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Apple strengthens its position in PC market in February

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

March 18, 2008, 1:14 PM

Data from NPD Group indicates that Macs accounted for about one out of every eight computers sold during the month of February in the US.

Apple garnered a 14 percent unit share during the month, a 60 percent year-over-year increase. Apple also took a quarter of all dollar revenues during February, NPD says. This higher percentage of dollar sales is due to Apple's generally higher prices than its competitors.

Revenue for Apple jumped 67 percent over last year. This increase is dramatically higher than the industry as a whole, which saw a nine percent increase in unit sales and a five percent increase in revenues from February 2007.

Portable sales were up 64 percent, and desktop sales increased 55 percent, easily beating the rest of the industry which saw only a 20 percent increase and five percent drop respectively. Apple's strength continues to indicate that the company is making serious inroads among traditional Windows users.

Analysts say the impressive numbers on the notebook side of the market seem to indicate that sales of the MacBook Air may be high. Additionally, the iMac seems to be continuing to sell well, suggesting that many may not be ready to drop the desktop for the laptop just yet.

Sales of the iPod may not be as rosy. Based on data provided by NPD, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that quarterly sales should become essentially static. NPD seems to suggest that iPod sales will be between 9.7-10.5 million, a 4 percent decline against last year's midpoint.

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By rsx508

posted Mar 19, 2008 - 12:25 PM

Talk about misleading figures. If you factor in the multi-year cycles businesses use for refreshing desktops and average it out over each year, the numbers are way different. Just because you take a snapshot for a given month does not make for a "trend" by any means. If anyone believes otherwise, they never took a course in statistics.

Regardless, I hope Macs do well since it keeps the competition race going and we all benefit.

Score: 0

By straker135

edited Mar 19, 2008 - 4:40 AM

Excellent! Crank up the heat on Microsoft... lets see what they're really capable of. Yes Apple still have a substantially smaller share of the OS market than Microsoft but if I was an Apple Exec or shareholder I'd be as happy as a pig in straw.

If I had any advice for the Steves it would be to strip back Vista's base services to make it at least 10 to 15% faster and get Win7 to market in 2010: "Under promise and over deliver" boys.

The problem is that too much time, money and effort has gone in to Vista to just abandon ship and move on quickly.

First that is an admission of defeat and those guys didn't get where they are today by taking a backward step to anyone.

Second there is the psycho/economic concept of "sunk cost". (read Jared Diamond: Collapse: How Societies choose to Fail or Survive)

"Sunk Cost" example: You live on Easter Island, you need trees to make boats that can be used to fish off-shore and to trade because your inshore fishing is poor and the island hasn't really got everything you need to survive comfortably. You cut down trees to help you make and move culturally important statues around. Eventually you cut down almost all the trees. What to do? Stop, rethink, cut your losses and cultivate your last trees so that you can continue to trade and eat fish? Hell no! Lets cut down the last trees, it's what we know, it supports our culture and our whole structure and view of ourselves as people. Oops! What if we rip out all our stores and crops and buy Yahoo as well? Yeah that'll work.

This message typed from a Vista PC in an XP home network where every one of the 5 computers has been built by me. Try doing that with Apple. My next computer may well be a Mac.

Score: 0

By bolaris

edited Mar 19, 2008 - 2:58 AM

I applaud apples glass 1/8th full mentality.

No Gold, no Silver, no bronze. But they are still stoked with a wooden spoon. I wish all companies followed suit and "loved" what they created and strived for the best when they are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Score: 0

By cranbers

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 7:56 PM

Cool, really makes you wonder how many are sold because of the hardware/style or the mac os.

I have to admit, after owning a mac for about a week, I returned it. Why?

1. It was extremley foreign compared to a pc. It is not user friendly when your used to how windows works. I felt like I was a computer newbie again. I had to actually research how to do basic tasks like burn a dvd or install apps. Perhaps its so dumbed down it actually makes it more difficult, or perhaps im used to things being complicated thanks to windows.

2. very expensive, 800 dollars for a mac mini? I honeslty barely used it as absolutley everything it did, my quad core running windows did faster.

Now take away games that you can buy from the local store, hardly any third party apps that I could easily find anyway.

Anyway, being a long time windows professoinal, it was not comfortable, it was awkward and just plain frustrating.

Mac users are more productive im sure though, there isn't anything to do except just use the computer. At least from my experience, it was boring.

but hey for those who start with that platform, and never used or gotten used to a windows machine, it will be great for them.

Score: 0

By alphatrigon

posted Mar 19, 2008 - 3:44 PM

ugh, aren't you basically lying if you say the Mac is not easy to use?
Mac is hard to use or pc is hard to use? Complicated means harder...so which is it?
And mac users are less productive, that's why the mac people liked the idea of 1 button mice and 0 multitasking

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited Mar 18, 2008 - 10:39 PM

It was extremley foreign compared to a pc. It is not user friendly when your used to how windows works. I felt like I was a computer newbie again. I had to actually research how to do basic tasks like burn a dvd or install apps. Perhaps its so dumbed down it actually makes it more difficult, or perhaps im used to things being complicated thanks to windows.

Same here, the CD burning especially. Ech...When did you buy yours? The one I had (10.2, I think?) was a bear to burn CDs.

Mac users are more productive im sure though, there isn't anything to do except just use the computer. At least from my experience, it was boring.

but hey for those who start with that platform, and never used or gotten used to a windows machine, it will be great for them.

Not nothing else to do, just what they are familiar with, Put 'em on a Windows box and tell 'em to drag the files to the CD icon to burn a CD and they'll look at you like you're telling them to set an emu on fire*.

*Personal experience, don't ask....

Score: 0

By GS5

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 5:00 PM

How can Apple strengthen its position in the PC market when it does not have "PC's"???:-)

Score: 0

By mdotwills

posted Mar 19, 2008 - 12:18 AM

lol good point!

Score: 0

By alphatrigon

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 3:54 PM

wha? Apple says they aren't pcs...they are special devices called Macs that make their users geniuses :D

Score: 0

By aoe3rules

edited Mar 18, 2008 - 3:36 PM

slipdisc2, there aren't any mac workstations. idiot.

Score: 0

By terminalx

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 3:48 PM

speaking of idiot, see the button that says post a reply under slipdisc2's name, hit that button to reply to his comment...

Now, apparently everyone seems to have missed the joke, of course mac doesn't make workstations, which was his point, damn can't ANYONE have a sense of humor anymore...

Score: 0

By aoe3rules

posted Jul 14, 2008 - 5:57 PM

i was being sarcastic.

Score: 0

By bousozoku

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 10:10 PM

You're right. mac doesn't make workstations because mac is nothing. The company is Apple; the computer line is made of Macs. Apple makes various computers.

I suppose you had a joke of your own in your response.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 2:21 PM

Sales of the iPod may not be as rosy. Based on data provided by NPD, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that quarterly sales should become essentially static. NPD seems to suggest that iPod sales will be between 9.7-10.5 million, a 4 percent decline against last year's midpoint.

...because everyone already has one. :p (at least, everyone who wants one...)

Score: 0

By slipdisc2

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 1:42 PM

That number cant be right. Our company sold over 1500 workstations during the month of Feb. And not a single machine was a mac.

Score: 0

By mjm01010101

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 3:14 PM

It gets worse: I've never bought a mac, therefore this report is bogus.

Score: 0

By chirayu

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 2:55 PM

are you serious?

Score: 0

By Program86

posted Mar 18, 2008 - 2:46 PM

That has got to be the stupidest statement EVER.
Your a moron slipdisc2

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited Mar 18, 2008 - 3:27 PM

Score: 0

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