March 29, 2007

Microsoft Vista sales soar to 20 million?

by Jan Harris

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Computers & Internet

Microsoft says it has sold over 20 million copies of its Vista operating system since it was released on 30 January.

This beats initial sales of Windows XP, which sold 17 million copies in its first two months on sale, although a direct comparison is misleading as the PC market has grown substantially since XP was released.

Microsoft’s figures include boxed copy sales, systems included on new PCs, and also sales of Windows XP during the Christmas period which are eligible for a free Vista upgrade.

Higher-end versions of Vista have proved popular, with sales of the Ultimate edition exceeding expectations. The system is available in six versions - Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate, plus a Starter Edition which is only sold on new PCs in emerging markets.

However, it’s interesting to note how Microsoft have included sales of XP machines in the figures - which are almost certain to skew the actual take-up results.

The question is to what degree XP machines actually take up in the figures, and whether Microsoft are purposefully trying to hide bad data by adding this segment.

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Story link: Microsoft Vista sales soar to 20 million?

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