Lewis
Member
SEATTLE  Microsoft will charge $239 for the version of its new Windows Vista operating system that it hopes most consumers will opt for, according to prices listed on Internet retailer Amazon.com's website.
Amazon.com, which has begun taking pre-orders for Microsoft's new operating system, also reveals list prices for two other versions of Vista that are similar to what Microsoft currently charges for the two most common versions of Windows XP.
According to Amazon.com's website, the version of Vista geared toward work use, Windows Vista Business, will cost $299, similar to the cost of Windows XP Professional. The consumer version of the operating system, Windows Vista Home Basic, will cost $199, the same as Windows XP Home.
Windows Vista Premium, which offers entertainment capabilities such as the ability to record live television and which Microsoft is hoping most consumers will embrace, is listed at $239. The Media Center edition of Windows XP, which had similar functions, is only available pre-loaded onto a computer, so comparable individual pricing is not available.
Microsoft also is hoping to sell consumers on another version of Vista, called Ultimate, that is geared toward home users who also want to do some work from the family den. That version is listed for $399 on Amazon.com's website.
Microsoft declined to comment on the prices listed on Amazon.com's website. Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows client unit, said the company will officially make prices public when it releases a near-final test version, called release candidate 1, which is expected by the end of September.
Amazon.com spokesman Sean Sundwell said the Seattle-based online retailer posted the listings and began taking pre-orders two or three weeks ago, because consumers were asking for that option. He said the prices are from the latest price sheet that Microsoft provided.
"The one thing we were certain on is the price," Sundwell said.
But Sundwell said Amazon.com can't be certain when Vista will be released. The retailer lists the ship date as January 30, which Sundwell said was an estimate based on Microsoft's public assertions that it plans to release the consumer version of Windows in January.
Kutz said Microsoft is still on track to deliver the much-delayed Vista to big business clients in November, and to consumers in January. But he reiterated that the company will not hesitate to delay Vista's release if any problems crop up.
"Quality is the ultimate determinant," he said.
Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund, who was among the first to note the Amazon.com listings, said in a research note that the prices listed on the website, if accurate, could provide some boost to Microsoft's earnings. But he wrote that it was hard to judge exactly how Vista will impact Microsoft's earnings because details such as the exact release date aren't yet clear.
USA Today
Amazon.com, which has begun taking pre-orders for Microsoft's new operating system, also reveals list prices for two other versions of Vista that are similar to what Microsoft currently charges for the two most common versions of Windows XP.
According to Amazon.com's website, the version of Vista geared toward work use, Windows Vista Business, will cost $299, similar to the cost of Windows XP Professional. The consumer version of the operating system, Windows Vista Home Basic, will cost $199, the same as Windows XP Home.
Windows Vista Premium, which offers entertainment capabilities such as the ability to record live television and which Microsoft is hoping most consumers will embrace, is listed at $239. The Media Center edition of Windows XP, which had similar functions, is only available pre-loaded onto a computer, so comparable individual pricing is not available.
Microsoft also is hoping to sell consumers on another version of Vista, called Ultimate, that is geared toward home users who also want to do some work from the family den. That version is listed for $399 on Amazon.com's website.
Microsoft declined to comment on the prices listed on Amazon.com's website. Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows client unit, said the company will officially make prices public when it releases a near-final test version, called release candidate 1, which is expected by the end of September.
Amazon.com spokesman Sean Sundwell said the Seattle-based online retailer posted the listings and began taking pre-orders two or three weeks ago, because consumers were asking for that option. He said the prices are from the latest price sheet that Microsoft provided.
"The one thing we were certain on is the price," Sundwell said.
But Sundwell said Amazon.com can't be certain when Vista will be released. The retailer lists the ship date as January 30, which Sundwell said was an estimate based on Microsoft's public assertions that it plans to release the consumer version of Windows in January.
Kutz said Microsoft is still on track to deliver the much-delayed Vista to big business clients in November, and to consumers in January. But he reiterated that the company will not hesitate to delay Vista's release if any problems crop up.
"Quality is the ultimate determinant," he said.
Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund, who was among the first to note the Amazon.com listings, said in a research note that the prices listed on the website, if accurate, could provide some boost to Microsoft's earnings. But he wrote that it was hard to judge exactly how Vista will impact Microsoft's earnings because details such as the exact release date aren't yet clear.
USA Today