According to NPDs weekly tracking service**, Windows 7 software unit sales in the U.S. were 234 percent higher than Vistas first few days of sales. Revenue growth wasnt as strong though. A combination of early discounts on pre-sales and a lack of promotional activity for the Ultimate version resulted in dollar sales that were 82 percent higher than Vista.

Microsofts program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing, and aggressive deals helped make the Windows 7 software launch successful," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. In a slow environment for packaged software Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles."

Top-Selling Windows 7 SKUs (based on units week ending 10/24) / Average Selling Price
1. Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade / $76
2. Windows 7 Pro Upgrade / $147
3. Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack 3 User Upgrade / $149

While boxed software sales were up compared to the Vista launch, PC hardware sales had more of an uphill battle. PC sales growth was higher than any week during the high volume back-to-school third quarter, but wasnt as strong as growth during the Vista launch. Total Windows PCs, however, were up 49 percent in units year-over-year and were up 95 percent over the week prior to launch. But, PC sales growth during the Vista launch was stronger, soaring 68 percent over the prior years sales and 170 percent over the week preceding the launch. Windows PC sales were down 6 percent compared to PC sales during the Vista launch week.

A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset, but the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season," said Baker. Vista had a slight advantage at launch, as January traditionally has a bigger sales footprint than October. The other hurdle Windows 7 faced was sales of PCs with older operating systems (XP and Vista) were high, making up 20 percent of sales during the Windows 7 launch, compared to just 6 percent of older operating sales during Vistas launch week."

For more insight about the marketing, merchandising, and retail prep behind the Windows 7 launch read Stephens blog post: Windows 7 Launch Starts Here.

For more insight about how all-in-one PCs are moving to capitalize on Windows 7 read DisplaySearchs research.

*Sales are for the week of October 18 — 24, 2009 and include Windows 7 pre-sales
**NPDs weekly tracking service point-of-sale (POS) information is derived from a subset panel of retailers that also contribute to NPDs projected monthly POS panel.

“A Windows phone gives people a single phone that works for their whole life, keeping them connected to the people and information they care about most by harnessing the power of the PC, phone and Web,” said Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of Mobile Device Strategy and Commercialization in the Mobile Communications Business Group, Microsoft Corp.   “Qualcomm chipsets provide the performance and technology necessary to deliver on the vision of a personalized, productive phone that ensures real-time information and powerful applications are always at a person’s fingertips, as evidenced by the adoption of Qualcomm products in the latest-generation Windows phones available today.”

“Smartphones are quickly becoming a primary means of accessing the mobile Internet for a growing segment of consumers, and thus the capabilities that can be delivered become more crucial than ever before,” said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of marketing and product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies.  “Qualcomm and Microsoft have a long history of working together to bring advanced, compelling devices to the market, and we are pleased to be working closely together on the next generation of Windows phones.”

Many of the latest generation of Windows phones, including a new smartphone enabled with FLO TV, are powered by Qualcomm’s MSM7xxx-series and Snapdragon chipsets. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform offers an industry leading combination of mobile processing performance, optimized power consumption, ubiquitous connectivity and powerful multimedia in a single chip. 

The following are just some of the Windows Phones powered by Qualcomm that have launched or which will be available soon:  

HTC HD2
HTC Touch Pro 2
HTC Touch2
LG GM750
Toshiba TG01
Samsung Omnia II
Sony Ericsson Xperia X2
HTC Touch Diamond 2