Vista sales gaining momentum

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

…Vista-based laptops represent 91 percent of the models in retail aisles, Charney said, citing numbers from Current Analysis.

Strong Vista sales, whether due to Vista's popularity or just a strong PC market, are nonetheless important to the operating system's future. That's because, as Vista's installed base grows, application developers and hardware makers will be more likely to create products that specifically take advantage of the new operating system, which, in turn, becomes a further catalyst for sales.

Microsoft isn't mounting a massive advertising campaign for Vista this holiday season, but said to expect strong marketing from key partners like HP. The software maker has also kicked off an online marketing campaign touting the benefits of combining Windows Vista with Microsoft's Windows Live services, the most significant melding of the operating system and online businesses to date.

The software maker is counting on the upcoming holiday season — the industry's biggest selling period — to substantially boost the number of Vista machines out in the world. Apple's Macintosh does, however, represent a formidable competitor for consumer sales, having gained significant market share at Windows' expense in the past year. And, while this is the first holiday season for Vista, it's been on shelves for nine months, as compared with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard, which made its debut on Friday.

Microsoft said it isn't deterred by Apple's gains, noting Microsoft's own growth and saying that the overall market is expanding as consumers understand all of the things PCs can do as part of the digital life.

"We're excited and our partners are excited about the opportunity for Windows Vista coming up this holiday," Charney said.

Read this

Why I've moved from Vista to Ubuntu 7.10

A sluggish and underwhelming experience with Vista has driven ZDNet.co.uk's Matt Loney over to its slick and sprightly open-source competitor...

Read more+

While Apple has gained on Windows over the past year, Bhavnani said the company may find further gains tougher to come by unless it offers a major redesign of its products or comes up with a lower-priced laptop.

But Microsoft may also run into challenges from growing US economic uncertainty. Earlier in the year, Bhavnani said he had a more bullish forecast for holiday PC sales.

"Concern about a recession probably weighs on the hearts and minds of some of the consumers," Bhavnani said. "It's going to be a very good holiday, for notebooks especially. But it's not going to be a great holiday season."

Talkback

Does this count include retail stores stocking up for christmas sales? Or, is the actual number consumers are using? Big difference between the two. Also easy to see the PC manufacturers still bowing to the great Redmond god.

ator1940 30 October, 2007 12:52
Reply

This post has been removed by a moderator.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

9 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

17 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

19 hours ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

19 hours ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

21 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

23 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

24 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

1 day ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

1 day ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint