Although it’s still nearly three months away from formal release, Microsoft’s Windows 7 will have upgrade options that will cost from $80 to $140, according to a blog posted by Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc.
The so-called “Windows Anytime Upgrade” (WAU, for you acronym collectors) gives retail Windows customers the options to move up and take advantage of features and functions in the higher-end versions of the application, assuming “OS envy” sets in after the initial purchase.
For $80, owners of Windows 7 Starter can advance to Home Premium and add goodies like Taskbar Previews, Desktop themes and Remote Media Streaming. Stepping up from Home Premium to Professional is $90, from Home Premium to Ultimate is $140.
Microsoft gives customers the option of buying an upgrade key code at the same time that they purchase the retail box—a curious option: If you want the more expensive version, why not just buy it? Or, the upgrade can be bought later, online. Microsoft says it won’t be selling the upgrade in any form of software.
LeBlanc also referred to a Windows 7 Family Pack, essentially three installation licenses for the new Home Premium version in one box, priced at $150.
The intense marketing push assumes that the new features of 7 will drive existing customers to upgrade at all. For new-computer buyers, the new OS will be the de facto choice, installed on PCs that go on sale October 22. Prior to that—sometime in September—Apple says it will start selling its next-gen version of the Mac OS, called Snow Leopard, for a flat $29.
