Brussels, 26/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and Microsoft have both said that the changes brought to the new Windows operating system will not entail any price rises for European consumers. This is contrary to what was stated in an article in The Financial Times on 26 June, which stated that separating the new operating system from the internet browser “Explorer” would make the system more expensive within the EU.
“This report (…) is inaccurate”, the Commission spokesman, Johannes Laitenberger, said. “Microsoft has already given assurances that no European user will face increased prices for Windows 7 now or in the future”, he told the press on Thursday. It is true that Windows 7 will not be available in “upgrade” form on Union territory but solely in the complete version. The company has nonetheless undertaken to cut the price of this version by 30% to offset this. The new generation operating system is due to come out in October this year. The upgrade is not available because the Windows 7 version marketed in the EU has been separated from the internet browser “Explorer”. This change, made at the Commission's request, makes it impossible to simply upgrade the current system Vista to become Windows 7, Microsoft technicians say. The only solution possible in Europe is to move on to the last generation, which therefore means installation of the complete version from zero. The Commission had requested that Microsoft stop delivering its Explorer browser for operating systems already installed. The company had replied that this made about as much sense as “selling shoes without laces”, as one lawyer put it. The Court of Justice, however, has supported the Commission's argument, and Microsoft has had to separate its operating system from its internet browser. Microsoft maintains that this will not be detrimental to European consumers. The reduction brings the price of the complete version of Windows 7 to €119.99 compared to the normal price of €199.99, i.e. a 40% reduction (for the “Home Premium” model). It should be noted that, in the United States, the same complete version will be sold at $199.99, and the “upgrade” at $119.99. The reduction in the EU will be applied as soon as the software comes out on 22 October, “until the end of the year at least, and afterwards we'll have to see”, a source familiar with the dossier said. The Commission's spokesman stressed that Microsoft could also have proposed versions of its operating system with different browsers for remedying the related sales problem. (C.D./transl.jl)