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Dell has said that it is seeing a ‘visible number’ of customers from across the IT spectrum that are keen to adopt Windows 7, but has warned that Microsoft’s pricing may hamper the moment it has built up.
Microsoft hasn’t made an official announcement concerning the pricing of Windows 7, but Dell’s director of product management, Darrel Ward has revealed that they will be higher than Vista.
"If there’s one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it’s that generally the ASPs of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," he told CNet.
"In tough economic times, I think it’s naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a strong swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them," he added. "I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista."
He went on to warn some of the vendor’s key customers were likely to think twice about adopting the new OS, which he says has a groundswell of demand, due to the high ASPs, especially in the current economic climate.
"We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they’re asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past. But…[some] may not be able to afford [the additional cost]."
