Acer: Windows 7 to ship October 23

Wonder when you'll be able to get your hands the final version of Windows 7? Acer says that it will start selling PCs with Windows 7 on it October 23 of this year --- well before the holiday season. Given the solid state of RC1, that should come as a surprise to no one.

Numerous sites are reporting the date. The site Pocket-Lint, for example, says that Acer's UK Managing Director Bobby Watkins told it:

"23rd October is the date the Windows 7 will be available. There is a 30-day upgrade time so that customers don't wait to buy a new computer, so if you buy during that 30 day period, you'll get a free upgrade to Windows 7."

He said that Windows 7 would ship on the company's All in One Z5600 PC, which will be specifically designed to take advantage of various Windows 7 features, notably multitouch. In addition, the machine, with Windows 7 on it, will be available to test in stores in September, although not available for sale then.

Watkins wasn't the only Acer executive confirming the date. Acer's European vice president Massimo D'Angelo also said, according to ITPro, that the machine will go on sale "on 23rd October and not a day before."

You can bet that right now the Microsoft folks are none to pleased with Acer, because Microsoft has so far refused to confirm a shipping date. And this comes on the heels of Acer saying that the the Windows 7 Starter edition, an essentially crippled version of Windows 7 that will only run three appliactions simultaneously, is not a good match for netbooks.