Windows 7 Initial Sales Blast Past Windows Vista
Retail sales are looking good.
Nearly all reviewers can agree that Windows 7 is a better operating system than Windows Vista – and now initial sales numbers are adding another victory under the new OS's belt with data showing that it is selling much better than Vista did at time of launch.
According to NPD Group sales data, Windows 7 sales were 234 percent higher for retailed boxed editions than for Vista in the initial releases of both products.
Windows 7 sales have also brought in 82 more revenue than Windows Vista. The mismatch between the increased unit sales and revenue is from the lack of promotion of Windows 7 Ultimate.
"Ultimate was a much bigger part of what Microsoft did with Vista, whereas this time I think they not only kept the price very high, but really kept the focus on the Premium product and the Premium three-pack," explained the author of the report, NPD's Stephen Baker, to CNET News. "Most of the promotional fire that they've put out there has been focused on those, for example, 'Buy a computer, get a $50 copy of Home Premium.' The pre-sales were all pretty much focused on Home Premium."
The top selling Windows 7 SKUs, in order, are:
1. Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade
2. Windows 7 Pro Upgrade
3. Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack 3 User Upgrade
Sales of Windows 7-based PC hardware, however, were six percent below that of Windows Vista during its launch. This was attributed to the differences in the market during launch (October vs. January) and the large percentage of Vista-equipped machines still on store shelves during Windows 7's release. Regardless, PC sales during the week of Windows 7's release were the highest throughout the entire third quarter.
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Not a surprise but thanks for the news.
Perhaps one day we'll find out if the sky is blue.
the 3 user upgrade pack for $149 is a great price if you need something like that. I did a double take when I saw the pricing @ costco.
Perhaps one day we'll find out if the sky is blue.
Sometimes it's black with white specs, gray and spitting water, and sometimes even red! The sky's color is a very fickle thing.
Glad to see the numbers and Vista comparisons. Any chance of getting them compared to XP in an article?
To me it speaks more to the good marketing around Windows 7 and (as those here probably already know) marketing and reviews around Vista sucked. Windows 7 is definitely improved over Windows Vista, but they still make Vista out to be horrible when it isn't.
But...but... why go to all that trouble upgrading to Windows 7? Just buy an Apple and... wait... what was our catch phrase again?
Looks like Microsoft learned this time around: better marketing, better sales!
I hope to see decent review of Windows 7 and benchmarks against XP / XP-64bit - I think we can forget about Vista now. I like eye-candies of Win7 and DirectX11, but not sure if its faster that my good old XP. And I truly hate DRM which is designed not for user, but against user.
I think I'm going to wait until Black Friday to see if vendors might offer a decent combo price.
For all the bad about Vista, well, it really wasn't that bad in my opinion. I liked it more than XP, i.e. flashier UI. However, W7 is much better in terms of how "smooth" it feels and it's somewhat improved UI.
I agree with lutel. We've seen some W7 vs. Vista performance reviews but the real question is 32bit XP vs. 64bit W7 as that's the real upgrade path for the majority of users, including enthusiasts.
When Vista was released, the U. S. was in an economic boom. The windows 7 sales are impressive considering we are in a recession.
Looks like Microsoft learned this time around: better marketing, better sales!
It is a good product people will buy it without need of any great marketing. To me vista has the greatest marketing but did nothing to spur sales.
Although I had a few issues with the Win7 RC1 download, the shipping product has corrected them. So I'm quite happy with it, although I liked Vista too. And special kudos to MS for giving us free basic security software as well.
FREE IS GOOD!
Maybe if microsoft would lower their prices, it could make business investments more competitive and help economic growth. Economic boom wasn't due to vista sales but the other way around i guess.
the reason why windows is doing better this time around is because they had the public test the beta versions, since most of the bugs were worked out. win7 is a much better product and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. thumbs up to MS.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked if he wanted to upgrade to Windows 7. He replied "I still love Vista, baby".
Batman was asked what he thought about Windows 7 and he replied " I'll get you Riddler "
Good news perhaps?
As long as they keep support high for 7 and hope it can really wow me when I upgrade.
...they had the public test the beta versions...
The public got to test the Vista beta versions too, it's just that they put a limit on how many downloads were available. Win7 they just kept it open with no limit on downloads and a long period of time that it could be downloaded in
It is a good product people will buy it without need of any great marketing. To me vista has the greatest marketing but did nothing to spur sales.
Thats only 1/2 true.
Look at Apple. they sell shit, still got good sales.
One word : Marketing.
Better marketing, for the most part, better OS, and fewer issues at launch than Vista. Vista over promised, under delivered, and was late because they spent so much time trying to do an ME and patch XP rather than rewriting years of bad code, which is what they finally had to do in the end. Even so Vista served as the basis of Win7 and I hope that MS goes forward with good software writing practices, at the very least in their OS anyway.
$30 for Win7 if you have a .edu email address (just use a friends)...
You can ever request a direct install version (instead of a upgrade version)...
I just upgraded, all smooth in 40 minutes while I could keep working/gaming, my 4 yo single core machine now boots (after POST to login) in 10 seconds!
...wait, it ain't with 7. Ah damn, that was my Mandriva 2009.1 to 2010 online upgrade.
Can I do that (upgrade online without having to reboot before the upgrade is done, no DVD to burn nor put in drive) with Windows 7?
it's easier to decide if your choices are Vista vs Windows 7 than if your choices are XP vs Vista. If you have a PC capable of running Vista, then it should be capable of running Windows 7. Unlike before, if you have a PC running XP, it may not be able to run Vista adequately. So before, it was not only a decision to upgrade an OS. You have to consider whether you have to upgrade the hardware too.
Then to make things worse for Vista, you started getting all the bad reviews. For Windows 7 the reviews were quite positive even before the product launched.
I upgraded the week of release (Windows 7 x64). With all the hype I was expecting "great" things, but got strongly reminded that even reviewers are somewhat blinded by "new" stuff. Upgrade went well though, and the very few incompatibilities compared to my previous Vista x64 also show that changes ARE indeed somewhat minor.
So really, Windows 7 may have a lot advantage under the hood (i.e. graphics routine implementation), but interface improvements fall short. The task bar is great, thanks, after decades on NeXt and OS-X we now get to enjoy a type dock as well. Yet, it's still room for improvement. (Think about being a frequent user of 10 - 20 programs and try to pin them all to the task bar ... without the ability to group them!) Other than that, what's soooo different from Vista that couldn't have been accomplished in SP3? (Yes, jump lists and libraries, which are good but I have not missed them before.)
thanks for the heads up theuerkorn....
@theuerkorn: and that's why I don't feel like ditching my tux for Win7. Had it been really great, yeah; as it is, it is great compared with Vista, and is new compared with XP.
Compared with anything else out there (be it a recent Linux distribution, or OS X - heck, even Solaris), it looks (sorry, folks, that's my humble opinion) marginally innovative and not really well thought out.
Is it worth the cost? If you're not using Windows, not at all. If you're doing well with your present Windows version (security and application-wise), not really. If you can get it with a hefty rebate, all right. If you're buying a new computer with 7 installed on it, go for it.
Since I build my own 'puters and change pieces of hardware frequently, I can't go OEM; since I manage several users per machine and like to mount shares where I like them, I need at least a Pro version; since I practice the UNIX tenet of not allowing a user to do what he doesn't have to, I really need a Pro version (other versions don't allow you to set file authorizations outside of the Users directory); since I spend a lot of time online, I need a safe, fast web browser (so IE is out; even 8). What games I play are OpenGL-friendly.
Do I need to spend $300 or $400 for a Pro or Ultimate retail full version, to browse the Web and play a few games, if I can do the same for (at worst) $50 for a support plan on any distribution, or (at best) $0 to do things by myself?
Sorry folks, eventhough 7 sells fast, I won't be getting one.
yea, tux dude, (mitch074) linux is great and all that but you not only build your own puter but you have built yourself into your own box. A box that will never likely support modern hardware like high end video cards and a long list of other high end devices with modern drivers. Good luck with that.
They need a Windows 7 Ultimate - Family Pack!
@Igot1forya
I agree. But they do have the anytime upgrade option. So you can get the 3 Home Prems and upgrade computers individually as needed when needed. Definitely a cool way to manage upgrading multiple machines.