REDMOND, WA — A Microsoft vice president confirmed this week that Windows 7, the successor to Vista, will ship “sometime in or near January 2010.”In a letter to vendors and major customers, Bill Veghte noted the company is standing firm on the proposed ship date. He also said Windows 7 will be free of the compatibility issues that have dogged Vista and kept customers from upgrading from older versions of the ubiquitous Microsoft operating system.

“You’ve let us know you don’t want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista,” Veghte wrote. “As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.”

He also wrote, “Our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately three years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista,” adding that customer requests for a “more regular, predictable Windows release schedule was the impetus behind the 2010 ship date.

Veghte also thanked Windows customers for their loyalty and support.