joshpuckett.com

When Vista was originally released, one of the biggest complaints levied against it centered around the myriad of product editions available to the consumer.  Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate…the choices seemed endless, and confusing, to the customer standing in the PC software isle of their favorite retail store.  In addition to this, moving from edition to edition, features were gained AND lost, making for a very confusing time.  It was very easy to get lost in exactly what you were getting for your money compared to other editions.

It seems as if Microsoft has learned their lesson, and have recently announced the official W7 product editions.  Initially, it will not seem any better when I tell you that W7 features no less than 5 product editions (technically 6, but we’ll get to that later).  Vista had 5, W7 has 5…what gives?

To explain how W7 is better in this regard, we must first introduce you to the new product editions.  Meet W7 Starter, W7 Home Premium, W7 Professional, W7 Enterprise, and W7 Ultimate.

Note: Each quote below is taken directly from Paul Thurrott’s WinSuperSite, since he explains it better than I can.

Windows 7 Starter

Market: Worldwide availability this time but with new PCs only 

Key features: Enhanced taskbar, Jump Lists, Windows Media Player, Backup and Restore, Action Center, Device Stage, Play To, Fax and Scan, basic games 

What’s missing: Aero Glass, many Aero desktop enhancements, Windows Touch, Media Center, Live thumbnail previews, Home Group creation

This version will only be sold through PC makers to users, but unlike with Vista, it will be sold worldwide. This suggests that netbook makers will choose this version, even in the US. As with previous Windows Starter Edition products, it is limited in some ways: You can run only three applications at once, don’t get Windows 7’s full mobility capabilities, and can participate in but not create a Home Group. Also, there’s no Aero Glass.

Windows 7 Home Premium

Market: Mainstream retail market 

Key features: Aero Glass, Aero Background, Windows Touch, Home Group creation, Media Center, DVD playback and authoring, premium games, Mobility Center 

What’s missing: Domain join, Remote Desktop host, advanced backup, EFS, Offline Folders

The volume Windows 7 offering for consumers builds on Starter and includes Mobility Center, Aero Glass, advanced windows navigation features like Aero Snap and Aero Peek, and multi-touch, as well as the ability to both create and participate in Home Groups. Home Premium will be sold at retail and be included with new computers.

Windows 7 Professional

Market: Mainstream retail market 

Key features: Domain join, Remote Desktop host, location aware printing, EFS, Mobility Center, Presentation Mode, Offline Folders 

What’s missing: BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD

This volume Windows 7 version builds on Home Premium and adds features like domain join, Group Policy (GP) controls, location aware printing, advanced backup, EFS, and offline folders. Pro will be sold at retail and be included with new computers

Windows 7 Enterprise

Market: Volume-license business customers only 

Key features: BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD 

What’s missing: Retail licensing

As before, Enterprise is aimed at Microsoft’s Software Assurance (SA) volume license customers. This time, however, Enterprise is a superset of Professional and adds much-heralded Windows 7 features like Direct Access, Branch Cache, BitLocker, and BitLocker To Go.

Windows 7 Ultimate

Market: Retail market, limited availability 

Key features: BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD 

What’s missing: Volume licensing

For those few customers who simply must have everything, Windows 7 Ultimate offers all of the features from Enterprise but loses the volume licensing requirement. So you can think of Ultimate edition as Enterprise for consumers (and other retail customers).

Windows 7 Ultimate is kind of a wild-card. It will be available at retail and with new PCs, but Microsoft suggested that it will not be heavily marketed and will instead be “offer-based” via occasional promotions and offers from both PC makers and retailers.

“We’re experimenting with the kinds of offers we can make for Windows 7 Ultimate,” Veghte said. “It’s going to be a low-single digit run rate (i.e. low market share) product. We expect retailers and OEMs to occasionally offer Ultimate with new PCs as part of special promotions. But in terms of run rate, it will be a tiny, tiny percentage of the volume. We will keep the marketing energy on Home Premium and Professional.”

Initially, it doesn’t seem much better than Vista, does it?  When you read between the lines, however, Microsoft is focusing these editions more tightly, and will only market them towards their intended destinations.  W7 Starter will only be found on new PCs, and low-end PCs at that, such as netbooks.  It’s highly unlikely that American consumers will see this edition much, if at all.  It will not be sold at retail for upgrade purposes.

W7 Home Premium and W7 Professional will maintain top retail presence anywhere you find yourself looking to purchase W7.  This will feel very similar to XP, which launched with two product editions (even though they branched out later).  W7 Enterprise will be available in volume licensing only, meaning there will be absolutely no retail presence, and only the intended market will have access to it.  W7 Ultimate is kind of the wildcard, as it’s retail presence will be highly understated, and will be used only to satiate enthusiast crowds.  Microsoft has stated that W7 Ultimate is looked at taking less than 1% of it’s market share.

The other lesson learned by Microsoft here is that each successive package is a true superset of the previous.  Upon moving up the price ladder, you don’t gain features and lose others like with Vista.  When you pay more for a package, you simply gain more features on top of what the previous package offers.

So that’s W7 product editions in a (big) nutshell.  As Joe Consumer, you’ll mainly be presented with 2 versions of W7 when it releases (99% of the time).  This is much better than the 4 or 5 you were greeted with when Vista released.  Plus, there should be much less confusion on exactly what you’re getting with the version you choose.

Oh, and the note above about there technically being 6 W7 versions?  There will be a W7 Home Basic version lurking out there, but this is strictly for “emerging” markets such as Brazil and others, so us American consumers will never see this.

Personal Musings