do you really care about market share?

[asif786]

hey,

i was just thinking today (doesn't happen very often ) and i was wondering, do we actually care about market share?

i mean as an apple fan and stockholder, of course i want more macs to be sold - but i don't think it defines the company..in fact, if the mac marketshare went up to more than 10% i would probably be a little concerned. i quite like it how it is right now- it's almost like us mac users all have a common bond (which is kinda nice) and that would slowly drift away with more and more users.

an example: let's assume you're in starbucks and your working on your pb. another person comes and sits on the same worktable and pulls out a pb. i'm pretty sure you guys would start a convo. it's definitely happened to me before. now let's assume you go and do the same thing with two windows users - i just dont see things like that happening..do you?

am i alone with these thoughts? do you guys want apple to be the next microsoft? i think we all know that theres no chance of apple just disappearing off the planet because of lack of users (not with $7b in the bank anyway), so why are we all so concerned about market share?

anyway, apologies about the long post. i guess that teaches me not to think too hard < >

 

[iGary]

I don't want Apple to ever be the dominating OS, but I'd like to see a 15% share.

 

[Mr. Durden]

I want mucho success, but I'm not so sure I would want Apple to be the dominant OS company. I kinda like being a fan of the little guy, and I think they would lose a lot of there "coolness" if that changed. Kinda like if everywhere you looked, you saw a Mercedes. They wouldnt be all that cool anymore. However, I would like to see there share double or triple.

Wow, can you imagine what they could pull off with three times the resources they currently have? Cumputing/music nirvana!

 

[Rod Rod]

I would like to see Apple dominate the market.

I am willing to sacrifice the cool factor in exchange for the world having a better computing experience.

The "security by obscurity" myth about the Mac OS could finally be put to rest if the OS were to become significantly more popular.

Of course, by the time Apple's ready to reclaim the market share it enjoyed in the mid 1980s, x86 Linux might be viable for regular (non geek) people, or XP Media Center 2010 might lull the masses into a TV induced coma.

edit: Mr. Durden brings up a good point - economies of scale would work in our (Mac users') favor if market share were to increase two-or-threefold, making for less expensive hardware and software and/or better, faster R&D (and therefore product improvements) from Apple.

 

[Applespider]

Nope... the only reason I'd like to have a higher market share is to make some websites/manufacturers make their products more Mac-friendly. Currently, it's too easy for them to say - we're not catering for that 2-5 (select your number of choice) %. If the market share got to 10-15%, that argument doesn't fly quite so much.

Although if I find a site that I have to stop using because it doesn't work with my Mac (particularly if it was one I shopped on/gave money to etc), I do make a point of writing telling them that they've lost my custom.

 

[Sharewaredemon]

After reading your posts, I think that the market share should go up a bit like Mr. Durden says. But what I like is that Apple is doing very well as a company considering their market share.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Market share only matters to me as a stockholder. As a user, I don't much care. Even if the Mac's market share were to triple, a lot of people, including many software developers, would still argue that the Mac is irrelevant and act accordingly.

 

[geese]

I think the whole market-share arguement is outdated and over simplistic.

What matters is the market share of each section of the market. Apples market share in the creative graphics and video market is very high- any comapny that ignores the mac would be a little foolish. Whereas game companies can ignore the mac with its piddly share of the game market.

Now Apple is poised to increase its market share in the consumer sector. I think us Mac users have it good enough not to want for greater market share.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Marketshare does matter and i think the pod thing woke up the tards running Apple.

 

[puckhead193]

I forgot who's quote it was in their sig, but it went something like this "Apples market shares confirms my worst fear...only 8% (or some number) has a brain" I thought that was funny. I wish people understood what Macs were all about, and not assume that they stink...

 

[Lyle]

I care about Apple's "market share" (loosely speaking) to the degree that it affects decisions by third-party software companies about whether or not they're going to provide high-quality Mac OS X versions of their software. For example, it's been a bit of a headache trying to find personal finance software for the Mac; most reviewers indicate that Quicken 2005 for the Mac is awful, and the alternatives that I've played with are pretty awful. I have to wonder if Intuit would pay a little more attention to that version of the software if Apple's share of the desktop market were a bit higher.

 

[whocares]

Yes, I care for Apple's market share and I hope it increases just a bit and stays reasonably low (5-10%). Being a minority has a fair few advantages.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I have to wonder if Intuit would pay a little more attention to that version of the software if Apple's share of the desktop market were a bit higher.

I have to wonder if Intuit would pay more attention to their Mac products if their CEO served on Apple's Board of Directors.

Oh, wait...

 

[Lyle]

I have to wonder if Intuit would pay more attention to their Mac products if their CEO served on Apple's Board of Directors.

Bill Campbell's not at Intuit any more, is he? But your point is well taken.

 

[snkTab]

As a stockholder, you shouldn't care about more mac being sold or market share. You should care about market price and your dividends.

Apple is not trying to be the Dell of the world, and is definetly not even going close to a strategic plan of the sort. Apple is trying to be a specialty retailer at least with the Mac, since the iPod seems to be kicking ass. Meaning they would like to have a brand. They don't in anyway try to dilute the brand like having super-saturdays or everything half off sales.

And lets compare Apple the underdog with the caption of market share. Sure Microsoft 10x the size of about at a 275B market cap rather than a 29B. But when it comes down to it Apples earnings per share was $.90 and Microsoft is $1.03. And lets not forget that Apple is going at a near 40 price per earnings than MS's 25, showing that people think Apple's earnings will hopefully increase.

And to confuse you some more, yes gaining market share will increase your profit. But Apple's strategic plan is a viable one, and one I prefer. In the end, do you want to own the ideal of an Apple or the ideal of a Dell.

 

[Apple Hobo]

I've thought about this. Do I like being in a bit of a niche? Or would I want Apple to switch places with MS? I want Apple to be successful, but I don't want them to become like MS.

I like being in the niche. I like doing the opposite of what the masses do. Windows is just so generic and boring. I like Apple's Aqua style and innovation.

I want large software companies to port their apps to the Mac. I'm tired of all the MSIE-only crap ruining the internet, while Safari is in the minority. But as you know, these things come a little easier with more market share.

Would more users ruin what I like about Apple? Would more users make Apple stronger, thus making things even better? Only time will tell...

p.s.
Besides, don't you like when people give you a crazy look when you admit to using a Mac? Don't you secretly smile when you overhear someone complaining about the "latest" virus or crapware trend?

 

[snkTab]

You know what I really love about the Mac. In windows can you download 10,000 of one kind of app, the most popular and the best still suck. However for Mac there are 5 apps, and they all are wonderful.

I'm going to use Transmit as an example. I've downloaded billions of FTP clients on windows, they blow. But my wonderful small niche little operating system with it's small market share has this little gem.

 

[calyxman]

As an end user, I personally would like to see Apple with 30-40% market share. I'd like to see more and more businesses use OS X, and I'd like to see the whole mac platform go mainstream.

 

[sushi]

As an end user, I personally would like to see Apple with 30-40% market share. I'd like to see more and more businesses use OS X, and I'd like to see the whole mac platform go mainstream.

The Mac OS of today (X.3-->X.4-->) is much different, and better IMHO, than the Mac OS of yesterday (7<-->9).

Additionally, with the improved OS we now have better integration with the Windows side than ever before.

As for desired marketshare, I would say around 20-30% marketshare would make the Mac OS platform a desireable for all major software developers as well as independent developers to support.

Do I want the Mac OS to rule. Not necessarily. In any mature market, there are generally two suppliers. In this case, if Windows and Mac become more balance we would have that.

Considering that Apple is only one company, I doubt we would ever see market dominance. One company simply cannot do it. Look at Dell. While they are strong, and some would say dominate the market, there are still many other companies that share the marketplace.

Having said that, I believe that it is feasable for Apple to increase her marketshare at this time.

Here's wishing for that to happen!

Sushi

 

[IJ Reilly]

Bill Campbell's not at Intuit any more, is he? But your point is well taken.

I don't honestly know, but one of the only times I ever bothered to vote my Apple shares, it was against renewing his term on the Board. This was right after Intuit announced the discontinuation of Quicken for the Mac. They relented, but not until quite a few angry Mac-owning AAPL shareholders voted against Campbell at the annual meeting.