We'll split the difference in cash.
You can keep the child.
Talk about a global economy. Have these guys not heard of the Internet?
Only kidding about one bit
Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
Summary
British consumers were thrilled to discover that the asking price in the UK for Windows 7 Home Premium will be about half of what the retail price will be on the other side of the Atlantic.
Topics
We've been doing some investigating, friends -- making phone calls, demanding answers. And it was worth it. We can confirm something very few people get to confirm: British shoppers aren't going to be totally shafted over software pricing for once. Full versions of Windows 7 Home Premium are going to cost us half as much as they cost Americans.
In the UK, full versions of Windows 7 Home Premium -- not an upgrade edition -- are going to cost around £65 ($106). That's less than the price the Yanks have to pay just for an upgrade version -- $120 (£72) -- and about half what they'll have to cough up for a full version -- $200 (£122).
Amazon.co.uk is already selling the full version of Home Premium for £65, and Play.com is selling it for a little more at £75, but with free delivery. Incidentally, this is the version that includes Internet Explorer 8 -- the Windows 7 E editions have now been scrapped.
An Amazon.co.uk spokesperson told us to treat this pricing as "indefinite". We asked Microsoft for comment on the pricing disparity, but it's yet to get back to us. Our best guess is that it's honouring its pricing for Windows 7 E, which was cheaper because an upgrade wasn't possible.
Anyway: good news, everyone! For once, we can sit back and watch Americans shafting Americans, instead of us. Over pricing, that is. Is this the end of rip-off Britain, or a glorious one-off? Sadly, we suspect the latter, but let us know what you think in the comments.
We've already tested the final RTM version of Windows 7 in detail. Check it out here. This article was originally posted on CNET UK.
Talkback Most Recent of 16 Talkback(s)
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Summer exchange
How about I send my daughter for her summer student exchange to you guys in the USA loaded up with Windows 7 DVDs ... and you send your child with new PC and ADOBE software purchased on that side of the pond?
We'll split the difference in cash.
You can keep the child.
Talk about a global economy. Have these guys not heard of the Internet?
Only kidding about one bit 
johnfenjackson@...18th Aug 2009 -
RE: Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
So they cave and go through the expense and headache of a ballot screen, and get threatened with huge fines by the EC and still they do this? To EU constituents: Make note of this and when you are called on, help give the EC some perspective on the antitrust case please.
djmik18th Aug 2009 -
Why?
We've clearly got a good deal out of the anti-
trust action. Note: no fine has been levied agains
Microsoft in this case so far. Let. It. Go.
SimonUK18th Aug 2009 -
RE: Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
I love the overtly anti-American overtones.
SippyCup18th Aug 2009 -
I think people keep forgetting that...
I think people forget that UK prices usually include VAT, while US prices do not include tax. So the price disparity here is even bigger.
Qbt18th Aug 2009 -
hmm Wonder if I could use that version in Canada
hmm, I wonder if I could buy one from there instead of the upgrade I pre-ordered here in Canada (for around 70$ CND which isn't bad I must admit).
I'd much prefer to get a full version instead of an upgrade only.
I'm just not familiar on how they setup their keys and such. Would a box purchased in the UK but registered/activated in Canada work?
_Rej_18th Aug 2009 -
No bad vibes towards the Brits here
I live in an average sized US house (approx 3,000
square feet), my kids have a private yard to play in,
we have a couple of cars to putt around in, and decent
health insurance to cover us during the bad times.
Although I don't like to pay any more than the next
guy, I also know that I enjoy a more luxurious
lifestyle than my friends across the pond.
That said, I don't think Microsoft is doing this out
of the kindness of their hearts. There must be a
logical reason for the price disparity.
Reply_account18th Aug 2009 -
and the South Africans go ONE better.
I live in South Africa, I have a normal job just like millions of other South Africans and I can say that even with our currency being as it is, we live far more luxurious lives than the Americans. We have better health Insurance, better labour laws and much cheaper goods than any of you! That said, Windows 7 will in all probability be much cheaper in SA than in the UK or US or the rest of Europe.
neelsmostert@...18th Aug 2009 -
vibes will be vibes
I dont see what your luxurious life style has to do with the cost of Windows 7.
But whilst we on the subject, US minimum wage is between $2.60 and $8.40 depending on where you live in the US, averaging at $7.25 p/hr. Here in the UK, minimum wage is $9.53 p/hr, even in the poor areas, so on that basis the average brit has a more luxurious lifestyle then average american, thus making you no better off then us brits... and still worse off when it comes to windows 7.. 
martyn_norman@...19th Aug 2009 -
Deserved, I suppose
The minimum wage justification is silly - it
raises prices and ultimately hurts the very
people it is intended to help. My guess is that
you guys pay more for things than we do, but
we're trying to catch up with our uncontrolled
federal government spending, financial
bailouts, and our desire to level the playing
field for all citizens.
I was merely suggesting (somewhat incoherently)
that since we apparently have more disposable
income in the US, it would seem petty to whine
about pricing of Windows 7 in the UK. That's a
bit like you whining about lower gas prices in
the US when you have less territory to travel
and a better public transit system in the UK.
Now that I'm better informed, I AM bitter about
South Africa...Reply_account19th Aug 2009 -
Microsoft UK has done all the publicity!
Microsoft UK have been really showing off windows 7, all of the Microsoft Videos for windows 7, how to's, whats differnt etc, are done buy guys at Microsoft UK.
Earlier this year I went down to Microsoft Uk in Reading and saw the live demo, mostly talk about the footprint, revised kernel, hyper-v, and the interface enhancements.
So this was probablly the plan from the start, given all the effort UK branch had put into promoting it.martyn_norman@...19th Aug 2009 -
RE: Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
Gotta watch out for those hypothetical Chinese people, they're very touchy.SippyCup19th Aug 2009 -
RE: Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
Why would there be a logical reason? There wasn't one when we paid twice as much for XP as US buyers did.
Maybe Microsoft have taken into account the $100 in fuel it now costs us to get to our nearest shop to buy a copy LOL
alec.wood@...19th Aug 2009 -
RE: Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
All in all The bottom line is we are squabbling over who has MORE luxury. Computers themselves are a luxury. I think given how all the other chips fall, I can afford the extra $100 here in the USA. I just wish that extra bill would help pay for an American or a Brit on the other side of the phone when I call tech support. Hell id really like an Aussie. They have the coolest accents!
lazarus8619th Aug 2009 -
RE: Windows 7 to sell in UK for half the US price
I will give it in 55 Euros let me know.
sonuraina20th Aug 2009
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