Microsoft reduces Vista prices

Microsoft has announced that it is set to reduce the price on several copies of Windows Vista sold in retail outlets.

Brad Brooks, corporate vice president for Windows Consumer Product Marketing at Microsoft, said that "the price changes will most notably impact upgrade retail versions of the new editions we introduced in 2007—Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions.

In the US, Windows Vista Home Premium upgrade will be cut from $159 to $129, while Vista Ultimate upgrade will drop from $299 to $219.

"These price changes will take effect globally with the retail release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 later this year," he added.

The software giant says that it has sold over 100 million Vista licenses since the operating system was launched at the start of last year. Brooks pointed out that, "while this is great progress, we see an opportunity to grow our business even more with some of the new editions we introduced with Windows Vista."

"Today, the vast majority of Windows licenses are sold with PCs; retail stand-alone sales, in contrast, have been primarily from customers who value being early adopters and those building their own machines," he explained.

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