Apple only US computer builder to outgrow industry average
updated 06:40 pm EDT, Fri June 4, 2010
iSuppli sees Apple at 3.4pc world market share
Apple was the only American computer assembler to beat the industry average for growth in early 2010, iSuppli said today. Macs climbed 32.4 percent year-over-year and gave Apple 3.4 percent market share of all computer sales worldwide, or a seventh-place spot. HP and Dell were larger, at first and third place, but grew noticeably slower than the average of 22.7 percent.
Researchers credited the jump to the popularity of the iPhone. Like the iPod, it may have created a halo effect where Windows-using customers who get an iPhone enjoy the experience and promptly translate that to buying a Mac.
It was southeast Asian companies, including Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba, that grew faster; ASUS was the fastest at 136.2 percent. A strong Chinese economy was considered major factor, but the continued strengths of netbooks and low-end notebooks also helped.
Regardless of the company, desktops saw a rare reversal of the near-constant decline in their sales, growing a single percentage point. The trend still didn't offset the move towards portables as the category moved up 26.5 percent in a year.
The stats are a rare picture of Apple's relative standing in the computer market as other research firms often only report results for the top five worldwide, excluding Apple from the list.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2004
reverse halo effect is needed
If PC's are indeed on their way out, Apple needs to think about the reverse halo effect... that Mac users were first adopters for iPod's and iPhones.
Enter the commodity PC market, because it will help drive more iPhone sales.
And even though Microsoft has had trouble turning their desktop monopoly into a cell phone monopoly, that doesn't discount the fact that their desktop monopoly got them many looks at the cell phone counter....they just didn't follow it up with phones that were worth a c***.