“The NPD data about February Mac sales looks a little light, but it’s nowhere near as bad as you might think. The market research shows Mac sales fell 16 percent even as Windows machines soared. At least that’s how the shorts will spin it. But when you understand the numbers, the news might be merely ‘flat’ as opposed to ‘good’ or ‘bad,’” Jim Goldman writes for CNBC.

“Here’s why: Wall Street already anticipated lousy February comp numbers because of last year’s introduction of the MacBookAir, which set sales records instantly and drove enormous traffic to all things Apple. There simply was no way to beat, or even come close to, that performance so softness this time around was expected,” Goldman writes. “But this soft? No, not exactly.”

Goldman writes, “Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster told me a few weeks ago that he expected a 12 percent decline in Mac sales, so 16 percent isn’t good. Yet even with this drop off, he still anticipates more than 2 million Macs to sell this quarter. And when you consider how much more Macs cost compared to offerings from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, even Sony and others, 2 million Macs ain’t so shabby. Not to mention that Apple released a refresh to the Mac line a couple of weeks ago, and February’s slow sales may have come in part from customers waiting to buy the new stuff.”

“At the same time, NPD says Windows based machines enjoyed big growth. Strip out so-called net books and the growth is far more subdued but still pretty strong. It stands to reason in these cost-conscious days that shoppers are buying on price and not necessarily value, since Macs tend to outperform and out innovate their Windows counterparts and that’s why they command the premium they do,” Goldman writes. “Still, with rumors flying and now market research detailing the allure of net books, you gotta wonder whether Apple indeed is preparing a low cost Mac of its own.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Enough with the “netbooks,” already. If the margins are there, Apple will swoop in an redefine the “netbook” category, like they do everywhere else.

For those who continually and irritatingly call for Apple to produce a low-cost “netbook” to “compete” with all of the other low-cost “netbook” peddlers, let’s try this:

Little Mikey had a lemonade stand. Okay, it was a kiosk. He sold 100 (8 oz.) cups yesterday for 10-cents each. He spent 11-cents per cup for artificial lemon flavoring, corn syrup, and the paper cups. He used tap water because it was free. Threw it all together in a big plastic pail. He’s out a buck for all of his trouble; that was a lot of work for less than nothing. Around the block, little Steve runs a lemonade stand, too. It’s all blond wood and very clean. He sold 50 (24 oz.) glasses yesterday for 50-cents each. He spent 20-cents per glass on fresh-squeezed lemons, pure cane sugar, spring water (mixed with the utmost care), and some nice glassware (he buys in bulk and gets a good price). He took home $15 yesterday. He’s currently building his newest stand right where Mikey’s used to be.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "JES42" for the heads up.]