When it comes to Windows 7 one of the most hotly debated topics is of course, pricing. Most tech bloggers like myself have our own ideas of what we would like Windows 7 to sell for, but Microsoft is in this to make as much money as possible.
Today Microsoft officially released the pricing for Windows 7 and announced an excellent pre-order deal for consumers. These prices are for U.S. customers but we should see international prices soon:
- Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99
- Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99
- Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99
And the estimated retail prices for full packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:
- Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99
- Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99
- Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99
These prices are about $40 less than the current Windows Vista prices which were much higher when it first came out more than 2 years ago. These prices are for when Windows 7 launches on October 22nd 2009 but it is not even close to the best news they released today.
Be First, Save Half… This is Microsoft’s pre-order plan is exactly as it sounds, a 50% discount. Tomorrow they will announce the retailers that you will be able to purchase it from but it is expected to be Best Buy and Amazon as well as others. The pre-orders will be available from June 26th until July 11th or as long as supplies last, so pretty much whenever they decide they have enough hype for it.
Check It Out> The Windows Blog, Microsoft, Technologizer
I’m not good at math but those prices don’t entirely seem like 50% off.
I with they only had an ultimate version with the only choices of being 32bit or 64bit (and in the future only a 64bit). I can understand some features of ultimate may never be used for the average consumer but they can just be disabled by default. Maybe like an option to enable pro or ultimate. Simple is good.