By Alex Scroxton
1 July 2008
Cisco’s home and SOHO networking division Linksys has announced it will now support its wireless routers on Mac OS X 10.4 through its Linksys EasyLink Advisor (LELA) as booming uptake of Apple kit prompts networking vendors to take more notice of the Mac community.
Linksys routers did previously work with Apple computers, but set-up and technical support services were unavailable.
Paul McIntosh, Linksys UK and Ireland consumer business sales manager, said the move reflected the need to “better support the ever-growing number of Mac users”.
Other providers are also trying to move closer to Apple users. Simon Paton, managing director at unified comms (UC) outfit CommuniGate, said there had been massive developments around UC on Apple machines – particularly as the release of the 3G iPhone draws near – and revealed CommuniGate was targeting the environment as one of the only Mac-compatible business VoIP providers.
One analyst said that although the growing levels of support and engagement were welcome, Apple’s channel history meant that resellers and vendors seeking to climb into bed with the firm should be wary.
”Apple hasn’t always played in the spirit of the game,” he warned, adding that Linksys’ official entry into the market could steer some Apple users away from the firm’s proprietary AirPort routers.
Figures unveiled this week by US-based web services firm Net Applications revealed that Apple’s OS X operating system upped its market share by 1.5 per cent last month, taking its total market share to just under 8 per cent Stateside.
In the UK, Apple has also been growing aggressively, with an emphasis on new Apple Stores that some perceive as a threat to its reseller relationships. As reported in MicroScope last month, Apple’s EMEA president Pascal Cagni claimed Mac sales were steadily outstripping PCs, with education a key vertical for the vendor.
