Windows 7 significantly outstripped predecessor Vista in its first two weeks in the market, according to data from Context.

The market watcher monitored distributor sales in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands for the two-week period from 19 October to 1 November.

Some 36 per cent of PCs shipped by distributors in Windows 7’s launch week were equipped with the new operating system. The equivalent figure for Vista in January 2007 was just 23 per cent.

In the week after launch, 39 per cent of units included Windows 7 compared with 33 per cent for Vista.

Context also claimed the launch of Microsoft’s new operating system on 22 October outshone Vista by sparking a 170 per cent spike in PC unit sales.

The market watcher argued the success of Windows 7 was largely driven by the notebook market, which accounted for 90 per cent of sales.

Context co-founder Jeremy Davies said: “It has been barely three weeks since the launch of Windows 7. So far indicators show that the initial ramp-up in sales has been faster, with a greater proportion of PCs equipped with Windows 7 having been sold during this launch period compared to the Vista launch.”

According to Context, HP had a stranglehold on the Windows 7 market, garnering a 30.8 per cent market share in the first two weeks. Asus finished second with a 21.5 per cent share with Acer (21.1 per cent), Toshiba (6.5 per cent) and Sony (6.3 per cent) rounding out the top five.

“Providing we don't start hearing Windows 7 horror stories in the next few months, I expect these initial sales to maintain momentum", Davies concluded.