Microsoft cuts Vista price

Microsoft has announced that it plans to cut the price of the Windows Vista operating system at retail level in over 70 countries later this year.

The move, to be made alongside the release of the long-awaited Service Pack 1 patch, is being made to try and stimulate a greater number of customers to upgrade from older operating systems.

According to a Reuters report Vista currently accounts for less than 10 per cent of shop- or web-bought products licensed, although new PCs generally come pre-loaded with the software now.

In the US Vista Ultimate will fall in price from USD 399 to USD 319, while the upgrade price will drop from USD 259 to USD 219.

At the same time Vista Home Premium will see its price cut from USD 159 to USD 129 in the US, while in emerging markets the company plans to drop upgrade editions of the software altogether and sell the full versions at the upgrade price points instead.

Microsoft corporate VP Brad Brooks said that he was confident the influx of new customers would offset the reduction in income from lower prices following a three-month promotional trial.

Meanwhile Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft has admitted to changing its Vista certification process in order to help chip manufacturer Intel meet its quarterly earnings estimates.

According to an email from John Kalkman, a Microsoft general manager on hardware relations, Microsoft "lowered the requirements to help Intel make their quarterly earnings, so they could continue to sell motherboards with 915 graphics embedded" - problematic because the 915 chipset is unable to handle some elements of Vista's graphical demands.

But Intel has denied those claims, with a spokesperson countering: "With respect to the statement in the email from one John Kalkman, we have no idea who he is and we are absolutely certain he would have zero visibility into Intel's financials, Intel's financial forecasts or anything to do with any particular quarter at any time.''