Going by the most recent media reports, Microsoft’s Option Upgrade Program for its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system is actually applicable to only 25 PCs per “physical address.” This implies that the limited upgrade availability will probably leave corporate PC buyers out of the market till the formal shipping of the OS begins after its scheduled launch on October 22.

Though Microsoft’s lately-posted FAQ, pertaining to the Windows 7 upgrades for Vista and XP users, does not make any mention of its “25 machines limit”, the company had made an announcement about the said restriction on upgrades in April.

The restrictive aspect of the upgrades would necessitate corporate users to either go through volume licensing for the upgrades or depend on Software Assurance (SA) maintenance contracts, which deal with the requisite rights to new software – otherwise they will not get any upgrade break, outside their first 25 PCs limit.

According to Gartner analyst Michael Silver, users who purchase new PCs now, sans the free upgrade, will have to shell over $150 per PC to get to Windows 7. Silver said: “If you are buying PCs between now and October 22 and you want to move them to Windows 7 and you don't want to buy SA on those PCs or pay for an upgrade, the alternative is to postpone your PC purchase until Oct. 22 when Windows 7 ships!”