NEWS
Apple's operating system is gaining ground on Microsoft Windows, with second-quarter results showing the company inching close to a 10 per cent market share in the US.
While Windows certainly still dominates the computer market, Apple's share continues to grow. Just released second-quarter market share figures from Gartner show Apple shipments up 38 per cent, to 8.5 per cent of all units shipped, up from 6.4 per cent a year ago. IDC had Apple's gains somewhat lower, at a 7.8 per cent share, up from 6.2 per cent a year earlier, but the trend is the same.
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IDC analyst Loren Loverde said in a telephone interview: "They've got great products and they are executing well." She added: "They are benefiting from the excitement and press over their other products."
Microsoft is working on a multi-year, megamillion-dollar marketing push for Windows and, as the numbers show, it can't come soon enough. Apple's gains on Windows are particularly painful given that US computer shipments only grew 4.2 per cent, again according to Gartner.
Worldwide shipments fared better, up 16 per cent for the quarter, and of course Apple's worldwide share is far lower than its US one. Despite Apple's US gains, its worldwide market share was 3.3 per cent in the second quarter, according to IDC. That's down slightly from last quarter but up from 2.9 per cent a year ago.
Loverde said Apple would have to continue growing really fast for some time to move ahead of Toshiba and crack the top five in global sales.
Comments
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1. Rory Choudhuri
It would be interesting to see the figures for consumer ownership, where the purchaser has a little more choice about what to buy. In most corporates, the IT department specifies the choice of desktop and Macs are rarely on the list. It's only when an exec has both the clout and the willingness to fight for it that they stand a chance of getting a Mac as their work machine. The exception to this, as many have noted, is in the creative departments. Yet, Macs are as good as Windows machines as general office workhorses and, pay for themselves thanks to lower TCO.
2. David Howe
In the US, when you look at computers retailing for over USD 1000, Apple has over 75% share...of course today this is about 3 Euros in value but...