Mac sales up nine percent

Apple today announced that it has sold 2.5 million Macs in the December quarter of 2008. The number marks a nine percent increase from the same period last year, while the overall PC market contracted. Although the MacBooks introduced in October contributed to an impressive 34 percent growth for portables, shipments of desktop Macs dropped by 25 percent year-over-year. CFO Peter Oppenheimer explained that desktop sales saw a jump of 53 percent in 2007, driven by the launch of new iMacs, while the company's notebooks drew more attention in 2008. He also acknowledged a general market shift toward portable devices.

Tim Cook addressed the netbook speculation during the question-and-answer session following the initial presentation. He suggested that the current offerings from other manufacturers would not satisfy customers, with the small displays, cramped keyboards, limited performance and poor software, although he did admit that the company was still watching the segment and bouncing ideas around.

Despite Apple's strong presence in the education segment, distribution to schools suffered for the quarter. The company was down 6 percent in the overall market, while the K-12 category was hit particularly hard with a drop of 12 percent.

by MacNN Staff