ZDNet Australia published a very comprehensive article this morning, detailing all the pricing and compares it to the US pricing ( http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Microsoft-hikes-Win7-prices-for-Australia/0,130061733,339297112,00.htm ).
Here are some facts from the article. I'll be using the upgrade prices for my comparisons, because it is going to be more common for people to buy the upgrade versions of Windows 7 - because most people already own a copy of Windows as it came with their new computer.
- Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade will cost AU$199 here in Australia whereas it will cost AU$149 if you ordered it from the US - that's $50 more in Australia!
- Windows 7 Professional upgrade will cost AU$399 here in Australia whereas it will cost AU$248 if you ordered it from the US - that's close to $150 more in Australia!
- Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade will cost AU$429 here in Australia whereas it will cost AU$273 if you ordered it from the US - that's over $150 more in Australia!
Naturally the prices of the full versions are more expensive again.
Most of these prices are very close to the outrageous prices Microsoft charged for Windows Vista. It was really hoped that Microsoft would thank it's customers of Windows Vista by reducing the prices for Windows 7 upgrades significantly, but this doesn't seem to be the case. I don't see how Microsoft is going to convince people who are currently happy with Windows XP to move to Windows 7 with these type of prices. Don't be surprised if you still see the majority of the world still using XP within the next 5 years.
