February 29th, 2008

Vista price slash

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 4:09 am

Categories: In the news, Microsoft, Vista

Tags: Price Cut, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows, Software, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

[UPDATE: A number of people are wonder who will benefit from these price cuts since upgrading PCs is such a small drop in the ocean compared to OEMs.  Well, there are a lot of people who will benefit.  For example, XP has been selling well on new PCs the past year and these people might be tempted to make the leap to Vista when SP1 is released.  Then you have Mac users looking for a way to make use of Boot Camp or Parallels.  This price drop could also be Microsoft's way of reaching out to the gaming/enthusiast segment who have so far been pretty loyal to XP.]

Microsoft has cut the price of Windows Vista in an attempt to further boost sales of the operating system.

Here’s the information that I have:

• The price cut will roll out across 70 countries.
• The price cut goes hand in hand with the release of SP1.
• The price of the full retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate will drop from $399 to $319.
• The price of the upgrade version of Windows Vista Ultimate will drop from $259 to $219.
• The upgrade version of Vista Home Premium will drop from $159 from $129.
• Price cuts quoted above are US only - price cuts in other countries will vary.

Good news for those looking to upgrade now SP1 is on the horizon.  But if you read between the lines here, you’ll notice something interesting going on.  First off, notice no price drop for Vista Home Basic.  The Tiny Tim version of Vista just got even less appealing for upgraders now that Home Premium is cheaper.  Also, no price drop for the full retail version of Home Premium - maybe Microsoft is trying to make Ultimate more appealing.

Shop around and you’re likely to get a far better price.  For example, right now Amazon.com is selling the full version of Vista Ultimate for $329.99.  If similar discounts are available post price drop then Vista Ultimate could fall well below $300 a copy (which, to be honest, it needs to).

Another interesting tidbit today though is the news that Microsoft will discontinue selling upgrade versions of Vista in emerging markets because of the belief that Vista will be the first genuine copy of Windows people will by.  These countries will see Vista Home Premium and Home Basic sold at the upgrade price.

Thoughts?