14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is a tad late at the unveiling “party” of the Windows 7 box art. But what's a few months when you hold the keys to confirming the official packaging design for the next iteration of the Windows client? Approximately two months after the concepts for the retail flavors of Windows 7 were leaked, the Redmond-based company is officially confirming the new logo and box design. According to the software giant, the Windows 7 packaging was created in accordance with feedback from customers. The design is certainly simpler than it was with Windows Vista, the boxes will indeed be easier to open, and there's also an ecological plus to the new packaging.
“Customers told us they liked the big bold Windows logo and how it clearly communicates that it’s Windows 7. They like larger typefaces to make it easy to read. They also like the background colors for each edition that make it easier to differentiate between Windows 7 Home Premium all the way to Windows 7 Ultimate. In their own words, the ‘clean’ design gives off a ‘fresh’ feel,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team.
Some of you might still remember that Microsoft put together an entire tutorial on how to open the Windows Vista boxes. With the advent of Vista, the company drastically altered the packagings compared to Windows XP, introducing the slide-to-open box. The move was designed to make it more difficult for counterfeiters to copy the packaging and sell bootlegged copies of the operating system as genuine.
“We’ve reduced the number of elements in the package down to three: the plastic case, the paper sleeve, and a simple Getting Started Guide. The plastic case opens easily like a standard DVD case and it will have a single easy-to-remove seal at the top - and that’s it,” LeBlanc added.
Where are the other editions of Windows 7, you ask? Well, since early 2009 when it announced its Stock Keeping Unit strategy, Microsoft made it clear that it would focus its marketing efforts on Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional. Ultimate is a SKU aimed at users willing to pay top dollar, no word on the exact amount yet, for the full-featured edition of the operating system.
Windows 7 Enterprise will be offered exclusively to Software Assurance customers with Volume licenses. This edition of the operating system doesn't come with packaging. At the same time, Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic are aimed for OEMs that will preinstall them onto new computers. Again, no need for boxes.
“The plastic case protecting the Windows 7 disk is lighter and is recyclable. The packaging itself has a 37% weight reduction and the econometrics score has improved by 50% over its predecessor. Essentially, the packaging is what customers told us they were most interested in picking up to learn more about Windows 7. We hope you do the same,” LeBlanc said.
