Vista availability and notebook prices

What do you think of the relation between Vista launch and HW prices?

I'm thinking now to buy a NX7400 with XP Pro + Upgrade to Vista, but would rather wait for the notebook to come bundled directly with Vista (I think is better rather then getting an upgrade license which should force to install first XP then upgrade to Vista everytime your format the hard drive).

My biggest thought is that probably the notebook prices will raise up after the Vista launch.. or is this just an unfunded doubt?

Somebody here mentioned that the business line (such as the NX7400) will see the Vista bundle delayed. Is this true? Does it mean that for having Vista bundled to the NX7400 at least others 4 or 5 months will pass?


Thanks,
Fabio

 

Take advantage of the free upgrade to Vista. Then use the backup feature in Vista to create restore solution.

 

Thanks but I didn't ask for any backup solution. If I want that I can use dd from Unix over the network or USB2 devices.

My question was different: is there any chance that the bundled version of Vista will raise up notebook prices?

And also about Vista release schedule on business notebooks, if somebody has knowledge on that.


Fabio

 

I dont think it would especially since both HP and Microsoft would want ppl to buy their laptops, any rise in prices might risk customers moving elsewhere to cheaper priced brands. alternatively sellers might price them high or price the old XP notebooks lower to get rid of excess stock. If you buy one now at least you end up getting two operating systems, XP now and Vista when you upgrade.

 

No, Vista's OEM pricing is essentially the same as XPs. The only price differences will come as a result of higher specs being required to run the OS (ie. the lowest end Vista systems will have higher specs than they currently do, and thus cost more). For systems with the same specs, Vista should make no difference in price.

That said, the higher requirements could cause RAM prices to go up, and if the release of Vista convinces enough people to buy new computers, manufacturers could not offer some of the better deals/rebates/free upgrades they frequently do now -- but I doubt it. No one wants to be caught charging considerably more than the competition for similar systems -- not a good way to make sales.

As for delaying Vista on the business line, I haven't heard for sure if that's the case, but it's certainly possible. Businesses will be MUCH slower to adopt Vista than consumers, and HP should be supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit Vista on Business notebooks, while they seem to only be supporting 32-bit Vista on consumer models (at least initially). That alone makes the transition a lot easier.

As for having to reinstall XP when you format the hard drive... the retail upgrade discs will NOT make you do that, although I suppose it's possible that the Express Upgrade discs will be limited in that way. As long as you boot from the DVD, and use its format utility, the installation should record that you have a valid Vista installation and not require an XP installation.

Hope that helps.

 

Don't forget that the NX7400 may not be able to use Aero, the 3D interface, as its video card is integrated and shares memory instead of having a dedicated RAM.

 

MS's site states that shared memory is not an issue for Vista/Aero

 

I think the prices will go up a little once Vista is released