Acer's Vice President, Massimo D'Angelo, has told journalists at a press conference that the Taiwanese giant would be shipping machines preloaded with Windows 7 exactly on the 23rd of October.
Microsoft's official launch date for Windows 7 is set for January 2010, a date that was confirmed by the company since then but which could possibly be moved depending on the so-called market conditions.
D'angelo slip of the tongue came as he was announcing the release of the Aspire Z5600, a classy 1080p multi touch all-in-one computer that aims to rivals the likes of Asus EEE Top and the Apple iMac range.
Individuals will be able to download Windows 7 Release Candidate and use it for a whole year before it expires on the 1st of June 2010.
The date has also been confirmed to tech site Pocketlint by Acer's UK Managing director, Bobby Watkins, who added that "23 October is the date the Windows 7 will be available". He also confirmed that people buying systems between the 23rd of September and 23rd of October will get a free upgrade to Windows 7.
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Our Comments
An earlier date means that Microsoft will be able to get on the back to school bandwagon and get Windows 7 out well before Christmas. As Tweaktown rightly points out, the operating system is almost completed and sitting on it as it stands doesn't make any sense. The builders are likely to get the OS a full 5 weeks before it is made available to the general public.
Related Links
October 23 release for Windows 7?
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/252252/october-23-release-for-windows-7.html (opens in new tab)
Acer says Windows 7 to ship on 23 October
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2241522/acer-windows-ship-23-oct (opens in new tab)
Windows 7 to arrive October 23rd 2009?
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18260 (opens in new tab)
Acer slip reveals Windows 7 release date?
http://www.itpro.co.uk/610722/acer-slip-reveals-windows-7-release-date (opens in new tab)
Windows 7 will launch October 23rd, claims Acer
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13469&Itemid=38 (opens in new tab)
Windows 7 Coming October 23rd
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/12048/windows_7_coming_october_23rd/ (opens in new tab)
Rumor: Windows 7 Release in October
http://virtualizationreview.com/news/article.aspx?editorialsid=10817 (opens in new tab)
Windows 7 to launch on 23 October
