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Topic: Operating Systems

Acer: Vista is an excuse for Microsoft price hikes

Summary: Vista is tailored to increase its licence revenues by introducing a basic edition that no user will put up with, the Taiwanese PC giant has said

Colin Barker

By Colin Barker |

Microsoft is hiking up the price of its software as it prepares to launch Vista, according to one of the leading PC manufacturers, Acer.

According to Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president of Acer, the issue is simply that the basic home edition of Vista, Home Basic, which is available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk for £154.99, is so basic that users will be forced to move to Premium version of Vista, at £189.99. A Home Edition of Windows XP is currently available for £165.99, but has a recommended retail price of £176.99.

"The new [Vista] experience you hear of, if you get Basic, you won't feel it at all," Wong told PC Pro magazine. "There's no [Aero] graphics, no Media Center, no remote control."

Wong also said that the manufacturer's licence for Vista Home Premium is 10 percent more expensive than for XP Home. "We have to pay more but users are not going to pay more," Wong said. This would lead to a real increase in the cost to PC manufacturers of one to two percent, according to Wong, in a business with a total margin of around five percent or less.

Top of the range is the Vista Ultimate Edition which can be pre-ordered for £325 from Amazon.co.uk and again is significantly more expensive than the XP operating system it replaces. Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 has a recommended retail price of £289.99, but is currently available for £234.

Topic: Operating Systems

Colin Barker

About Colin Barker

I have been a computer journalist for most of my working life although I did start in the wonderful world of accountancy. I have been editor of Compting magazine in London and prior to that held a number of editing jobs, including time spend at the late, lamented DEC Computing and was at one time London editor for Byte magazine.

Outside of work, my main interests are travelling, football and baseball. I lived for some years in Boston, Mass, and became an incurable Boston Red Sox fan as a result.

I have no particular qualifications for being a journalist other than a university degree and a lifelong curiosity about people.

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Talkback

6 comments
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  • And? How does being milked feel?
    anonymous
    Reply Vote

  • Again another reason to dump Windows

    Following years of having to download patch after and being besieged by viruses, worms and spyware I cannot see why anyone in their right mind would go and pay a minimum of
    mode606
    Reply Vote

  • Oh so many

    All these different versions are going to confuse the average public and make buying a computer a difficult task. All in the name of a higher profit, nice way to look after the customer.
    Gareth.Kennett
    Reply Vote

  • not sure

    i wouldn'tknow, i got my Vista and Office 2007, and Windows 2003 Server, Exchange 2003, 2007, office 2003 AD INFINITUM via Technet plus at
    usrhlp
    Reply Vote

  • Problems with your assumption

    Unfortunately Linux is not quite yet ready for the layman who cant tell the difference between an AVI and an MP3.

    This is why they stick with windows, anyone with a mouse can use it.
    usrhlp
    Reply Vote

  • Ronald Jones

    As a home user using XP Pro SP2 there is no reason to update the operating system unless it's for fun {expensive} I await SP3. However sometime this year my 4yr old system MAY be renewed (retained for fun) and I will have no choice but to have VISTA even though I understand that TURNPIKE my preferred connection to the net will not work. with it. Vista does seem to be a none starter UNLESS you are buying a NEW computer. Then all your XP books will have to be "renewed" to learn how to use VISTA and gain the "advantages" this system promises to give ?
    1000063844
    Reply Vote
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