14 DAY TRIAL // Analysts predicted that Apple will sell twice as many copies of Leopard as they did with Tiger, simply by comparing the installed base now and at the time when Tiger shipped. Now, with the Leopard launch close and preorders having been available for a few days, those numbers are being confirmed.
Many solution providers are reporting that pre-orders of Apple's upcoming operating system are more than double what they were for the Tiger release. Apple has been constantly growing its installed base for some time now and the company reports that approximately half of all Macs sold are to first time Apple customers. Both new features in Leopard and dissatisfaction with Microsoft's operating systems are seen as key factors for the migration to Macs and the wide adoption of Leopard. Similarly, the long wait for the new OS is a contributing factor as many people who usually wait before upgrading are ready for the next big cat now. Other major software retailers are also seeing the same trend, Amazon listing Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Family Pack as the two best selling software products of the moment.
But beside sales of the actual OS itself, Leopard will also spur a wave of Mac sales, as people who have been postponing hardware updates will buy new machines. While Apple does let customers who bought a Mac just before a major OS release upgrade with only a very small fee, many prefer to skip this step entirely and get the entire package of new hardware and software.
With just a few days left before the launch, anticipation has been building up steadily and the lack of enthusiasm that was so profoundly felt at WWDC when Apple previewed the Beta version of Leopard is surfacing now.