"There's no precedent in my mind," Harry Wang, research analyst for Parks Associates said.
The closest comparison would be the TV industry, Harry Wang said. Manufacturers selling analog sets today are telling consumers that government coupons will be available in 2008 to help pay for converters that will make it possible for the TVs to receive digital signals. Starting Feb. 17, 2009, TV networks will be required to broadcast only digital programming.
"The PC purchase is more dependent on how badly they need to upgrade their existing one," Harry Wang said.
Other experts are equally skeptical whether there's much Microsoft can do now to drive Vista sales later. Gartner, for example, said offering Vista coupons is unlikely to boost sales because of the cost of upgrading an XP PC. Besides the additional $49 and $79 consumers would reportedly pay for Vista Home Basic and Home Premium, respectively, there's also the cost of having a retailer or reseller install the new OS.
Wang agrees. "Price will be an important factor."
From the article "Microsoft Entices Holiday Shoppers With 250 Vista-Ready Product," by Antone Gonsalves.
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