The general feeling in the blogosphere is that Vista Delay will reduce PC sales during the Christmas season as nobody is going to buy a PC when a new OS is just around the corner.

But a recent IDC report has suggested that the delayed launch of Windows Vista will have a limited effect on PC shipments in 2006, and may actually help to boost sales slightly in 2007.

"Some consumers will certainly delay PC purchases until Vista is available, but we expect the delay to shift only moderate volume from the fourth quarter of 2006 into 2007 and will not cause a loss of sales," explained Loren Loverde, director of IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "The timing of the release will have some impact on when consumers buy, but not so much on whether or not they buy."

Vista's delay would not have a broad effect due to the fact that most consumers had already replaced their PCs, along with increasing sales of laptop computers.

Read: IDC Windows Vista Report