Look for the logo this holiday

Posted by:
Mark Relph
12:51 AM Tuesday
Nov 24, 2009
32 Comments

After seeing all the great new technology at the PDC in LA last week, I’m very excited to get started on my holiday shopping! Earlier this year, I bought my wife a new Windows 7 PC, which has now inspired me to think about what other electronics and software we may need this holiday.

The challenge with shopping this year is there are simply so many fantastic products to choose from. So here is my advice - looking for products that have earned the “Compatible with Windows 7 logo” is the best way to know the product will work as expected and give you a great experience. These products have passed Microsoft designed tests for compatibility and reliability with Windows 7 including testing for common issues to minimize the number of crashes, hangs and reboots. With the growing number of Windows 7 PCs running 64 bit, you can also be confident that any product displaying the “Compatible with Windows 7” logo also works on all versions of Windows 7, including 64 bit. Over 9,000 products have earned the logo so there is a logo’d product in every applicable category: anti-virus, printers, games, networking gear, cameras, digital picture frames, graphics cards, portable media players, productivity suites, monitors and displays, system utilities, and webcams.

How to find logo’d products -

#1 Check the status on the Windows 7 Compatibility Center

You can browse or search the compatibility center easily check which products have earned the logo. There are Windows 7 Compatibility Centers around the world to support you.

#2 Check the box on the shelf

Many manufacturers display the logo on their box- so you can simply check the box at retail. Here is a great example:

#3 Ask the retailer

You can simply ask any associate to direct you to products that display the “Compatible with Windows 7” logo.

#4 Look on retail sites

The logo is now displayed on 20 retailer websites. Here is just a sample of some popular sites displaying the logo:

1. Shopper.com

2. Buy.com

3. Staples.com

4. Zones.com

5. with many more coming soon…

Ok! I’m off to start my own holiday shopping!

Comments

hitmouse

Posted on: November 24, 2009 at 4:00AM
Beware manufacturers putting the logo on hardware that has not been declared compatible! I found one major network HDD manufacturer had slapped this logo on equipment for which they do not have Win7 drivers (and the install program fails for other than XP/Vista 32 bit).
No More Goat Soup

Posted on: November 25, 2009 at 2:43PM
I got my girlfriend a Dell laptop for Christmas. It had Vista Home Premium preinstalled on it, yet qualified for a wonderful free Windows 7 upgrade.

The Dell disc arrived and everything was much better with Windows 7. Sadly they didn't provide an oh-so desirable navy blue Windows 7 logo sticker.

She has a brand new Inspiron 15 laptop, Windows 7 Home Premium and finally a crooked and very ugly little Vista sticker!

Perhaps Dell should read this article and stop being so mean with your pretty new logos.
Brandon LeBlanc

Posted on: November 25, 2009 at 7:24PM
hitmouse, which HDD did you find that had the logo that didn't provide Windows 7 drivers? We would like to look into this for you. Let us know, thanks!
hitmouse

Posted on: November 26, 2009 at 5:10AM
Western Digital's My Book World Edition range. I believe their regular USB external drives are OK, but the network-drives are certainly not.

www.wdc.com/.../products.asp

I told their support people several days ago that they were misusing the logo, but it's still being used.
7flavor

Posted on: November 29, 2009 at 3:49PM
This (winqual.microsoft.com/.../default.aspx) is also a far more valuable and useful list to find logo'ed products.
7flavor

Posted on: November 29, 2009 at 3:54PM
My router (winqual.microsoft.com/.../ProductDetails.aspx) is only Vista-certified although it works with Windows 7 perfectly. And v2 of that same product is certified for Windows 7? (winqual.microsoft.com/.../ProductDetails.aspx)
hitmouse

Posted on: November 30, 2009 at 5:12PM
I wouldn't be so concerned about uncertified products that do work, but products that don't work and yet pretend to be certified ....
spootym

Posted on: December 04, 2009 at 1:16PM
Given the runaway success of the Windows 7 Family Pack (ie. its sold out everywhere that matters...) I am curious as to when additional Family Packs will be made available.
tracyull

Posted on: December 04, 2009 at 1:46PM
i can't wait to use this.
davidows

Posted on: December 04, 2009 at 3:50PM
Wonderful timing!!!!!!!!!

Kill off the W7 Family Pack just as the Holiday shoppers start looking for it in numbers.

Apple needs the help selling more Macs with a permanent family discount for the OS & its upgrades.

Wait till PC guy has to face Mac guy about this blunder!

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Posted by: pligg.com on December 25, 2009 at 7:14AM
After seeing all the great new technology at the PDC in LA last week, I’m very excited to get started on my holiday shopping! Earlier this year, I bought my wife a new Windows 7 PC, which has now inspired me to think about what other electronics and software
Posted by: Windows Phone System - phonesystemssite.info on February 03, 2010 at 7:00PM
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