Apple Mac OS X Leopard pre-orders double those of Tiger, some VARs say

“Some solution providers say pre-orders of Apple’s forthcoming Leopard operating system are more than double the volume for the same time prior to the last major Mac OS release, and point to new features and dissatisfaction with Microsoft Vista as key drivers,” Edward F. Moltzen reports for CMP Channel.

“Apple is set to launch Mac OS X 10.5, also known as Leopard, on Oct. 26,” Moltzen reports.

“‘We’ve probably doubled the backorders of Leopard, compared to what we did with Tiger,’ said Patrick Brown, CEO of Brown Computer Solutions, a Brattleboro, Vt.-based solution provider and Apple specialist. ‘With the Intel Macs, Apple has significantly increased the installed base. We do expect a very successful launch,'” Moltzen reports.

Moltzen reports, “Chris Gear, marketing director for Macforce, a Portland, Ore.-based Apple specialist, agreed with the assessment of brisk pre-ordering for Leopard and said a combination of the long upgrade cycle, plus tepid reviews for Microsoft Vista, has created a strong sales environment. ‘More than anything, it has to do with the biggest growth coming from ‘switchers’ — people switching from the Windows platform,’ Gear said.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Note: In a related note, Amazon’s top two current best-selling software products are Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Family Pack.

35 Comments

  1. “In a related note, Amazon’s top two current best-selling software products are Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Family Pack.”

    ——–

    That’s because Amazon is selling the Leopard pre-order for $109, which is $20 less than buying from Apple directly.

  2. Maybe I’m missing something, but I’m not sure how dissatisfaction with Vista would boost pre-orders for Leopard.

    Surely, if someone were unhappy with Vista, he/she would be ordering a new Mac and not just the operating system.

    More Macs in circulation than when Tiger was released? I can believe that. The Vista reason seems like more of a stretch to me.

  3. Alex – I think they are just implying that there have been a lot of switchers in the past year, some of whom switched because of dissatisfaction over Vista. And now some of these people are buying the OS upgrade.

  4. I must admit, after seeing the Leopard preview, that’s it’s absolutely awesome update.

    It’s more polished, more consistant and so much badass over Vista that its not even funny

    I will be buying it, along with a new matte screen MacBook Pro (I already have one) because I got a sinking feeling that they will be discontinued in favor of nasty glossy.

    Glossy just DOES NOT WORK in a laptop.

    So this way I’ll have a 10.5 MacBook Pro in matte, will install Vista to give it a whirl.

    Will encrypt my Mac partition though.

  5. Correction, I will have two MacBook Pro’s in matte.

    One will be on 10.5 and have Vista installed, the other in 10.4.

    This way I’m covered. Can play Windows games too.

    Oh I also have a Dual G5, a 30″ a iMac and some other Mac’s lying around. A few dozen iPods, I just get a new one when the urge feels like it. Like I want to reward myself for something.

    I’m a gadget freak. But no iPhone or iPudTouch. Not until MacWorld when the new ones come out.

  6. Random Thought: Isn’t it possible that Apple could develop an iChat camera affixed on a 32 pin connector for iPhone, maybe on a small swivel? It’s not inconceivable. And then you really could iChat on the iPhone…

  7. Vista is the now discontinued latest product from Microsoft. Vendors are now selling again PCs with XP installed. As soon as the shipped boxes of Vista have gathered enough dust on the shelves they’ll be recycled too.

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