Windows 7 Versions – Microsoft has announced six different versions of Windows 7, the replacement for the hugely unpopular Winows Vista, including an upgrade from Windows XP.

Here are all the various versions of Windows 7:

  • Windows 7 Starter – Mostly for low-end netbooks
  • Windows 7 Home Basic – Available only in Third World countries
  • Windows 7 Home Premium – Most popular choice for home users
  • Windows 7 Professional – Small business version
  • Windows 7 Enterprise – Large business version
  • Windows 7 Ultimate – Tricked out version for gear heads

The lineup begins, on the low end, with Windows 7 Starter edition. That edition will only be available via PC makers, though, and only on “new PCs limited to specific types of hardware,” Ybarra said. Translation: Starter edition may be relegated only to inexpensive netbooks.

Next up, Windows 7 Home Premium will be the main offering for consumers, while Windows 7 Professional, the equivalent to Vista Business, is targeted towards small businesses. In fact, Ybarra said that Microsoft expects most consumers will gravitate to one or the other of these two packages.

There will also, as with Vista, be an Enterprise edition of Windows 7 with added features for enterprise administrators and other corporate tasks. Enterprise edition, however, will only be available to “annuity customers with Software Assurance agreements,” according to Ybarra.

Finally, Microsoft will have Windows 7 Ultimate edition for hardcore PC users who “want it all,” such as, for instance, BitLocker drive encryption that is otherwise only available in the Enterprise edition.

Microsoft will also offer upgrade packages for Windows XP users.

According to Microsoft, “Customers can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade license to move from Windows XP to Windows 7; however, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7.”

And that’s the latest news on the new Windows 7 versions.

Tags: microsoft, microsoft windows 7, windows 7, windows 7 versions

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