jedimasterk Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 (edited) The article is leaving out that Dell was talking about the difference in price between Vista Business and W7 Professional. They are completely different SKU's because Microsoft has changed course and made the next version up of Win 7 a subset of the lower cost version. Business is not a subset of Home Premium because it lacks the multimedia features of HP. W7 Professional is a subset of both HP and Business (Business is being discontinued) meaning it has more features and therefore cost more. Since over 90% of Windows customers will buy Home Premium, they will see little to no price increase. Only small businesses and enthusiast will see a price increase, since Professional is aimed squarely at them. Professional has tons more features than Vista Business so it naturally will cost more. Well if you already run Windows XP Pro, the only natural upgrade path would be Windows 7 Pro. So I doubt 90% will go for a step down. I doubt users of XP Pro will qualify for a step down upgrade. They will either have to get Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate to qualify for upgrade pricing. Typical Microsoft. get everyones hopes up on a new version. Get them to install the beta and RC on their machines to get the free bug reports, market it big time and then BAM sticker shock!!. He He ! Then you can either reinstall XP or pony up and give them your wallet. Since they need to pay their over priced developers their six digit figures. Edited May 22, 2009 by jedimasterk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soonerproud Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Well if you already run Windows XP Pro, the only natural upgrade path would be Windows 7 Pro. So I doubt 90% will go for a step down. I doubt users of XP Pro will qualify for a step down upgrade. They will either have to get Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate to qualify for upgrade pricing.Typical Microsoft. get everyones hopes up on a new version. Get them to install the beta and RC on their machines to get the free bug reports, market it big time and then BAM sticker shock!!. He He ! Then you can either reinstall XP or pony up and give them your wallet. Since they need to pay their over priced developers their six digit figures. The problem with your theory is that XP Professional was a lot more expensive the first three or four years it was out than now. W7 Pro is more likely to be in line with XP Professional pricing when it was new. WXP Pro is not a natural upgrade to W7 Pro. for most users. W7HP is more than enough, including for most enthusiast. Unless you need to join a domain, backup to a network, host a remote desktop session, use offline files, use location aware printing or use the encrypted file system, there really is not much for non business users when it comes to W7 Pro. Here is a comparison of the SKU's so you can see why I say few will actually need W7 Pro over W7 HP. W7 HP is certainly not a step down for most home users from XP Professional. Winsupersite W7 SKU comparison charts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhangm Supervisor Posted May 22, 2009 Supervisor Share Posted May 22, 2009 "If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP." This is the only actual evidence that they're basing their article on. What does this statement, purportedly from a Dell employee, actually mean? OEMs mainly sold four editions of Vista: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. OEMs will primarily sell three editions of Win7: Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. They've eliminated the cheapest (and arguably most villified) edition of Windows, therefore, the average selling price will be higher even if the price points between Vista and Seven editions remain identical. Much ado about nothing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimasterk Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 The problem with your theory is that XP Professional was a lot more expensive the first three or four years it was out than now. W7 Pro is more likely to be in line with XP Professional pricing when it was new. WXP Pro is not a natural upgrade to W7 Pro. for most users. W7HP is more than enough, including for most enthusiast. Unless you need to join a domain, backup to a network, host a remote desktop session, use offline files, use location aware printing or use the encrypted file system, there really is not much for non business users when it comes to W7 Pro. Here is a comparison of the SKU's so you can see why I say few will actually need W7 Pro over W7 HP. W7 HP is certainly not a step down for most home users from XP Professional. Winsupersite W7 SKU comparison charts And the economy was way better when Windows XP came out, then it is now. I think most people are expecting a price drop in Windows vs an increase as a result of both the economy and the Vista fiasco. A way for Microsoft to get back it's reputation with Windows. Also keep in mind that if you have any applications that require Windows XP. And I have several, one of them being Corel PAINTER XI.5 as well as Paintshop Pro X. Unless I upgrade those apps, which for me is costly, I would have to get Windows 7 Pro for the Windows XP Mode. Which Home Premium doesn't come with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimasterk Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/05...on.win.7.price/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soonerproud Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 And the economy was way better when Windows XP came out, then it is now. I think most people are expecting a price drop in Windows vs an increase as a result of both the economy and the Vista fiasco. A way for Microsoft to get back it's reputation with Windows.Also keep in mind that if you have any applications that require Windows XP. And I have several, one of them being Corel PAINTER XI.5 as well as Paintshop Pro X. Unless I upgrade those apps, which for me is costly, I would have to get Windows 7 Pro for the Windows XP Mode. Which Home Premium doesn't come with. No, it wasn't. we were in recession in 2001 and XP came out a month after 9-11. Most apps work just fine with Win 7. Try running Corel in compaitibility mode and I bet it will work just fine. You don't need Win 7 Pro for XP mode and it is cheaper to replace Corel with something more modern and feature rich than to upgrade to Win 7 Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee31 Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 OEM's have already been told of the price. Microsoft will announce them publicy next month according to TechArp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGHammer Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 The article is leaving out that Dell was talking about the difference in price between Vista Business and W7 Professional. They are completely different SKU's because Microsoft has changed course and made the next version up of Win 7 a subset of the lower cost version. Business is not a subset of Home Premium because it lacks the multimedia features of HP. W7 Professional is a subset of both HP and Business (Business is being discontinued) meaning it has more features and therefore cost more. Since over 90% of Windows customers will buy Home Premium, they will see little to no price increase. Only small businesses and enthusiast will see a price increase, since Professional is aimed squarely at them. Professional has tons more features than Vista Business so it naturally will cost more. Further, Professional will now *slot* between Home Premium and Ultimate, and, unlike Business, will see more retail availability. In fact, it will be aimed at a lot of the same folks that bought Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate and want to upgrade (or, in Vista Ultimate's case, crossgrade). Windows 7 Professional will be the *big* version of Windows in big-box resellers (such as Staples and Best Buy), especially in upgrade packaging. Perhaps Dell is thinking about *upselling* Vista HP and Business licensees to 7 Professional (which would be a smart thing for Dell to do)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Veteran Posted May 22, 2009 Veteran Share Posted May 22, 2009 [Threads Merged] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakers Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 So wait, wait. You mean to tell me that a brand new OS is going to be more expensive than a three year old OS? What is the world coming to? Seriously, this is not news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimasterk Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Will see in June according to Paul Thurrott. Quote: "Windows 7 Pricing Coming Next Month According to online reports (read: "unsubstantiated blog rumor"), Microsoft will unveil its pricing structure for Windows 7 in mid-June. The announcement will include retail pricing for the Full and Upgrade versions of Windows, and apparently PC makers and retailers have already been briefed on the plans. Which means this is all hogwash, because if these leaky sieves had been briefed about pricing, we'd have heard all about it by now. Actually, maybe we have: A Dell executive recently noted that Windows 7 pricing would be higher than hoped for. That would be a shame, because I think Microsoft needs to practically give this thing away to jumpstart tech sales this year" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Access Denied Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I will be getting Home Premium this time. I have XP Pro and Vista Business, but it seems much more logical for HP when comparing 7 versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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