Microsoft sells 20 million Vista licenses in first month

Microsoft has claimed a strong debut for its new operating system, with sales figures showing more than 20 million licenses were sold in the first month of its consumer release on Jan 30. According to Redmond, this is double the pace that XP sold at when made its debut five years ago.

The Microsoft figures would appear to contradict predictions from most analysts that the initial take-up of Vista would be slow.

While Vista has been generally praised for its features and improved security, pundits have criticised the lack of drivers and compatibility with existing hardware and software. This was believed among many to be a reason for an initial slow take-up.

If Microsoft's figures are to be believed, however, consumers have not been deterred from adopting Redmond's new flagship product, although no news of Office 2007 sales figures have been released as yet.

“We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to Windows Vista right out of the gate,” said Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Business Group at Microsoft. “While it’s very early in the product lifecycle, we are setting a foundation for Windows Vista to become the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever. Working with our partners, we are helping our customers leverage new tools and programs to accelerate the transition and provide a great user experience.”

Windows Vista license sales after one month of availability have already exceeded the total of Windows XP license sales in the earlier product’s first two months of availability, according to Microsoft. In January 2002, the company announced sales of Windows XP licenses had exceeded 17 million after two months on the market.

The more than 20 million copies shipped represent Windows Vista licenses sold to PC manufacturers, copies of upgrades and the full packaged product sold to retailers and upgrades ordered through the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program from January 30 to February 28.