Apple may take No. 3 spot on list of U.S. computer makers

The momentum for Apple computers has become one of the most interesting comeback stories in the technology industry.

Competing technology research firms today released competing numbers for Apple's share of the personal computer market in the second quarter. IDC pegged Apple at 7.8%, tied with Acer, which acquired Gateway last year. Gartner says Apple has 8.5% of the market, ahead of Acer with 8.1%. The two firms say they will know for sure on Monday when Apple releases Mac sales figures as part of its earnings report.

Check out Apple's market share roller coaster ride: In 1994, the Cupertino, Calif., company had 11.4% of the personal computer market, according to IDC. It hit bottom in 2003 with 3.25%. In April, IDC reported that Apple had risen to 6%.

Gartner said Apple shipped nearly 1.4 million computers in the second quarter, up 38% from the same period last year, and IDC said sales rose 32% to 1.3 million. IDC analyst David Daoud said the chief factor for the rise was the "halo effect" -- the popularity of Apple's iPod and iPhone has brought more people into stores and made them more open to buying a Mac. In the second quarter, he said, Apple benefited too from its traditional strength selling to the education market.

"It is possible that Apple will pass Acer when the official numbers come in," Daoud said. "People have positive feelings about the Apple brand. It's no surprise the company is experiencing this momentum."

Even if it secures the No. 3 spot, Apple is still far behind the two PC sales leaders: Dell is still the No. 1 seller of PCs in the U.S., with 32% of the market and HP follows with 25%, IDC says. Worldwide, the situation is reversed. HP is still the PC leader with 19% and Dell follows with 16.4%. Apple hasn't cracked the Top 5 yet.

-- Michelle Quinn

Photo: Steve Jobs introduces the MacBook Air at MacWorld in January. Credit: Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times

Comments

Maybe since their peak in 1994 sales of Mac computers have been lower because they make intuitive, reliable machines that people are holding onto longer than is the case with other computer makers. The more useful the computer the lower a priority it is to replace.

[Darin]

While these numbers are good for Apple, I don't think it's indicative of Apple's market share in the U.S. as a whole. In other words, I think it would be inaccurate to say that Apple holds 8.5% of the personal computer market.

Do these numbers take into account all of the people who build their own PCs? Many PC gamers take this route.

[Chris]

"Maybe since their peak in 1994 sales of Mac computers have been lower because they make intuitive, reliable machines that people are holding onto longer than is the case with other computer makers. The more useful the computer the lower a priority it is to replace."

- Great point...and true. I've had my Mac Mini since they were introduced and it is still plugging away and seems to become more useful as time goes on. Meanwhile the Windows pc I use at work is a constant headache, despite an army of IT staff that works around the clock to keep it running!

[Ross C.]

Apple will never reap the full benefit of it's superior software until it offers licenses to PC makers in competition with Microsoft's windows.
The proprietary model Apple uses descends from defunct Digital. Inertia is a terrible thing to waste. But PC makers will not get their hands on Apple's prize operating system until they pry it from the grip of Steve Jobs' cold dead fingers.

[Jim]

More interesting is the rate at which Apple's market share has grown. The incompatibility fear of running non-Redmond software has been lessened by platform independent tools like mapquest, google and youtube. Thus, the story is less Apple than it is the lost hegemony of Microsoft. It is only serendipity for Apple that they happen to make an outstanding operating system that is frankly more pleasant and reliable to use.

[Will Todd]

Great point Darin, except the article addresses the market for computer manufacturers, not OS installations or hardware sales. Therefore, when discussing the "market" as referenced here, it's about the share of SOLD computers by each computer manufacturer, and not Windows/Linux vs Mac as an installed base.

Further, you're probably giving the "gamer" segment more credit than it deserves in terms of the market as a whole. While I don't discount the number of gamers, the market for computers is just huge. I'd bet that 90%+ of computer users never game at all, and the majority of gamers still buy off-the-shelf systems like almost everyone else.

[DXp]

I think that's good and bad for apple, good because they generate more profit, and they'll be available for common users and compatibility is not gonna be an issue, bad because now that many people has it there's gonna be a lot more virus and malware for mac, other thing is regular apple users pays the extra price because when they buy a mac they feel they are buying something unique and special that just few people has it, but after becoming too popular, they'll stop buying because will be something that everyone has it and mac will become a pc lol

[Valmont lavrentiev]

It seems like with the economic turmoil across the world will see the demand for luxury items (Apple definatly being in the luxury electronics market) fall sharply. The new iPhone 3G means that sales in the short-term will be pretty much garanteed. However, even though Apple are; almost geniuses at coming up with new ideas for their product range, I'm seriously pessimistic about the company's performance over the next couple of years. In reality: how many iPods does 1 seriously need?