Crow for one: ‘Microsoft’s Windows 7 will drive Mac market share below 5% by the end of 2010’

Mac Daily News ^ | Friday, December 31, 2010 - 09:42 AM EST

[flintsilver7]

Market share is sometimes simple but I believe in the case of computers and software it’s extraordinarily complex. I think we are in agreement there. It becomes increasingly difficult in this situation because the Android operating system (or iOS) is not “sold.” It comes with a device. In the case of Apple, the correlation between device and OS is extremely simple - they only make one phone with one OS. There are multiple Android operating systems and multiple manufacturers that use the Android OS. This is why the separation of sales from operating systems is of particular interest.

I think automobiles are a good comparison. Here again there is an interesting property - autombile sales are separate from automobile usage. I think the concept of market penetration is more relevant - there are vehicles on the road from automobile manufacturers that no longer exist. The company, obviously, does not get any money. For that matter, Toyota doesn’t get any of my money because I either do my own service or take it to an independent garage. They have me in terms of market penetration, but I am a non-factor in terms of the market until I am willing to buy a new car.

I often wonder about low-end devices (given away for free, for example) and how they factor into this discussion. This is one of the main reasons why usage statistics are of critical importance. As for Apple’s profitability and financial health, I am pretty sure that speaks for itself. I’m not sure Apple even cares about fluctuations in market share as long as their printing presses keep running 24/7. I guess the same goes for any company - as long as they remain profitable, I am not sure market share is of real importance.

Interesting discussion. It’s way more complicated than people think.