So the consumer version of Windows Vista is with us at last. Was the wait worth it? Probably not, but it’s certainly a big improvement on the increasingly wobbly XP.

But, here’s an anomaly in my neck of the woods. In the U.S. the price of the Home Basic Upgrade is $99.99. The Home Premium Upgrade is $149.99.

In the UK, the Home Basic Upgrade is £99.99 (pounds). Home Basic Premium is £149.99 (pounds), and that’s the price quoted by Britain’s top online discount house.

Trouble is, there are now almost two dollars to the pound. We are therefore being charged twice the American price.

Why? Is the cost of shipping across the Atlantic really that much?

Methinks some serious profit-taking is going on here.

We’re beginning to get a glimpse of the OEM (own equipment manufacturers) pricing for Windows Vista.

Ars Technica has calculated the following prices from a quick survey of a number of sites :

Vista Home Basic $99 (full version retail: $199)
Vista Home Premium: $119 (full version retail: $239)
Vista Business: $149 (full version retail: $299)
Vista Ultimate $199 (full version retail: $399)

These sites will sell you Windows Vista in an OEM package meant to be sold with a new computer, CPUs, hard drives, or motherboards.

The Home versions are priced about the same as the upgrade so, if you have an older version of Windows to validate the upgrade, you won’t be saving much here.

“The Business and Ultimate editions are priced significantly better in their OEM forms, both a full $60 cheaper than the comparable upgrade (for instance, Vista Ultimate upgrade has a MSRP of $259).”

So, it’s mix and match and deciding whether a $60 saving is worth the hassle involved.

Bill Gates has announced a swathe of innovative products for Windows and Office 2007 software releases at the Consumer electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Microsoft website has this to say :

LAS VEGAS — Jan. 7, 2007 — … With less than a month to go until the Jan. 30 consumer launch of Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, thousands of PC manufacturers and system builders across the globe are preparing to deliver new PCs designed to run the new versions of Microsoft’s flagship Windows and Office products. [...]

Gates also unveiled a series of exciting new Windows Vista-powered PCs that ranged from innovative desktop designs and ultra-portable models, all scheduled to be available Jan. 30, including the following:

• The HP TouchSmart PC, a Windows Vista-inspired PC that introduces the convenient touch-screen experience to desktop computing, serves as a fast and easy-to-access information, communication and entertainment hub designed to fit wherever life happens: in the kitchen, family room or living room.

• The Toshiba Portege R400 is a Windows Vista-inspired signature mobile PC that incorporates innovative connectivity and display technologies to provide timely access to e-mail and appointments via Active Notifications and is built on Windows SideShow™ technology.

• Sony VAIO VGX-TP1 is a stylish PC that delivers a high-performance entertainment experience so users can enjoy their favorite live and recorded TV and movies or surf the Web from their sofa using the wireless keyboard or remote control.

• The Medion UMPC is an ultra-mobile PC that provides multiple input options such as a keyboard, a pen and touch capabilities and features the new Origami Experience, a user interface that optimizes entertainment and communications on the smallest class of personal computers running Windows Vista.

“Windows Vista is the catalyst for a variety of new hardware devices being made available to consumers,” Gates said. “The result will be an incredible set of new connected experiences that link our interests, our communities and our desires in ways that extend across home, work and play.”

With continuing delays to the consumer editions of Windows Vista, most of us are making the best of XP.

But weren’t we promised Service Pack 3 (SP 3) for Windows XP before the end of 2006? Well, it hasn’t arrived yet.

I checked the Windows site and found this cryptic notice for the much needed Service Pack :

“SP3 for Windows XP Home Edition is currently planned for 1H CY2008. This date is preliminary.”

Do they really mean 2008? They’ve clearly encoded the precise date of release because they don’t know themselves.

The other consideration is that they may have realized that to release a booster for XP now might impact the (presumed) imminent release of Windows Vista to the consumer market.

Maybe Microsoft could firm up that date a little — at the very least remove the code and give us some transparency.

Even, “we don’t know yet” would be preferable to gobbledegook.