Earlier this week Microsoft finally confirmed to the world that Windows 7 will hit general availability October 22nd, a date in which we've all been waiting for. Now that we know the date, our next question is what will Windows 7 cost consumers? Apparently Best Buy has the answer to that question, as Engadget is reporting that a leaked memo has revealed the upgrade plans for Windows 7.



According to the image above, Best Buy will offer customers to order a Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49.99 and Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $99.99. As far as I'm concerned this is going to give a huge break to today's consumers as they are tightening their pocket books in order to prevail through these tough economic times. So is this really cheaper than Windows Vista? Let's examine the costs.

When Windows Vista was launched back in November of 2006, the upgrade options and pricing were: Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade $129.95 and Vista Business Upgrade was $199.95. With that in mind users who are upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 are going to be saving between 60 and 50% this time around. Now if this is legitimate, I think it's time to say that the tech world and blogosphere alike are fixing to applause Microsoft for making the right decision.

Looking at the memo a bit further it appears that Best Buy is going to presale select Windows 7 SKUs on BestBuy.com starting June 26th, so start saving those pennies!