Steve Jobs is transforming Apple from niche PC maker into a , according to a special report by BusinessWeek Online: "Indeed, the release of iPod for Windows last August established the demarcation line in an extraordinary strategic change for Apple, a company that over the past two decades has steadfastly refused to loosen its control over the creation, manufacturing, or distribution of its products...Morphing into a consumer-electronics company also capitalizes on a hip brand -- the cult of cool -- that Apple has spent billions building."

Meanwhile, one analyst calls Apple's enterprise strategy an oxymoron: "companies are finding that OS X and Xserve are a viable, sometimes cheaper, alternative to Windows-based networks," boosting Apple's corporate sales to nearly 40% of its total revenue--which could help resurrect a falling market share: "That could be a life preserver for Apple, whose PC market share slipped from 4.1% of U.S. shipments in the second quarter of 2002 to 3.5% in the same quarter of 2003."

by MacNN Staff