June 26th, 2009

Windows 7 upgrade pricing is too expensive

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 7:10 am

Categories: Windows 7

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Corp., Pricing Strategy, Ed, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, Apple Mac OS, Operating Systems, Software

Windows 7 upgrade pricing is too darn expensive. There, I’ve said it, and I feel better for having that out in the open. And not only is the upgrade pricing expensive, it’s overly complicated.

First, let’s deal with cost. According to the Windows Team blog, here are the estimated retail prices for Windows 7.

Upgrade:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99
• Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99
• Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99

Full:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99
• Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99
• Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99

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Hello, earth to Microsoft. We’re all in the middle of a recession here. On top of that, $320 for an OS is a hefty chunk of change. Heck, looking at hardware prices, especially looking at how prices have dropped over the years, $200 is a lot. It seems too me that Microsoft is living in a different decade.

Note: I’m ignoring OEM pricing here … OEMs are perfectly capable of chiseling prices down, and if they figured out how to embrace Linux, they’d have even greater power over Microsoft.

And what’s up with those upgrade prices? I really can’t see how $100 separates Home Premium and Ultimate.

Temporary promotional price does take a little of the sting out of the prices. Between June 26, 2009 and July 11, 2009 (in the US) you can grab Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49.99 (and save $70) and Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $99.99 (and save $100). Bottom line, I feel that these promotional prices should be the the starting point for the recommended retail pricing.

How could Microsoft simplify upgrade pricing? Simple, offer a single priced upgrade for like for like upgrades. So, if you’re running Vista Home Premium then you can upgrade to 7 Home Basic for the same price as someone upgrading from Vista Ultimate to 7 Ultimate. Unlocks to higher editions could be handled separately (by Anytime Upgrade).

Comparisons to Mac OS X upgrades … –>

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