COMPUTERS: Buzz, discounts kick up sales of Windows 7

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published November 07, 2009

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It wasn’t a high bar, but Windows 7 made it.

Consumer retail sales of Microsoft Corp.’s newest computer operating system topped those of Vista by 234 percent on a unit basis within the first few days of launching on Oct. 22, according to a report released Friday by the NPD Group.

The report did not include sales to businesses and large organizations.

Sales of Windows 7 performing better than Vista, the previous Windows OS version, was not too surprising. The buzz for Windows 7 was relatively positive and largely void of the savage language that reviewers heaped on Vista when it was launched in January 2007.

This time around, Microsoft also attempted to woo reluctant buyers with discounts and specials, such as a 50 percent discount on a copy of the software when buyers spring for a new PC, or a free upgrade from Vista for those who bought a PC after June 26.

“We definitely saw the results of aggressive pricing,” said Stephen Baker, NPD’s computer software analyst.

Los Angeles Times