Windows 7 sales beat Vista total pre-orders in matter of hours
Microsoft has always maintained that Windows Vista sold well despite the bad press it received in the run-up to launch and beyond. However, those figures are now being put into perspective by the Windows 7 sales figures in Europe. To say Windows 7 is proving popular is a huge understatement.
The United States naturally got first crack at pre-ordering Windows 7, and eager consumers did so in their droves before the offer closed on Saturday (July 11). The Windows 7 pre-sale also went well in Japan. And now it’s Europe’s turn, and it looks as though Microsoft has little to worry about a lack of interest there either.
BBC News is reporting that Windows 7 sales figures on Amazon U.K. topped the total achieved during the 17-week run of Vista’s pre-sale in the space of eight hours. While Amazon France and Amazon Germany have already sold out of their supplies of some versions of the discounted operating system. And according to Computer World, Microsoft’s European online store crashed under the weight of traffic heading its way to purchase pre-ordered copies of Windows 7.
This buzz and levels of consumer demand are even more amazing considering the short straw Microsoft has handed to Europe with Windows 7. As usual, the relative pricing is higher in Europe, with U.K. consumers having to pay £50 for Windows 7 Home Premium and £100 for Windows 7 Professional. Which at roughly $80 and $160 respectively is substantially more expensive than it is in the States.
What’s more, Europe is getting special editions of Windows 7 without Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player thanks to the European Union’s stance that including these extras bundled with Windows amounts to being anti-competitive.
Analysts at research firm IDC predict that around 40 million copies of Windows 7 will be sold during 2009, with a whopping 177 million copies in the wild by the end of 2010. And with the current levels of buzz and heartfelt love for the new Microsoft operating system, these figures don’t seem out of the question.
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