“Worldwide shipments of personal computers grew 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter on strong demand from small- and medium-sized businesses and holiday shoppers, IDC reported Tuesday. But a report released Tuesday by another technology research firm, Gartner Inc., put quarterly growth at a more modest 10.9 percent. Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner uses slightly different measurement methods than IDC,” Mark Jewell reports for The Associated Press.
“IDC said it was the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in PC shipments. The Framingham-based company said the fourth-quarter gain brought full-year growth to 14.7 percent, slightly above the firm’s forecast of 14.5 percent growth when compared with 2003,” Jewell reports. “Gartner put last year’s full-year growth at 11.8 percent.”
“The PC market leader, Dell Inc., distanced itself from No. 2 Hewlett-Packard Co. by posting 21.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter compared with 9 percent for HP, IDC said,” Jewell reports. “Apple Computer… posted strong quarterly gains, IDC said. Apple’s introduction of a new iMac computer and spillover business from the popularity of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s iPod music player helped boost Apple’s PC shipments more than 25 percent.”
“Gartner showed Apple Computer gaining share in 2004, thanks in part to its revamped iMac G5 all-in-one desktop computer. Apple closed out 2004 with 3.2% of the US PC market, up from 2.9% in 2003, and [is] the fifth largest US PC maker, Gartner said. ‘Apple is on a roll right now,’ said Charles Smulders, VP of Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide Group,” Reuters reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s Mac shipments grew more than 25 percent, according to IDC, while the PC market as a whole grew at 13.7 percent. These numbers were gathered, of course, before the debut of Apple’s new Mac mini. Keep an eye on unit shipments more than market share. If Apple can do well in growing their unit shipments year over year in this quarter, historically their weakest (post-holiday), and continue to grow faster than the PC market as a whole, it will be very good news for the company indeed.
Just watch the mac mini sky rocket!
Isn’t it to be expected to see higher percentage fluctuations come out of apple sales vs. the rest of the market due to apple selling far fewer macs on the whole?
Now Apple just need to improve their PowerBooks and they will have an almost perfect product spectrum. Beginner Consumers/Spare System (Mac mini), Power Consumers (iMac G5), Pros (PM G5), Schools (eMac), Students (iBook), Pro Portable (PB).
Im not saying they need to release the PB G5 (though they would sell a million easy) they need Freescale get get a chip MUCH better than is in their Beginner machine!
Sorry, I cant believe I forgot, Servers – All levels (Xserve + Xserve Raid)
Mike,
since these are percentage calculations, all of it is relative and thus the mac increase is a larger jump compared to the rest of the industry.
As for sales of the mini skyrocketing, one has to consider that a lot of disposable cash was spent duriong the holiday season, and I would expect an incremental growth of miniMac sales over the year, culminating in a peak during the next x-mas season.
I would even venture to guess that any large sales quantities for Macs in the following two quarters will be business (enterprise) related and from these we should be able to deduce if Apple is making headway into certain sectors of the corporate and small business markets.
This message is brought to you by the magic word “evidence” as in if my deductions are wrong, it would be evidence that I am completely off my rocker.
I bought a Mac Mini for my parents 2 days ago via the online Apple store. My parents are ditching the Dell. The store says that the Mini will be shipped in 2 – 3 weeks.
Mike says:
“Isn’t it to be expected to see higher percentage fluctuations come out of apple sales vs. the rest of the market due to apple selling far fewer macs on the whole?”
Sure. if you only sell 5 computers, selling 10 computers is a 100% increase. So Apples sales will be more likely to bounce around until it reaches higher numbers, which I’m sure it will. If Apple can just get NEAR 10% I’ll be happy. The days o 25% marketshare for Apple will never return I fear.
But, this is it. The inevitable gain in market share we have all been waiting for based on years of building great computers and software. And let’s not Dis the iPod, without it it would have been harder or near impossible. Macintosh sales will ride on the coattails of the iPod and ITMS as they move across the globe giving Apple a strong presence in a LOT of countries.
And if they don’t buy Macs, at least the Windows iPods will give Apple the bottom line.
david vesey
While I love the idea of Apple gaining back some of it’s lost marketshare, I personally don’t care if the company ever comes close to that 25% mark again… Would BMW or Jaguar want 25% of the Car market? If we go double digit, I’ll be happy – and Apple will have gained back some of the clout/street cred it seems to have lost (by being a lower single digit player). I think we all know the computer hardware/OS with the best user experience by a long shot is Apple Macintosh (and frankly has been for a long time!).
Way to go Apple – you really are on a roll. But again, I think you always have been.
Coolio.
I am all for chipping away at market share for sure. I just know, being mac users that we are more intelligent than the rest, and therefor showing us an article that we had a 25% increase compared to 13% increase makes us smile, but is too pitchy for this croud.
Check Internet Nexus.. damn.. Paul takes the conservative approach, using World figures, where Apple’s marketshare only went up to 1.9%
It actually went up to about 3.7 in the US? cool..
Gateway has about 6 by the way.. pathetic
0 x 100 % = 0
What percentages mean?
Buffy
MacBidouille are stating that the current PowerBook and eMacs are now “fin de vie”, so some updates are coming, even if they are minor.
WE’RE BACK!!
TANNED !!
RESTED!!
GREASED UP!!
AND READY TO KICK ASS!!
————————————–
APPLEMANIA!!!!
New iPods sellout in an hour
Consumers on stampede to get hands on the Shuffle
By Candice Choi
Staff Writer
The first crop of Apple’s elusive iPod Shuffle is being plucked off shelves as quickly as they appear in stores across the Valley this week.
The first 100 Shuffles that arrived at the Apple Store in the Glendale Galleria on Monday sold out within an hour and the Northridge store was wiped out in three hours, said employee Rob Lamog.
“We’ve been open a half hour and we’ve already gotten 15 calls about it,” an employee at the Glendale store said Tuesday.
I hope this wasn’t a one-off spike due to pent-up demand for the iMac G5. It’d be great if Apple continued the momentum. I’d be happy if they got up to 5% again and stayed there (or continued growing by .1% a year).
Don’t dis higher market share. It would make a real difference in pushing website developers to ensure Safari compatibility, and pushing software developers to pay more/faster attention to the Mac market.
Prediction:
Apple has 6% US market share, and 4% of world market share, by Dec. 2005. At that rate, they would hit 10% of US by Dec. 06–if they keep hitting on all cylinders.
Anyone else care to make predictions for 12/05 and 12/06??
GO APPLE!
I was a die hard IBM clone user until New Years Eve day 2004 when I bought my first Mac at the MOA. A 20″ IMac G5. My PC had become a maintenance nightmare. Technically challenged wife and children would quickly bring the Dell and Gateway to its knees with their internet activities. No amount of virus protection or firewalls would provide a solution. I had enough! The dent in the checkbook would get a return by freeing up my time and relieving of spousal anxiety.
I have the same sentiment as Izod regarding Apple’s market share. No doubt if Apple gets too big, the virus developers will rise to the challenge of sticking the worm in the apple. Small target, no issues.
I would be happy with around 10 percent of market share world wide. This will insure that all major apps are ported to the Mac and all major websites ensure compatibility. We may see the first OS X virus in 2005 I think also. I doubt if it will cause much damage and the Mac Community will quash it quickly but expect the Windozers to crow something awful. Since there are like 80,000 windows viruses out there, that will make the OS X only 80,000 times more secure.
Oh by the way, does anybody know the current number of windows viruses now? 80,000 was a guestimate based on numbers I had heard before.
“[…] and spillover business from the popularity of the […] iPod music player helped boost Apple’s PC shipments more than 25 percent.”
Isn’t this the same IDC that claimed it saw no discernible effect on Apple’s Mac shipments from the iPod? I can’t find that article…