I was watching Leo Laporte's live stream this past weekend, and he mentioned something that is very important when it comes to the release of Microsoft's new Windows 7.  Pricing and bundling.  There was a lot of hubbub made about Windows Vista's many different skews, whether Home Basic, Premium, Business, or Ultimate (am I missing any?).  It caused mass confusion for consumers.  Compared to Apple's approach of one single version of the OS it was just way too onvoluted.  Another obvious comparison to Apple would be OS pricing.  How much was OS X Leopard at launch?  $129.  Vista?  It's currently $199.95 for the Basic, near-worthless edition and all the way up to $319.95 for Ultimate.

This is my plea to Microsoft - please take a page out of Apple's book and make Windows 7 relatively inexpensive, and do your best to release as few editions as you can.  I think that an $80 upgrade fee from Vista to Windows 7 would be perfect.  A cheaper cost, especially considering Vista's tarnished name and the general eagerness of users to move on to the next version of Windows, would do quite well (and that's not even mentioning the economic incentives for not charging an arm and a leg).  But that's not all.

It has been said that Windows 7 is basically just what Windows Vista should have been originally.  Having used 7 I agree.  That doesn't mean that Windows 7 isn't better than Vista, but it's immediately evident to anyone who has used both that they're cut from the same cloth.  Microsoft would do well to acquiesce to their customers by admitting that Windows 7 is more or less a fix, upgrade, or patch, and to do so would only require modest pricing.  Now if you've read my blog for any amount of time you'll know that I have nothing against Vista, but 7 is Vista done right.  Let me say that again: Windows 7 is Vista done right.  Don't spurn your customers (especially those who have already adopted Vista) by giving Windows 7 the typically expensive Microsoft operating system price tag.

It's time for Microsoft to rebuild their tarnished reputation, whether that reputation is legitimate or not.  I can think of no better way to start such a project than by giving us a good deal.  A cheap entry price will get Windows 7 into the hands of the users that want it most as quickly as possible, and Microsoft can begin to cultivate brand loyalty in the operating system market again.  That's what they need more than anything right now.  Market share is one thing, brand loyalty is completely different - just look at Apple.  So then, what do I think is a good pricing model for Windows 7?  I already mentioned around $80 for an upgrade.  So with an $80 upgrade I'd have to say about $150 for a full retail copy of the operating system would make sense.

Please Micorsoft, it's not time to be greedy.  Make your customers happy and you'll be grateful that you did so in the end.