New laptops to drive Apple marketshare
updated 10:20 am EST, Mon December 19, 2005
Apple laptop marketshare
Apple may dramatically , as it introduces new lightweight models and enjoys the surging iPod halo effect. One analyst predicts Apple will ship 3.27 million notebook computers worldwide next year, an increase of 42 percent compared to 2.29 million units this year. The study results, released by the Topology Research Institute, translate to a rise in Apple's worldwide market share of notebook computers: from 3.9 percent this year to 4.7 percent next year. Yang said that Apple will "grab consumers' attention next year as the company will unveil light-weight models with a stylish design aimed at luring female users, including 12-inch notebooks weighing in at 1.5kg (3.3lbs) as well as 14-inch models below 2kg (4.4lbs).
"Compared to other makers which will post only moderate growth, Apple's performance is significant and worth paying attention to," Topology analyst Simon Yang said.
The analyst also said that global notebook shipments will increase by 17.8 percent in 2006 to reach 69.5 million units, mainly driven by lower pricings and the new Intel dual-core platform, which is due to be launched next month. While Dell, Hewlett, Toshiba, Acer, and Lenovo are expected to maintain their respective positions as the world's top-five notebook makers next year, Yang said that Dell and Toshiba will show a slight decline in marketshare, while notebook marketshare for HP, Acer, and Lenova will be up slightly.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2002
Dropping the iBook line?
While the latest iBook is a great value it really is only a stripped down Powerbook. These new lightweight models could turn out to be the Nano of Apple's laptop lineup. Great for both power users and average consumers who just want a light weight, power sensitive computer.
Hopefully with the switch to Intel we'll see less of the stripping down for consumer models and a more homogenous product line based on needs instead of user classification.