“Apple Computer’s switch to Intel chips puts the company that once promised to ‘think different’ in a tough spot: How different can it be? The company had little choice when it made the move earlier this year. Its previous reliance on PowerPC chips left it with increasingly uncompetitive hardware and dwindling market share,” Troy Wolverton writes for The Mercury News.
Wolverton writes, “The decision seems to have paid off; in recent quarters, Apple’s computer sales have vastly outpaced the overall PC market, and last quarter the company sold a record number of machines.More important, the move seems to have broadened Apple’s appeal. More than half the computers Apple sold last quarter in its stores were to customers who were new to Macs, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said in a conference call earlier this month.”
Wolverton writes, “But the move has alsoplaced Apple in a tough spot, putting it in the thick of the competitive PC market. For the first time, Apple’s customers can now directly compare the specifications of the company’s Macintosh computers — and their prices — with those offered by Dell or Hewlett-Packard.”
Wolverton spends scant time on the real difference that Apple offers, writing just that, “Apple will still have its distinctive operating system and software, always seen as key selling points. But playing the upgrade game while avoiding the risk of becoming just another PC maker could prove to be a dangerous challenge for Apple, analysts say.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A typical Wolverton-penned piece; much hand-wringing over nothing. Apple could still be putting PowerPC processors – or to exaggerate to make a point: hamsters running on wheels – in their Macs and we would still be buying them because the appeal of the Mac platform is the OS and the software, stupid.
Apple’s low-end computer is the profitable iPod. Dell’s low-end computer earns no profit.
Apple’s high-end computers are cheaper than comparable Dells and HPs.
And Apple’s mid-range computers are so distinctive design-wise that no comparison with a Dell or HP can be made.
So, what was the point of the article.
Perhaps this is the best that can be expected until widespread acceptance of OSX.
Probably no need to flame the guy.
yeah… how about.. “How oh how will Rolls Royce stay distinctive with a BMW-derived engine in it?”
“Analysts say” …. he must mean Enderle
What a weak article.
He’s concerned that Apple might not have enough good ideas to keep up with the Dells and HP’s of this world!
His article gives the impression that he’s just looking for something to write about.
think different?
OSX, iLife, iWork
no virii, no spyware
pretty machines, with solid tech support
nuff said.
Just more ramblings from a Windows/PC user feeling truly inferior, because they are, and needing to try and make the Mac out to be less than it really is, the best damn computer hardware and software in the PC industry, bar none. Apple has them running scared and I love it. The Mac is still a Mac and always will be… doesn’t matter what processor is in the machine.
I always find it incredible that so-called knowledgeble analysts miss the main reason most people buy Apple computers-OS X.
Is this guy serious or are there really tech-writers that are this stupid????
…the appeal of the Mac platform is the OS and the software, stupid.
<b>Which Microsoft is addressing with Vista, Apple is running out of advantages really quick I say</i>
Don’t get me wrong, I want Apple to win, but the company needs to make some super reasons for people and buisnesses to consider the platform.
Apple is making some changes, but it needs to make more.
It’s a difficult game to play, not to anger the 800 lb Redmond gorilla while taking all his bananas away from him.
Anyone here smart enough to get away with it needs to get to Cupertino and begin pounding on Apple’s front door. Otherwise IMMO you can shut your hole.
It’s the industrial design and the software that makes a Mac (or an iPod too for that matter) distinctive, not the processor that’s inside.
Who cares if they’re made by Intel, IBM, or Mickey Mouse, nobody cracks open their iMac or iPod to take a look at what’s inside of there anyway, they simply use the thing.
Not to mention there isn’t a PC out there that looks as cool or is of the quality of an Apple product period. There all just black and biege ugly boxes with Windows stickers all over them.
Apple’s products are very easy to recognise compared to the rest.
Apple just executed a huge move for the better. First, they somehow convinced Microsoft (xBox 360) and Sony (PS3) that the G5/cell line was the way to go. Then they slipped out from under IBM and wooed Intel off of their feet, albeit those feet were on the rebound and already staggering by defection from the gaming consoles as well as the DELL-AMD threat.
Wolverton is a tool. Always looks for the dark clouds hanging over Apple’s horizon and then whe you call him out, he tries to sound like he knows what he’s talking about because he has an iPod and an iBook.
dear Troy:
IT’S THE OS STUPID!
I think my PC at work runs on one of those hamsters on a wheel!
You guys are wrong!
The analysts are right. Reliable operating systems and well made software are of absolutely no use to successful people who use computers. On the other hand, large arrays of monitors, personal over sized printers, surround sound speakers, and having IT people swarming over your machine are the perks of success.
“But the move has also placed Apple in a tough spot, putting it in the thick of the competitive PC market. For the first time, Apple’s customers can now directly compare the specifications of the company’s Macintosh computers — and their prices — with those offered by Dell or Hewlett-Packard.”
I would have thought that would be more of a worry for Dell or Hewlett-Packard than Apple. Dell and HP do most of their business with corporates as opposed to most of Apple’s business which is done with user-choosers. If corporate-type entities work out that they can buy a computing Swiss Army Knife that is more stable, secure and better built than a Dell Insipid and join it to a more cost-effective server platform, how long will CIOs manage to hold back the tide?
Vista’s byzantine product model and pricing mechanism combined with its onerous hardware requirements are going to make a lot of people think twice about re-committing to the Microsoft hamster wheel, especially when so many line-of-business apps are becoming more Web-oriented and the remainder can be run under a Terminal Services model.
>Charles wrote: What a weak article.
Nah… What a weak “Take”!
It never ceases to amaze me how much garbage is written by the non-Mac community about the Mac. The Mac experience is a singular pleasure and one helluva lot of fun. It is so “different” that it almost hurts!
Yeah, this guy clearly just doesn’t “get it”.
The main point the writer and others appears to miss is that the hardware is also superior, right down to the industrial design and aestethics. Apple will always kick ass on elegance and innovation of its hardware. It should not be underestimated or the argument reduced to simply software. If Apple computers looked like Dells, I wouldn’t buy them, OSX or not, period!!! It’s the whole package, hardware and software, that makes Apple a winner. Now that Windows can run on them natively, the PC world will be shocked to the core. Macs are hands down the sexiest, most powerful machines on the market, Intel processors or not!
Those who have used Apple products since the beginning know the quality and attention to detail Apple deploys in its products. We accept nothing else, and Dell and HP last time I checked still run Windows. Case closed.
It’s all about the software dude.
Troy:
Here’s an idea, emphasize that OS X is not Windows for one!
I’d like a quad siberian hamster Macbook with silent wheel option, please.