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Vista Home Basic: $199/$99.95, Vista Ultimate: $399/$259

For those that have been waiting for Microsoft's long-delayed Windows Vista operating system, pricing for the company's first consumer OS release since Windows XP in 2001 has been leaked. Ed Bott's Microsoft Report initially discovered that Microsoft's Canadian site had revealed pricing for the numerous Vista SKUs. However, later in the day, US pricing was found on Amazon's website.

For those looking to jump on the Vista bandwagon, here are the prices listed (full/upgrade):

  • Windows Vista Home Basic, $199/$99.95
  • Windows Vista Home Premium, $239/$159
  • Windows Vista Business, $299/$199
  • Windows Vista Ultimate, $399/$259

Even more interesting is that Amazon lists the shipping date as January 30 2007. The corporate line has been that Microsoft is aiming for a January retail launch for Vista. Bill Gates has even been quoted as saying that there was an 80% chance that Vista would ship in January. If this launch date provided by Amazon is any indication, Microsoft looks to be sticking to its guns as far as the January launch is concerned.

Vista means big business for Microsoft so it wants to make sure that it gets the launch perfect. The company has announced that it is investing a total of nearly $1 billion USD into the launch of Windows and Office and the latest build, 5536, has been well received by testers and the press.

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Ya OK...
By Tsuwamono on 8/29/06, Rating: 0
RE: Ya OK...
By IamKindaHungry on 8/29/2006 10:45:56 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
If they payed me those prices to run their crappy product i might install it but if it isnt free or better im for sure not getting it. I will stick with my XP and linux since all Vista is is a system hog pretty version of XP. I see no reason to upgrade at this time.


Sigh.. every new MS OS release brings out the same statements...

Funny though everyone called XP a "system hog pretty version of win2k"... two weeks after its launch the same people who bitched and whined were the same ones bragging about having XP...

Fact is... you WILL get Vista, you WILL like Vista and then you will come here brag about it and be completely oblivious to your own hypocrisy...


RE: Ya OK...
By EODetroit on 8/29/2006 2:35:44 PM , Rating: 2
Fact is I still run Windows 2000. Ok... I have another box that runs XP, but I haven't bought another XP copy to replace my perfectly good 2000 OS. I don't think I'll buy Vista at all, stick with 1 box running XP and another running 2000 for a few more years. Vista simply doesn't have any new features I want. Neither did XP, but when I put together a 2nd box, it made sense to buy XP at that point instead of another 2000 license.


RE: Ya OK...
By The Boston Dangler on 8/29/2006 8:23:35 PM , Rating: 2
"Fact is... you WILL get Vista, you WILL like Vista and then you will come here brag about it and be completely oblivious to your own hypocrisy..."

IamKindaHungry, I promise you I will not be installing Vista on my own PC's, ever. Once XP runs out of steam, Linux here I come. As for hypocrisy, save that for the Apple fans.


RE: Ya OK...
By ToeCutter on 8/30/2006 8:56:37 AM , Rating: 2
Hehe, yeah, quite a few folks were bitching when XP came out. But, I think things are different this time around.

XP did offer quite a few improvements over Win2K and was overall a much smoother OS. Driver support was dramatically improved even in early builds of XP. This doesn't seem to be the case with Vista. I mean seriously, what are we getting with Vista? DX10 and an assload of DRM? I just don't see anything new here besides a flashy interface, most of which can be duped with WindowsBlinds, etc.

When it comes down to brass tacks, what are we getting for the coin? I don't thinnk anyone can confidently answer that question. And $400 for Ultimate? That'll leave quite a few deciding: Do I want Vista or a new video card?

I can say that I'm far more geeked about getting my hands on the new Mac I just ordered. Perhaps things will change by the time Vista rolls out, but I'm not too excited about it now.

I'm sure not excited about discovering what hardware won't work with Vista when it ships due to driver support. Despite the promises made by MS, I'm sure we'll all be waiting 6 months for reliable drivers, so this upgrade is WAY out on my schedule.


RE: Ya OK...
By drwho9437 on 9/1/2006 7:26:29 PM , Rating: 2
I dl the test of Vista, and yes it should be better for the novice not getting spyware and it def has some good under the hood improvments too. But the fact is I don't need much of what it offers. In fact the biggest things pushing me toward vista are some programs that don't support win2k anymore (adobe lightroom for instance) and 64 bit support which while not needed now will perhaps become useful within the next OS cycle.


Expensive
By BuddyHolly on 8/29/2006 9:49:33 AM , Rating: 4
Hmm, I know these prices will drop slightly over time, but does this seem a bit steep for something that does not, at least on paper, appear to be much more than a slight upgrade for Windows XP?




RE: Expensive
By Lazarus Dark on 8/29/2006 11:02:57 AM , Rating: 2
well...you will need this to play halo 2 on your pc. pfft-hahaha. but seriously, i need a full review of actual retail version before i consider this, cause as previously stated this looks like little more than a prettier xp. winfs is coming to xp now right? so... why do i need to upgrade? even an oem version of super-mega-ultimate-vista is gunna be like $300 right? even $200 seems expensive compared to the $130 i paid for my oem xp pro.


RE: Expensive
By MrDiSante on 8/29/06, Rating: 0
RE: Expensive
By CKDragon on 8/29/2006 11:46:02 AM , Rating: 3
Little did I know that hard drive file structure = North American video standard.

NTSC != NTFS


RE: Expensive
By Assimilator87 on 8/29/2006 12:25:41 PM , Rating: 2
Wow, I got my XP PRO OEM for $80. The $399 retail for the Ultimate Edition is pretty steep. This is really gonna cut into the budget of my next build.


Way too expensive
By dgingeri on 8/29/2006 12:48:54 PM , Rating: 2
OK, so MS lists the retail full version of WinXP Pro as $299 and it can be found, OEM version, for as little as $115 right now, and was about $140 at the time of release. (I know that because I got mine release day for that.)

Win Vista Ultimate full version is $399 according to MS, so that means it could be around $190-$210 for the OEM full version? Nope. Ultimate will only be available retail box. So you pay full price ($399) or you don't get it. That sucks big time.

The business version will be missing any gaming capabilities and the home version will be missing full networking capabilities, so I'd have to go with the Ultimate version. I simply will not pay $399 for a version of Vista that does what my current version of WinXP does now. Once DX10 actually starts getting used, maybe, but certainly not on release day.

This will be the first MS OS that I will miss on release day since DOS 5. They have really upset me with this pricing scheme.

I have also always paid for my Microsoft software, as well as any others. I am a good customer. I am an IT professional. Why would they screw over good customers and IT professionals with such things. I may have to go looking for a way around spending $400 for a stupid OS that has very, very little over it's predecessor.




RE: Way too expensive
By blwest on 8/29/2006 1:14:44 PM , Rating: 3
Get Vista cheap, buy a $299 dell. :)


RE: Way too expensive
By Tebor0 on 8/29/2006 1:30:11 PM , Rating: 2
You do know the difference between retail and OEM licenses right? You going to use Vista on that $299 Dell?


RE: Way too expensive
By Tebor0 on 8/29/2006 1:28:15 PM , Rating: 2
You're right. These prices are way too high and are causing many to question the purchase.

As an IT Professional.... why are you paying retail?


RE: Way too expensive
By QueBert on 8/29/2006 3:35:45 PM , Rating: 2
If the Ultimate version really won't have an OEM version, they won't be getting my money. With the exception of a rare sale, the Win XP retails I see are basically the same price the day it came out. $399 is TOO MUCH! $299 would be too much for me. I could do $250, but that will never happen retail.
way to screw the customer Billy.


Dell, HP, ect must be quite unhappy.
By VooDooAddict on 8/29/2006 10:57:12 AM , Rating: 2
Dell, HP, ect must be quite unhappy.

With this news ... many people will wait to buy a PC till after Christmas. Sure, not everyone. But anyone who has a techie whispering into their ear will wait. And that's sure to knock off a few % points from the end of year PC sales.




RE: Dell, HP, ect must be quite unhappy.
By Teletran1 on 8/29/2006 11:01:32 AM , Rating: 2
I am going to wait until the next release of windows after vista to buy a new computer. That is what some techie told me. Although this eternal waiting strategy hasnt worked out for me considering I am using a 086 and windows 1.0.


By Lazarus Dark on 8/29/2006 11:08:59 AM , Rating: 2
i know what you mean- first i was waiting for cheap dual core to upgrade, then i was waiting for conroe, now i'm waiting for kentsfield. everytime price gets down to where i can upgrade something twice as fast is just around the dam corner.
i think i'll wait to upgrade my OS when MS Windows super-duper-God Version comes out.


RE: Dell, HP, ect must be quite unhappy.
By haris on 8/29/2006 12:13:26 PM , Rating: 2
IIRC I came across an article mentioning that Hardware vendors were trying to push MS into giving free Vista upgrade coupons for people buying PCs this holiday season. Haven't seen anything new about that in weeks, but not holding my breath either.


By vanka on 8/29/2006 3:13:52 PM , Rating: 2
Why not, they did it for XP. True I'm not sure whether it was Microsoft or the vendors that paid for the coupons.


OEM
By microAmp on 8/29/2006 9:55:58 AM , Rating: 2
I'll wait for the pricing of OEM disc. Aren't they usually about the same cost as an upgrade version?