« Who Are Your Facebook “Your Friends” | Main | The New and Improved Flock? »
Is Apple Missing Its Windows of Opportunity?
By Mark Evans | September 16, 2007
As Steve Jobs basks in the glow of being a marketing genius, Randall Stross suggests in a New York Times column that Apple appears to be blowing its chances to grab more market share in the personal computer market.
Apparently, Apple still only has 3% of the global PC market despite all the buzz about the MacBook and strong sales of desktop computers such as the iMac. This is happened at a time when Microsoft’s Vista OS continues to have terrible growing pains. Stross said Apple could do much better, for example, f it had a more aggressive retail strategy, which is mostly focused on the company’s 185 Apple Stores. The Mac, for example, is only available in less than 40% of Best Buy’s 872 stores.
If Stross’ theory is right, it’s really not that difficult to explain why Windows-based machines still dominate the market. First, there’s just one Apple vs. many Windows-based rivals - always has been and, for the near future, always will. Second, PCs are cheap. These days, you can get a kick-ass desktop or laptop without breaking the bank. For example, you can buy a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop for $499. For a lot of people, an Inspiron meets their needs just as well as a $1400 MacBook.
Of course, the key question is whether market share matters to Apple. You could argue it doesn’t because what’s more important is having a fast-growing business with a vibrant product portfolio and loyal customers. The iPod’s success and iTunes have made Apple more of a consumer electronics company than a computer maker. I’m sure Apple would love to have higher market share of the PC market but I don’t think Steve Jobs lies away at night worrying about it.
More: Technosailor has some strong words about the obsession with all things new at Apple, while Jeremy Toeman weighs in on Vista’s struggles, suggesting it “will go down in history as a bigger debaucle than Windows Millenium Edition”.
Topics: Apple/iPod |