Associated Press
REDMOND — 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 trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Microsoft shares rose 82 cents, to close at $69.38.
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