Ok, here is the deal with Win7 pricing. So far, the only information we have on it, is still a rumor, however it puts prices at the same level as Vista.
Home Premium is to sell for $259.95, the exact same price as Vista.
Business Edition is to sell for $299.95, the exact same price as Vista.
Ultimate Edidition is to sell for $319.95, the exact same price as Vista.
Sources: windows7center and Microsoft
I don't know where this jackass from Dell is getting that Microsoft Windows 7 has a higher average selling price, unless you count some of the versions that the consumers couldn't care less about.
And yes, OEM is the way to go if you know what you are doing, and don't need to call Microsoft for tech support(Microsoft does not provide free tech support for OEM copies). They can also only be legally installed on one computer
EVER. Meaning if you buy a new computer, you need to buy a new licence, and a new system is defined as changing the motherboard. Though, as someone already mentioned, you can easily get around this by simply calling to activate and answering the few questions correctly.
Here is a list of OEM copies of Windows on Newegg, you can get Ultimate Edition for $180.
Usually when pricing information is released, people try to compare the retail pricing on the new OS, to the OEM pricing of the previous. I've seen it done when Vista came out, and now that Win 7 is coming out. Both times, people bitch about how much more expensive the pricing is compared to the older OS, and both time the pricing has been identical.