14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's estimated retail prices for Windows Vista vary according to edition. Vista Home Basic is $199, Vista Home Premium $239, Vista Business costs $299 and the high end edition of the latest Microsoft operating system, Vista Ultimate is no less than $399. And even the upgrade prices of the four editions are prohibitive for developing market around the world at $99.95, $159, $199 and $259.
But Microsoft has a solution in place and is getting ready to launch Windows Vista with a subscription based payment model. The Redmond Company plans to introduce the new Vista-subscription trials at the beginning of 2008. As a matter of fact, the Vista operating system will be introduced into Microsoft's current FlexGo hardware-software bundle.
"We are going forward with both our original pay-as-you-go and subscription business models, but our main focus will be on telcos and a subscription model," David Foster, general manager of the program for Microsoft revealed at the Windows Hardware Engineering (WinHEC) 2007 conference in Los Angeles.
Back in May 2006, Microsoft was bringing to the table the first version of the FlexGo program. Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia were the developing countries that served as testing markets for both pay-as-you-go and subscription-based rentals of hardware and software bundles. Moreover, the Redmond Company was by no means alone in this initiative as it rallied an impressive group of partners from the hardware, telecommunications, retail and financial industries. This year, Microsoft is focusing exclusively on Brazil, India, and Mexico having dropped Russia from the list.
Additionally, with the availability of Windows Vista, the Redmond Company will introduce the operating system gradually into the FlexGo program. 32-bit Vista SKUs will be offered through the FlexGo pilot program beginning with the coming year.
"In the past, you had to have a separate SKU for a FlexGo-enabled system. Now every version of 32-bit Vista will be offered," said Mike Wickstrand, a Director of Product Management with Microsoft's Market Expansion Group as cited by bink.nu.