Microsoft
Corp. says it has sold more than 17 million copies of Windows XP since the new
operating system went on sale two months ago. ``This is our best-selling release
of Windows ever, and one that is creating great opportunities for PC
manufacturers and our other partners in the industry,'' Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates said Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
``We've seen a significant upturn in sales of digital cameras, printers and
other peripherals and software that enable people to experience their PC in a
new way.''
Windows XP has a number of new features to support multimedia, including
programs for listening to and recording music, playing videos and editing and
organizing digital photographs. The retail upgrade for home computers sells for
about $99.
Sales of licenses of Windows XP by computer manufacturers are more
than 300 percent higher than Windows 98 and 200 percent higher than Windows
Millennium Edition for comparable periods after those products' debuted,
Microsoft said in a news release. Windows 98 came out in mid-1998 and Windows ME
was released in September 2000.
Microsoft did not give a breakdown for retail upgrade, full-product, or
license sales for Windows XP. In afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market,
Microsoft was up 76 cents at $69.32.
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