Microsoft has finally revealed the pricing of Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade and Windows 7 Family Packs. Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade offers an opportunity to customers to upgrade their edition of Windows 7 to one that is offering an increased functionality. Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Premium Anytime Upgrades are offered by Microsoft. Customers purchasing a computer system of Windows 7 Starter can upgrade that operating system to Windows 7 Home Premium for the price of $79.99.
Customers who purchased computer systems with Windows 7 Home Premium have the option to either upgrade to Windows 7 Professional for $89.99 or to Windows 7 Ultimate for $139.99. The price difference between Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate is higher than that of the retail editions of Windows 7.
It is also interesting to note that there will be no Anytime Upgrade for Windows 7 Professional to Windows 7 Ultimate. Customers who purchase Windows 7 Professional need to make sure that it is the operating system that meets their requirements as it is not possible to upgrade at a later time to Windows 7 Ultimate which is offering some additional features on top of all the features of the professional edition.
- Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium: $79.99
- Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional: $89.99
- Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Ultimate: $139.99
The Windows 7 Family Pack on the other hand contains Windows 7 Home Premium licenses that can be installed of up to three computer systems in one household. The suggested retail price for the Windows 7 Family Pack is $149.99 which is only $30 more than the price of one Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade copy. The team is mentioning savings of about $200 when buying the Windows 7 Family Pack which would confirm that the family pack offers three Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade licenses.
The packshot confirms this as it states that it can be used to “upgrade 3 PCs for a special price”. It should also be noted that “the Windows 7 Family Pack will be available starting on October 22nd until supplies last here in the US and other select markets”. Lets hope that Microsoft gets their act together and provides these markets with enough supplies this time.
[source windows team blog]
Update: Just realized that Robert has already posted about this
