Comments on: Microsoft primes PC buyers for Premium Vista

Forget Vista Basic. Microsoft's marketing campaign will pitch hard for people to choose the higher-end Windows update.

[john55440]

"price of the OS is not visible"

>the price of the OS is not visible when you buy a PC from Dell, for example.<

Does anyone happen to know how much Microsoft is currently charging Dell/HP per-computer for WinXP?

[rcrusoe]

Re: Price

I've been wondering why the price of Vista isn't being discussed
too.

You think the "premium" version will be a case of "if you have to
ask, you can't afford it"?

[colonna]

Re: "price of the OS is not visible"

I'm not sure if this is currently true, but the price used to be around thirty-five dollars for the consumer oriented OS.

[rcrusoe]

Is it true?

Seems like I've read their is only 1 graphics card available at this
time that will support all the high end vista graphic features. And
it costs as much as a cheap PC.

Can anyone confirm this?

[colonna]

Re: is it true?

No, this is not true. Almost any video card bought in the last two years should work with the advanced graphics. I know, in regards to ATI, any card from the 9500 series and above should work with the advanced Vista graphics (gui).

[rawker]

I'm not sure.

I'm not sure if any GPU's are fully vista capeable right now. Some of them are are partialy working, but none of them are Direct X 10 (or whatever they are calling it these days) compatible yet.

[JuggerNaut]

The Microsoft Tax!

..."Windows Vista pricing hasn't been disclosed yet. But consumers
might not even notice that they are paying a premium, DeMichillie
said, "simply because the price of the OS is not visible when you
buy a PC from Dell, for example."...

Yeah, we already know about the tax before the tax!

[JScottK]

Penny Pinching

You have to wonder if companies like Dell (who chase every
possible penny) will settle on the Home version, rather than the
more expensive Premium version. It's not just the $300 PC they're
trying to make a buck on.

If cost cutting leads to Home being the defacto standard, what is
that going to mean to the adoption of Areo and the other stuff that
makes Vista Vista?

[JScottK]

Ooops

Ignore this one.

Sorry

[JScottK]

Penny Pinching

You have to wonder if companies like Dell (who chase every
possible penny) will settle on the Basic version, rather than the
more expensive Premium version. It's not just the $300 PC they're
trying to make a buck on.

If cost cutting leads to Basic being the defacto standard, what is
that going to mean to the adoption of Areo and the other stuff that
makes Vista, Vista?

[PolarUpgrade]

In effect a price increase for Windows

By gutting the Windows that comes as the base OS on the PC MS is effectively implementing a significant price increase for new PCs, and all but extinguishing the market for low-end computers by nixxing any reason for vendors to sell them.

What is most clever is that by using an upgrade-to-the-useful-version after purchase approach, MS will be taking this price increase for itself at the low-end, making the low-end PC as expensive as a mid-range system, but denying mid-range profits to the PC vendor who selss just the base OS on a cheap PC.

So in effect the cost of a base model PC will increase for the consumer (because the base model PC will no longer do all that a base model XP system does), while vendors selling low-end PCs will see none of the markup attached to the low-end PC.

Prediction: The end of low-priced PCs, as there is no reason for PC vendors to sell Vista this way. It will only make sense to sell middle- and up-market PCs with premium Vista installed, so that the vendor can take some of the cash "premium" of the "premium OS" upcharge with the purchase price, and not leave it to MS in an after-sale upgrade of Vista basic.

Very clever indeed, as it zeroes out any incentive to sell low-cost PCs in the first place, compelling PC vendors upmarket and compelling all sales toward premium OS levels AND the resulting premium profits.

[oilfieldmedic]

Priming Premium Vista Buyers

Why doesn't MS just come out and say, "This is the best OS, period!"

There are enough gimmicks & sales pitches out there already.

MS OS is used by, how many gazillion people on the planet? Is anyone really surprised about this?



Bring it on!

[technewsjunkie]

Whatever happened to "user confusion" due to different OS versions?!

It wasn't too long ago that Microsoft said they were reducing the number of versions of Windows DUE TO USER CONFUSION and manageability.

[ross brown--2008]

What's wrong with one version?

What's so wrong with simply selling "Windows Vista - Does
everything version"? As I understand it Vista will dumb down to
the equipment it's on anyway, so why confuse the buying public
with 15 (ok, 6 is it?) different versions?

I work in marketing, and I can't envisage ever recommending to
a client that they confuse their audience like this.

RB