Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac Offers Fastest Performance on Snow Leopard and for Windows 7

image001Parallels has announced the availability of the fastest, most seamless Windows-on-Mac solution ever: Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac. This is the latest version of the number 1 Mac system utility, currently enabling more than 2 million users to run Windows, Linux and other operating systems side-by-side with Mac OS X.

According to performance research conducted by Crimson Consulting Group, Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac performs 22% faster than the nearest Windows-on-Mac competitor in standard productivity testing of Windows 7 64-bit on a MacBook Pro. In addition, version 5 is up to 300% faster for virtual machine operations than the previous version.  For 3D and graphics performance, tested under the industry standard 3Dmark 2006 Professional test suite the new version performs up to 7 times better.

Users can test this for themselves with a free trial from www.parallels.com/desktop.

<Availability>
The Parallels Desktop 5 (PD5) for Mac is now available. Additional localized versions will soon be available in Simplified Chinese and Japanese for the APAC market in the coming weeks.

<Pricing for PD5>
The standard retail price (SRP) of Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac is USD$79.99, including USD$175 worth of additional software for free:
– Parallels Internet Security 2009 by Kaspersky (1-year subscription);
– Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0 (Disk Management); and
– Acronis True Image Home 2010 (Backup and Recovery Solutions).

Current Parallels Desktop users can upgrade their existing software for USD$49.99.

<Free Upgrade to PD5>
Users that purchased version 4.0 on or after 1st October 2009 qualify with a proof of purchase for a free upgrade to version 5.