The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has some unidentified
sources claiming that Dell will begin selling personal computers with
Vista tonight just before midnight eastern standard time. These first
movers will get their new Vista-loaded computers on Tuesday, the
official launch day of Vista for home users. My question:
Will there be
a spike or drop in Dell orders tonight?
Although Microsoft claims Vista is ready for prime time, many skeptical consumers (perhaps those with past experience of other Microsoft product launches) may wait to see all the kinks worked out before jumping at the chance to use the company’s latest operating system. Earlier this month, Purdue University explained that it will be waiting around six months (if not longer) before upgrading its thousands of computers.
The maturing PC market with slowing growth and slashed prices does need something to get people excited about new computers. Of course, for those just getting settled with Windows XP after five years (the growing baby boomer generation, as an example), “excited” may not be the right word.
So who here will be the innovator / early adopter vs. the follower? For me, at least, it may take a few months…
