Microsoft today unveiled pricing for Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) and the Windows 7 Family Pack.Windows Anytime Uprade
WAU allows users who purchase machines with Home Premium or Starter to move up to a higher edition of Windows 7. After Windows 7 is released to market on October 22nd, you will be able to buy a retail package that contains an upgrade key from retail outlets. The pricing structure will be (US, EU, GBP):
- Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium: $79.99 · €74.99 · £69.99
- Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Professional: $114.99 · €184.99 · £119.99
- Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Ultimate: $164.99 · €204.99 · £139.99
- Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional: $89.99 · €179.99 · £119.99
- Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate: $139.99 · €189.99 · £124.99
- Windows 7 Professional to Windows 7 Ultimate: $129.99 · €134.99 · £84.99
Updated: The upgrade pricing for UK customers appears to be a rip off where Brits and Europeans will be charged almost double in some cases for Windows 7 Anytime Upgrades. According to a Microsoft spokesperson "WAU pricing is dependent upon several factors, including the edition being upgraded and the desired edition, but in general pricing is comparable or lower than Windows Vista WAU pricing. In terms of regional pricing, it's determined by a host of factors including local market conditions, partner margins, taxation, exchange rate and more."
Microsoft will also be offering WAU online upgrades in 13 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK or the US.
For more information on how Anytime Upgrade works checkout our guide.
Windows 7 Family Pack
Microsoft also announced that the Windows 7 Family Pack will be available on October 22 and priced at $149.99 in the US and $199.99 in Canada for three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses. Consumers will save $200 in the US by purchasing the Family Pack over individual copies. Microsoft did not supply pricing for markets other than the US and Canada.
Indeed, and those that missed the pre-order thing but were planning on getting 3 copies of HP can now do so at the same price
I'm glad to see Microsoft offering a more "reasonably" priced product. Hopefully they do the same with the upcoming Office suites!
Except in Europe
Damn straight I wonder how many people will be willing to pay at those prices!!! Once again welcome to RIP OFF BRITAIN!!!
Wait, wat?
Obviously, it escaped you the reason I posted that... Look at the names a little closer... Windows Anytime Upgrade != WUA. Was being lighthearted ;-)
Yes, last line item in the list:
Windows 7 Professional to Windows 7 Ultimate: $129.99 · €134.99 · £84.99
Edit: typo
I think Microsoft has decided this is how they are going to get revenge.
If the EU thought everything was going to be all happy & peachy after being fined for $100's of millions they are dreaming!
Oh yep it's fair to punish us consumers because some bastar* bureaucats shafted them. How is it good for him???? You're a freaking retard of the highest caliber obviously!!!!
Heck, I doubt that developing XP, Vista and Win7 didn't even cost Microsoft that much!
So, what does the EU have planned for that ridiculously large amount of money?
Well unfortunately the guy who did the article forgets that there is a huge diference in prices from the US and Europe ( UK included )
Even on Hardware
If its 500$ in the US it will be 500Eur in Europe , they wont ever do direct conversion , even if its manufactured in Europe
Retaliation? Probably. Fair for the consumers? Absolutely not. It's the European Commission that raised the lawsuits, not the general population!! Why should WE have to suffer because of what the "elected officials" decided to do "on our behalf" but without asking us??
Microsoft has to get there money back somehow.
You elected them. If you don't like what they are doing, don't re-elect them or even better yet, don't you guys have a means for kicking them out?
This is pretty much why it happened. I feel sorry for you guys over there having to deal with this kind of crap all the time. What needs to happen is someone should organize some kind of group to protest what the elected officials are doing.
I have you know the European Commission are non-elects lol, they are given the jobs bit like a lot of Americans politicians.
And there is no way to get rid of them?
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The EU politicians are elected, although parts of the structure are chosen by other elected politicians(I think).
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Most people who look at the larger picture will agree that the EU MS and Intel lawsuits are a good thing for the populace, me included.
guns. but we aren't allowed those either!
Nope it doesn't matter who we elect in the UK we get shafted by the EU, if we bering the Tories back into power the rich will get richer again and the poor will get poorer. We stay with Labour and they continue not to fix their mistakes, and f we brought anyone else in we'd be f***** in the A**. But it matters not, who we bring into power we will get shafted by the EU regardless
I don't think the EU have anything to do with it. For as long as I can remember, MS software has cost almost double here in the UK what it costs in the US. They always quote that 'market conditions' as one of the reasons for the discrepancy. I think an approximate translation of 'market conditions' is how much the guy in the street can be f***** up the a*** before he starts to complain.
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Most people who look at the larger picture will agree that the EU MS and Intel lawsuits are a good thing for the populace, me included.
How have those lawsuits been good for the populace? All I see is the EU collecting billions of dollars in fines.. which brings up another question, where were those multi-billion dollar fines spent? How many EU politicians have a fat bank account now? The EU sued and fined those companies $Billions on behalf of the populace, right? Did you see any of those $billions? What exactly did the EU do with those $billions and how did those billion dollar fines from those lawsuits help you? Was it really worth billions of dollars?
Funny the 7/7 bombers used a similar line. You're pretty naive (not to mention stupid) if you think things are ever that simple.
Last edited by |Rapture| on 01 Aug 2009 - 22:40
The European prices include around 20% Vallue Added Tax, while the US prices don't. If you want to compare prices you need to exclude the VAT:
Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium: $79.99 €74.99 (€62.49 without the tax = $87.49 )
Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Professional: $114.99 €184.99 (€154.15 without the tax = $215.82 )
Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Ultimate: $164.99 €204.99 (€170.825 without the tax = $239.155 )
Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional: $89.99 €179.99 (€149.99 without the tax = $209.98 )
Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate: $139.99 €189.99 (€154.15 without the tax = $215.82 )
Windows 7 Professional to Windows 7 Ultimate: $129.99 €134.99 (€112.49 without the tax = $157.486 )
So except Starter and Premium to Professuinal, the prices are similar.
* assumed VAT = 20%, EUR1 = USD1.4
Unfortunately, I think we in the UK are only surprised if we're not being ripped off.
wa wa wa what???
I need to move from NY ASAP!!!
Unfortunately, I think we in the UK are only surprised if we're not being ripped off.
VAT is cut to 15% temporarily in the UK, after December 2009 it will again increase to 17.5%.
I assumed 20% on avarage. In some EU countries VAT can increase up to 25%.
My sentiments exactly, anybody who thinks Microsoft is some stupid, monopolistic company is wrong. They are very smart and will get what they want. They will make enough profit to get back the money they lost in the fines by the EU
Net Result of the EU fine will be $0 lost by Microsoft, just will take a few years likely
The EU isn't our main government, each EU state has it's own administration.
Which they appear to be exercising, for better or for worse.
Which they appear to be exercising, for better or for worse.
yup, let em get their money back that was STOLEN from them by the EU, love how the title says RIPPED OFF, when its the other way around
its sad the people have to pay for it though, but hey they put that corrupt gov't in place let em deal with it
now they just need to strike at opera, and all will be good
No, they will say "F*** U M$!" and pirate it.
and if they do that as a company, Microsoft legally sweeps in and gets a big ol payment in damages for theft... a large number of people WILL be buying windows 7 in EU... I'm going to guess the net profit of these prices differences will have a very striking semblance to certain other figures connected to Microsoft lately... or maybe higher, as I expect windows 7 to be widely popular and to upsell well with XPMode to businesses.
Net Result of the EU fine will be $0 lost by Microsoft, just will take a few years likely
The government in Britian decided that us, the slaves could petition number 10 to get things changed, when same thing happened with vista (huge price difference) over a 1,000,000 signed the electronic petition, did Bliar listen, hell no.
Nothing will change as money talks.
What part isn't clear? Microsoft can charge whatever price they deem to be fair to obtain a license for their software. Due to their monopolistic pricing they will charge the highest rate they can. So I'm not sure why it is surprising.
The code isn't what they are selling as much as it is the features tied to that code. So they are pricing those features as high as they can.
A person can be similarly amazed at how a $100 US currency note is worth $100 when it consists of less paper and ink than a $10 novel at the local bookshop...
You are not required to upgrade. Your Vista or XP machine is not going to suddenly stop working once Win7 is released or anything like that.
Support for XP updates was extended out to something like 2013/2014
Yes, that is a huge rip off, isn't it?
Neowin in bad reporting shocker.
So, you buy the full version of home premium for £49.99, and then the upgrade to pro for £119, which makes £168.99.
How much does the full version of professional cost in the US again?
Windows 7 pro in the US = $300 which is £180.
Windows 7 pro in the US = $300 which is £180.
Yes, well done on ignoring the figures I posted there, which point out the hole in your logic. At the moment, I could upgrade from Home to Pro cheaper than you can.
Once all the special pre order offers have run out, these prices will change, mark my words.
Yea...
There were still some deals available this afternoon. Do you guys research anything that you post?
Between this and the last pricing news item (where you tried to claim that EU was getting ripped off on the full version prices), it really doesn't look like it.
Infact, it looks more and more like whenever you post anything to do with win 7, it is as sensationalist as possible, obviously more to do with revenue than actual quality of reporting.
Really depends on how count it. You keep saying you have your own governments and that EU is not your main governing body. The US would definitely be much bigger than an individual country, such as France or Germany if you counted as individual countries.
If we counted the US, Canada, and Mexico under NAFTA, such as you are saying with the "EuroZone", then we would be bigger.
However, take a dozen or so good sized countries and of course you are going to be bigger than the US
Make up your mind!
If we counted the US, Canada, and Mexico under NAFTA, such as you are saying with the "EuroZone", then we would be bigger.
However, take a dozen or so good sized countries and of course you are going to be bigger than the US
Make up your mind!
Eurozone is the largest single market, the EU is not a country per say but it has a separate member n the G20. NAFTA is near where near as a close link as we have in Europe.
The family pack is upgrades, not full licenses I believe
Look like you are right - just noticed I missed the tiny "Upgrade" text somehow on the top left of the box. I knew it was too good to be true.
so please explain that
so please explain that
Billion dollar companies such as Microsoft do not base there decisions on "revenge" or "getting even", its purely based on profit and how much they think they can get away with, like they always have.
Obviously, but that's not how it is in the minds of half-wits looking for every excuse to insult and bash Europeans.
Maybe they should focus on their own crappy economy and CORRUPT businesses and politicians before talking crap about others.
so please explain that
Well you could do like we Americans did to British Tea back in the 18th century. Dump all your unpurchased copies of Windows 7 into the Thames. And call it the London Windows Party.
E.g.:
Professional Retail: $299
Ultimate Retail: $319
Ultimate via Professional: $428 (= $299 + $129)
Be sure to choose carefully!
Yeah. There's little chance they'd try pricing like this in China after all. I thought they'd learned the lesson that if you want people to stop pirating Windows, charge less for it.
I don't know how a compnay like MS can not have some kind of online-store presence in New Zealand. MS are useless.
Damn, I need to tell my geography teacher..
Damn, I need to tell my geography teacher..
UK sometimes gets ripped-off even worse because the currency is different than in the euro-zone. And I'd say most countries without the euro that are inside europe will get something close to 1:1 euro conversion. UK is different!
Tthe EU prices are probably without tax as each country will presumably add its own tax rates onto the Euro prices (with EU VAT being at least 15% on Windows).
Similarly the US prices presumably dont have sales tax on them.
However anything listed in GB£ for consumer purchase usually includes VAT (unless stated otherwise).
Ok, disclosure, I love Europe and spend quite a bit of time there.
However...
1) This is really not a EU thing, although it would serve them right, as stupid is as stupid does. The EU has done some good things, like some economic stabilization, but also some really stupid 'political crap' like jumping on the anti-Microsoft train of ignorance. (Which started from a really stupid Senator in the US named Orin Hatch that was POed because Microsoft was hurting three (3) companies in his home state, after they had ripped off the public and the world for years and years. So think how 'brilliant' the whole take down Microsoft movement is, and if that don't scare you, go look up Orin Hatch and then sob quietly to yourself that this fool started this crap - especially now that he claims to be a Microsoft Adovcate because of his right wing corporatism viewpoints. Geesh.)
2) When I buy things made in Belgium or the UK and pay 'extra' because I am a US citizen I don't bitch about it. I can think of several projector bulbs ordered just this last year made in Belgium that cost $500 per bulb, when the manufacturing costs are probably about $5-10 including overhead, labor and materials. And this is with what 'little' export and import taxes that do exist, as the US has killed most of them to let their domestic industry implode.
3) These prices are based on YOUR COUNTRY'S import and tarriffs laws. This is not bad. The US has sadly let go of most trade tarrifs and any country can sell their crap in to the US with virtually no domestic industry protections. Honestly, you should be 'proud' of your country for keeping the import taxes in place, because it makes domestic companies survive and keep your economy somewhat stable. So you pay a few extra bucks for something made in another country, it should be that way or you will lose any and all domestic stability, as you can watch the US encountering now.
(And yes I am using 'country' loosely, as this has become more and more EU controlled regarding import and export taxes at the request of the countries.)
But generally people are just moaning cry babies, also most people dont seem able to properly compare prices, often including UK tax and excluding American Tax etc. And forget to take into account these things are shipped and built in the East and they cost more to ship to Europe - probably beacause of Fuel tax more than anything.
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