Ars reports Windows 7 pricing leaked, later retracts story

Take the following news with your daily dose of salt. Ars Technica had originally reported today that they have the pricing structure for Windows 7, but later pulled the story, then reposted again stating that it was from an anonymous source and "not one of our usual, trusted tipsters."

Keep in mind that Microsoft has not announced any pricing for its Windows 7 products, when we asked Microsoft about the Ars story, they told us "final decisions are still being made on details like pricing. We will be in touch when we have more to share."

The prices Ars is now reporting again, listed below, are for the full product and not the upgrade.

• Windows 7 Starter: $199
• Windows 7 Home Premium: $259
• Windows 7 Professional: $299
• Windows 7 Ultimate: $319

The price of the "Starter" is quite a surprise for a leak because it's only supposed to be sold via OEM. These are the first leaks about any sort of pricing structure but they do differ from Vista's pricing structure in some areas, such as Ultimate being $80.00 cheaper. Time will tell if this rumor pans out but it doesn't seem to be to far out there to flat out dismiss.