First free Windows 7 upgrade announced
A computer system builder is offering free upgrades to Windows 7 upon release to customers who buy machines now. But the deal comes with stipulations that make it far from attractive.
Puget, which is based in Seattle but sells machines nationwide, is the first firm to offer free upgrades. The deal is not part of the reported official Microsoft scheme which could launch this summer.
As of this week, anyone buying a system from Puget becomes eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it is officially released – likely later this year. However, the deal has several strings attached. It’s only redeemable for systems costing at least $1,000 and currently only applies to 64-bit machines running Vista Ultimate (the upgrade being to Windows 7 Ultimate). However, Puget is considering extending the offer to cover a like-for-like upgrade on the Home Premium editions.
Another big catch is that users must ship their system to Puget’s base in Washington so that its own staff can perform the upgrade. Not only does that mean going through the cost and hassle of shipping a computer (the customer must pay the shipping costs both to and from Puget), but it means going without your computer for several days, long after you’ve set it up and begun using it.
And to make the deal even more of a hassle, the upgrade process will involve the hard drive being wiped clean first, meaning customers will need to perform a complete backup first.
Puget believe there’s a gap in the market with would-be computer buyers who are holding back until Windows 7 machines are available. But it’s pretty open that the upgrade deal is a publicity stunt: by bearing the upgrade costs itself, the firm will make little if any profit on sales of these machines.
The deal is officially running until June 15, though Puget says it may change the date. That’s because it’s waiting to see when the official Microsoft-backed upgrade scheme launches: once that’s up and running, firm may be able to shift some or all of the upgrade costs to Microsoft itself.
Related Posts:
