By
Rick Aristotle Munarriz
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More Articles
October 17, 2008
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Fresh data out of market research firm Gartner this week confirms what you already know: Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) keeps gobbling up market share in the PC industry.
Remember when Apple was a niche player for rich kids, graphic designers, and musicians? The company's thin slice of the computing market was hovering around 3% a few years ago. It's closing in on the double digits today.
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U.S. PC Vendor Shipments
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Q3 Units
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Share
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Growth
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Dell (Nasdaq: DELL )
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5.1 million
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29.5%
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6%
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Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ )
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4.5 million
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25.7%
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4.4%
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Apple
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1.6 million
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9.5%
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29.4%
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Acer
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1.5 million
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8.9%
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11.2%
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Toshiba
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1.0 million
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5.6%
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3.6%
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Others
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3.6 million
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20.8%
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(7.1%)
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Source: Gartner.
Not impressed? Apple moved nearly 30% more units this past quarter than it did a year earlier, and you're just shrugging your shoulders with a Sarah Silverman "whatever" smirk? Is it the 9.5% slice? Did you think it would be more, given all of the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads you've been consuming? Well, consider that Gartner's preliminary data is expressed in terms of units. Since Apple machines are typically pricier, those premiums mean that Apple has a bigger share of the market when it comes to outright revenue.
Oh, and this is a domestic figure that includes shipments to corporate offices, which usually operate in a Microsoft-flavored (Nasdaq: MSFT ) world. For now.
The consumer market trends are even more Apple-riffic. During Tuesday's rollout of the new crop of MacBooks, Apple pointed out how retail market share is up to 17.6% in units and a whopping 31.3% in terms of revenue.
It shouldn't surprise you anymore when you see the huge Apple display at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY ) . Heck, Best Buy is even selling iPhones these days. Fuddy-duddy office supply chains like Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS ) and Office Depot (NYSE: ODP ) are another story, but give it time.
The Apple revolution isn't supposed to take place overnight. Then again, going by Gartner's projection of a 29.4% year-over-year spurt for Mac shipments, mainstream acceptance is already here.
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