NPD: Leopard Apple's best OS launch yet
updated 04:20 pm EST, Mon December 17, 2007
NPD on Leopard vs Vista
The release of Mac OS X Leopard in late October was both Apple's strongest operating system release to date and evidence that the company may have a greater understanding of how to launch such software, according to a new study from NPD Group. The research firm notes that Apple sold 20.5 percent more copies of Leopard in its first full month on sale than Tiger, which released about 2.5 years earlier. The actual revenue increased by 32.8 percent, hinting at more stand-alone copies sold with the new release in place of up-to-date program copies or those bundled with new systems.
By releasing the OS with the features and publicity that it has, Apple has likely discovered the solution to boosting stand-alone sales, NPD says. Though the October launch is the unintentional result of iPhone development creating a delay and short-staffing the company's Mac OS X team, the fall timing placed the launch in the midst of the holiday shopping season and may account for some of the sales increase.
In contrast, Microsoft has seen a continued slowdown in Vista sales since the Windows variant's launch in January of this year. Though the Redmond, Washington-based company sold as many as 20 million copies per month on launch, the sales rate has declined rapidly to 9.3 million and is believed to be achieving higher shipment numbers than Windows XP in the same period due to a larger overall computer industry rather than open adoption.
Microsoft has been criticized both for the multiple delays that pushed the OS past its original 2004 release window and for adding unnecessary complexity to the release, offering two separate Home versions, a Business version, and high-end editions both for enterprises and an Ultimate copy that provides all the features in one package. Apple's choice of a single, $129 client version is frequently considered an important factor in motivating users to upgrade ahead of replacing their computers.
Yeah but...
12/17, 07:03pm reply
... but PC world says Leopard is one of 2007's biggest disappointments!
http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/12/17/vista.disappointment.2007/
Og dear, who to believe?
moldyapples
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
isn't it obvious?
12/18, 04:03am reply
Umm there's been a significant rise in Mac sales since Tiger so of course there will be more upgraders buying Leopard.
videoboy22
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2006
maybe its just me....
12/18, 11:01am reply
As die hard Mac as I am, I find myself feeling like a Windows user that just upgraded to Vista. I find myself looking for the un-install Leopard button to go back to Tiger.
CobraNT
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Aug 2003
it's not just you...
12/18, 03:56pm reply
cobrant, I made the downgrade to Tiger last week and I couldn't be happeir! My MBP was never able to get a stable connection to the internet on Leopard and my airport kept going down. I tried everything possible that I know, including spending hours of research on the Apple disscution boards... At least for me and few other thousands of Apple users (who paid for something that drives them nuts) Leopard is not ready! Don't let me get started on how disappointed I am with Apple :(
boazh
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2004
Don't get me wrong
12/18, 09:43pm reply
I love some of the features of Leopard, but when I close most app's, I get a message it crashed. When I use Photoshop (apparently most Adobe products are the same), there is issues with some of the tools/plugins. Adobe blames Apple, Apple says nothing. I tried a fresh install after backing up with Time Machine, same crashes especially Safari, same little annoying bugs and I almost lost all my email in the process. I think they should have delayed it awhile and made it perfect. Did the downgrade cause any issues? Especially with apps like Mail etc. ?
CobraNT
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Aug 2003
no issues downgrading...
12/19, 12:47am reply
Time machine is nice and all till you try to manually restore something or run out of room on your external drive. I've initialized the time machine drive and used superduper to clone my leopard hard drive then did fresh install of tiger. I also had issues with Mail where my mailboxes will go off line whenever I lost Internet connection and I was never able to get back online to get my email. I also experienced crashes especially with safari. Good luck!
boazh
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2004