Windows 7: Someone leaked some 7 Retail Prices?! Real or Fake?

You are 100% dead on sir.
It's unfortunate that it seems M$ really doesn't care about their customers.
Like, come on? $300+ for Ultimate? mmmm recession....right.

If they intend to keep pushing Vista sales they would need to drop the prices there down even further! You have to expect any new version when first out to be higher priced then seen for the previous.

For seeing 7 have lower prices they would have to drop Vista down even further in order to lower the initial pricing for 7. If they plan to sell 7 retail seeing both 32/64bit versions tossed in together then you have to expect what was first seen for Vista. That's why Vista was up there as well.

Too bad you have to buy OEM in order to see just one not both for those who can't run the 64bit and those who no longer will be running the 32bit Windows. The price for the full version Ultimate would then likely see a drop from the $399- Vista saw down to something like $229.95 for one or the other.

here is an example.

uk educational license £4000 for annum, covers installation of vista onto 700 pcs.

£4000 divided by 700 works out at £5.71 per installation, in addition they wont have to pay a penny for windows 7 their contract gives future versions inclusive.

Of course the average consumer has no clue how cheap these bulk licenses are, but they do know the retail is priced too high hence the high levels of piracy.

The other thing to note about the retail and not oem is being able to install Windows on your next build and the one that follows when going to upgrade your hardwares.

MS knows people will still install the same version on the next machine especially if the present goes belly up on you! They are also not worried how many times you end up reinstalling the same version on the same machine.

If you decided to run 7 for the next 10yrs. even if one system lasts that long you've already for the license is how they look at it. You don't think other software companies don't charge high prices as well?

Walk into any office supply store and pay full retail for a dvd burning software or some media player and then find it won't run on the next version of Windows out after you just spent $100- on it! The one thing I'll say about 7 over Vista is certainly seeing more older XP programs actually running on 7.

Let us wait until FRIDAY, when it is suppose to be on the MS site.
as to what the Suggested REtail Prices are.
As you know OEM will be different, and let us wait till then.
If the USA prices are different than UK - cheaper and China CHEAPER then wait and order you copy from the CHEAPEST LEGIT place.

(1) The prices in the original post were determined FALSE and retracted months ago.

(2) Dell may have been griping about whatever they were going to have to pay for their own mass license, and what they expect to have to pass along. They likely wouldn't know the price to buy things individually. They'd be one of the biggest sources of MS income from the OS and MS would likely negotiate a bit aggressively with them.

(3) The recent Best Buy memo indicates likely pre-sale upgrade pricing of $50 for Home Premium and $100 for Professional. Those would be a good sign.

My lips are sealed, but you will all know the truth very soon

Holding out on us! Very cruel, very very cruel.

No hints?

WOW, here you go. Get both Vista Ultimate and Windows 7 Ultimate both for $199.98. They offer X64 for the same Price.
I'm sure the offers will get BETTER.

Well 1) is certainly correct as we know from all the hub bub generated by blogs while nothing was and still hasn't been confirmed by MS. Fake or simply inaccurate from pre-estimated guessing by the authors in a rush to fill a blog?

2)Dell can snival all they want since they make all that back right off of the top when the new lineup of models with 7 om them will be seen. You don't have to worry any there since they will manage their own profit margins.

3)The annoucements of BestBuy's own pricing is the decision of their own management to reduce prices in order to draw in business where they make up the difference in the volume of sales generated on new prebuilds as well as other products they carry. Some special discounts are never basec on the actual manufacturers suggested note the word "suggested" or maximum retail pricing. Anything over that is considered "price gauging".

A goog example of why one place sells something for less would be like comparing store A to store B each being their own retail chain. When each has a 100 count of Brand X seeing a $50 price tag over the $33 wholesale store B decides to mark Brand X down to $43 still $10 over cost while store A sells for $48- still under the max.

Who do you think will clear the 100 Brand X items out first as well as see other items purchased by drawing in more business? People will obviously be looking at the $43 price and headed that way first while that sale lasts!

Likewise you have to place the promo for BestBuy into that catagory. The management there knows that 7 will be the new thing people want and what is a better way to increase the volume of sales in a sluggish economy? Give them what they want for less! in order to draw in business into the stores at a time when everyone is counting coins!