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By Ina Fried, 24 January 2006 08:45

NEWS

Corel bills its WordPerfect Office software as "the world's leading alternative to Microsoft Office". But when it comes to US retail sales, Corel lost the number two spot in 2005 to a somewhat unlikely competitor: Apple's iWork.

According to market researcher NPD, Apple grabbed a 2.7 per cent unit share, while Corel had a 1.6 per cent share. Microsoft maintained its dominance with nearly 95 per cent of unit sales.

Apple's share is particularly impressive considering that iWork runs only on Macs, which account for a small fraction of computers, said NPD analyst Chris Swenson. "Apple's success for iWork has been pretty surprising," he said.

Looking at the Mac platform alone, iWork accounted for 17.4 per cent, compared to about 82 per cent for Microsoft. Swenson added: "Apple's iWork didn't overtake Microsoft Office but I think taking almost a fifth of the Mac Office Suite market away from an entrenched competitor such as Microsoft is quite an accomplishment."

Corel, meanwhile did see its unit sales of WordPerfect Office grow 6.1 per cent year-over-year but its dollar revenue from those products dropped by 0.7 per cent, according to Swenson. Swenson said his sense is that the products aren't getting much advertising inside retail stores.

He said: "I think Corel has their work cut out for them."

Corel recently updated its WordPerfect Office program as well, while Microsoft is due to release a significant update, Office 12, later this year.

The iWork program is a relative newcomer to the Office scene, having debuted in January, 2005. Earlier this month, Apple updated iWork, enhancing the Pages word processor and Keynote layout program with improved table capabilities but not adding a spreadsheet program as some had expected.

There had been reports, apparently incorrect, on some Apple enthusiast sites that sales of the initial iWork software had lagged.

Swenson said: "One rumour that can be put to rest is that iWork wasn't selling well."

For its part, Corel said it has 10 to 15 times more sales than iWork when you add in other channels - such as commercial sales and sales through distributors - and that PC makers, including Dell, sometimes bundle WordPerfect Office on their new PCs.

Richard Carriere, general manager of Corel's Office Productivity unit, said: "When you add all of them up, we stand strong to our claim of being the leading alternative." That said, having a major presence at retailers is important, he added: "It's a small fraction of the market. It's very important for showcasing our product and we are present in all the major outlets."

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com