Chicago (IL) – While Apple has its legal artillery in place against Mac clone maker Psystar in the U.S., we hear about the next Psystar that recently surfaced in Germany. PearC is the next company effectively breaking Apple's hardware monopoly by selling Mac clones with Leopard Pre-installed in the European Market.


Apple has always been one of the most aggressive companies in court, but that certainly has not deterred Psystar to challenge Apple and, given the current legal battle between the two companies, it is somewhat surprising that we now see a second company that has begun selling Mac clones as well.  



German-born PearC is now selling Mac clones with Leopard Pre-installed in Europe. Prices range from 499 Euro (PearC Starter, about $640) to 1499 Euro (PearC Professional, about $1920) in standard configurations, while a high-end system with Intel’s latest Core i7 Extreme processor tops out at about 2890 Euro (about $3700); Swiss customers can even deduct the German VAT (currently 19%) from the purchase price.

Here is a brief comparison of comparable Mac and PearC systems with specs, pricing, and upgrade options.



Note: The Mac Mini has a much smaller form factor than the mini tower of the PearC.


    

Note: According to PearC, Blu-ray playback in OS X is not working and an additional fee is charged for installing a second OS.


   

Note: PearC Professional is targeted at hardcore gamers, and heavy users of 3D/video editing/effects.



PearC Standard, PearC Advanced and Professional easily outpace the Mac Mini, iMac and Mac Pro on both performance and upgrade options offering faster and more up-to-date components at a lower price.

The iMac has the advantage of an integrated 20/24'' LCD, somewhat making up the price difference to the PearC Advanced. For the Mac Mini, however, Apple has the upper hand in terms of value: wireless and Bluetooth are included out of the box and shipping is free, appealing to price-conscious consumers. Add to this the style props of having a space saving designed Mac Mini or iMac on your desk and there is still enough reason to buy the original system, especially if we know that Apple customers typically do not buy an iMac or Mac mini because of a single component such as the operating system, but because of the whole package – hardware and software.

However, PearC offers enthusiasts a way to run advanced software or games with the most advanced hardware at a lower price point than Apple is offering – while still being able to use Mac OS X.

The legal battle ground in Europe generally favors consumers. However, the legality of PearC's proposition is certainly questionable, even if the company has found a legal loophole in German law, as it claims, to run its operations regardless of Apple's End User License Agreement (EULA). Apple's EULA forbids installing OS X on non-Apple hardware and the company has shown more than once that it will do anything possible to defend its rules.

While legal action from Apple is likely, it could take months or even a year until a lawsuit is finalized and an injunction is imposed. If and when that happens, it will be a difficult battle for Apple and the future of its operating system OS X and de-facto monopoly on Apple hardware. More Mac clone makers may emerge in more jurisdictions in the world and it may be increasingly difficult for Apple to fight legal battles on many different fronts.  

The obvious question in such a scenario is whether Apple may give in and open its copyright and third-party policy. In the current scenario and as we have known Apple traditionally, this may be a rather unlikely move. As long as industrial design remains as important to Apple as it is today, it makes sense for Apple to defend itself against Mac Clone makers. However, if software and cloud computing become more important and revenues from services increase and open OS X may actually be not such a bad idea.