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Browserless Windows 7 still listed for sale in Europe

Ina Fried CNET News

Published: 26 Aug 2009 11:38 BST

With its plans now centred on creating a ballot screen where users can choose which browsers to install, Microsoft has no plans to ever ship the browserless 'E' versions of Windows 7.

However, the 'E' versions are still listed for sale on several versions of Microsoft's European online store.

The software maker did not have a clear explanation of why those versions are still listed, weeks after the company said it would ship the same version globally.

Many non-English sites, including Spanish, Dutch and German versions, list only the 'E' or 'N' versions of the operating system. As it did with Vista, Microsoft does plan to continue selling an 'N' version in Europe, which has the media player removed.

"Microsoft is working to refresh its international online store sites, just like retailers are now," the software maker said in a statement.

In any case, Microsoft is being clear that it has no plans to ship a browserless version — those that pre-order the 'E' version will get the standard version.

As first reported by ZDNet UK's sister site, CNET News.com, Microsoft told computer makers in June that it planned to ship Windows 7 without a browser in Europe to try to address regulators' issues.

However, both competitors and regulators expressed concerns with that plan. Ultimately, Microsoft reversed itself and said it was open to the 'ballot screen' idea where consumers can choose which browsers they wish to install.

Earlier this week, Microsoft said it would end on 1 September an offer to European buyers to get the full version of Windows 7 for the upgrade price, a relic of the browserless plan in which Microsoft said it would sell only the full version of the operating system.

Credit: Browserless Windows 7 refuses to go gracefully from CNET News