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Windows Vista Pricing: Not So Comparable
Wednesday, September 6th, 2006
With today’s news from Microsoft, we know for sure how much Windows Vista will cost when it 
shows up next year. And with five versions of the OS–Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate–there are ten prices involved: Five full-version prices and five upgrade ones.
Microsoft says that it’s "committed to keeping prices low for customers," and that Vista versions will go for the same price as "comparable" XP editions. With Windows XP Home listing for $99 (upgrade version) and $200 (full version), and Windows XP Pro listing for $200 (upgrade) and $300 (full), that would mean that Microsoft is saying that Vista Home Basic is comparable to XP Home, and Vista Business is comparable to XP Pro.
In fact, it’s not quite that simple. Vista Basic, which targets folks with (appropriately enough!) basic needs is dumbed-down in a critical way that has no counterpart in XP Home–it doesn’t have the flashy Aero transparency effects that are maybe the single most-hyped new feature in Vista. Consequently, optiong for Vista Basic will be a cost-cutting sacrifice in a way that choosing XP Home simply isn’t. The mere existence of two other home-oriented editions of Vista–Home Premium and Ultimate–acknowledges that fact. PC World PC World’s Techlog Windows Vista Pricing: Not So Comparable
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