NPD analyst says that cheaper than Windows Vista is not cheap enough.
The big news last week was Microsoft announcing the retail pricing of Windows 7. Check out our previous coverage for the pricing details as well as the limited offer of upgrades at less than half price.
We asked you last week what you thought of Windows 7 pricing, and your responses were varied. Understandably, for those who build their own systems, the OEM pricing is most relevant. Others feel that it’s too expensive – a sentiment shared by an analyst at the NPD Group.
NPD Group VP of industry analysis Stephen Baker wrote in the company blog last week with his thoughts on Microsoft’s pricing structure. He praised the (mostly) free upgrade program for PCs purchased on or after June 26, 2009, which solves many buying decisions for those who need new computers for back to school, as Windows 7 won’t be out until October 22, 2009.
Baker was less enthusiastic about the retail pricing of Windows 7, however, saying, “Besides the fact that $119 is a price point that fits nowhere in these economic times, it is still way too much for the software. … It is in Microsoft’s best interests to erase all vestiges of Vista from consumers’ homes, and by making the upgrade expensive … Microsoft is creating a large disincentive for consumers to move to a far superior platform with a better user experience.”
The NPD executive was also puzzled and displeased that Microsoft isn’t offering a multiple user license package. He compared it to Apple’s upcoming Snow Leopard OS X software upgrade, which will sell in September for $29 for a single user license and $49 for a family pack that includes five licenses. Baker posed that in times when families have multiple computers in the home, a family pack similar to Apple’s offering is far more consumer-friendly.
What do you think? Even if Microsoft doesn’t change the eventual retail prices for Windows 7, would you be more inclined to upgrade your entire household if such a family pack were offered?
Yes a FP is a great idea but for it to work M$ needs to get its head out of the clouds and price Win7 at something people can afford to pay!
My next laptop will be a mac.
Thank goodness for torrents.
Shame, I can't afford that much so in the end I may just upgrade one.
Now that pirate OS distro's are such a magnet for hackers and malware providers it really isn't an option any more. The £50 pre-oder upgrade licence is good value IMO but a family pack would be very welcome too. Unfortunately I can't see that coming out at any sensible price point. For example a Home Basic 5 licence edition with the first licence at full price and the rest at 75% off would still come in at £200 which is probably more than most families would be prepared to spend.
The best option would be for a home user edition to come with 5 licences as standard with the condition that all the PC's must be based at one site. This would be of massive benefit to Microsoft as they would have more control over the various types of produce in the market and would have few OS's to support long term.
Additionally I'd like them to make it so that upgrade editions required you to input the older OS's keycode at install and then ask for that editions keycode. The set up of having to install the old OS first and then having to upgrade from that is way too long winded for reinstalls and is the main reason I always go for OEM editions instead of upgrades.
Come on Microsoft, don't lose ANOTHER once loyal customer...
Anyway, Microsoft should at least reduce those prices to half. Just for that they would win maybe another million buyers or more that are currently using a cracked copy of Vista.
My question is: "When will windows be ready for the desktop?"