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Windows Vista Debuts with Strong Global Sales

March 30, 2007

Windows Vista Debuts with Strong Global Sales
More than 20 million licenses were sold in the opening month of general availability for the new operating system, as new tools and programs ease the transition for consumers.

REDMOND, Wash.(rushprnews) March 30, 2007 — Initial sales figures from Microsoft show its new operating system Windows Vista made a splash in its debut. In the first month of Windows Vista’s general availability, sales exceeded 20 million licenses, more than doubling the initial pace of sales for its predecessor, Windows XP. These initial figures reflect the broad interest in the security and usability enhancements in Windows Vista.

“We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to Windows Vista right out of the gate,” said Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Business Group at Microsoft. “While it’s very early in the product lifecycle, we are setting a foundation for Windows Vista to become the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever. Working with our partners, we are helping our customers leverage new tools and programs to accelerate the transition and provide a great user experience.”

Windows Vista license sales after one month of availability have already exceeded the total of Windows XP license sales in the earlier product’s first two months of availability. In January 2002, the company announced sales of Windows XP licenses had exceeded 17 million after two months on the market.

The more than 20 million copies shipped represent Windows Vista licenses sold to PC manufacturers, copies of upgrades and the full packaged product sold to retailers and upgrades ordered through the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program from January 30 to February 28.

Microsoft’s PC-maker industry partners confirm consumer interest is strong. “Since the launch of Windows Vista, Dell consumer customers have overwhelmingly chosen premium versions of the operating system that enable them to have a richer experience with music, video, photography and other computing applications they choose,” said Neil Hand, vice president of Dell’s Consumer Product Group. “Customers' initial experience with Windows Vista has been quite positive, and we will continue to try to deliver the best customer experience possible,” Hand added.

"HP worked extensively with Microsoft to ensure that our Windows Vista-based PCs offer consumers our easiest, safest and most satisfying technology experience yet," said Mark Sanchez, vice president and general manager, consumer PCs, HP. "We are pleased with the customer acceptance of our Windows Vista offerings, including our innovative new TouchSmart PC."

Microsoft has made several new tools and programs available to help customers get the best experience with Windows Vista. Windows Upgrade Advisor is a downloadable tool offered online at WindowsVista.com that helps consumers determine whether their Windows XP-based PCs can be upgraded to Windows Vista, and also helps choose the edition of Windows Vista that best meets their needs. The tool scans the computer and creates an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device and program-compatibility issues, and recommends ways to resolve them.

The “Certified for Windows Vista” logo program is designed to make it easier for consumers to recognize products that deliver premium experiences with Windows Vista. Hardware devices and software bearing the logos at retail help consumers make educated choices when purchasing devices and software to use with Windows Vista. There are more than 4,500 “Certified for Windows Vista” products to date - 2,500 of which were certified just since the January 30 launch event.

Windows Update keeps customers’ computers up-to-date and more secure by providing Windows Vista software updates from Microsoft. In Windows Vista, the update process is designed to be less disruptive than in previous versions of Windows. Users can elect to automatically receive new updates, and updating occurs in the background or may be scheduled for a time convenient to the user. If an update requires a restart to complete installation, a user may complete the restart at a more convenient time. On occasions when an update applies to a file in use, Windows Vista can save the application's data, close the application, update the file, and then restart the application. In the initial phase after launch, Windows Update has delivered new drivers at a rate of more than 1,600 per month, bringing the total number of drivers above 27,000.

-end-

RUSH PR NEWS press release writing and distribution services www.rushprnews.com

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