Starting today, major PC manufacturers will be offering a promotion with new PC’s that allows you to upgrade to Windows 7 at a later date for free. To help boost computer sales right now, Microsoft is offering this promotion to users that purchase a new computer installed with Windows Vista. Their hope is that people will not put off buying a new computer in order to wait for the release of Windows 7 on October 22nd.
Participation in this program varies between different manufacturers. Check out this Microsoft page for the complete list of participating manufacturers. That link also contains the complete FAQ on the Windows 7 free upgrade, if you have any questions.
Also starting today, Microsoft is opening up a heavily discounted pre-order program for Windows 7. To reward loyal customers, Microsoft if selling a pre-order of Windows 7 Home Premium for $49.99 and Windows 7 Professional for $99.99. This is 50% off the standard upgrade price. To pre-order your copy right now, check out the Miscrosoft Store.
Microsoft also announced the estimated retail prices for Windows 7 yesterday. The upgrade prices are as follows:
- Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99
- Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99
- Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99
The full retail boxed version prices are as follows:
- Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99
- Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99
- Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99
Al of these products will start shipping on October 22nd.
I really like these aggressive pricing techniques from Microsoft. Let’s hope everyone will upgrade to Windows 7 right away, and we can finally put Vista behind us. Check out the Windows Team Blog for even more information.
