Psystar Offers a Mac Clone, OpenMac, for $399

[yiozik]

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Move over Mac. You've been cloned, or at least a company called Psystar says you have. Psystar claims to be "reinventing the wheel" with what it calls an OpenMac -- for $399.

"Mac enthusiasts have been experimenting with running the new Apple operating systems on commodity PC hardware ever since the Intel-based Apple computers were introduced in early 2006," the company's Web site said. "Psystar has assembled a system that is completely operational with Leopard [Mac OS X 10.5] called OpenMac."

Psystar tapped into efforts known as the OSx86 Project. The project's goals of running OS X on a PC have been realized. Even the latest releases of OS X can now run on PC hardware, Psystar said, but compatibility can be an issue. OpenMac seeks to solve that issue. Psystar calls it OpenMac to "reflect the opening of what has previously been a hardware monopoly."

OpenMac vs the Mac Mini

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment, and the Psystar site went down Monday in the wake of overwhelming traffic loads. But cached pages reveal the particulars of the OpenMac, which is built from standard PC parts, according to the company. Mac OS X compatibility is reportedly achieved through an EFI emulator.

The OpenMac offers a 2.2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2GB of DDR2 667 memory and integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics. It also boasts a 20x DVD+/-R drive, four USB ports and a 250GB, 7200-RPM drive.

The closest machine Apple offers is the Mac mini, but the specs are not the same. The mini sports a 1.83-GHz or 2.0-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with an integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics processor. It offers 1GB of DDR2 667, though it can support 2GB.

The mini sells for $599. Of course, Apple's machine comes with iLife, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, a 30-day trial of iWork and Front Row, as well as other standard applications. The clone doesn't offer those extras.

Licensing an Issue

Richard Shim, an analyst at IDC, was surprised to see a clone on the market. So far as he knows, Psystar did not get licensing rights from Apple and, unless something drastically has changed at Apple headquarters, he doesn't expect Apple to grant them.

"A Mac at $399 would likely do very well, but I think it's a space that Apple has consciously decided not to go into," Shim said. "Apple tested the waters with the Mac mini and obviously the company hasn't dived further into that area."

Apple has been bitten by cheap clones before. However, it hasn't changed the company's strategy, Shim said. It seems Apple is content with successfully deploying its strategy, he said, which is targeting products at specific markets at steady price points.

"This could be a good way to test the interest in a lower-priced Mac," Shim said, "but they would would really need Apple to say this is a legit product and we're not going to sue the pants off of them."