Germany’s PearC Rolls Out Mac Clones

Looking to succeed where Psystar has drawn massive litigation, Germany's PearC is now offering Macintosh clones for sale...at least for a while.

So far upstart Florida computer maker Psystar has had a corner on the Macintosh clone market, continuing to gamely sell Macintosh clones despite a daunting legal onslaught from Apple itself alleging violation of the DMCA, breaking licensing agreements, among other charges. Now Germany’s PearC is trying to get in on the act, offering three models of severely generic-looking desktop systems running a version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system.

The three models are offered as starter, advanced, and professional systems with prices ranging from €499 up to €1,499. PearC is offering several built-to-order options, including cranking the systems up with Intel Core i7 processors (up to 3.2 GHz), Blu-ray burners, and pre-installing Mac OS X Leopard.

Apple’s license agreement for Mac OS X prohibits users from installing the operating system on non-Apple hardware; no doubt anticipating questions from potential customers (and possible legal action from Apple), PearC claims that German laws favor end-users, and that it believes the PearC Macintosh clones are legal in Germany.

Apple has so far declined to comment on PearC’s offerings.