Apple's Web User Market Share Increases

Apple's successes with the iPod are finally translating into real momentum for its computer business, if statistics from Net Applications are any indication.

The market research firm measured a 40 percent increase year over year in Mac usage on the Internet in September. As of the end of the month, 6.6 percent of Internet users were accessing the Web via Macs, up from 4.7 percent in September 2006.

Net Applications uses tracking code from about 500,000 websites across the net, which account for about one billion pageviews each month. Thus the data only represents Macs which are being used on these sites rather than a controlled sample.

It also represents only those Macs being used on the Internet, rather than all purchased systems in general.

Either way, it still shows that Apple is finally able to convert at least some of its iPod users into Mac owners, and lending some credence to the much hyped (but rarely proven) "halo effect."

Apple's successes are no doubt cutting into Windows' market share, which fell some 3 percent over the past year. However, it is still the dominant operating system by a landslide, with 91 percent of the traffic coming from Windows computers.

Data also showed fairly light adoption of Vista in its first eight months of availability, with only 7.4 percent of users running it, compared to 79 percent running XP.

Analysts say the data is not surprising, however they add that Apple must continue to be competitive in order to attract new customers. Part of this is becoming more competitive in terms of price -- Apple's systems on average are at the higher end of most market segments.

One analyst, Samir Bhavnani of Current Analysis, told Sci-Tech Today that a 15 percent market share within five years may not be out of the question.