Microsoft Announces Six Windows 7 Flavors

It's official, Microsoft will be releasing six different flavors of Windows 7 similar to what it did with Windows Vista. Microsoft said in a statement that the "majority of customers will be best served by two primary editions of Windows 7: Windows 7 Home Premium for consumers, and Windows 7 Professional for businesses."

Microsoft confirmed a press statement that confirmed that Windows 7 will have the following versions: Windows 7 Starter available only for OEM worldwide, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. There will only be two "boxed" or retail versions available for consumers to avoid confusion that Windows Vista brought to the market. With Windows 7 consumers will have the option to choose between Home Premium and Professional. Users will then be able to 'upgrade' to the other version as they so desire once they get up and running.

"Windows 7 Professional is the recommended choice for small businesses and for people who work at home but have to operate in an IT-managed or business environment where security and productivity are critical. For those running Windows Vista Business, it will be a very logical move to Windows 7 Professional." general manager for Windows, Mike Ybarra stated. "Within a customer base of over one billion, there are a lot of important customer niches, or segments, and we want to make sure we have an appropriate product for everybody. Again, for a majority of our customers the choice is really simple: Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional. We understand some of our customers have different needs, like enthusiasts who want every feature in Windows, for example."

Ybarra says they have not yet announced pricing.