“Amid the fanfare accompanying the noisy launch of the iPad mini this week, Apple Inc also took the wraps off new Mac computers,” Poornima Gupta reports for Reuters. “The facelift may help revitalize an important lineup that — while seeing growth tail off in the early part of 2012 — yields 14 percent of revenue and still racks up sales growth numbers that are the envy of a flagging PC world.”
“On Tuesday, Apple took the lid off a slimmed-down iMac and a 13-inch laptop with a vastly improved screen, setting the stage for a potential revival in sales even as Hewlett-Packard and Dell Inc struggle just to stay level,” Gupta reports. “Earlier this year, Apple had also launched an updated MacBook Air – a product analysts say spawned over 20 touch-enabled designs from rivals called “Ultrabooks,” which run Microsoft Corp’s upcoming Windows 8 software.”
“Apple remains No. 3 in U.S. market share behind HP and Dell. But the Mac’s premium pricing, at $1,000 and above, and its subsequent outsized margins mean a spike in revenue growth can give its bottom line a significant boost,” Gupta reports. “Sales outgrew the PC market, overall, by more than seven times over the 12 months to June, according to CEO Tim Cook, and has outpaced PC growth over the last six years. Apple reports fiscal fourth quarter results on Thursday. The company will likely have sold 5.1 million Macs in the October quarter, up just 5 percent, Piper Jaffray & Co analyst Gene Munster estimates.”
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