Around this time of year, many people start thinking about purchasing a new PC. A new PC makes a great investment with that tax refund check you might have received and with the end of the school year coming; parents often look at sending their kids away to college with a new PC in the fall. After looking at PCs, you find the perfect one. The next step is to make sure the edition of Windows 7 on it is right for you. If you use your PC for everyday things and want the best entertainment experience, you’ll want Windows 7 Home Premium. If you work with your PC, you’ll want Windows 7 Professional, which has all the functionality of Windows 7 Home Premium, but is designed to make working from anywhere easier. If the PC you want doesn’t come pre-installed with the edition of Windows that meets your needs– that’s no problem because we’ve made it really easy to upgrade to the one that is using Windows Anytime Upgrade.
You might recall a blog post I published a few weeks ago about the HP Slimline PC I purchased from Best Buy. It came with Windows 7 Home Premium. But because I wanted to use this PC for work, I needed to be able to join it to a domain. I purchased a copy of Windows Anytime Upgrade to upgrade from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. By upgrading, I was able to join to a domain – among the other enhancements available with the Windows 7 Professional such as Windows XP Mode.
Another good example of how easy it is to upgrade your edition of Windows 7 is with netbooks. Many netbooks come with Windows 7 Starter. Customers can quickly upgrade from Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium using Windows Anytime Upgrade and do things like personalize their PCs with all the new Windows 7 themes, create a desktop background slideshow of their own photos, switch between open programs more easily with Taskbar Previews, and enjoy Remote Media Streaming.
Many of our retailer partners are taking advantage of Windows Anytime Upgrade with a brand new offer that will start next week. Beginning April 4th at participating retailers, people who buy a new PC will have an opportunity to add Windows Anytime Upgrade to their purchase at a special low price. In the U.S.:
- Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium ERP $49.99 (versus everyday price of $79.99)
- Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional ERP $79.99 (versus everyday price of $89.99)
This offer will be available at participating retailers and for a limited time only, (in the U.S. this offer will end July 3rd). Details vary by retailer and geography – so check with your local retailers to see which PCs they are offering. Participating retailers also choose which Windows Anytime Upgrade path to offer. Some may offer Windows Anytime Upgrade for going from Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium, while others may offer Windows Anytime Upgrade for going from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional, or they may offer both.
So just how easy is it to use Windows Anytime Upgrade to move from one edition of Windows 7 to another? It’s very easy! Check out this post on the step-by-step process of using Windows Anytime Upgrade to move from a lower edition of Windows 7 to a higher edition of Windows 7.
When you’re out looking for a PC, be on the lookout for this offer on new PCs to ensure you’re running the right edition of Windows 7 for you!