News: Microsoft’s Windows 7 SKU lineup is unveiled

Microsoft unveils its Windows 7 SKU lineup with different Windows 7 editions for specific market requirements. Each SKU is a superset of the previous SKU. This means that each higher edition SKU will have every feature lower edition SKUs have.

The company also says focus will be on two primary editions of Windows 7: Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional.

A few targeted SKUs will be offered for customers with specialized needs: for price-sensitive customers with small notebook PCs, some OEMs will offer Windows 7 Starter. For customers in emerging markets, Microsoft will make Windows 7 Home Basic available.

The complete SKU lineup for Windows 7 is: Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic (in Emerging Markets only), Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate.

For Consumers Microsoft is recommending Windows 7 Home Premium for most customers and Windows 7 Professional for customers who want additional features and functionality useful for small business activities.

For Businesses, the company recommends Windows 7 Professional for most customers and Windows 7 Enterprise for medium-to-large business and enterprise customers that choose to license Windows through Software Assurance.