Sales of boxed Vista copies down over XP

Sales of boxed copies of Windows Vista at retail stores significantly trailed those of Windows XP in each product's first week on shelves, according to new figures from NPD.

The market research firm's data showed the number of copies of Vista purchased was nearly 59 percent less than the number for its predecessor XP, looking at the first week of sales. Revenue was also down, but less dramatically, with the dollar value of first-week Vista sales off 32 percent from that seen with XP.

Vista went on sale both on retail shelves and on new PCs on January 30. Businesses with volume license contracts have been able to get the new operating system since November.

Although boxed-copy sales were weaker, PC sales during the launch week were up 67 percent over computer sales in the same week a year earlier, NPD analyst Chris Swenson noted.

"Thus, the preliminary data suggests that consumers are getting the message that they need a more robust system to take advantage of some of the new features in

Vista, and thus a relatively smaller number are opting to upgrade older machines with the new OS themselves," Swenson wrote in an e-mail.

NPD's report includes sales data from retailers such as Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Kmart, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples and Target. The research covers the seven days beginning January 28, 2007, for Vista and the seven days beginning October 21, 2001, for Windows XP.

While sales of Vista were not as strong as with XP, weekly unit sales of Windows were five times higher than those of a year ago--meaning there was some bump for Vista, Swenson said. Also, he noted that the new high-end Ultimate Edition represented 30 percent of shipments. That helped boost the average selling price of Vista to $207, a rise of more than 65 percent from the average selling price of XP during its first week.

"So, although total dollars were down compared to XP, I think the preliminary data shows that Microsoft's gamble on a new high-end Vista (edition) will help keep dollar volumes from declining as rapidly as unit volumes in the near term," Swenson wrote.

An earlier NPD report showed stronger-than-expected sales to businesses for Vista since its November business launch, although the amount of study data was limited.

[airwalkery2k]

Stocking Up

I think people were just stocking up on a stable system before Microsoft pulls it from the market. That also includes people buying new computers with Vista but actually want to use them.

[WJeansonne]

Download sales?

You can directly download Windows Vista too. Where is the count for that? But I agree. Windows Vista is going to be one heck of another cash cow for Microsoft, especially the high-end version or Ultimate. For instance, I initially presumed I could use Vista Premium on my business network as a Media Server with Media Center for the conference room flat panelt TV. Absolutely not! You have to upgrade to Ultimate to be able to do that. So MS gets and extra $149 bucks from me to have that capability. :-)

[Bosambo]

Have cash...will spend

And you're happy being shafted in that way?

From what you have said it doesn't even sound like there's a business need for you to have Vista if you're already doing what you say with XP Media Centre Edition.

[Penguinisto]

Yeah, downloads...

...welcome to the Linux world, where the majority of installs come from downloaded .iso files.

Funny that a MSFT partisan would whine about downloads not being counted, innit?

/P

[Commander_Spock]

VISTA...

... has to await the arrival of IBM Lotus Notes 8.0 (HANNOVER) Not going to run VISTA until the the BETA of Lotus Notes 8.0 is out just to see what's under the hood!

[alegr]

WTF

Dude, you have serious obsession problems. Seek professional help ASAP.

[pilaa]

%$#^@$!

What are you talking about??? Lotus Notes has nothing to do with VISTA sales. (Unless you know something I don't and I'm a Lotus Notes systems engineer!)

[fcekuahd]

This site needs an "ignore" feature...

so that real posters can filter out the random gibberish spewed by talkbots.

[HlLLARY CLITON]

No reason to buy VISTA

There is nothing in VISTA that requires shelling out that much $$, it's eye candy. You can add on security and appearance features to XP ( many for free ) and have a VISTA look-a-like.

[rapier1]

You are right, except where you are wrong...

Everyone focuses on the UI and completely forgets that there are
signifcant changes under the hood that you simply can't get with
XP (or OS X at this point). ReadyBoost is one example - this lets
you use a flash drive as a fast cache source - since flash tends to
have significantly better random read access times than hard
drives this can be a significant performance booster - especially
on systems with smaller amount of RAM. Since its a write
trhough cache you can even yank the drive without any data loss
or instabaility. Its actually pretty clever (and I'm writing this on a
Mac). Another would be the more advanced networking stack
which automtaically adjusts to get better performance (its all
about buffer sizes - linux does this, vista does this now too, OS
X and XP don't do this). These sort of things don't add a lot of
flash to the OS but they do add substance.

The main problem right now is that the 3rd party drivers (like
the pathetic excuse for a video driver from nVidia) aren't
optimised - which is pathetic being that they had close to 2
years to work on them.

[d21mike]

No Reason for You to upgrade

You may not have a reason to upgrade but others do. I prefer not installing additional software on XP to get what I get with Vista. We have upgraded about 8 machines and all of us (small office) like Vista much better. You have to determine if the added features are valuable to you. And for us they are. However, we are a small software company so these things are not difficult for us. For the average user the effort to upgrade is probably not worth it.

[timber2005]

Nothing...

"There is nothing in VISTA that requires shelling out that much $$, it's eye candy. You can add on security and appearance features to XP ( many for free ) and have a VISTA look-a-like. "

Now reflect what you would have said in December 2001...
"There is nothing in XP that requires shelling out that much $$, it's eye candy. You can add on security and appearance features to 98 ( many for free ) and have a XP look-a-like. "

[bhushan bhaagii]

ALL THE REASON TO TELL THE WORLD

Hillary, I am not technically qualified; but if what you say is true, why don't you and other like-minded guys start a forum, run clinics to tell people how to get the experience of vista
on XP?

[befuddledms]

what is the hurry

I really don't understand why anyone would rush out and buy this OS or a PC with it unless their PC was really old or just died.
I bought a new computer with XP home after it had been out a while. The thing locked up all the time and was slow as heck. It wasn't until SP1 came out that it got better. It was still slow but it stopped locking up. I eventually ended up formatting and reinstalling and reinstalling all of the patches and it has be fine.
I am glad that some people just have to be the first one in the chess club to say that they bought Vista. They do perform a service by letting all of the bugs come to the surface so MS can patch it back together.
I will wait, until I can no longer use my PC at home and until MS will no longer support XP for my PCs at work, to upgrade.

[`WarpKat]

Problems - Problems - Problems

Considering all of the problems people are having, it's not worth it even to have it on the shelves.

And if you don't believe the hype of this, take a gander at the microsoft.public.windows.vista.general newsgroups.

[HandGlad2]

Sucesses Sucesses Sucesses

Yes, check out the problems people are having so you can be sure to avoid those problems but also remember one little fact. It's the people having problems who post, the people who aren't having problems won't show up there.

[normdaley]

What about XP?

Has anyone seen sales figures for the remaining copies of XP still on the shelves? I'm more interested in getting one of those before they're gone.

[chicago89]

YOUR RIGHT

i agree swipe those remaining copies!
im thinking that after the last support of xp i will slipstream the updates on a disk, since this is the last os i will have from MS

[ajbright]

It's got nothing to do with problems.

I've witnessed Vista on a number of machines, and yes you do need some hardware upgrades to get the same performance as you would under XP.

But the reason people aren't buying off the shelf is because it's not worth paying so much for so little.

The Aqua.. erm sorry, Aero interface is not worth over $200. And the Ultimate version is the only version that offers a real upgrade to XP Pro users. So why pay $260 for an upgrade that slows down your computer. Every other version is a downgrade in terms of features.

You could achieve the same thing buy installing Window Blinds, removing some ram, under-clocking your CPU and breaking media player.

Buying with a new PC however is a totally different kettle of fish.

You effectively pay no more than you would with XP installed - although you may want to spend an extra $100 on some more ram.

So what I think is happening is there is little enticement to "upgrading" the OS without first buying the necessary hardware upgrades. But if you buy the hardware upgrades, why slow them down by installing Vista - why not continue to use XP until Vista becomes a necessity.

Certainly those addicted to frame rates are not going to install a clone of the Mac's OS just to get transparent windows and a black taskbar (which you can get for free with the Royale Noir theme, minus the glass effects which are the main performance culprit).

[john55440]

I look forward to using Vista, when...

I look forward to using Vista, when it comes preinstalled on my next computer.

I'm currently using a 2002 computer, so the upgrade will probably be this year.

[pilaa]

Is this really a suprise??

C'mon folks. When I hear the editor say that sales of PC's with Windows Vista have been stronger than boxed copies what does he expect? There is no choice of operating systems to install on a prebuilt PC in the first place.

Hmmmm, lets see... I can have the new and improved Vista or the old XP preinstalled on my new PC. Do you call that choice?? Microsoft is planning to discontinue selling XP anyway so your point is moot! Vista sales will only get stronger because THEY HAVE NO COMPETITION!! DUH!

[d_sugden]

Welcome to 2007

You are the administrator for Kontoss0.com. Ten Workstations were purchased last week with Vista Preinstalled. Five Hundred of your existing fleet were recently built with a Windows XP SOE developed last year. You are now trying to allow users to log in to both Windows XP and Vista workstations with their roaming profiles.

What should you do?

A. Load up your corporate GPOs on a Vista Workstation, because there is no backend snapin
B. Upgrade your entire fleet to Vista
C. Panic
D. Accept defeat.

:) {Kidding)

[Dandy55]

RE: welcome to 2007

... and the answer is - none of the above.
You should just join the domain on new Vista macines and stop spreading FUD.
{Not Kidding}

You are the boss for Kontoss0.com - and your sysadmin happens to be d_sugden. What should you do?
A. Panic
B. Accept his reasoning against using Vista and downgrade new machines to XP
C. Check the real state of affairs and find yourself a better sysadmin

Right - correct answer is C!

[gggg sssss]

format

and install XP

[gggg sssss]

format

and install XP

[Penguinisto]

Some Context:

When XP came out, it launched in a time when many folks were wanting to upgrade their Win98/ME/2k boxes to account for new hardware stuff like USB and CD burners. Vista isn't much more than a rehash of XP... call it Windows XP SP3, and you'd be about right.

Also, XP could actually operate at a (relatively) halfway decent speed on hardware that wasn't exactly brand-new or ungodly high-end. Vista simply can't - you pretty much need a new box to make it run w/ all the eye-candy and such turned on. That would explain why more more folks prefer new boxes are sold with the thing pre-installed, rushing out to buy a boxed copy.

All that said, I'll find it more interesting to see what the sales curve looks like from Vista release to a point six months hence. Any big-name product release will have an initial rush of purchasers, but will it actually sustain itself, absent any forced upgrades on the big-name OEM's part?

/P

[mtoc]

vista upgrade !???

no way. my PC with XP works just fine, thank you
and I am not changing to create problems I do not have now. my next computer will come with refined and debugged VISTA or I may buy an APPLE. but that
wont be for a few years,yet. sorry Microsoft!
p.s. I have installed Explorer 7. works well.

[chicago89]

XP IS JUST FINE

IF UR THE AVERAGE HOME USER, SURFING THE WEB, MAKING CD'S, LISTINING 2 MUSIC AND HAVE AN ANTIVIRUS THERE IS NO NEED TO SWITCH TO VISTA I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE BUY A NEW SYSTEM (BETTER THEN MINE) AND THEIR COMPUTER RUNS SLOWER THEN MINE DUE TO THE HIGH AMMOUNT OF STRESS ON THE PROCESSOR AND IT MEMORY...
SO THERE FOR I WILL NOT BUY VISTA UNTIL ITS DEBUGGED, EVEN SO I MIGHT SWITCH 2 A NEW OS.
TILL THEN I WILL KEEP THE BEST OS XP!!!

[open-mind]

I Love the Features of VISTA

I've been enjoying most of them for the last 18 months on my Mac
Mini running OS X "Tiger".

I even get the fun Vista Home Premium eye-candy, and somehow it
all runs snappy on this old slow (by today's standards) $499 G4
Mini. It even came bundled with lots of great software. I don't
know how Apple does it.

[bluemist9999]

Probably not hobbled by backward compatability

I think the biggest pain in Microsoft's butt is having to remain backward compatible with ancient Windows versions (I think they still need to be able to run Windows 3.11 programs).

Apple took the risky gamble of breaking backward compatibility and it paid off. Also having a smaller, dedicated user base made it work.

I don't think Microsoft could pull that off.

[slimshady007]

It's Just Not For Me

As per Microsoft's website, Home Premium does not include
"Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore", "Networking Center
and Remote Desktop", and "Windows BitLocker Drive
Encryption." I can do without the last one, but the other two are
basically required. I could do the backup on my own, but
Windows makes it easier. The networking and remote is the
killer, though. I'm on the university's LAN and I can remote into
my computer from any other campus machine to get to
everything. Home Premium: $239.00 ; Ultimate: $399.00 (yes,
those are MSRPs). Why do I have to pay $160 more to keep my
data secure and backed up, and access it from where I want to?
I'll stick to a $129 every-thing-I'll-ever-need Mac OS. Actually,
does anyone know if the feature sets between Home Premium
and Ultimate are more different than I have made them out to be
in this post, please share.

[Repère]

Minority users?

I'm always surprised how 4% of the PC users (MAC OS) can be more vocal than 95% of the PC users. Looks like MAC user feel so anxious about Vista release that they need to jump on any Vista- or MS-related article and claim that they are the smart ones and they know better. Oh, and I also like when they say numbers mean nothing. I guess it might help. Somehow.

[extinctone]

Most Windows users don't like Windows

They just use it because it's what some dimwit at BestBuy recommended. So they don't spend a lot of time raving about it in discussion groups. Mac users know they have a superior product, and they're constantly bewildered by the fact that people keep buying Windows.

[Robynsnest613]

I am going to upgrade my computer

But upgrading my computer consists of installing a new motherboard, 1 gb of ram, and a 256 mb pci express video card, and a new cpu. I all ready have upgraded my harddrive from 40 to 160 GB, and installed a new dvd writer, and cd burner. I am however not going to be installing Vista. Perhaps in 2 yrs when ever Vista comes out with service pack 2, like I did when I got XP Home. I would like Vista home premium, but it's going to wait to make sure all the darn problems are fixed. I also do not care every time I open my browser to answer if the browser can be alloyed. That can get quite annoying to say the least. Their security features should be better than that, when you are opening web browswers you are familar with. I like how XP is right now, and will keep it with all my computer improvements, should make it all run great. It's running good now anyways, just want more power.

[open-mind]

LOL. You call that an upgrade?

Except for the power supply and case, it sounds like a different computer. :-)

Just curious how many hours it takes to research, purchase, install, and configure all that stuff.

I have friends who also enjoy doing this ... it's a hobby like fixing up old cars. But I think it's funny how they won't admit it's a hobby. They will claim they did it to save $300 (or whatever) after spending 50 hours upgrading all the parts in their PC. But had they worked that same 50 hours, they could have made $2000 and bought two new computers instead.

[Dandy55]

You would be better off if you buy new

It does not make any sense to upgrade practiaclly all of your components on your old PC. You will get better PC and will spen much less $$ if you just buy a new one - say, new DELL Dimension E520 in this configuration:

1. Intel® Core?2 Duo Processor E4300 (1.8GHz, 800 FSB)
2. 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
3. 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
4. 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache?
5. Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW

This will cost you $940 - but I would recomment you 2GB of RAM for extra $130, and you get perfect Vista-ready PC with free Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista? Home Premium, all for $1070, so you don't have to shell out $159.95 for your Upgrade Vista DVD when you deside to upgrade your OS.

[System Tyrant]

I might buy...

if the full retail price of Vista Ultimate was $200. I would probably buy it if the Vista Ultimate price was $100. I would without a doubt buy it if the full retail price was $75 or less.

I'm sure at some point I will end up with an OEM version, but at the moment I don't think it's worth what they are asking. Just my opinion and yes I have used it.

[ServedUp]

Tried Vista its not all that special.

XP by contrast, I find is more user friendly than VISTA.
If any of you are looking to upgrade from Vista wait for Service
Pack 2 or if your eager Service Pack 1.

But I've been using Vista for a week and for some reason its not
as special as I had thought it would be, you get this definite
feeling that its uncompleted, as if more should have been added
to it, and I find a lot of drivers are still missing for some
peripherals, some apps don't work quite as well as they do
under xp, they still need a little ironing out.

But my advice wait for SP2, the allure of Aero fades on you after
using it after a week. Trust me.

[ServedUp]

I meant upgrading from xp..

mybad