Edible Apple

Following the flop that was Vista, Microsoft’s next attempt at an OS, titled Windows 7, is scheduled to be released on October 22, 2009.  And today, Microsoft announced what it’ll cost consumers to purchase the latest and greatest from Redmond.  The pricing structure is somewhat straight forward by Microsoft standards, but we’re not sure if that’s saying much.

Windows XP and Vista users will have the option of upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium for $120, to Windows 7 Professional for $200, and to Windows 7 Ultimate for $220.  Non-upgrade pricing for the above OS editions come in at $200, $300, and $320 respectively.

But wait! There’s more!

In an effort to boost consumers to upgrade, and to prevent a Vista situation where consumers held on to XP for dear life, Microsoft is implementing an early upgrade discount.  If you pre-order Windows 7 before July 11, you can purchase Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional for $49 and $99 respectively.  It’s admittedly a great deal, but with only 2 weeks before the offer runs out, we suspect the offer will go un-noticed by the vast majority of consumers.

Meanwhile, this September Apple will be selling its latest version of OS X, Snow Leopard, as a $29 upgrade for all Leopard users.  Tiger users will have to fork over $129.

The Loop writes on the matter:

It seems clear that Apple must have an insider working at Microsoft. Evidently this insider works in the pricing department, because the prices announced today only help Apple in its quest to increase market share.

Indeed.

I wonder if Microsoft will ever learn that releasing multiple, or shall we say crippled, versions of the same OS at varying prices is a point of confusion, and sometimes resentment, for many consumers.