Microsoft “earned $1.5bn” from Vista Capable PCs

Posted on 5 Jan 2009 at 14:26

Microsoft earned $1.5bn from sales of PCs that were labelled Vista Capable, according to testimony to the court examining whether the company misled consumers into buying computers that were incapable of running the latest version of Windows.

The plaintiffs claim the company “unjustly enriched” itself by using the stickers to sell PCs that weren't suitable for Vista Home Premium or Ultimate editions.

An expert witness in the case claims Microsoft reaped a handsome reward from the sales of such PCs.

"I have … reached the opinion that Microsoft revenue from the Windows XP licensing on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs was $1.505 billion," University of Washington economist Keith Leffler told the court.

How much of that $1.5bn Microsoft would have earned without the stickers on the PCs is open to debate, as many customers arguably wouldn't have cared if the computer could run Vista or not.

But Leffler’s testimony is the latest setback in the case for Microsoft, coming after the revelation that it lowered the Vista Capable requirements so that certain PCs with Intel chipsets that were not capable of running Vista features such as the Aero Glass interface would still be entitled to carry the Vista Capable branding.

Microsoft has repeatedly denied misleading consumers with the Vista Capable scheme.

Author: Barry Collins

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