Windows XP users need to know that regardless of which edition they currently have installed (Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Media Center Edition) and regardless of which edition of Windows 7 they are moving to (Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate), they will need to perform a clean install, whether they buy the upgrade or full version. Some consumers will either grab an OEM copy via an online or in-store purchase, but most will be getting a copy of Windows 7 with the next purchase of their PC. Retail sales account for less than 5 percent of Windows sales, the rest of sales are via OEM.

Thankfully, retail pricing is typically used as a starting point most users will not be buying retail versions anyway. While these price changes are positive for consumers (none of the products has increased in price), they are rather disappointing for those hoping for much more aggressive price slashes given the current economic climate. Upgrading from XP or Vista with a retail copy That means that unlike Windows Vista Business, Windows 7 Professional will contain all the features that the Home Premium edition has, and thus Microsoft cannot justify a price drop. This might be attributed to the fact that in Windows 7, every edition is a superset of the previous one. However, Microsoft has not touched the pricing for the Professional edition (previously called the Business edition). The Home Premium full version has dropped $40 and the Ultimate full version has dropped $80.

The Home Premium upgrade version has dropped $40 and the Ultimate upgrade version has dropped $40. Comparing the Windows Vista retail pricing at launch to the Windows 7 retail pricing at launch, the differences are much more notable.

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