Windows 7 off to a brisk start at NBR 24/7, TradeMe

ABOVE & BELOW: Nielsen SiteCensus stats for NBR.co.nz for the week beginning November 16. After just a month on the market (though almost a year in beta, Windows 7 has already made an impression. 

The most stunning element, however, is the persistence of the nearly 10-year-old XP. Despite an outsize dollop of MacOS, Microsoft's main competition remains its own legacy product (though part of me is disappointed there's not a single Windows 95 user out there).

It seems that Microsoft’s latest version of Windows is selling at a much brisker pace than its predecessor, the much-maligned Vista - despite being released in much more challenging economic times.

At Microsoft’s annual shareholder meeting last week, chief executive Steve Ballmer said Windows 7 had sold twice as many copies than any previous version of the OS during its first few weeks.

Vista - the previous record holder, despite its snitty reviews - sold 20 million copies in its first month, implying that Windows 7 has sold a healthy 40 million (market tracker NPD reckons first-week sales were up 239% over Vista).

Here at Keallhauled, we like Windows 7. While there’s no reason to upgrade by lunchtime, across the board it’s more appealing in terms of speed, security, stability, networking, and the way it organises your files.

I’m picking that Windows 7’s success is down to three things:
1) the aggressive, 50% off pre-sales drive (which sadly didn’t reach New Zealand), and the new OS’s good behaviour.
2) Thanks to the lack of major architectural tinkering, and a lengthy beta trial, it has none of Vista’s problems playing with others. And that Virtual XP mode seems to be helping on that front too.
3) Even hardcore XP fans think a decade is long enough to stick with one OS.

I doubt if many are pulling Windows 7 off the shelves at Harvey Norman, but with sales at 40 million, it’s obvious that many new PC buyers - who gave Vista a swerve or downgraded to XP are now happy to give the new OS a go.

The kids are will be all right
At Microsoft’s AGM, Ballmer hit on another reason: “Windows 7 gives us a real opportunity to get back at [the Mac] audience. With the down economy, people understand that the Mac is a lot more expensive for essentially the same computer”.

The Microsoft chief executive added that many young people will outgrow their feelings for Macs. "Some of it is marketing, some of it is phase of life,"

It was an entertaining theory, if not entirely in accordance with recent market trends.

IDC says Apple’s share of new PC shipments was 3.9% worldwide during the September quarter, against 2.4% four years ago (in the US, Apple grabbed 9.2% in the third quarter, up from 4.8% in the same period four years ago. The iPod’s “halo effect” has done wonders for the Mac renaissance).

Here's how Windows 7 is faring with TradeMe - easily the NZ most-trafficked site, and Keallhauled's official barometer of the nation: