Microsoft to launch Windows 8 tomorrow

Microsoft will launch its latest offering Windows 8 operating system tomorrow. The software giant has also start taking pre-orders for Windows 8 and has set the price for an upgrade to the full version of the software at $70 for a DVD pack.

Customers can also wait for launch on 26 October to download the system onto their computers for $40, an offer price that would expire end January. PCs running Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 would be able to upgrade to Windows 8.

The software pack can also be reserved at Microsoft's own stores, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Staples and elsewhere. The company has not yet announced the price of the full software to install it from scratch, as opposed to the upgrade. A comparable version of Windows 7 is available for $200.

Customers who had bought a Windows 7 PC between 2 June and those buying them till January 2013 would be eligible for an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $15, a move meant to shore up PC sales dropping off before the launch of Windows 8.

According to Microsoft, PC makers including Acer, Asustek, Dell, HP, Samsung and Sony were also now taking pre-orders for machines with Windows 8 pre-installed.

There was however, no mention of Surface tablet PC, which was expected to hit the market around the same time as Windows 8. Microsoft has also not come out with the price of the product it hopes will challenge Apple Inc's iPad.