Microsoft, PC makers begin taking preorders for Windows 8 software & devices

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Microsoft continues to build toward the Oct. 26 launch of its new Windows 8 operating system, as it began taking preorders for the software on Friday, while PC makers also started accepting advance orders of their new Windows 8-powered machines.

In a post to the official Windows Team Blog, Microsoft Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc revealed that customers can now reserve a packaged DVD of the Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $69.99 at select retailers. Participating retailers include Amazon.com, Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, Microsoft's retail stores, and more.

LeBlanc noted that the packaging for Windows 8 takes a "fresh approach," with five different illustrations available. The new packaging also utilizes paper-based materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption while also reducing the packaging weight by 41 percent.

Microsoft's continued offering of boxed retail software is a stark contrast from Apple, which has opted to go digital-only with its latest operating system release, Mountain Lion. The OS X 10.8 upgrade is only available through the Mac App Store for existing Mac owners at a price of $19.99.

Windows users will also be able to go the digital route to upgrade to Windows 8 starting Oct. 26 through the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant at windows.com. Those who choose that route will pay $39.99 for the upgrade.

Windows 8


The upgrade pricing for Windows 8 is less than previous releases of Microsoft's desktop operating system, but the company noted on Friday that those prices for both digital and retail are only good through Jan. 31, 2013.

In addition, as of Friday, customers can also preorder new PCs that will come preinstalled with Windows 8. Microsoft's OEM partners including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Samsung and Sony are all taking preorders for their latest PCs set to launch on Oct. 26.

Those who may have bought or will buy a Windows 7 PC between June 2 through the end of next January can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99. That offer will be redeemable starting with the launch of Windows 8 on Oct. 26.

Beyond Windows 8, Oct. 26 will also mark the debut of Microsoft's new Surface touchscreen tablets, designed to compete with Apple's iPad by running low-power ARM processors and an ARM-compatible version of Windows 8, dubbed Windows RT. Microsoft recently began a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote Surface, with some graffiti-style advertisements appearing in major cities across the U.S. near existing Apple retail stores.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 60
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    And so it begins…


     


    Microsoft's departure from consumer OS'.

  • Reply 2 of 60
    macky the mackymacky the macky Posts: 4,801member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    LeBlanc noted that the packaging for Windows 8 takes a "fresh approach," with five different illustrations available. The new packaging also utilizes paper-based materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption while also reducing the packaging weight by 41 percent.


     



     


    It seems Microsoft is more excited about the box it comes in than the product itself...?

  • Reply 3 of 60
    cheesehead davecheesehead dave Posts: 63member


    OOC, does Boot Camp support a Windows 8 installation?

  • Reply 4 of 60
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member


    That Start Screen shows nothing but casual consumer computing. Where are the business applications?

  • Reply 5 of 60
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by Cheesehead Dave View Post

    OOC, does Boot Camp support a Windows 8 installation?


     


    Yep. Has since the Consumer Preview. I'm running the… whatever it is. Release Preview, maybe, right now. All the drivers work fine, except the Radeon 4xxx series is unsupported in Windows 8, so I can't get the partial OpenGL 3.1 driver that I used to have. 

  • Reply 6 of 60
    singlespeedsinglespeed Posts: 6member
    A Windows upgrade? How has that worked out in the past? Windows 7 has probably been the best at minimizing Windows bloat, but with all the upgrades and bug fixes along with residual applications an upgrade is not an attractive option. Also, does anyone get excited about anything MS releases these days? Most folks I talk with don't know or don't care what MS is up to.
  • Reply 7 of 60
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member


    Well... I'm kinda' rooting for Windows 8....


     


    'course, I was pluggin' for old Joe last night...

  • Reply 8 of 60
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Ha, where I work we haven't even upgraded to Windows 7 or Office 2010 yet. :lol: Maybe Win 8 will work well on a tablet but Windows users love their start screen, task bar, control panel, etc. if they have to go in and out of the metro UI to get there they'll become frustrated fast.
  • Reply 9 of 60
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Looking forward to Windows 9, which will suspiciously have a Start menu, right where it was in Windows 7.
  • Reply 10 of 60
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    And so it begins…


     


    Microsoft's departure from consumer OS'.



     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    That Start Screen shows nothing but casual consumer computing. Where are the business applications?



     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    Ha, where I work we haven't even upgraded to Windows 7 or Office 2010 yet. image Maybe Win 8 will work well on a tablet but Windows users love their start screen, task bar, control panel, etc. if they have to go in and out of the metro UI to get there they'll become frustrated fast.203


     


    2013 could be a watershed year for Microsoft.   From what I read:



    • world wide sales of new desktop PCs are down and going lower -- meaning fewer automatic "new sales" of Windows 8



    • the Intel Surface-class Tablets aren't really tablets -- and aren't cost competitive enough to drive new sales (and Windows 8)


    • the UltraBooks are not compelling enough to drive new sales (and Windows 8)


    • Windows 8 is cumbersome to use compared to Windows 7, with no compelling features -- causing installed users to defer or avoid upgrade sales of Windows 8


    • Office 2013 offers no real advantages over 2013 -- why buy it?


    • when times are tight, consumers and companies tend to "avoid spending money and make what we have, work"


     


    All-in-all that's a pretty bleak picture for New Windows 8 and Office 2013 sales.

  • Reply 11 of 60
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    Well... I'm kinda' rooting for Windows 8....


     


    'course, I was pluggin' for old Joe last night...



    Dick, kinda curious here. Your posting history seems to indicate that you're an apple fan, like me .... so what makes you hope for Windows 8 .... just curious.

  • Reply 12 of 60
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member


    So, there is still no confirmed pricing for the Surface... right?

  • Reply 13 of 60
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post


     


    It seems Microsoft is more excited about the box it comes in than the product itself...?





    Come on.  If you wanna jump Ballmer's bones (which is trivially easy), you can do better than make fun of yet another Apple marketing technique he's simply adopted like he discovered "green marketing."  Jobs spent plenty of time in several keynotes trumpeting exactly the ecologically-friendlier packaging materials, lower shipping weight and smaller volume of the latest product packaging on some next generation release.

  • Reply 14 of 60
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

    So, there is still no confirmed pricing for the Surface... right?


     


    Are there even confirmed specs?

  • Reply 15 of 60
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by newbee View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    Well... I'm kinda' rooting for Windows 8....


     


    'course, I was pluggin' for old Joe last night...



    Dick, kinda curious here. Your posting history seems to indicate that you're an apple fan, like me .... so what makes you hope for Windows 8 .... just curious.



     


    Ohh... forgot the /s

  • Reply 16 of 60
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member


    LMAO


     


    That's really all that can be said. 


     


    Windows Phone is tanking. Has been for almost two years. Nokia is barely treading water. MS has no presence in the tablet space worth mentioning. Surface, on price and on usability, looks like something only hardcore fans will care to buy - along with all the "it's just a reference device" excuses - meanwhile OEMs a producing their own junk from the "reference device" that will apparently be priced out of the market, and Windows 8 looks to be another Vista, if not worse. 

  • Reply 17 of 60
    tylerk36tylerk36 Posts: 1,037member


    Has any one ran Winders 8?  I ran the public beta.  I didn't like it.  When you click on start this so called home screen slides over and you have active icons.  I wanted to play a game.  I had to create a shortcut on the desktop in order to play the game.  I think that Microsloft (yes Microsloft) should have made the start screen an option not have it force you to use it.


     


    Look at this link.  The video is nice.  Yet it doesn't show any functions beyond a sorta iOS competitive view.


     


    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview

  • Reply 18 of 60
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    It will be pretty sad if Windows 8/Surface bomb considering all the free advertising MS is getting from the tech press.
  • Reply 19 of 60
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    tylerk36 wrote: »
    Has any one ran Winders 8?  I ran the public beta.  I didn't like it.  When you click on start this so called home screen slides over and you have active icons.  I wanted to play a game.  I had to create a shortcut on the desktop in order to play the game.  I think that Microsloft (yes Microsloft) should have made the start screen an option not have it force you to use it.

    Look at this link.  The video is nice.  Yet it doesn't show any functions beyond a sorta iOS competitive view.

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview
    Don't forget when they did their surface event a few months ago they spent very little time showing the device and software in use. It was all about VaporMg and Touch Cover. Yet even with all the focus on the touch cover they didn't let anyone use it. So we still don't know how well (or not) it will work.

    I'm still trying to figure out why Microsoft would hold a product event several months before launch with little to no specs or pricing, no real demos to speak of and no hands on working devices for the attendees to play around with.
  • Reply 20 of 60
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    I very, very, very interested in how this is going to be received.

    Very.


    By the way, for an interesting look at Microsoft's last decade or so, check this out:

    http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer
Sign In or Register to comment.