Retail sales of standalone versions of Microsoft's Vista operating system continue to lag predecessor XP, according to a forthcoming report by NPD Group, CNET reports. Unit sales are reportedly off 59.7% relative to XP's first six months on the market. The difference in revenue stands at 41.5%. An NPD analyst commented that Vista is "just not doing well," noting most customers get Vista with a new PC purchase. A Microsoft regulatory filing confirmed more than 80% of Windows revenue is from pre-installations on new PCs. NPD noted a steep decline in advertising compared to XP, despite Vista being feature-rich and potentially benefitting from "educating the masses." Conversely, Microsoft's office suite, Office 2007, 
is outselling Office 2003 by around double over its first six months. Office 2007 sales are getting a boost from switchers to Mac, as just over 20% of sales are reportedly for Office for Mac. NPD will release its report, "Windows Vista Still Underperforming in U.S. Retail," to clients on Friday. Shares of Microsoft gained 1.6% to $28.93 on Tuesday.
Sources: CNET
Commentary: Vista Service Pack 1: Damned If You Do... • Microsoft Nearing Complete Dominance of the Server Market • Will Google Loosen Microsoft's Grip on Large Enterprise?
Stocks/ETFs to watch: MSFT, AAPL. ETFs: IGV, SWH, PSJ, QQQQ
Earnings call transcript: Microsoft F4Q07
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