Windows 7 Prices Announced

Ahead of the much anticipated October 22nd 2009 Windows 7 release date, Microsoft have finally announced how much their new o/s will cost and some more information about the upgrade options as well as explaining how you will be able to potentially save on the full price.

Firstly the bad news: the full price will be, as ever, pretty hard on your pocket. The three versions that will be available (Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate) will be priced at £169.99, £219.99 and £229.99 respectively although we still don’t know about the starter edition (designed for netbooks) – but seeing as it will only be sold to business the pricing isn’t a massive problem for most of us.

Those of you with exceptionally good memories will know that these are pretty much the same prices that Vista had when it was released (although of course there was Home Basic and Business options as opposed to Professional) with the exception of Home premium which has seen a small cut.

Although there aren’t going to be any upgrade editions due to the fact that Microsoft have to install on a clean system for the ‘E’ (European) version which will come without a browser (thanks to the EU and their ever active competition office) there will still be an upgrade system which will apply to both XP and Vista in an attempt to tempt those who have decided to stick with the older o/s into the ‘modern age’.

Upgrade prices are £79.99, £189.99 and £199.99 for the three versions respectively; although for those who are a little more aware you will be able to get it cheaper: by pre-ordering between July 15th and August 14th you will be able to get Home Premium for just £49.99 and Professional for £99.99.

This all seems like a good deal (especially when you consider that they now come in an easier to open box!) until you start looking at the alternative operating systems: Snow Leopard will only cost $29 (although that does require a copy of Leopard to be installed, so both of them together will cost a significant amount more) and of course Linux comes first with absolutely nothing. But as of yet this price discrepancy is yet to detract too many people from choosing Windows, and it’s a trend which I think is unlikely to change.

However if you are both desperate to get a computer within the next few months, and want to have Windows 7 in the future there will be a ‘Windows 7 Upgrade Option Programme’ to help you out:

If you buy a PC (admittedly only certain PC’s from certain retailers as only some are participating) after the 26th June with Vista Home Premium, Business and Ultimate installed you will be able to choose to upgrade to Windows 7 at no extra cost. This is a nice idea and will be available until the end of January 2010, but make sure you do you’re research to ensure the PC you’re getting is covered.

Obviously in the meantime, if you can’t wait until the Windows 7 release date of 22nd October, you can use the Windows 7 RC for free until then!

So, it all looks relatively promising, and I’ll give the last word to Corporate Vice President Brad Brooks who said:

“It truly will be a global release and make it a Windows 7 holiday for everybody this year, people wanted it faster. We’re giving it to them.”

UPDATE: Windows 7 has now been released and you can now read our Windows 7 review which also includes the best place to buy it in terms of cheapest price!

Via – CNET

Related Pages:

1. Windows 7 Cheap Price Deals! (UK)
2. Windows 7 Review – Part 7: Compare & Choose Which Version To Buy?
3. Windows 7 Student Offer: What It Really Means
4. Windows 7 – Cheap Student Offer Price (UK)
5. Windows 7 Family Pack – Cheap Price Bundle Deal!

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