Microsoft cuts retail Vista prices
Microsoft announced yesterday that it plans to slash prices for retail copies of Windows Vista up to almost 50% for certain editions in poorer countries, in order to boost sales that one analyst said have failed to meet expectations. But many customers, especially those in wealthier countries such as the U.S. or Europe, may only see additional discounts as small as 3 percent (or none at all) depending on which of Vista’s four consumer versions they are interested in.
Another excerpt from the article on computerworld.com:
Swenson says one reason retail Vista sales are weaker than XP’s is because of the many years — five — between its release and XP’s. By contrast, XP was released only one year after Windows 2000 and ME. That meant that consumers who bought a new PC with 2000 or ME would have been more likely to upgrade it with XP. Not so for consumers who bought a new XP PC three or four years ago; machines of such comparatively advanced age are unlikely to have been upgraded to Vista’s requirements.
