Microsoft says that in an effort to reward loyal customers, it will pre-sell its Windows 7 operating system for half of its expected retail price through July 11. The software, complete with a large complement of fully tested hardware drivers, is expected to make its debut on October 22.

Customers who place an order now for Windows 7 can choose the Home Premium version for $50, or the Professional Edition for $100.
The Windows 7 Home Premium version is expected to retail at $199 or $119, if the purchaser is upgrading from Vista or Windows XP.

Windows 7 Professional will retail for $299 for the full version or $199 for an upgrade from Vista or Windows XP. Windows 7 Ultimate, which isn’t part of the sale, will retail for $319; an upgrade version will be available for $219. Microsoft will also provide free upgrades to Windows 7 for computer purchasers who buy new equipment prior to the official OS release date.

In all likelihood, Microsoft is doing at least three things with its half-price sale. First, it’s encouraging users who have downloaded the Windows 7 Beta or the Windows 7 Release Candidate to move to the actual product and is using the half-price sale as a measure to gauge the public’s genuine interest in the product. Second, it’s attempting to secure a better market position after seeing sales in its Client Division (which is responsible for Windows) drop by 16% in the second quarter of 2009. Third, it’s trying to stave off the loss in revenue that typically precedes a new Windows release.

To the last end, Microsoft says it will defer its pre-sales revenue to the fourth quarter, when the product is actually released. The company expects this move to boost its fourth quarter revenue by about $300 million.

The company is going out of its way to make sure that nothing upsets the release plan. Following the release of Vista, the OS was dogged by consumer complaints that drivers for common hardware products were unavailable, and that computers that had been sold as “Vista-capable” were not able to run the latest version of the OS. While early reports seem to indicate that Windows 7 is stable, it remains to be seen whether the public will take a half-price gamble on that.

Consumers can purchase the half-off software directly from Microsoft, or other software retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and New Egg.

Photo Credit: Clever Cupcakes, via Flickr