Vista may be delayed further
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Vista may be delayed further
http://www.chicagotribune.com/techno...technology-hed
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows Vista operating system won't be widely available until the second quarter of 2007, months after Microsoft has promised, according to market research firm Gartner Inc.
Microsoft will release a second test version of Vista this month or next, which won't give the company enough time to get it on new computers and in stores by January, as promised, Gartner said in a new report. In March, Microsoft withdrew plans to release Vista in late 2006.
With Vista, originally planned for release in 2004, Microsoft will offer features already found in Apple Computer Inc. and Google Inc. programs. The latest delay is expected to hurt Microsoft's fourth-quarter revenue and to slow sales of personal computers. Any further delay could strain Microsoft's ability to meet revenue goals and could hobble PC-makers.
"Microsoft's development organization firmly believes that it will release Windows Vista in time to ship to enterprises with volume licensing in 2006 and for original equipment manufacturers to ship on new PCs in January 2007," Gartner said in a report dated Monday. "However, development also believed it could do it in time for the 2006 holiday availability, and that did not materialize."
Microsoft said it "disagrees" with Gartner's views and "remains on track to deliver the final product to volume license customers in November 2006 and to other businesses and consumers in January 2007."
Software industry analyst Rick Sherlund of Goldman, Sachs & Co. said the response to the next test version of Vista will be a vital indicator
"We believe that feedback on the upcoming Beta 2 will be critical to assess the potential for further delay," Sherlund wrote in a note to investors Tuesday, referring to the test version of Vista to be released soon. He said that test should provide an indication of how stable and compatible Vista is and how much work might remain to make it ready for shipment.
"Skepticism over Vista's launch date is not encouraging," Sherlund said in his note. He said another delay might not be as damaging to Microsoft as the one announced in March.
"A slip of a month or two would be unfortunate, but perhaps not as impactful to earnings as the slip out of the seasonally strong December quarter," Sherlund said.
Microsoft will release a second test version of Vista this month or next, which won't give the company enough time to get it on new computers and in stores by January, as promised, Gartner said in a new report. In March, Microsoft withdrew plans to release Vista in late 2006.
With Vista, originally planned for release in 2004, Microsoft will offer features already found in Apple Computer Inc. and Google Inc. programs. The latest delay is expected to hurt Microsoft's fourth-quarter revenue and to slow sales of personal computers. Any further delay could strain Microsoft's ability to meet revenue goals and could hobble PC-makers.
"Microsoft's development organization firmly believes that it will release Windows Vista in time to ship to enterprises with volume licensing in 2006 and for original equipment manufacturers to ship on new PCs in January 2007," Gartner said in a report dated Monday. "However, development also believed it could do it in time for the 2006 holiday availability, and that did not materialize."
Microsoft said it "disagrees" with Gartner's views and "remains on track to deliver the final product to volume license customers in November 2006 and to other businesses and consumers in January 2007."
Software industry analyst Rick Sherlund of Goldman, Sachs & Co. said the response to the next test version of Vista will be a vital indicator
"We believe that feedback on the upcoming Beta 2 will be critical to assess the potential for further delay," Sherlund wrote in a note to investors Tuesday, referring to the test version of Vista to be released soon. He said that test should provide an indication of how stable and compatible Vista is and how much work might remain to make it ready for shipment.
"Skepticism over Vista's launch date is not encouraging," Sherlund said in his note. He said another delay might not be as damaging to Microsoft as the one announced in March.
"A slip of a month or two would be unfortunate, but perhaps not as impactful to earnings as the slip out of the seasonally strong December quarter," Sherlund said.
