Windows 8 Upgrades Will Get More Expensive in February

By Kevin Parrish
published

Get ready for a price increase on Windows 8 upgrades starting February 1.

The official Windows blog confirms that Microsoft plans to pull the current upgrade cost for Windows 8 on January 31, 2013. That means consumers still have a little time left to upgrade their installation of Windows 7 or later to the new OS release before the prices skyrocket back up to $99.99 USD and more.

As it stands now, consumers can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 USD via Windows.com, or purchase the upgrade DVD for $69.99 USD at supporting retail locations. For those who purchased an eligible Windows 7 PC between June 2nd and January 31st, 2013, the Windows Upgrade Offer charges only $14.99 for moving up to Windows 8 Pro.

"If you upgrade to the Windows 8 edition or buy a PC with the Windows 8 edition pre-installed and want to move to the Windows 8 Pro edition, you can purchase the Windows 8 Pro Pack (previously known as Windows Anytime Upgrade) directly within Windows 8 by going to the Start screen and typing 'Add Features to Windows 8' and at participating retailers for $69.99 MSRP (U.S.) until January 31st," Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said on Friday.

For consumers running Windows 8 Pro that want Windows Media Center and DVD playback, they can add the Windows 8 Media Center Pack for free until January 31st, LeBLanc added.

Customers building their PC from scratch, looking to run the new OS in a Virtual Machine, or want to install the OS on a separate partition are suggested to purchase the Windows 8 edition or Windows 8 Pro edition OEM product known as "System Builder". Both are available online and at local retailers, he said.

Now for the bad news.

Here is the list of upgrade pricing set to take place on February 1, and it's not pretty compared to the cheap pricing Microsoft has offered so far:

* The Windows 8 Pro upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $199.99 MSRP (U.S.).
* The Windows 8 upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $119.99 MSRP (U.S.).
* The Windows 8 Pro Pack will cost $99.99 MSRP (U.S.).
* The Windows 8 Media Center Pack will cost $9.99 MSRP (U.S.).

If you're still procrastinating over upgrading to Windows 8, time is running out. Don't be scared – it's not the horrid monster critics have described since before its release. The new Modern UI isn't even the base OS despite what Microsoft has tried to sell. The desktop is still there – you just have to poke through the layer of square clouds (tiles) to access the familiar green pastures of your desktop residing below. The biggest change is the removal of the Start button, but the Start8 app can fix all that for a quick $5.

Kevin Parrish
106 Comments Comment from the forums
  • runningnak3d
    Microsoft couldn't PAY me to use that crap OS. They want to use it on tablets and desktops, and it isn't good for either. Microsoft, recall the OS -- it is unusable.
    Reply
  • ccovemaker
    I like Windows 8 and own 2 Win8 machine and I still think those prices are nuts.... Let the flaming begin!!!!
    Reply
  • catbus1
    If Microsoft is going to start pushing out bi-yearly operating systems and expect me to consider purchasing them then the price needs to come down. There is literally nothing Windows 8 offers me as a desktop user over Windows 7 especially when Windows 7 came with Media Center for free and I use it a lot. Not only is the OS price stupid high for it's marginal upgrades and features but removing features previously and charging extra for them is ridiculous.
    Reply
  • besplatan
    Yeah, the slower-than-Vistas adoption rate is going to get even worse. Windows 8 is a failure on so many levels, not only it didn't help Windows tablets and phones gain sales, it pissed off too many desktop users as well.
    Reply
  • killerclick
    Die, Metro, die

    Windows 7 until 2020
    Reply
  • victorintelr
    I personally like Windows 8 and installed it in a couple machines. The only problem I've had is with the drivers, more specifically with the Wacom drivers of my Thinkpad x230t. Actually and surprisingly the USB 3.0 drivers that come with Microsoft seem to work but I can't get the to work with the Intel ones and the tweaking. Yes, using only keyboard and mouse is a little harder but yu can get used to it. But Windows 8 is faster. All in all I think that the mistake microsoft did was to dissapear the start button, too early and in he wrong moment with so much cometition
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    Eh, I'll wait for the next edition for Windows. Maybe it would fix W8's flaws just like W7 to Vista.
    Reply
  • billgatez
    Sales in the toilet? Raise the price. F**kin GENIUS.
    Reply
  • p05esto
    I wouldn't install Win8 on my 6 PCs if I was paid $100 for each PC to do so. Nope, it's total crap and heading in the wrong direction. More customization and personalization, not LESS. We're being forced into a dumbed down one-size-fits-all experience and it's horrible.

    It's like all modern browsers, half of the main navigation options are going away and you have to dig around just to get the "Home" button in place. How in the world does removing the home button help anyone? All of this lack of customization is killing me, who does the user testing on all of this crap, monkeys?
    Reply
  • killerclick
    p05estoHow in the world does removing the home button help anyone?
    I think browser creators know exactly how many people click the home button and how often. As for removing customization options, I firmly believe that's just a trend being forced by designers and "UI experts" who see dumbed down Apple products making huge bank, and they think it's the dumbing down that's the answer. Or Microsoft sees the success of the iPad and thinks putting touch on desktop is the answer. They're all missing the point.
    Reply