Windows 8 Pre-Orders Start; $39.99 Download Option on October 26th
by Ryan Smith on October 15, 2012 12:10 PM ESTWith Windows 8 officially launching in under two weeks, Microsoft and its retail partners have finally begun taking pre-orders for Windows 8. As with prior Windows pre-order promotions, several retailers are participating, including a number of brick & mortar retailers along with e-tailers such as Newegg, Amazon, and even Microsoft’s own online store.
Microsoft will essentially be handling the launch of Windows 8 in two phases: pre-order and launch. The pre-order phase is primarily geared towards buyers looking for boxed copies of Windows and with delivery on the 26th; unsurprisingly these boxed copies are priced notably higher than Microsoft’s download options. As for buyers looking to take advantage of Microsoft’s previously announced $39.99 download offer, that promotion will not begin until the launch on the 26th when Windows 8 actually ships. On that note, as previously announced both the boxed and download copies will be offered with promotional pricing, with Microsoft and its partners selling the upgrades at a significant discount until January 31, 2013.
| Windows 8 SKUs | ||||||||
| Windows 8 Upgrade | Windows 7/Vista/XP Upgrade | Full Version | Price | |||||
| Windows 8 Pro Pack | X | - | - | $69 | ||||
| Windows 8 Pro Upgrade (Boxed) | - | X | - | $69 | ||||
| Windows 8 Pro Upgrade (Download) | - | X | - | $39 | ||||
| Windows 8 (Core) OEM | - | - | X | $99 | ||||
| Windows 8 Professional OEM | - | - | X | $139 | ||||
For buyers looking for physical copies, retailers are taking pre-orders for both upgrade and full editions of Windows 8. For Windows X/Vista/7 users Microsoft is offering a single upgrade package, the Windows 8 Professional Upgrade, which has a list price of $99 but is being offered at $69 for the life of the promotion. Meanwhile the download version that will be made available on the 26th will have a $39 promotional price, putting a $30 premium on boxed copies.
As for Windows 8 (core) users – primarily those who buy computers with Windows 8 pre-installed – Microsoft is offering the Windows 8 Pro Pack upgrade for upgrading a Windows 8 (core) installation to Windows 8 Pro. Like the Win7 upgrade, this too is being offered at a promotional price of $69 with a list price of $99.
Finally, full versions of both Windows 8 (core) and Windows 8 are also being offered for pre-order, but only in OEM form at this time. There isn’t a publicly announced discount on these, so the list price of $99 for Windows 8 (core) and $139 for Windows 8 Professional should be the final price, which also closely matches the price for OEM copies of Windows 7. We haven’t seen retail full versions of Windows 8 appear for sale yet, and while there are rumors going around that Windows 8 will be OEM-only, it has not been confirmed by Microsoft.
Source: Microsoft
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ananduser - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
That's false because it's not unanimous. You have cheap and you have premium. Your choice.Cheers melgross, AppleInsider mod :)
kmmatney - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
Because they are years late to the tablet party, and their latest phone OS has flopped so far?damianrobertjones - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
Didn't they start the tablet party? Ohh yeah, they didsteven75 - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
More like they tried to start the tablet party and no one showed up until Apple sent out an invite years later.kmmatney - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
I consider Tablets devices that are designed with finger input. Windows XP Tablet Edition, requiring a stylus, and used by nobody, hardly counts. The Apple newton was a tablet with stylus input and came out way before anything Microsoft had to offer, but that also sucked and was used by nobody.mcnabney - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
And the $1500 starting price of touch enabled tablets might have scared some people off.Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
The heck are you going on about? Not sure if trolling or can't read.My point was that the prices betray Microsoft's motives. Anyone who thinks they're offering a $40 upgrade from 7/Vista/XP out of the goodness of their hearts is being naive. They have a vested financial interest in people switching to Windows 8, so they can put their app marketplace in front of their faces.
The fact that the Windows 8 Pro Pack is so much more expensive just goes to show that their concern is not for the happiness and well-being of their customers.
At any rate, I recently spent quite a lot more than any of these prices for several copies of Windows 7. The value of Windows 8 is, to me, somewhere south of $0, so the prices they charge don't affect me at all.
ananduser - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
Makes perfect sense for MS to do as much as possible to increase W8 adoption. It's a sound business decision. The "good heart" argument is stupid for any company.kmmatney - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
I just bought the Windows Pro upgrade from NewEgg for $59. I would have much rather downloaded for $39. I wonder if I can cancel, since it presumably hasn't shipped yet? Can't say I like Windows 8 all that much, but it once you use ClassicShell to get a start menu, and put a desktop application in the startup folder, you basically have Windows 7 with a few new features like storage Spaces.ananduser - Monday, October 15, 2012 - link
Or windows to go, or built in hypervisor, or free, spotify like(ads), xbox music - not available on win7.