Apple's Leopard Gobbles Up Batteries, Users ComplainApple's Leopard Gobbles Up Batteries, Users Complain

Mac users who've upgraded their laptops to Apple's new Leopard operating system are reporting a sharp drop off in battery life.

"With Leopard, my batteries seem to be draining much faster than with Tiger," said 'Tick629', on a recent post on Apple's Leopard support forum. Tiger is Apple's predecessor to Leopard -- which is officially known as Mac OS X 10.5.

Tick629's post is echoed by dozens of other users on the forum.

"The day before I upgraded to Leopard, I got 3 hours from my battery ... now I get less than 2," reported 'EmmEff'. "My laptop has become unportable," complained 'Thekopfc.'"

Some users speculate that the problem is related to the numerous new features that Leopard adds to their computers -- including a souped-up graphical interface designed to make navigation easier.

One user said he was able to fix the problem by fully draining and recharging his battery, and then repeating the process. But others who tried the solution said they still experienced reduced battery life.

Leopard's thirst for batteries is the latest glitch to hit the OS since it debuted last month. Many users reported that their computers would lock up and display "the blue screen of death" following an upgrade to Leopard. Others said that their keyboards froze.

Despite the problems, Leopard appears to be selling well. Apple has reported that it sold more than 2 million copies of the OS during its first weekend of availability -- far outpacing first-weekend sales of Tiger.

Apple officials did not immediately return a call seeking comment.