability
Microsoft unveiled the retail pricing structure of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, and its three important variants: Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate, elaborating on the pricing on both the upgrade and full versions. Microsoft also announced that customers buying PCs pre-installed with existing versions of Windows from select sources (retailers or OEMs), will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 at "little or no cost". The company also announced that select retailers in certain markets will be able to offer for a limited period of time, a pre-order discount scheme that can reduce the price by as much as 50 percent.
Here are the prices (in USD):
Source:
The Windows Blog
Here are the prices (in USD):
- Windows 7 Home Premium - $199.99 (full version), $119.99 (upgrade)
- Windows 7 Professional - $299.99 (full version), $199.99 (upgrade)
- Windows 7 Ultimate - $319.99 (full version), $219.99 (upgrade)
244 Comments on Microsoft Announces Windows 7 Retail Prices Ahead of General Availability
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Vista costed us around $450 once converted:cry:
I blame China. If those pirating wankers would actually buy windows (95% of PCs in china have illegitimate windows, thats gotta be about 100million computers, lets say 1/4 or them decided to get win 7 at say $100 each, well thats big f*cken $$$$) then maybe MS wouldn't have to buttrape the rest of us as hard. oh not just china, but the rest of asia is pretty damn bad too. maybe. no hard facts here i'm basing this on my own little obscure perception.
The Vista OEM disclaimer (taken from newegg) Maybe this also means one can not "upgrade" from the OEM version to another version. But since the upgrade price and OEM price are the same, this doesn't seem like a big deal.
If Win7 OEM is <$99 I will be very happy to pick up a copy once my RC1 expires.
1.) Microsoft does not have to provide support. It is the OEM's responsibility to provide support for OEM copies. If you buy an OEM copy of Windows for yourself, then it is your responsibility to support the OS yourself. If you do have to call Microsoft for support, Microsoft will charge you for the support call.
2.) The OEM copy can not be transferred from one computer to another. Once it is installed and activated on a computer, it can not be installed and activated on another. So if you buy the OEM copy and install it on your current computer, then buy a new computer later, you have to buy another copy. The retail version allows you to transfer the licence to another computer as long as you remove it from the previous computer first.
3.) It does't come with all the fancy packaging. You get the disc in a CD sleeve, licence sticker, and the quick start guide, that is it. The retail version comes in a fancy box, with a real instruction manual.
You can upgrade to a new version from the OEM version. However, you are still limitted by the OEM licence. So, say you have an OEM version of Vista, and you buy the upgrade version of Win7, and install it on your current computer. When you buy a new computer, because you can not transfer the Vista OEM licence to the new computer, you won't be able to install your Win7 Upgrade.
Damn you MS *shakes fist defiantly*