Parallels Desktop Surpasses One Million Units Worldwide

By VSM News Staff
published: Monday, April 21 2008

First Software to Run Windows on Intel-powered Macs Extends Market Leadership

RENTON, Wash., April 23, 2008 - Parallels today announced that its Parallels Desktop for Mac has sold more than one million copies. The award-winning software is the first product ever to enable Mac users to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system and their critical applications at the same time as Mac OS X on any Intel-powered Apple computer.  

Parallels Desktop for Mac's success has quickly made Parallels the No. 1 company in desktop virtualization. Today, the software is available in 10 languages -- Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Spanish.

"Parallels Desktop not only broke down the barrier between the Mac and PC worlds, it also broke down the barrier that kept desktop virtualization from becoming a mainstream technology for consumers and professional users," said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels. "We will continue innovating to extend our position as the desktop virtualization leader and provide our users with the fastest, easiest and most seamless solution available."

Since its launch in June 2006, Parallels Desktop for Mac has been recognized with more than 30 major industry awards, including: MacWorld Magazine's "Editor's Choice" Award (the "Eddy"); PC World Magazine's "Innovation of the Year" Award; "Best in Show" at the 2007 MacWorld Expo and at the 2007 London MacLiveExpo; BBC News "Best Tech"; and InfoWorld 2008 "Technology of the Year."

"Parallels Desktop for Mac fundamentally shifted the Apple strategy from monolithic to multiplatform. It empowers Mac users with a new level of flexibility and gave them access to enterprise applications that were previously out of reach," said Frank J. Bernhard, managing principal and technology economist with OMNI Consulting Group.  "The ability to operate business applications with complete transparency between the Windows and Mac platforms via Parallels Desktop is the coup that Macintosh users have been enjoying since the evolution of Intel architecture, and is one of the main catalysts behind enterprise Mac adoption."

Industry-Leading Innovation

Currently, Parallels Desktop for Mac is in its third generation and is the world's No. 1 selling Mac system utility. The product has introduced a string of industry firsts and innovative features:

·        SmartSelect is a Parallels-exclusive feature that allows users to open any file from Windows or OS X with any program from either operating system. This feature provides the most integrated experience possible.

·        Coherence is a Parallels-first feature that enables users to run Windows applications just like they were native Mac applications. When a Windows application runs in Coherence, only the Windows application is visible, providing a completely seamless user experience. Windows applications can be launched from the Mac dock, and individual Windows applications windows work with OS X's "Expose" feature.

·        Parallels Transporter is a free migration tool, bundled with every copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac, that helps users migrate entire Windows or Linux PCs -- including the operating system, settings and software applications -- to Parallels virtual machines in minutes without losing data. This tool is key for those switching from PCs to a Mac.

Parallels Desktop for Mac was also the first virtualization solution to offer support for DirectX and OpenGL 3D graphics. A complete overview of features and functions is available at www.parallels.com/products/desktop.

Availability and Pricing
Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac is available for purchase online at www.parallels.com/buyonline, and boxed copies are available at the Apple Store, Amazon.com, CompUSA, Fry's Electronics, MicroCenter, Office Depot, Staples, select Best Buy locations, and hundreds of other retailers nationwide. The standard retail price (SRP) of Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac is $79.99.

New users are also welcome to download and test a free, fully-functional copy of Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac for 15 days. The trial product and documentation is available at www.parallels.com/download/desktop.

Businesses, schools, non-profit organizations and government agencies interested in volume pricing and site licenses should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 425-282-6400, or contact their authorized reseller.

About Parallels - Optimized Computing
Parallels (formerly SWsoft) is a worldwide leader in virtualization and automation software that optimizes computing for consumers, businesses, and service providers across all major hardware, operating system, and virtualization platforms. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with 900 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia.