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Amazon.com Lists Windows Vista Prices and Ship Date, Opens Pre-Orders

Microsoft will charge USD 239 for the version of the Windows Vista operating system according to prices listed on Internet retailer Amazon.com's web site.

Amazon.com, which has begun taking pre-orders for Vista, also reveals list prices for two other versions. Those prices will be similar to what Microsoft currently charges for comparable versions of Windows XP, the current system.

According to Amazon.com, Windows Vista Home Basic will cost USD 199 for a new copy and USD 100 for an upgrade. Windows Vista Home Premium, a step above Home Basic in functionality, will sell for USD 239 for a new version and USD 159 for an upgrade. And Windows Vista Ultimate, the highest-end version of Vista for consumers, will cost USD 399 for a new copy and USD 259 for an upgrade, according to Amazon.com. Windows Vista Business will cost USD 299 for a new copy, while an upgrade will sell for USD 199.

The prices listed on Amazon.com's web site are for those users who choose to buy the operating system on its own. Many consumers, however, buy Windows as part of a new computer purchase.

Microsoft declined comment on the prices. Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows client unit, said the company will officially make prices public when it releases a near-final test version, called release candidate 1, which is expected by the end of September.

Amazon.com spokesman Sean Sundwell said the Seattle-based online retailer posted the listings and began taking pre-orders two or three weeks ago because consumers were asking for that option. He said the prices are from the latest price sheet that Microsoft provided. "The one thing we were certain on is the price,'' Sundwell said.

Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund, who was among the first to note the Amazon.com listings, said in a research note that the prices listed on the web site, if accurate, could provide some boost to Microsoft's earnings. But he wrote that it was hard to judge exactly how Vista will impact Microsoft's earnings because details such as the exact release date are not yet clear.

In addition, Microsoft acknowledged that it inadvertently posted Canadian pricing for Vista on its Canadian web site and then pulled the price list from the site when the information was reported in the media. Converted to US dollars, the prices for Vista in Canada were higher than the US prices listed on Amazon.com's web site.


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