When Microsoft announced that it would not release Windows Vista in time for the holiday season, many industry analysts felt the entire PC market may suffer as people put off purchases until the next generation OS was finally available. In order to ease the worries of OEM's and reinforce the general consumer's confidence that it will be a sound investment to buy a new PC during the holidays, Microsoft is planning on offering some kind of promotional deal allowing people to upgrade their brand new Windows XP system to a Windows Vista easily and affordably.
No details have been released, but those same worrisome industry analysts feel that looking back on the promotions MS offered with XP's release will give a clue as to what we can expect when Vista finally hits the shelves. At the time of Windows XP's release, OEM's offered recent customers a coupon allowing them to upgrade their new computers for free or, in some cases, for a small $39 fee. This move, if applied to Vista's release, should help thwart some consumer's concerns at the time of year where OEM's make most of their profit.
News source: PCWorld
