Amazon.com lists Vista prices, ship date

On Web pages taking pre-orders for consumer versions of Vista, Amazon.com lists Jan. 30, 2007, as the date the OS will be shipping.

Amazon.com also lists prices for the three consumer versions of Windows Vista -- Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate -- as well as for Windows Vista Business edition. Pricing for upgrades to each of the editions also is listed on the site.

According to Amazon.com, Windows Vista Home Basic will cost US$199 for a new copy and $99.95 for an upgrade. Windows Vista Home Premium, a step above Home Basic in functionality, will sell for $239 for a new version and $159 for an upgrade. And Windows Vista Ultimate, the highest-end version of Vista for consumers, will cost $399 for a new copy and $259 for an upgrade, according to Amazon.com. Windows Vista Business will cost $299, while an upgrade will sell for $199.

Microsoft has said it will make consumer versions of Vista available in January, but it has not given a specific date or announced prices for the various versions of the OS. On Tuesday, in a statement sent by e-mail sent through its public relations firm, the company still would not confirm exact availability or pricing for Vista.

Amazon.com listings for pre-orders of Windows Vista can be found at the following links:

Windows Vista Home Basic DVD-Rom

Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade DVD-Rom

Windows Vista Home Premium DVD-Rom

Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade DVD-Rom

Windows Vista Ultimate DVD-Rom

Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade DVD-Rom

On Monday, Microsoft acknowledged that it inadvertently posted Canadian pricing for Vista on its Canadian Web site and then pulled the price list from the site when the information was reported in the media. Converted to U.S. dollars, the prices for Vista in Canada were higher than the U.S. prices listed on Amazon.com's Web site.