|
Up In The Ranks (3/25/99)
|
 
|
| | |
The February numbers are in, and it's good news for Apple-watchers everywhere. PC Data's latest statistics show that despite some availability problems, the fruit-flavored iMacs snagged a respectable number four slot in retail sales, making February the seventh consecutive month in which the iMac has been in the top five-- ever since it first debuted. A top-five hit for what, twenty-eight weeks straight? That's nothing to sneeze at, and Apple should be proud as heck at pulling off such an accomplishment.
And yet, the good news doesn't stop there; according to MacCentral, Apple as a whole edged its way up in the sales rankings, taking the number three spot and beating out IBM. Apple's share of the retail computer market was a chunky 12.5% of the whole enchilada, whereas Big Blue only commanded 9.5%. Sure, these days Apple and IBM are "friends," what with the AIM PowerPC alliance and all that, but for those of us who remember when Apple's deadliest rival was IBM and not Microsoft, the very idea that Apple sold more retail computers than IBM last month is an indication of just how much things have changed.
Just to put things into perspective, it's worth noting that Apple still has lots of room for improvement; the two computer manufacturers who topped the sales charts in February, Compaq and Hewlett Packard, snapped up 31.3% and 24.3% of the retail market, respectively. And then, of course, there are Dell and Gateway, whose computers don't even enter into these number because they don't sell in the retail channel. Still, 12.5% is a darn sight better than Apple's had in the past, and as far as we can tell, they're gaining momentum instead of losing it. Let's keep those numbers rising...
| |
| |
 |
SceneLink (1422)
|  |
 |
|
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
| | | |
|
| |
|
 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/25/99 episode: March 25, 1999: The iMac remains in the top five, and Apple overtakes Big Blue for retail computer sales. Meanwhile, the consumer portable might be more of an education portable by the time it sees the light of day, and Microsoft is forced to explain some interesting discrepancies in their download numbers for various versions of Internet Explorer...
Other scenes from that episode: 1423: Back To School For P1 (3/25/99) Depending on your lifestyle, we've got some good news and some potentially bad news about the upcoming consumer portable, code-named "P1" and expected to be dubbed the "WebMate" when it surfaces. The good news is, according to Apple Insider, the P1 is still on track for an official introduction late next month or in early May... 1424: Maybe It's An Excel Bug (3/25/99) You may or may not be aware of the fact that Microsoft shipped a new version of Internet Explorer recently. And the reason that you may not know about IE5 is because the Mac version won't be out for several more months...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
|
|
