A while back in a post I mentioned that Embarcadero had plans to release a new Delphi license for hobbyists and others with a low price so people can get access to a license easier in case they don’t require it for commercial development. Embarcadero has now indeed come through with that promise and is now selling the Delphi XE Starter Edition on their website. There is only a starter edition available for Delphi, none of the other products like RAD Studio or C++ Builder and a license in the US store is priced at $199. Alongside this there are also upgrades available to Delphi Professional and RAD Studio Professional at reduced costs when coming from the Starter Edition.
The most important question regarding this new license is fairly obvious of course. What’s the difference with the Professional Edition? There are a few restrictions put in place. The Starter Edition is fully functional, there shouldn’t be any restrictions there, however, you can use it for commercial development if your yearly revenue stays under $1000. For small companies the usage is also permitted if their total revenue stays under $1000 and have less than or 5 people using the product for development. Once these conditions are no longer met, you are required to upgrade to the Professional edition. The academic licenses for Professional and will remain available.