Microsoft To Release Windows 7 In Fourth QuarterMicrosoft To Release Windows 7 In Fourth Quarter

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Windows 7 screen shot

After keeping its lips zipped for months, Microsoft is finally giving a bit more clarity to Windows 7's release date. The company will release the new version of its flagship operating system in the fourth quarter of 2009, Microsoft said Monday.

Microsoft isn't yet publicly setting an exact release date, but it's clear it expects Windows 7 will be ready for the winter holidays.

"With early [Release Candidate] testing and partner feedback we've received over the past few weeks, Windows 7 is tracking well for holiday availability," Bill Veghte, senior VP of Microsoft's Windows business, said in a statement.

With Microsoft only going so far as to say that Windows 7 will be released during the fourth quarter, speculation will likely continue. It's unclear whether Microsoft will release the operating system just in time for the holiday season, or earlier in the quarter, perhaps during October. According to a recent report, an executive with computer manufacturer Acer has said the company plans to begin selling laptops running Windows 7 by Oct. 23.

For more than a year, Microsoft had given little guidance on Windows 7's release date, saying publicly only that Windows 7 would be released about three years after the release of Windows Vista, which would put it on track for sometime late this year or early next.

Though Veghte said Microsoft is "confident" in its ability to release the operating system in the time frame the company has set, Windows releases -- most notably Windows Vista -- have suffered delays before. Microsoft appears to be giving itself at least a little wiggle room in case of setbacks.

"It's important to note that quality is key and we're taking a milestone-by-milestone approach," Veghte said. "We will not ship Windows 7 until it meets the quality bar we demand for our customers."

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Windows 7 screen shot

Windows Vista wasn't released until January 2006 after numerous delays, missing the potentially lucrative back-to-school and holiday buying seasons, and Microsoft would likely be seen as foolish if it again suffered delays that put Windows 7's early success in jeopardy. Of course, Vista also suffered from poor early reviews that caused enough trouble that even some close Microsoft partners like Intel never fully upgraded to Vista, while others simply stuck entirely with Windows XP.

Early test versions of Windows 7 have been getting generally positive reviews, and a number of organizations testing Windows 7 have told information that the operating system also does not suffer the application and hardware compatibility problems that Windows Vista did at this point. Still, despite positive early reviews and a release schedule that could put new PCs under Christmas trees this December, it's unclear how successful Windows 7's initial launch will be in this down economy. Microsoft's Windows client revenue was down 19% last quarter.

Just last week, Microsoft released the near-final Release Candidate version of Windows 7, urging companies and interested consumers to begin testing the operating system and saying the Windows 7 Release Candidate code was closer to what would be shipped than any previous version's Release Candidate. Among the organizations already testing Windows 7 are Deutsche Telekom, the British Airport Authority, Romanian electric company Transelectrica, and oil and gas company Lukoil CEEB, as well as others.

Microsoft has made a tool called Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor available for consumers and businesses looking to figure out if their computers are ready for Windows 7, and it will offer tools called Windows XP Mode (free, aimed at small businesses) and Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (part of a paid package for large businesses) for application compatibility with apps that don't run on Windows 7. Microsoft recommends at least a 1-GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of available disk space, a DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver for Windows 7, and a chipset with hardware virtualization for XP Mode.

On Monday, Microsoft also announced that Windows Server 2008 R2, the server companion to Windows 7, will be available in the same time frame as the client operating system, and that it was making the release candidate for Windows Server 2008 R2 available for download immediately.

information has published an in-depth report on Windows 7. Download the report here (registration required).