Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac Officially Announced

Parallels has announced Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac, touting the software as being the fastest, smartest and most powerful version yet, in a manner akin to that of Apple’s own announcements.

According to the makers of the popular virtualization solution, product benchmark testing showed that Parallels Desktop 6 that 3D graphics runs nearly 40 percent better than before, while boot times for Windows is some 41 percent faster.

Speed has also been improved for working with files on USB drives, networks and in shared folders, Parallels said.

The software is to begin shipping come September 14, its makers said.

“Whether it’s for school, home, work or play, Parallels Desktop for Mac is the #1 choice of customers worldwide” said Serguei Beloussov, Chairman and CEO, Parallels.

“Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac delivers again on our proven track record of innovation with over 80 new and enhanced features that provides the fastest, simplest and most immersive Windows on Mac experience ever,” Beloussov added.

In a rare move, an Apple rep is quoted in the official announcement from Parallels.

“The Mac is more popular than ever, with millions of people moving to the Mac from Windows,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations.

“Parallels does a great job of making it even easier for people to switch to the Mac and allowing them to run Windows applications if they need to, side-by-side with their Mac applications and without rebooting," Okamoto added.

The software company also announced Parallels Desktop 6 Switch to Mac Edition, which includes features that have been tailored to facilitate the move from PC to Mac, as well as Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac.

The package includes a Parallels High-Speed USB data transfer cable, which users must employ to move all of their programs, files, user settings even browser favorites and bookmarks to a Mac.