Retail events for Leopard launch on Oct 26th

New Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard launch details from its retail stores reportedly confirm the circulating October 26th ship date for Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system. In order to prep for the release of the delayed OS, Apple has reportedly scheduled a series of launch events at 6 pm on the day of its release and plans to keep stores open until midnight as part of its launch, according to ifoAppleStore. It is, however, unclear whether Leopard has been declared "golden master"--the "GM" release is the release manufacturers use as a template for their final selling CD)--but the new report indicates that a few store construction projects have been pushed back to accommodate the launch of its newest operating system.

The report indicates that Apple's stores may close prior to the launch event at 6 pm local time and re-open to celebrate the launch of the next-generation operating system. The company used a similar approach to the launch of the iPhone, ahead of which hundreds of Apple fans waited in line for the opening and sale of the device.

"The release of Apple’s long-anticipated Leopard version of OS X has been confirmed for Friday, October 26th, when the company’s retail stores re-open at 6 p.m. and begin selling the new operating system," ifoAppleStore wrote in its report. "Where possible, the retail stores will be open until midnight to accommodate the crowds that will appear to purchase the software."

Apple has pushed back the planned construction for at least one store Oakbrook (Illinois), according to the report. Two other stores, University Village (Seattle) and and The Pier (New Jersey), are also scheduled to be closed from October 22 until November 9 for floorplan changes and renovations, according to the site, but it was unclear whether Apple would delay those projects to also accommodate the launch of its Leopard operating system.

Filed under: Apple