“Corel bills its WordPerfect Office software as ‘the world’s leading alternative to Microsoft Office.’ But when it comes to U.S. retail sales, Corel lost the No. 2 spot in 2005 to a somewhat unlikely competitor: Apple Computer’s iWork,” Ina Fried reports for CNET News.com
“According to market researcher NPD, Apple grabbed a 2.7 percent unit share, while Corel had a 1.6 percent share. Microsoft maintained its dominance with nearly 95 percent of unit sales,” Fried reports. “Apple’s share is particularly impressive considering that iWork runs only on Macs, which account for a small fraction of computers, said NPD analyst Chris Swenson. ‘Apple’s success for iWork has been pretty surprising,’ he said. Looking at the Mac platform alone, iWork accounted for 17.4 percent, compared to about 82 percent for Microsoft. ‘Apple’s iWork didn’t overtake Microsoft Office, but I think taking almost a fifth of the Mac Office Suite market away from an entrenched competitor such as Microsoft is quite an accomplishment,’ Swenson said.”
Fried reports, “There had been reports, apparently incorrect, on some Apple enthusiast sites that sales of the initial iWork software had lagged. ‘One rumor that can be put to rest is that iWork wasn’t selling well,’ Swenson said.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple debuted iWork (comprised of Pages and Keynote) just over a year ago at Macworld Expo on January 11, 2005.
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