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Due to the ongoing issues with the EU it appears that EU customers will not be penalized because upgrade not available ....
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Europe won't pay more for Windows 7. Really! • The Register
You will note the upgrade price is far higher than the US.
The pre order upgrade price is also far higher than the US.
some 50 -60% higher.
It is true the EU will ( for the moment) get the full version for those high upgrade prices - that is because MS are not supplying upgrade discs to the EU.
Even if the upgrade discs were available in the EU - the upgrade price would still be the same higher price.
The headline is nonsense.
The way I read the article is that at release in Europe the full install DVD will be available at the normal price for the upgrade.
The Vista with 7 upgrade offer is available now on OEM disks from eBuyer, when Windows 7 is released the vista disk may be traded in for a copy of 7 Which will Replace the license for Vista which is no longer valid
You are quite right - because there is no upgrade dvd supplied by MS - they do not want to lose that sector of the market.
Therefore, for the moment, the Full discs are available at the price that would apply to the upgrade discs.
However, if ( and when ) the upgrade discs were available - they would (will ) be at that same upgrade price.
That upgrade price is around 50% higher than in the US.
Therefore the whole premise of the article is totally wrong.
UK will have to pay some 50% more than the US- and would still have had to pay that - even if (when) the upgrade discs are available.
MS operate a differential pricing policy - they deliberately charge more in the EU ( and Oz).
Extraordinary the writer could publish that headline.
LOL dmex,
They have always used that pricing policy.
It is not unusual.
Most large Corporations have local offices/agents tasked with working out the max price the locals will stomach in each region.
It is how they maximize their profits.
Price is a marketing tool.
MS are of course, supposed to do that - they are a large corporation.
It is up to the customers to refuse to pay the price - then the company has to rethink their strategy.
The problem, again is , MS monoploy position - there are few alternatives that are practical , or that people know how to get hold of, will run on their machines, they are confident will run their programs etc. etc.
The answer of course, is to order from the US - but you can't.
Last edited by SIW2; 02 Jul 2009 at 20:11.