As it has been pointed out. Market share by revenue *is* valid, if we are looking at the relative strengths of two companies, then the size of their revenue is a much better indicator than the number of boxes they ship.
These figures imply that Apple is in a weaker position than Acer. People wince and think Apple is doing badly. But by revenue Apple is making more revenue than Dell.
Yes - profitability is another good indication of relative strengths.
If Apple sells an iPhone for $599 and makes $300 profit - and Dell sells a netbook for $300 and makes $50 profit - then it might be fair to conclude that Apple was more profitable.
These figures put a misleadingly negative spin on Apple's performance when it's HP and Dell who are in real trouble. Their revenue per unit sale is declining fast.
The netbook craze is great for consumers - and I am sure adds percentage points to these "market-share" figures. But this race to the bottom is more likely to kill HP than Apple.
C.
That much is true. But saying market share by unit is not a valid stat is a little overboard.
Either way, Apple is doing things their own way, but I think iPods and iPhones have been more important to their business then macs have of late, and they have the benefit of being able to weather the recession storm with those iPod's providing tons of extra cash, which is something HP does NOT have the luxury of. Apple literally took some cheap parts, slapped some fancy looking software in them, made them the "in" thing with some slick marketing, way overpriced them and just rolled in the cash. Solid business on their part.
However, HP and Dell get a LOT of business from supplying businesses with cheap computers. This netbook craze effects the consumer market more so then the professional side. Most professionals do not use Macs, they use PC's. Only limited graphics professionals and a few other small businesses use macs. The recession has forced businesses to cut back on IT budgets and forced consumers to cut back on spending. The Macs being sold are mainly being purchased by the wealthy, who have money even in a recession. Apples numbers should only slightly be affected while HP and Dell should be getting killed. However, when things improve, Dell and HP should once again make huge leaps in units moved as companies look to upgrade those aging devices they have held off on getting replaced. By then, Apples marketshare should continue to be about the same unless they release something else that is cutting edge and exciting.
On a whole the recession hasn't been to bad to Apple, but when people get money again and things turn up, the benefit they receive is also minimal. They need a new device thats does something right if they want higher marketshare.
Further work on the iPhone as well as other very portable computers is probably the wave of the future anyway, so Apple ignoring such a sector can't help them in the long run. Unless of course they wait until it's been explored and then do it the Apple way which then sets the standard. IDK, there are so many scenarios.
Maybe a cheap Apple netbook with an iPhone like spring board and a modified OS X version will blow the competition out of the water and set a new netbook standard. We could see that kind of device in a few weeks or not for another few years.
Either way there will still be about another 30 pages of people debating something they have ZERO control over, and trying to prove to others why their opinions are better. Maybe we should just let Apple be Apple and buy what we want.
