Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) packs for Windows 7

Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) is a method that allows a user to upgrade from one Windows 7 SKU to a higher one (Ex: Home Premium to Professional.) WAU packs for Windows Vista were made available at retail, so naturally, there was the assumption that Windows 7 would have its own WAU packs as well.

You might remember seeing these box shots in an earlier post. AeroXP obtained some of these box images as well and state that these are actually individual WAU packs. They also stated that Microsoft will be pushing Anytime Upgrade through retail channels. However, a source had tipped ArsTechnica saying that only regions where broadband access is limited or unavailable would receive a retail option. The source suggested that most customers may end up not seeing these boxes at all.

Microsoft failed to cater to the netbook market with Windows Vista. With Windows 7, the company is working hard to ensure that the operating system will obtain significant market share in the netbook scene. Unlike with Vista, Windows 7 works extremely well on most netbooks. Microsoft is also offering the Windows 7 Starter SKU to OEMs to be installed on netbooks, which will also contribute to increased market share. Although the paranoia that comes with exchanging credit card info online has decreased, there are still many customers out there that prefer the traditional way of purchasing software via retail channels. It will be interesting to see how far Microsoft is willing to go to win netbook customers.

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