Mac OS X Leopard already outselling Vista. So is SpongeBob Typing.
Posted by iGo
According to Amazon’s Bestsellers list, Apple’s unreleased OS X Leopard is already outselling both Windows XP (#18) and Vista (#63). Currently Leopard holds the #3 spot, while the Leopard Family Pack is holding steady at #8 (the list is updated hourly). Even Microsoft Office 2004 FOR MAC (#13) is outselling the Microsoft OS’s.
Actually, perhaps this isn’t anything for us Apple Fanboys to get too excited about. After all, SpongeBob Squarepants Typing is also beating Vista, at #62.
Ouch.
Enough propaganda, please.
Most PC users are getting Vista with a new PC, and most Mac users will be getting Leopard with a new Mac. And for every copy of Mac OS X being sold in any channel, it’s likely that 15 copies of Vista are being sold — far from “Apple outselling Vista.”
Vista is the best-selling version of Windows ever by total unit shipments — and it’s quite good. In several areas, it has leapt beyond the present Mac OS version, and should keep Apple on its toes. This is a good thing — consumers now have two quality OSes to choose from that will vigorously compete with each other.
The whole anti-Microsoft thing has become thoroughly brainless and cult-like. Let’s not go down that path to lunacy, OK?
Personally, I like the lunacy.
And I think the point here is that when people have a CHOICE, they are buying Leopard. When they buy a new PC, they have to take what comes on it, which is Vista. But they aren’t rushing out to just buy Vista, and they ARE with Leopard (and it’s not even out).
Considering there are 95% more PC users than Mac users, I think it speaks volumes that more people are looking to upgrade their Mac with Leopard than their PC with Vista. From sheer numbers alone, that should be impossible.
and Amazon is big enough, I think you’ll admit, that it DOES provide a reasonable measure of what’s a hot-selling item.
I have to agree with Rowlings about Leopard pre-orders outselling Vista. Yes, MS has shipped a huge amount of Vista copies out to resellers, BUT, does that mean that those copies have been sold or just sitting on the shelf? It is another of MS’s ploys to make their products look better than they are; the same happened with Xbox and Zune. We all know that MS copies Apple and that Vista is a poor copy of OS X. How many gigs of hard drive space or RAM are needed to run Vista. It is bloatware. You will also need the faster video card to run it. Apple’s OS always runs on less hard drive space, Ram, etc. Yes, Apple copied Xerox Parc, but they brought the GUI to personal computers. MS has copied OS 10.4, now, THEY are the ones who will need to try to catch up to Apple.
It is great that you built your own PC, but for the REST of us, we just need to spend our time working instead of building.
Cheers
In response to “Vista is the best-selling version of Windows ever”, that comment completely disregards the fact that there are around 30 million more computers being sold every quarter than there were when XP was released. This has nothing to do with Vista, which is more or less forced upon the consumer – with great dislike by many as shown by companies like Dell going backwards and re-offering XP on many home machines. Also, Microsoft does not release sale information for the retail version of their OS’s, just those that are bundled with new systems. Why not? Maybe because, apparently, that is a small number. Less than Spongebob’s sales.
Many times, that person doesn’t want to buy Vista, he just wants to buy that sweet new PC that only comes packaged with Vista. And for all you know Vista may be wiped from that computer and some other OS put on in its place 🙂
So stop the anti-anti-Microsoft thing, THAT is getting even older! Just drink the punch and be quiet.
Just to play devil’s advocate for a moment, online sales of Mac compatible software will always be inflated relative to Windows software because there are relatively few places to buy Mac software. The whole reason for Apple to open its own retail stores was to fight the perception that there’s no software or accessories available for Macs and even if there is, there’s nowhere to buy it.
Based on market share there should be 20 times as many places to buy Vista as there are places to buy Leopard. If that were true then it would be fair to compare Leopard sales and Vista sales on Amazon.
That, however, is not the case. In this city there are 50 times as many places to buy Vista as there are Mac software suppliers. Outside the cities, where Mac dealers and Apple Stores are rare, the ratio is more like 100 PC shops for every Mac store.
So it really is lunacy to compare numbers on Amazon.
Whoopie freaking doo-dah!
This is almost as good of news as AT&T/Cingular releasing numbers stating that 12 million people are interested in the iPhone. I am “interested” in the iPhone doesn’t mean I am going to buy one. Plus, once they release the real price-> PLUS service costs (internet/phone/iTunes crap) you will be spending $100/month for your cell phone.
Adidas wrote “This is almost as good of news as AT&T/Cingular releasing numbers stating that 12 million people are interested in the iPhone. I am “interested” in the iPhone doesn’t mean I am going to buy one. “
Not really adidas. these are people who PAID for Leopard.
Not just “interest in”. You are totally off.
Mike, your comment that Mac’ers are more likely to buy online becaus of fewer brick-based outlets is true on it’s face, but look at the factoid that Vista is being outsold by XP as well. (And by SpongeBob typing, fer G’s sake!)
Even the people that LIKE Microsoft products have been burned by Redmond’s level of concern for it’s customer base often enough that they’re wise enough to wait for version #2 of Vista before spending $200.
//You’ve NEVER heard the rule-of-thumb that you should only buy version 2 of any MS product, as they release version 1 so you can pay them big bucks for the priveledge of doing their Beta-testing for them?
Sure, the amount mac software in stores is much less than Windows based software, but places like Best Buy and Circuit City do carry Mac OSX and these stores are all over the place, big city or not. That evens the playing field little bit.
And a lot of Apple users buy this straight from Apple’s site as well, so Amazon sales are probably still good showing of what is going on. Does it tell the whole story? Of course not, but it says something.
As far as waiting for version 2, this is sales of version 1 of Vista versus version 1 of Leopard, so are you saying that people simply trust apple more with their new OS’s and are willing to dive right in?
David,
It’s not lunacy to compare Mac software sales on Amazon insofar as the OS goes. Folks can go online to the Apple store, just like they can go to Amazon, ClubMac, MacZone, and others as well.
So, there is not just one outlet for Macs, the OS and so on.
In fact the Apple stores are perhaps the highest grossing retail stores on a square-foot basis.
What about Dell’s stores?
What about Gateway’s stores?
It is also not true. The list shows Leopard well below Vista. I think you either saw an unusual moment in sales, or you made it up. Pity it would have been a good story.
Magus, what are you talking about? Leopard is still # 3. Vista is like 3 pages down. Are you sorting the list correctly?
I clicked on the link and got this
”
The most popular items on Amazon.com. Updated hourly.
1. Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
by Microsoft
Platform: Windows XP / Vista
Average Customer Review:
In Stock
List Price: $149.95
Price: $121.99
You Save: $27.96 (19%)
34 used & new from $92.85
2. Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2004 Macintosh Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2004 Macintosh
by Microsoft
Platform: Macintosh
Average Customer Review:
In Stock
List Price: $149.99
Price: $124.99
You Save: $25.00 (17%)
Rebate: $25.00
Price After Rebate: $99.99
31 used & new from $94.01
3. Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard
by Apple
Platform: Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS X
Available for Pre-order
Price: $129.00
4. Quicken Willmaker Plus 2007 Estate Planning Quicken Willmaker Plus 2007 Estate Planning
by Nolo Press
Platform: Windows Me / XP / 2000
Average Customer Review:
In Stock
List Price: $79.99
Price: $24.99
You Save: $55.00 (69%)
18 used & new from $21.50 “
Magus, you dolt.
That is OFFICE.
NOT Vista. Not XP.
OFFICE.
No one is saying Office isn’t selling, we’re comparing the new OPERATING SYSTEMS.
In fact they say that Office for THE MAC is outselling Vista on the PC by nearly 4 to 1.
Everyone is forgetting, that Microsoft does not really give a hoot if they are being outsold by apple on any front to the consumer, Microsoft makes all it’s money in the corporate world. If you counted Corporate sales of all Microsoft products, they would destroy all apple products numbers. Big business and fortune 500 companies don’t buy from Amazon! So using Amazon numbers doesn’t mean anything! Maybe that’s why Apple did $7.5 billion in sales the first quarter of 2008 and Microsoft did $15 billion!