There's a sucker born every minute - Phineas T. Barnum
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Apple is the saviour of the PC industry
A FINANCIAL ANALYST claims that Apple will be responsible for a quarter of the world's computer sales growth this year.
In a research note issued by Caris & Company, analyst Robert Cihra said growth in the PC market for 2010 is trending upwards of 15 to 20 per cent.
He said this is fuelled by greater than 90 per cent growth in combined sales of netbooks and notebooks.
Desktop sales are also showing signs of life for the first time in 24 months and apparently this is thanks to the strong performance of Apple's Imac line. It seems this could boost year-over-year shipments by approximately three per cent.
Cihra wrote, "But believe it or not, we estimate Apple's Imac accounting for a full quarter of ALL desktop market growth in calendar year 2010."
It is not saying that Apple's sales will be a quarter of all sales in the world, but that it will be a quarter of the growth figures. So Apple will grow like topsy.
However the graphs, which are kindly provided by Apple Insider seem to indicate that Cihra based his growth figures on the price and the mark-up on the product. This might explain why Apple is supposed to be the market leader while Acer, which has a much lower mark-up, is not contributing as much to the growth of the industry.
Cihra, who is a finance man rather than a technology analyst, complimented Apple on its ability to keep absolute control of its product and keep the prices on its products higher than anyone else.
Funny, in technology publications we call this overpriced gear and shafting the more naive punter, but we guess Wall Street has a different view on the morality of such things.
Caris & Company, which reiterated its Buy rating on shares of Apple, expects the Mac to grow at 1.6 times the industry average during the 2010 calendar year. µ
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Go to apple.com and compare it to dell.com
The majority of the Macs are only offering a core duo processor. That is already outdated technology. Macs have the balls to charge 1900 for a lap top running such outdated hardware? You can get a quad core processor laptop or desktop at Dell or HP for around 1000 dollars.
Mac preys on the uninformed population. Most buyers don't even know what the hell core process even mean. They think they're buying top of the line Macs. Except "top of the line" Macs are outdated core 2 duos that costs an arm and a leg
Quite an achievement for a company that, worldwide, isn’t even in the top 10 list of PC vendors.
A company only exist for one purpose, that is to make money. If Asus, HP, Levono, MSI, or any other company wants leave money in the table as an business strategy, well thats their call. Apple don't see their business model that way. They try to put in theirs offering what they feel a group of people will find valuable, and charge for that.
It's a personal choice.
On top of that there's no contract that force you to keep it if you don't like it. Not for you, sell it.
But, if this is going to be your hard earned cash to invest; you put it in a company with 55 billion in the bank, or say, hell I can live with less, I put my saving in a company with marginal profits.
You may tell to yours buddies: "I'm not a fool, I'm putting my money in a company that made a dime from the sale, but they sale a lot."
I'll keep mine in APPL.
My US$0.02
Welcome to the world of advertising. I assume you don't like BMW's "Ultimate Driving Machine" or Acer's "Empowering People" slogans either.
I run a mixed environment of Windows and Mac machines, and I have to say that the Macs are consistently less hassle. Not to say that they're perfect, but they'll generally get the job done with less of a song and dance than Windows.
Apple, like any company, has it's good and bad parts. Nick seems unable to see anything but the bad, just like the fanbois seem unable to see anything but the good. This complete polarisation is what annoys me, not the advertising slogans. If and when Nick develops a more balanced view of life I may start to develop some respect for his writings. I'm not holding my breath.
Head = Exploded.
I think this needs to be explained.
"Naive customers" listen to advertising. I, for one, and just like Nick, wouldn't have such a problem with Apple if it wasn't for their advertising and lock down policies that "most" consumers just don't understand.
Slogans like "they just work" and "easier to use" etc just annoy the hell out of me because they are simply not true. (BTW..I administer both at work)
If Apple were not so smug and the smugness was not passed on to SOME of their customers, then there wouldn't be "fan boyism"
It is this part of the Apple culture that I have a problem with. And I'm glad the Nick is around to point it out in a wide variety of ways.
While I do not like Apple's policies that limit what I can load on to and do with my Apple device, it is a big stretch to call this 'shafting' of the consumer.
Apple in no way attempts to hide their policies and they have been widely reported on.
Only a VERY 'naive' customer would not be aware of these policies and any consumer that is equally 'naive' about any product they purchase is likely to make bad purchasing decisions. This would be the consumer 'shafting' themselves.
Apple does not have a monopoly on computers, music players, or smart phones. If the negatives of Apple's policies do not outweigh the benefits of the device, purchase another brand instead of accusing a company of doing something unethical and immoral when the problem is your own stupidity.
Nick wrote what could be seen as a positive Apple story. His legion of Mac fanboy trolls and hangers-on won't know what to do. That alone is worth reading this article.
As to the story and it's veracity, I call bullshit. Mitchell's analogy is pretty close to perfect. I work in a tech store and I see 20 or more Acer's go out the door for every iMac. Add the other manufacturers and it's closer to 50 to 1. Or more. Caris & Company is no different than any other ANALyst company. No clue and can't wait to suck up to Jobs and Co.
A not completely negative Apple article? He can't be well.
He still doesn't understand the concept of market segments and budget vs premium brands. You can get a perfectly usable car from the likes of Kia which has a pretty small mark-up on cost, or you can buy from a premium manufacturer like Mercedes or Jaguar which have a much higher margin. The premium manufacturer isn't "shafting" their customers, they're offering a product at a price that the customer is prepared to accept (they can easily go elsewhere if they don't like the car or the price).
No-one is forced to buy an Apple product, they're free to search through a large market space for something cheaper or better suited to their needs. If they like what Apple is offering and the price is acceptable to them then they buy it. If not then they buy something else or not at all. Why is this such a mystery to Nick?
How is it possible for Apple to spur 15 to 20 per cent growth in the PC market for 2010 when they dont even have 10% market share? Its like saying the new Lamborghini caused car sales to skyrocket this year.
Ok Maybe I get it those 10% of people who bought a MAC are realizing the junk they bought and are in 2010 are buying a Windows PC while 10% of clueless people are getting a MAC. That's 20%. I get it now. My Bad.
"Apple showing strong growth. INQ staff throw toys out of pram."