Windows 7 tops Vista software sales, lags behind in hardware

***AppleInsider*** · 11-06-2009, 08:17 AM

Microsoft's heavily hyped Windows 7 debut was a success for the Redmond, Wash., company in terms of boxed software, which saw a 234 percent increase over Vista, though PC hardware sales slowed.

According to the NPD Group, the first few days of Windows 7 sales far exceeded that of Windows Vista. Revenue came in 82 percent higher as well, a number lower than the sales increase due to early discounts and a lack of promotional activity for the operating system's 'Ultimate' version.

One promotion run by Microsoft pushed copies of Windows 7 for $29.99 for a valid .edu e-mail address, making the OS essentially the same price for students as Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 upgrade. That deal runs through Jan 3, 2010.

The top-selling upgrade was Windows 7 Home Premium, with an average selling price of $76. It was followed by Windows 7 Pro at $147, and then the Home Premium Family Pack 3 User Upgrade, which costs $149.

"Microsoft's program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing and aggressive deals helped to make the Windows 7 software launch successful," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "In a slow environment for packaged software, Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles."

Total Windows PC sales were up 49 percent year-over-year, and 95 percent from the week prior to its debut. But compared to the launch of Windows Vista, those numbers lagged behind by a total of 6 percent. Vista also managed to create a 68 percent year-over-year increase, and a 170 percent boost over the week before its launch.

"A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset, but the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season," Baker said. "Vista had a slight advantage at launch, as January traditionally has a bigger sales footprint than October. The other hurdle Windows 7 faced was sales of PCs with older operating systems (XP and Vista) were high, making up 20 percent of sales during the Windows 7 launch, compared to just 6 percent of older operating systems during Vista's launch week."

Microsoft had a marketing blitz surrounding the debut of Windows 7, opening its first retail store in Scottsdale, Ariz., selling giant seven-pattied Whoppers in Japan, and encouraging users to throw home parties to demonstrate the new OS. Apple fired back with its own marketing blitz, criticizing the difficult process of upgrading a Windows XP machine to Windows 7. Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president for Worldwide Product Marketing, said the debut of Microsoft's new operating system gave many people good reason to switch to a Mac.

"Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out," he said. "If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?"

In August, Apple debuted its own operating system upgrade, Snow Leopard. Priced at $29, Mac OS X 10.6 had sales twice as high as its predecessor, Leopard, in its first week, and four times better than Tiger. In addition, the new OS showed sales strength beyond its initial week, with sales dipping only 25 percent.

Apple Chief Operations Officer Tim Cook noted during his company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call that the sales of Snow Leopard exceeded their expectations. Upgrade sales of Snow Leopard were said to be more than double that of Leopard over its first five weeks of sale.

"That was much more than we planned," Cook said, "very pleasantly surprised."

zindako · 11-06-2009, 08:28 AM

First

iphonedeveloperthailand · 11-06-2009, 08:38 AM

Nice to hear that MS is finally taking the effort to improve. This will motivate Apple to make better products. Consumers win!!!

Jerseymac · 11-06-2009, 09:01 AM

I was in a Best Buy the week Windows 7 came out and it was not heavily hyped in the store at all. No posters, no T-Shirts, no popcorn. Nuthin. Very quiet launch.

Of course this is the same store that didn't even mention the all new 27 inch iMac in their store ad last weekend.

doyourownthing · 11-06-2009, 09:03 AM

the fact that 29.99 is the same price a snow leopard qualifies this article to be apple insider news?

how about comparing windows 7 with tomato fertilizer for the same price? sounds more appropriate...

sheff · 11-06-2009, 09:05 AM

I gotta say that Win7 is surprisngly good. I actually run it under parallels, and the thing is faster then XP (also in parallels). Vista was much slower and much more annoying, so I did not bother activating it and stuck with XP, now I am fairly confident I am going to delete XP from parallels as soon as I am sure all the Win Software I need can be brought over to it. That said OSX is still better in my view.

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseymac

I was in a Best Buy the week Windows 7 came out and it was not heavily hyped in the store at all. No posters, no T-Shirts, no popcorn. Nuthin. Very quiet launch.

Of course this is the same store that didn't even mention the all new 27 inch iMac in their store ad last weekend.

Isn't wasn't heavily hyped at all compared to Vista whereas everyone was anticipating it for years when it was originally called Longhorn.
After release though it has been properly advertised, unlike Vista- and unlike Snow Leopard for that matter.

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iphonedeveloperthailand

Nice to hear that MS is finally taking the effort to improve. This will motivate Apple to make better products. Consumers win!!!

I am with you on that one!

AppleSux · 11-06-2009, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseymac

I was in a Best Buy the week Windows 7 came out and it was not heavily hyped in the store at all. No posters, no T-Shirts, no popcorn. Nuthin. Very quiet launch.

EXACTLY. Other than two very tame commercials with that little girl, Microsoft itself did very little to promote, and definitely did not "hype" Win 7 at all.

People who used Win7 (RC, RTM, whatever) were the ones who hyped the product. That in itself should say something.

Foo2 · 11-06-2009, 09:40 AM

It's no wonder, if 7 isn't going to spur many new PC sales, that M$ is generally charging a fortune for the upgrade (eg, $150 for a family Home 3-pak or $200 for "Pro"). That's maybe a good tactic for negotiating a $30 price with big business, but for SMB and Ma and Pa, it provides a nice incentive to switch.

I see Amazon has already started discounting. It couldn't happen to a nicer company and a more talented CEO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foo2

It's no wonder, if 7 isn't going to spur many new PC sales, that M$ is generally charging a fortune for the upgrade (eg, $150 for a family Home 3-pak or $200 for "Pro"). That's maybe a good tactic for negotiating a $30 price with big business, but for SMB and Ma and Pa, it provides a nice incentive to switch.

I see Amazon has already started discounting. It couldn't happen to a nicer company and a more talented CEO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc

Very few PC people upgrade their OS to begin with. They simply buy new computers as PCs are relatively inexpensive compared to Apple's "premium" hardware.

DKWalsh4 · 11-06-2009, 09:48 AM

I'm surprised this article wasn't written by Prince. It has his signature all over it

Anyways, just received my W7 disc in the mail yesterday. Installed with Fusion 3 and it works like a dream! (My magic mouse also runs flawlessly in Fusion btw.)

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKWalsh4

I'm surprised this article wasn't written by Prince. It has his signature all over it

Anyways, just received my W7 disc in the mail yesterday. Installed with Fusion 3 and it works like a dream! (My magic mouse also runs flawlessly in Fusion btw.)

What is it like (Windows 7)? It must be more intuitive than XP? I've never used Vista so I would be coming from that perspective.

Rob55 · 11-06-2009, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheff

I gotta say that Win7 is surprisngly good. I actually run it under parallels, and the thing is faster then XP (also in parallels). Vista was much slower and much more annoying, so I did not bother activating it and stuck with XP, now I am fairly confident I am going to delete XP from parallels as soon as I am sure all the Win Software I need can be brought over to it. That said OSX is still better in my view.

I got the $29.99 upgrade myself and installed it on a 1-year-old Dell laptop with 2.0Ghz Core2Duo and 1GB of RAM and it runs surprisingly well. I've still had no fewer than 6 updates (security and bug patches) in the week since installing it but it does seem to run well. I also had a few glitches here and there and it does still nag you a bit (but you can turn that off). All that said, I still highly prefer and love OS-X SL. Windows 7 just makes the occasional use of the PC that much more bearable.

hiimamac · 11-06-2009, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iphonedeveloperthailand

Nice to hear that MS is finally taking the effort to improve. This will motivate Apple to make better products. Consumers win!!!

Agree. Consumes win. Someday back to the $1499 Mac or bettercm yet the midrange headkess mac, or same as iMac without screen and some slots, possible 8 core as mac is losing in rendering farms and servers even if end user has a mac. Too much bang fir the buck and mac desktop workstation are built with server parts, shouldntvhave to be that way.

I think if the courier is real and not oem and 100% Microsoft controlled, this could be a game changer. Most business/artist will want as wel as ebook and possible journalist, cad, musicians and if it's controlled 100 % Microsoft could equate total reliability similar to Apple products.

Peace

Rob55 · 11-06-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

What is it like (Windows 7)? It must be more intuitive than XP? I've never used Vista so I would be coming from that perspective.

Actually, if you're used to XP then you'll be scratching your head in Control Panel trying to find where they put everything. Otherwise, it does seem fairly intuitive.

hiimamac · 11-06-2009, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doyourownthing

the fact that 29.99 is the same price a snow leopard qualifies this article to be apple insider news?

how about comparing windows 7 with tomato fertilizer for the same price? sounds more appropriate...

Todays macs run windows so most
Microsoft news is now relevant due to x86 chip technology bootcamp fusion parallels et-cetera.

Peace

Quadra 610 · 11-06-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iphonedeveloperthailand

Nice to hear that MS is finally taking the effort to improve. This will motivate Apple to make better products. Consumers win!!!

Apple made better products anyway.

While MS is busy sccraping the bottom end with the generic, undifferentiated box-assemblers, Apple is busy growing the Premium market and releasing game-changing products.

Apple doesn't seem to need anyone to push them, since Apple is pushing the entire industry forward. They did it during Vista, and they're doing it now in the Mobile space with no actual viable competition aside form another iPhone wannabe that falls short.

http://www.macdailynews.com/index.ph..._apple_iphone/

And Windows 7 sales exceed Vista?? No kidding. After 8 years of garbage operating systems inflicted on users by MS, the one that fixes Vista is actually selling more than Vista. Shocker. People are so sick of MS' operating system blunders that they'll take anything that's even marginally better. But we'll see what XP users are going to end up doing. That should be interesting.

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Apple doesn't seem to need anyone to push them, since Apple is pushing the entire industry forward.

Well that's not true for computer hardware- at all . Where's Blu-ray? Where's quad laptops? Where's hybrid gloss/matte screens? HDMI? etc, etc. Apple computers just got SD slots for godsake! in 2009!

sranger · 11-06-2009, 10:11 AM

I have been a long time ( 20 + years ) windows user and software developer. I can honestly say that I hated Vista. In fact I quit doing software development and moved on to other things when it came out. I tested the beta versions of Windows 7 and found it to be better than Vista and about on par with the performance offered in XP. I got the release version the day it was available on my MSDN account. It was a little more stable than the beta versions, but not by much. When I needed a new laptop in June, I decided to get a MAC. I figured if I had to move to a more or less incompatible OS from XP I might as well move to the MAC.

I liked the MacBook Pro so well, I bought a Mac Mini for my entertainment center. I still find a few things I like better in the Windows OS, but the stability of the MAC OS ( Using Snow Leopard ) is still far better than what Windows 7 offers. I still find video editing on the PC to be better ( iMovie is way too slow ). Games are still better on the PC ( mainly more options ). Networking still seems to be a little cleaner and more robust on the PC.

I do run XP and W7 in Fusion on my Macbook Pro, but only when I have to.

I still can't for the life of me understand why Apple decide to not have a delete and insert key on their keyboards, but I guess that is a small price to pay for an overall much better computing experience....

Windows 7 is going to be a strong competitor to OS X, but I probably won't go back to the PC....

DKWalsh4 · 11-06-2009, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

What is it like (Windows 7)? It must be more intuitive than XP? I've never used Vista so I would be coming from that perspective.

I have to admit it is pretty nice. As someone else said, figuring out where certain things are is a task, but its pretty trivial. Plus I've had a lot of use out of the compatibility mode and it works like a dream. (You can open a program and have it pretend to be an older version of Windows.) Plus most programs that worked in Vista will work in 7, as we all know 7 is basically an update of Vista

I don't use it intensively, mainly just for MS Office as I find the OS X version sub-par. My fiance also has grading programs that require Windows, and they work even though they were built for XP. It doesn't hog RAM like its predecessor and is generally just more intuitive. I'd recommend it if you were looking into getting it.

hiimamac · 11-06-2009, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foo2

It's no wonder, if 7 isn't going to spur many new PC sales, that M$ is generally charging a fortune for the upgrade (eg, $150 for a family Home 3-pak or $200 for "Pro"). That's maybe a good tactic for negotiating a $30 price with big business, but for SMB and Ma and Pa, it provides a nice incentive to switch.

I see Amazon has already started discounting. It couldn't happen to a nicer company and a more talented CEO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc

You do know that gamers make up more sakes than video and music combined right? That the proSumer makes up a much larger portion than thr pri user thus one to ine going from all in one pro care one to onrle for $99 and now $99 each and thar one to one trainers no longer know shake, fcp, logic and that it's all iLife right. Plus musicians now make up a bulk of pc sale and apple does market ant device to them or up and coming videographer with machines that can proper store tge os in one bs, music or footage on another and samples or virtual instuments on a third HD so there are at least 80% of the market who feel 180 degrees different toward apple as that video shows his love for msft, right. There are many that simply cannot stand apple and with todays new mac user, this is why you see the outcry of missing product market gaps. Befire, say 5 years ago, aple was all about the Pro creative user and users didn't know ant better, today they do at the same time apples focus is on iLife while forgetting the pro user.
So imagine that videos then turn it around where 80% of the users feel that way anti Apple. I've met some and they have a legit beef. Even avid symphony that is number 1 in the world Burbank CA, has dropped mac and uses pc rendering for avid. That blew my mind when I toured the school.

Peace

Rob55 · 11-06-2009, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKWalsh4

My fiance also has grading programs that require Windows, and they work even though they were built for XP. It doesn't hog RAM like its predecessor and is generally just more intuitive. I'd recommend it if you were looking into getting it.

Yeah, all my old Windows programs work fine in 7. I agree, if you need to run Windows, I think you can finally bail on XP for 7. I did.

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKWalsh4

I have to admit it is pretty nice. As someone else said, figuring out where certain things are is a task, but its pretty trivial. Plus I've had a lot of use out of the compatibility mode and it works like a dream. (You can open a program and have it pretend to be an older version of Windows.) Plus most programs that worked in Vista will work in 7, as we all know 7 is basically an update of Vista

I don't use it intensively, mainly just for MS Office as I find the OS X version sub-par. My fiance also has grading programs that require Windows, and they work even though they were built for XP. It doesn't hog RAM like its predecessor and is generally just more intuitive. I'd recommend it if you were looking into getting it.

I defintiely am thinking of buying it as I need to run some Windows software and don't want to use my work computer. Unfortunately I can't run it on my 3 year old iMac (GO figure?) and may wind up buying a small Sony notebook Vaio with Blu-ray and HDMI and a hybrid matte screen.

chronster · 11-06-2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Apple made better products anyway.

While MS is busy sccraping the bottom end with the generic, undifferentiated box-assemblers, Apple is busy growing the Premium market and releasing game-changing products.

Apple doesn't seem to need anyone to push them, since Apple is pushing the entire industry forward. They did it during Vista, and they're doing it now in the Mobile space with no actual viable competition aside form another iPhone wannabe that falls short.

http://www.macdailynews.com/index.ph..._apple_iphone/

And Windows 7 sales exceed Vista?? No kidding. After 8 years of garbage operating systems inflicted on users by MS, the one that fixes Vista is actually selling more than Vista. Shocker. People are so sick of MS' operating system blunders that they'll take anything that's even marginally better. But we'll see what XP users are going to end up doing. That should be interesting.

You sound like a child with his arms crossed, stomping his feet saying "NO NO NO NO NO!"

People like Windows 7. That pisses you off doesn't it? You've made your hatred for MS so personal that you perceive their success as a personal blow. Absolutely amazing on so many levels. Really, you belong in a psychology journal somewhere.

As many others will inevitably say, I've been on Vista for the past 2 years with not a single problem whatsoever. In fact, I've yet to actually meet anyone who feels their Vista machine needs to be "fixed."

I'd like to bet you don't have much experience with Vista, and given your obvious bias towards Apple, whatever short experience you do have you've subjected to a strict scrutiny you don't even hold OSX to.

Anyways, you're more than welcome to voice an obvious bias given this is an Apple website, but lets stick to reality when it comes to this stuff.

See, if the fact that Vista wasn't revolutionary enough for XP users to justify the price is what you call a "garbage operating system" then I wonder what all those people who don't buy OSX upgrades call OSX...

genovelle · 11-06-2009, 10:41 AM

Of course Windows 7 is selling much faster the first few days. It was pent up demand. Not for the reason usually posted though. With Vista, people with XP were satisfied with what they had because it was finally working, sort of. Well Vista was a true dog. So much that Microsoft started pushing 7 immediately. three years later here it is. Well over the last three years anyone who bought a new computer got Vista. If they were not savvy enough to down grade it to XP the were stuck. Those are the people buying 7. Once these people who were trapped using a system they paid for but hated have up graded to the new Vista, it will taper off greatly. Those with XP machines would have to upgrade their computer and they are clearly not doing so, as the numbers show.

DKWalsh4 · 11-06-2009, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

I defintiely am thinking of buying it as I need to run some Windows software and don't want to use my work computer. Unfortunately I can't run it on my 3 year old iMac (GO figure?) and may wind up buying a small Sony notebook Vaio with Blu-ray and HDMI and a hybrid matte screen.

You're still running a PPC? Now I may understand your constant complaints are because you desperately need an upgrade!

DKWalsh4 · 11-06-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genovelle

Of course Windows 7 is selling much faster the first few days. It was pent up demand. Not for the reason usually posted though. With Vista, people with XP were satisfied with what they had because it was finally working, sort of. Well Vista was a true dog. So much that Microsoft started pushing 7 immediately. three years later here it is. Well over the last three years anyone who bought a new computer got Vista. If they were not savvy enough to down grade it to XP the were stuck. Those are the people buying 7. Once these people who were trapped using a system they paid for but hated have up graded to the new Vista, it will taper off greatly. Those with XP machines would have to upgrade their computer and they are clearly not doing so, as the numbers show.

The adoption isn't as quick as you may think. But I'm pretty sure the corporate demand will pick up eventually. The company I work for has 1000+ computers working on XP. I know the IT department has used some people as testers for Windows 7 since the betas have been out. The upgrade will be coming eventually, but it takes time for IT to test and get all of our proprietary software working on it. (We use about a half a dozen programs that are built in-house.)

Rob55 · 11-06-2009, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chronster

See, if the fact that Vista wasn't revolutionary enough for XP users to justify the price is what you call a "garbage operating system" then I wonder what all those people who don't buy OSX upgrades call OSX...

My neighbor is still running Tiger on his 20" iMac and it has absolutely nothing to do with what he does or doesn't think of OSX. He's simply too complacent, lazy, cheap or all of the above. Then again, he could simply just be happy and figures, "why fix what ain't broken".

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKWalsh4

You're still running a PPC? Now I may understand your constant complaints are because you desperately need an upgrade!

No- I am running a Intel Core Duo which Apple says isn't compatible with Windows 7 (yet for some reason Vista was OK). And rarely have I ever "complained" about Apple OSX- who would?

geekdad · 11-06-2009, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chronster

You sound like a child with his arms crossed, stomping his feet saying "NO NO NO NO NO!"

People like Windows 7. That pisses you off doesn't it? You've made your hatred for MS so personal that you perceive their success as a personal blow. Absolutely amazing on so many levels. Really, you belong in a psychology journal somewhere.

As many others will inevitably say, I've been on Vista for the past 2 years with not a single problem whatsoever. In fact, I've yet to actually meet anyone who feels their Vista machine needs to be "fixed."

I'd like to bet you don't have much experience with Vista, and given your obvious bias towards Apple, whatever short experience you do have you've subjected to a strict scrutiny you don't even hold OSX to.

Anyways, you're more than welcome to voice an obvious bias given this is an Apple website, but lets stick to reality when it comes to this stuff.

See, if the fact that Vista wasn't revolutionary enough for XP users to justify the price is what you call a "garbage operating system" then I wonder what all those people who don't buy OSX upgrades call OSX...

Great post! You hit the nail right on the head!
Some people just hate MS just for no reason.... just because they are MS. But they do have great products. Quadra 610 does seem to take this waaaaay to personal....

geekdad · 11-06-2009, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob55

My neighbor is still running Tiger on his 20" iMac and it has absolutely nothing to do with what he does or doesn't think of OSX. He's simply too complacent, lazy, cheap or all of the above. Then again, he could simply just be happy and figures, "why fix what ain't broken".

That reminds me of my son......he hates the GUI in the operating system and still uses command lines when ever he can. If it were up to him we would all be using DOS 6.2! :-)

genovelle · 11-06-2009, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

Very few PC people upgrade their OS to begin with. They simply buy new computers as PCs are relatively inexpensive compared to Apple's "premium" hardware.

That would seem logical, but even during a recession Apples sales continue to increase, even accelerate, while the article notes that Windows PC sales continue falling even with Windows 7. It seems the cheaper no matter what multi-vendor crowd looses out to the quality I only have to call one company for support and I have actually heard of them and they will be in business 6 years from now, which is good because I will still be using my computer.

I know someone will say, oh Apple pulled support on 3 year old mac. Thats why Snow Leopard focuses on under the hood changes. Leopard that is on my 2001 Quick Silver makes my almost 9 year old mac on par with Window 7. Snow Leopard is about the future of the OS and allowing better use of the hardware.

Rob55 · 11-06-2009, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekdad

That reminds me of my son......he hates the GUI in the operating system and still uses command lines when ever he can. If it were up to him we would all be using DOS 6.2! :-)

And it's not for any lack of trying on my part. I even offered to do the upgrade for him but his response was, "meh".

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genovelle

That would seem logical, but even during a recession Apples sales continue to increase, even accelerate, while the article notes that Windows PC sales continue falling even with Windows 7. It seems the cheaper no matter what multi-vendor crowd looses out to the quality I only have to call one company for support and I have actually heard of them and they will be in business 6 years from now, which is good because I will still be using my computer.

I know someone will say, oh Apple pulled support on 3 year old mac. Thats why Snow Leopard focuses on under the hood changes. Leopard that is on my 2001 Quick Silver makes my almost 9 year old mac on par with Window 7. Snow Leopard is about the future of the OS and allowing better use of the hardware.

It will change. Vista wasn't launched in the middle of a recession- Windows 7 was. I'm actually surprised the article doesn't mention that that would skew the numbers. It's much too early to determine PC sales for Windows 7.

DKWalsh4 · 11-06-2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekdad

That reminds me of my son......he hates the GUI in the operating system and still uses command lines when ever he can. If it were up to him we would all be using DOS 6.2! :-)

Command lines? What are those?

geekdad · 11-06-2009, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKWalsh4

Command lines? What are those?

Like tan lines only different! :-)
Have a great weekend everyone! :-)

icyfog · 11-06-2009, 11:31 AM

Frankly, I'm disappointed to read about Windows 7 on an Apple-related site.
I couldn't care less how it's faring vis-a-vis Vista.

teckstud · 11-06-2009, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icyfog

Frankly, I'm disappointed to read about Windows 7 on an Apple-related site.
I couldn't care less how it's faring vis-a-vis Vista.

Well would you rather be reading about Sara Jessica Parker and how she stole the iPod name instead???!!!

DocNo42 · 11-06-2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icyfog

Frankly, I'm disappointed to read about Windows 7 on an Apple-related site.

You were forced to not only click on the link and read the story, but then comment on it as well?

Fascinating!

11-06-2009, 08:17 AM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,151	Windows 7 tops Vista software sales, lags behind in hardware Microsoft's heavily hyped Windows 7 debut was a success for the Redmond, Wash., company in terms of boxed software, which saw a 234 percent increase over Vista, though PC hardware sales slowed. According to the NPD Group, the first few days of Windows 7 sales far exceeded that of Windows Vista. Revenue came in 82 percent higher as well, a number lower than the sales increase due to early discounts and a lack of promotional activity for the operating system's 'Ultimate' version. One promotion run by Microsoft pushed copies of Windows 7 for $29.99 for a valid .edu e-mail address, making the OS essentially the same price for students as Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 upgrade. That deal runs through Jan 3, 2010. The top-selling upgrade was Windows 7 Home Premium, with an average selling price of $76. It was followed by Windows 7 Pro at $147, and then the Home Premium Family Pack 3 User Upgrade, which costs $149. "Microsoft's program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing and aggressive deals helped to make the Windows 7 software launch successful," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. "In a slow environment for packaged software, Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles." Total Windows PC sales were up 49 percent year-over-year, and 95 percent from the week prior to its debut. But compared to the launch of Windows Vista, those numbers lagged behind by a total of 6 percent. Vista also managed to create a 68 percent year-over-year increase, and a 170 percent boost over the week before its launch. "A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset, but the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season," Baker said. "Vista had a slight advantage at launch, as January traditionally has a bigger sales footprint than October. The other hurdle Windows 7 faced was sales of PCs with older operating systems (XP and Vista) were high, making up 20 percent of sales during the Windows 7 launch, compared to just 6 percent of older operating systems during Vista's launch week." Microsoft had a marketing blitz surrounding the debut of Windows 7, opening its first retail store in Scottsdale, Ariz., selling giant seven-pattied Whoppers in Japan, and encouraging users to throw home parties to demonstrate the new OS. Apple fired back with its own marketing blitz, criticizing the difficult process of upgrading a Windows XP machine to Windows 7. Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president for Worldwide Product Marketing, said the debut of Microsoft's new operating system gave many people good reason to switch to a Mac. "Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out," he said. "If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?" In August, Apple debuted its own operating system upgrade, Snow Leopard. Priced at $29, Mac OS X 10.6 had sales twice as high as its predecessor, Leopard, in its first week, and four times better than Tiger. In addition, the new OS showed sales strength beyond its initial week, with sales dipping only 25 percent. Apple Chief Operations Officer Tim Cook noted during his company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call that the sales of Snow Leopard exceeded their expectations. Upgrade sales of Snow Leopard were said to be more than double that of Leopard over its first five weeks of sale. "That was much more than we planned," Cook said, "very pleasantly surprised."

11-06-2009, 08:38 AM	#3
iphonedeveloperthailand Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 42	Nice to hear that MS is finally taking the effort to improve. This will motivate Apple to make better products. Consumers win!!! 80 million iPhones by 2012. That's only 15% of the market. http://www.iphonethailand.net

11-06-2009, 09:01 AM	#4
Jerseymac Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 85	Heavily Hyped? I was in a Best Buy the week Windows 7 came out and it was not heavily hyped in the store at all. No posters, no T-Shirts, no popcorn. Nuthin. Very quiet launch. Of course this is the same store that didn't even mention the all new 27 inch iMac in their store ad last weekend.

11-06-2009, 09:05 AM	#6
sheff Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 121	I gotta say that Win7 is surprisngly good. I actually run it under parallels, and the thing is faster then XP (also in parallels). Vista was much slower and much more annoying, so I did not bother activating it and stuck with XP, now I am fairly confident I am going to delete XP from parallels as soon as I am sure all the Win Software I need can be brought over to it. That said OSX is still better in my view. --SHEFFmachine out

11-06-2009, 09:40 AM	#10
Foo2 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 594	No wonder It's no wonder, if 7 isn't going to spur many new PC sales, that M$ is generally charging a fortune for the upgrade (eg, $150 for a family Home 3-pak or $200 for "Pro"). That's maybe a good tactic for negotiating a $30 price with big business, but for SMB and Ma and Pa, it provides a nice incentive to switch. I see Amazon has already started discounting. It couldn't happen to a nicer company and a more talented CEO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc

11-06-2009, 08:28 AM	#2
zindako Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 47	First

11-06-2009, 09:03 AM	#5
doyourownthing Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 142	the fact that 29.99 is the same price a snow leopard qualifies this article to be apple insider news? how about comparing windows 7 with tomato fertilizer for the same price? sounds more appropriate...

11-06-2009, 09:48 AM	#12
DKWalsh4 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 167	I'm surprised this article wasn't written by Prince. It has his signature all over it Anyways, just received my W7 disc in the mail yesterday. Installed with Fusion 3 and it works like a dream! (My magic mouse also runs flawlessly in Fusion btw.)

11-06-2009, 10:11 AM	#20
sranger Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kennesaw, GA Posts: 7	I have been a long time ( 20 + years ) windows user and software developer. I can honestly say that I hated Vista. In fact I quit doing software development and moved on to other things when it came out. I tested the beta versions of Windows 7 and found it to be better than Vista and about on par with the performance offered in XP. I got the release version the day it was available on my MSDN account. It was a little more stable than the beta versions, but not by much. When I needed a new laptop in June, I decided to get a MAC. I figured if I had to move to a more or less incompatible OS from XP I might as well move to the MAC. I liked the MacBook Pro so well, I bought a Mac Mini for my entertainment center. I still find a few things I like better in the Windows OS, but the stability of the MAC OS ( Using Snow Leopard ) is still far better than what Windows 7 offers. I still find video editing on the PC to be better ( iMovie is way too slow ). Games are still better on the PC ( mainly more options ). Networking still seems to be a little cleaner and more robust on the PC. I do run XP and W7 in Fusion on my Macbook Pro, but only when I have to. I still can't for the life of me understand why Apple decide to not have a delete and insert key on their keyboards, but I guess that is a small price to pay for an overall much better computing experience.... Windows 7 is going to be a strong competitor to OS X, but I probably won't go back to the PC....

11-06-2009, 10:41 AM	#26
genovelle Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 28	Vista user have no choice! Of course Windows 7 is selling much faster the first few days. It was pent up demand. Not for the reason usually posted though. With Vista, people with XP were satisfied with what they had because it was finally working, sort of. Well Vista was a true dog. So much that Microsoft started pushing 7 immediately. three years later here it is. Well over the last three years anyone who bought a new computer got Vista. If they were not savvy enough to down grade it to XP the were stuck. Those are the people buying 7. Once these people who were trapped using a system they paid for but hated have up graded to the new Vista, it will taper off greatly. Those with XP machines would have to upgrade their computer and they are clearly not doing so, as the numbers show.

11-06-2009, 11:31 AM	#38
icyfog Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5	Frankly, I'm disappointed to read about Windows 7 on an Apple-related site. I couldn't care less how it's faring vis-a-vis Vista.

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