Nearly half of student notebook buyers choosing Macs
updated 06:35 pm EDT, Mon August 9, 2010
Apple making huge dent in student computer sales
A new Student Monitor study revealed this weekend that almost half of college students getting a notebook plan to buy Macs. Of the 87 percent of prospective buyers, 47 percent plan to get some form of MacBook. The figure is an all-time high for Apple and has seen interest in Dell and HP shrink to just 12 and 11 percent each.
Existing ownership also leans heavily in favor of Macs. MacBooks are the single largest contingent among notebooks and, at 27 percent, now outshadows Dell's 24 percent and HP's 14 percent. Apple's share of desktops is much smaller but still disproportionately high relative to its total US share, at 14 percent versus a combined 45 percent for Dell and HP.
The study doesn't attempt to directly explain why Apple is on the rise, but the aluminum 13-inch MacBook Pro has been one of Apple's most consistent strong-sellers since it launched and has given many of the larger models' features and design but at a much lower price. The claimed 10-hour battery life for the MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro is also potentially useful for students that may need to use the notebook on battery for several hours.
Student Monitor's results are a sharp reversal from 2005, when Dell had the same 47 percent share that Apple now claims. The study isn't a complete look at Apple's influence, but Dell has been conspicuously aware of its shortfall as it has tried to scare buyers away from Macs by using questionable comparisons.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2008
I'm surprised it's that low
...at my campus, it's roughly three out of every four people are on a Mac of some sort (mostly white models). Perhaps the largest # of PCs I see are Netbooks.