According to the reseller community, the recent launch of Microsoft Vista has pushed XP to the backseat. This in turn has seen XP become costlier and highly sought after.

Close on the heels of the global launch of Vista, with much fanfare, Microsoft's globally successful product-Windows XP, has suddenly become more expensive in the Indian region, what's more is that the product is not that easily available either. According to sources close to the software reselling community, Microsoft's XP was being sold at Rs 5,600 in India only a while ago. But ever since the company launched its latest product-Vista, Windows XP is scarcely available at Rs 6,100.

“I think that the company has adopted a two-pronged approach to achieve better results with Vista. Microsoft is limiting the supply of Windows XP in this region and additionally the company has also increased the price of XP. I would say that this shortage has enabled the price to increase from Rs 5,600 for Windows XP Prof OEM to Rs 6,100 per user. Eventually the end-user will be affected and this is really bad. We as resellers oppose this,” informed a software reseller from New Delhi on condition of anonymity.

Available pricing for Vista
Windows Vista Home Basic: Rs 7,278 Upgrade: Rs 3,551 Windows Vista Home Premium: Rs 8,630 Upgrade: Rs 5,492 Windows Vista Business: Rs 10,747 Upgrade: Rs 6,827 Windows Vista Ultimate: Rs 14,408 Upgrade: Rs 8,947

According to a Kolkata-based software reseller, there is a great demand for Windows XP but very little availability now. “Everyday we get many queries about Windows XP. But we are simply not able to meet the demand. We don't have Windows XP and the company has also increased its pricing. So overall, I think that the company is trying to create favorable conditions for its latest product-Vista. But they should also look at the situation from end-user point of view,” he added on condition of anonymity.

Product cannibalization?
When contacted, Microsoft's official spokesperson denied that there was any sort of product cannibalization being done with Windows XP. “We are not squeezing XP at all. Microsoft is a channel driven organization and it all depends on the channel community and how they take the demand for these products. We are fulfilling all the demand generation that is coming for XP as of now,” the official spokesperson added.

When asked about XP becoming costlier, he added that the pricing of a product is always done in close co-ordination with the distributor. “There is no difference in pricing between XP and Vista as far as Microsoft is concerned,” he added.

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