Apple rises to #4 in U.S. home notebook computer market; brand loyalty at all-time high

Mac Daily News ^ | Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 12:00 PM EDT

[Swordmaker]

Apple has increased its home notebook PC share to now rank #4 in the home installed base. It has strengthened its position among the socioeconomically elite, attracting the younger, more highly-educated, and higher income households, as well as the self-employed, according to the Apple Profile Report 2008 from MetaFacts, Inc.

“Like the camel slipping its nose under the tent, Apple is reaching into American households as the 2nd or 3rd Home PC,” said Dan Ness, Principal Analyst at MetaFacts, in the press release. “Where Apple shines is as the 3rd PC, ranking fifth with 8% of 3rd Home PCs, and ranking fourth in notebook PCs, also at 8% of the installed base.”

Apple home computers are used differently than Windows home PCs, more often for web content creation, graphics, and personal activities. Twenty-one percent of Apple Home PCs are used in public places, nearly double the 12% of Windows Home PCs that are used in public.

“If you look around at a Starbucks or cybercafé, you might think the whole world’s gone to Apple,” said Dan Ness, Principal Analyst at MetaFacts. “Apple users are very active and use their notebooks in more locations than Windows notebook users.”

The survey also revealed strong repurchase brand loyalty. “Apple continues to command the strongest repurchase intent of any PC brand. More than four in five (81%) of households with Apple as their primary Home PC plan to buy the same brand - Apple - for their next Home PC,” said Ness.

Other findings in the Apple Profile Report 2008 include:

• Workplace Apples are dominated by 5 occupational groups: Teacher, Artist/Designer/Performer, Management, Clerical, Consultants
  
• iPod penetration among Apple Households is extremely strong, and also strong in non-Apple households yet with weaker buying plans
  
• The installed base of Apple Home computers are newer than the base of Windows Home PCs
  
• Apple Households shop differently than non-Apple Households, more likely to be in a Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Target, and less often in a Wal-Mart
  
• Apple’s retail stores are attracting many non-Apple households, a strong positive sign for Apple
  
• The kind of non-Apple households shopping or buying at Apple retail have many more kids, also a strong positive future sign for Apple

The Apple Profile Report 2008 is based on surveys with over 10,000 American adults by telephone and online as part of the Technology User Profile 2008 Annual Edition study. Respondents were carefully selected to be representative of all American adults and households.

MetaFacts, Inc. is a national market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts' Technology User Profile survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are a long-time primary marketing resource for Fortune 1000 companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, peripherals, mobile computing, and related services and products.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Thanks for the Mac pings!
Just one more reason to come to FR!

[Biggirl]

I have been a Mac fan since 1996, including the dark time when Mac was struggling and was close to bankruptcy before Steve Jobs came back. When he came back, Apple roared right back afterwards, starting with the colorful i-Mac, Power Mac G4 Towers, and then the iPods.

[Biggirl]

But Apple has gone far and wide more now around the world thanks to those iPods and iPhones.

[MarkL]

Hmmm... I’m the outcast in my family...

My stepmother bought an iMac back in February, and she loves it (except for missing the Windows “Spider Solitaire!”)

My stepsister’s home is a multi-Mac home. They’ve got 2 MacBooks and a 24” iMac. They also have a Sony Windows computer, but that’s required by my stepsister’s work.

My stepbrother has an iMac.

I only dream of an iMac, although the executive floor at work is getting more and more of them. Given that I’m a Windows network admin, I don’t see myself getting a MacBook at work anytime soon, and I really don’t need any more computers right now, so I can’t justify buying one, no matter how much I want one. Oh, and if I do get one, I’ll be getting VMware Fusion along with it...

Mark

[Swordmaker]

I realize that this is a Mac "cult" article and post, but would it really hurt their delusional tendencies that much to mention who are #s 1 through 3?

Actually, it isn't. The article's authors do statistical analysis by company. Numbers 1 through 3 will have similar articles focusing on their placement in the market. This article is like an abstract... a hint of what's in the full article. The information you want is probably included in the main article which the sell for an exorbitant load of money.