Microsoft announced that its upcoming Windows 7 will be launched in six editions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Only Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional will be available at retail shops, as the company is looking to simplify the offer, after the complications encountered with the several Windows Vista versions released.

Unlike the previous releases, which were sold only in India and China, the Starter version will be available worldwide for all computer makers, as it was not designed for consumers. This version is considered suitable for resellers "that build lower-cost, small notebook PCs," as the company’s officials explained. Starter will include a limit of three applications or windows, active or opened at the same time; a limit on screen resolution and also, there will be no local network connectivity.

"We've learned a lot over the years as we've released versions of Windows to the market. We spent a lot of time listening to customer and partner feedback," Microsoft’s officials said in a statement presented by PCMag. "We heard from customers that they liked the choices Windows Vista offered, but that upgrading sometimes meant tradeoffs. Customers told us that they want us to make it simpler to identify which version is right for them."

The company did not announce the prices of the upcoming Windows 7 versions, which are expected to be released by the end of the year. There is also no word on the date chosen for stopping the sale of Windows Vista.

The expectations are extremely high, with Microsoft looking to erase the memory of Vista’s issues from its clients, who reported on numerous occasions the bugs and problems encountered while using the software.