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March 26, 2007

Microsoft Announces Record Vista Sales

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Microsoft announced yesterday that it sold more than 20 million licenses for Windows Vista in its first 30 days of general availability. That places Vista sales at more than double those of its predecessor, Windows XP, in the same time frame.

"We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to Windows Vista right out of the gate," says Microsoft Corporate Vice President Bill Veghte. "While it's very early in the product lifecycle, we are setting a foundation for Windows Vista to become the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever. Working with our partners, we are helping our customers leverage new tools and programs to accelerate the transition and provide a great user experience."

According to Microsoft, the 20 million Vista copies sold include licenses sold to PC makers, copies of retail full and upgrade versions sold to retailers, and upgrades ordered through the Vista Express Upgrade program between January 30 and February 28. By comparison, Microsoft sold less than half that number of XP licenses in its first 30 days of availability and announced in January 2002 that it had sold 17 million copies of XP in its first 60 days of availability.

Before Microsoft's announcements, various news stories had erroneously claimed that Vista sales were lagging behind those of XP. What's really happening is that most customers have opted to purchase new PCs with Vista preinstalled rather than upgrade their existing customers. This situation has benefited the entire PC industry, of course. Dell says its customers have overwhelmingly chosen premium Vista versions over lower-end versions, purchasing, in turn, more expensive PCs and components.

End of Article



Reader Comments
Wow!

shark47 March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


:)

i guess that puts to rest your theory of "security through obscurity" eh, MacCanuck?

XP

Waethorn March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


"most customers have opted to purchase new PCs with Vista preinstalled rather than upgrade their existing ***customers***."

to clarify, i think that last word is supposed to be "computers".

XP

Waethorn March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


i wonder if the lack of some watched-up, has-been musician's song being made a theme-track is to thank for all of this? ;)

XP

Waethorn March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


So I guess OSX went from being the #2 OS to the #3 OS in less than 30 days?

will84 March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


Upgrading customers somehow goes against the basic tenets of intelligent design.

shark47 March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


"Upgrading customers somehow goes against the basic tenets of intelligent design."

i dunno about that....upgrading customers to spend more money without offering anything more compelling, and thus not doing any more work, seems to be something that the "other side of the fence" seems to be good at doing. ;)

XP

Waethorn March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


"What's really happening is that most customers have opted to purchase new PCs with Vista preinstalled rather than upgrade their existing customers"

So if I buy a Vista upgrade, I get upgraded as well? Cool! Maybe with the better memory management, I won't be so forgetful...

About the sales figures, I expected as much. Once people actually use Vista, especially on a new PC, they will see how great it is. I upgraded my parent's and younger sibling's computer to Vista, and my mom loves some of the new features (like parental controls). I imagine it is similar for those millions of people.

I can see malware authors quaking in their shoes... There will be much, much less opportunities to hijack a Vista computer than an XP one.

NateB2 March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


"seems to be....seems to be...."

hmm....that didn't come out right....i guess it just assumes a big assumption. ;)

XP

Waethorn March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


"That places Vista sales at over double those of its predecessor, Windows XP"

PR Speak!!

Worldwide PC sales 2001 - 135 million
Worldwide PC sales 2006 - 239 million
Worldwide PC sales 2007 - 263 million (estimated)

Source: Gartner

Double the market.
Double the sales.

SPiotr March 26, 2007 (Article Rating: )


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