Vista market share plunges as Windows 7 surges early
Windows 7 is now just a few weeks from going on general release, with Oct. 22 the date when all of us will be able to get our hands on Microsoft’s newest operating system. And it’s at that point that Vista will become old and outdated. But it seems the trend is ahead of the expected curve, with Vista losing some of its market share and Windows 7 already picking up the slack.
Let’s be honest here, Windows Vista hasn’t had a glorious life. It was developed in the shadow of the glory of Windows XP, which is still by far the most used operating system in the world. It was then released to poor reviews and negative feedback. It’s actually not that bad an OS, and anyone using it right now will probably find it more than adequate, but it’s too little, too late.
So it’s rather telling that for the first time since January 2008, Vista’s market share has dropped. According to ComputerWorld, Vista dropped 2 percent during September, the first drop since the 0.3 decline from almost two years ago. In its place, Windows 7 gained a 0.3 percent market share in September.
Vista now looks to have peaked at 18.9 percent of the OS market. Which is probably more than Microsoft would have possibly hoped for at the time it was released. Windows 7 is now installed on 1.5 percent of all computers worldwide, not a bad figure for an operating system that is still yet to be released to anyone but developers and IT professionals.
That 1.5 percent market share is a combination of the aforementioned pros, people running the beta, and those who have turned to torrent sites to get hold of an illegal, early copy. It’s surely a good sign of things to come, with the total sure to increase in October thanks to new purchasers and all those consumers who bought a new PC since June cash in their free Windows 7 upgrades.
Despite Vista’s drop Microsoft still has reason to celebrate. Windows’ total market share at this point is estimated at a whopping 92.8 percent. Apple’s Mac OS X clearly has no chance of catching up.
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October 4th, 2009
I think its wrong to assume that non-IT professionals running Windows 7 acquired it illegally. Microsoft released the Release Candidate for free, allowing ANYONE to legally download an early copy, under the limitation that it would become effectively unusable sometime in 2010. Case in point; I’m a student, running Windows 7 on two PCs, for free, but downloaded from Microsoft completely legally.
October 4th, 2009
Vista still is poor for me. I have it on a PC which runs really slowly – and its quad core and 4GB Crucial Ballistix RAM, so there’s no reason at all for it to be struggling with booting up and multitasking, but it does just that. Its better than it used to be, but its a long way from being as it should be.
I beta tested Windows 7 though, and I must say that its performance is much better in both 32 bit and 64 bit modes from my experience. Before anybody says – I’d reformatted the hard disk, reinstalled Vista from scratch, ran all the diagnostic tools you can think of and still couldn’t get Vista to work properly so its Vista rather than user error and it running slowly due to a virus/malware etc.
Windows 7 was, from my experience, a great improvement on Vista. But as a Mac user, I still think that it has a long way to go to beat OSX Snow Leopard, and that’s without fan bias. Windows 7 has more compatible applications so will always justifiably be the business choice for most, but Mac OSX still beats Windows 7 comfortably when it comes to home use. (Linux is good for me too, I like Ubuntu, but realistically its never going to challenge in the mainstream market without wholesale changes).
October 4th, 2009
@Akers:
You’re saying that OS X beats Win 7 for home use, I would disagree with that. How about gaming? OS X has very limited gaming choices and Macs have bargain basement video chipsets. Hardware compatibility, I can walk into any shop and buy hardware (of my choice) for my Windows PC, can’t do that on Macs and OS X. Software compatibility. Most software is written for Windows, my friends with Macs still can’t find a proper DVD encoding and ripping apps.
OS X was built to keep Steve Jobs happy, Windows is for the rest of the world.
October 4th, 2009
MSDN-AA has also a release for students – totally legal
October 5th, 2009
I don’t find OSX all that compelling, it’s still the tallest midget in the circus. it isn’t asked to do a fraction of the tasks in anywhere near the environments. Linux is my OS of choice, but there’s a lot to like in 7. Apple will need to do better than “thousands of viruses and tons of headaches”.
The damage to Microsoft from Vista is way overblown and mostly wishful thinking.
October 5th, 2009
@Bob
I think that gaming is a different use to ‘home use’ to be honest. That’s in the same way that if you’re going to get a games console for playing games, you go for a PS3 or an Xbox 360 and not a Wii. Sure you pay a premium for OSX, but its one heck of a lot faster as well. Its only through using one regularly that you get used to this.
As for DVD encoding and ripping, I don’t try ripping DVDs to my computer so I can’t comment on that. I am not willing to get involved in a price debate, but in terms of usability, Mac OSX comes out on top. I use it for recording music and editing video so get much more from it than just web browsing, but for general use I also find it much easier. And that’s not just because I can’t use Windows, as most people infer when it comes up that I use a Mac OSX is the benchmark for operating systems without a doubt in my mind having used all of the operating systems on offer. It is becoming much more supported now too.
Back to topic, Windows 7 is a great improvement. But how many people are really going to be tempted to upgrade at £150 or more? I think Microsoft could fall flat on their face as they could well price themselves out of the operating system upgrade market whereas if they priced at £50 (again, taking Apple’s lead where they charged £25), perhaps more people would say ‘its only £50, its worth an upgrade’ as opposed to ‘For that money I can nearly buy a new PC.’
October 6th, 2009
Microsoft doesn’t have fat hardware margins propping up upgrades. OEM prices are less because the vendor is responsible for support and why the overwhelming number of upgrades are from new computers for home users and volume licensing for businesses.