CompUSA has announced three promotions for the Windows Vista launch next week.
First off, they are offering an early bird discount for installs of Vista. No, you won’t get Vista itself for cheaper, but a thirty dollar discount on installation of Vista. While Vista is the easiest operating system for consumers to install in Microsoft’s history, some are certainly too wary to do it themselves, and CompUSA will let you bring in your computer for a sleepover party.
Drop off your computer in-store before 3 pm on January 29, and you will be able to pick it up anytime after midnight that night with Vista installed and ready for you. The cost of installation: $20, a small price for those who need this installed for them. After January 30, installation will cost $50 ($150 if you make them come to your house). No doubt, all those computers spending the night at CompUSA are just going to get drunk and do something they’ll regret in the morning.
They are also trying to guarantee peace of mind through customer service. Customers who pay CompUSA to install Vista and are dissatisfied with their experience with the new operating system can have CompUSA uninstall Vista and reinstall the old operating system, as well as receiving a full refund. The guarantee also applies to Office 2007, and I doubt the refund gives back the price of the installation.
The last bit is the most intriguing: From Tuesday on, bring in your laptop (or check it out on this website) and you can trade it in towards the purchase of a brand-new computer with Windows Vista. “The notebook’s value is based on the condition, specifications, and age and will be assessed by a web-based tool provided by a certified technology recycling company to determine its fair market value.” The program will not be available in California.
So, lets see: I have an 18-month old Dell laptop, with a 15.4-inch widescreen, 1.6 GHz Pentium M, 1.5 gigs of RAM, a DVD burner, two batteries, a brand-new technician replaced motherboard, two years left on the warranty, without a single scratch or ding, and a Windows Experience Index rating of 3.4. I paid $1000 for it, after a $600 off coupon, and an additional $300 for the extended warranty six months ago.
I’m going to take my computer to CompUSA next week to find out what they think it’s worth. If I can get $700 of trade-in value, I might just go for it. What do you think it’s worth?
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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
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