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Windows 7 to have fewer SKUs?

We know that there will be an enterprise version of 7 because Microsoft has said that there will be, but what we don’t know is how many other versions Microsoft will put out.  It is likely that they would like to avoid the criticisms that came with the massive number of versions that Vista came out with.  It has been rumored that there will be a NetBook version but Microsoft has not officially endorsed that yet according to CNet.  If they do make a NetBook version, they could likely bundle it with lower performing computers in the same way that they did with Windows Vista Home Basic as it would be more suitable to weaker hardware.  There will be a home version most likely because Windows has done that since XP, the beta version of 7 says Ultimate so we can assume that there will be an ultimate version as well.  NetBook, Home, Ultimate, and Enterprise makes 4 versions so far, While not a huge improvement on the number of versions that Vista came out with, it would at least be a more manageable number and those versions have clear lines that divide them - NetBook for low end hardware, Home for the average home user, Enterprise for businesses, and Ultimate for the people that want to have everything.  It would be a better idea to just ship one version of Windows 7 and allow people to select what type of install they want to use, but Microsoft won’t do that because they have proven that people will pay more for the extra features.  That is a different strategy than Apple uses, which just has one version of OS X for the consumer and one for servers - yes, there is a single user license and a home license at different prices, but inside the box is the exact same DVD.  You are on the honor system with Apple as OS X does not phone home to activate.  Hopefully Microsoft will give us better pricing for 7, Vista seemed to have some price drops after it was released because it sold so poorly.  I would expect to see the NetBook version sold for around 79 dollars, the Home version at 129, the Enterprise at 129, and the Ultimate could go for 179.  It would be nice for Microsoft to make these versions stand-alone versions that do not need a previous version of Windows installed, that would be a nice treat for those who build their own systems and it would provide incentive for them to use Windows 7 over Linux.

4 Comments

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home and netbook would be the same, though just configged differently by preinstallers (OEM), somewhat as “normal” xp home laptops are configged differently than xp home desktops.

how would “ultimate” differ from “business”? both should have extra services like remote,, vpn,, whatever, IMO.
Ms already has Server 2003, 2008 to differentiate from regular OSes.
possibly Ms should sell a media version (with all the glitz)? Or is htpc already considered necessary in “basic” :-)
So i see only 3 versions: Server, Home, “Pro”/Mega.

What Do You Think?

 
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