Microsoft's latest offering, Windows 7, which was launched on October 22, has beat the early retail sales of Vista by a whopping 234%. According to a report by the market research firm, NPD Group on Friday, customers are buying Windows 7 much eagerly than they had purchased Vista, which had later anyway turned out to be a disappointment.

To most, however, the news has not come as a surprise. In comparison to Vista, the buzz created for the Windows 7 operating system was positive and away from the savage language that reviewers had used for Vista, which was launched in January 2007.

Although the sales of the Windows 7 OS are higher than Vista, there is a 4% drop in the sales of Windows 7 based computer as compared to PCs which incorporated Vista. Despite this, Windows 7 has managed to collect many feathers in its cap in the small time since its launch, including the breaking of a general notion that upgrades are not very popular. In the case of Windows 7, people are opting to purchase the upgrade by spending $120-$220 and revamping their old systems.