You know, here at AtAT we really think that Apple's hit on a very important concept in addressing the consumer computer market. There are many, many "normal people" out there who still don't own a computer, for whatever reason-- either they don't need one, think they don't need one, or are scared of them. It's those people that Apple wants to turn into iMac customers, and judging from these numbers that get thrown around about how a third of all iMac buyers have never owned a computer before, etc., it looks like Apple's succeeding admirably. Fundamentally, we think that what Apple's done is created a computer that shrugs off the traditional "I'm buying a computer" anxiety like it's a Teflon bathrobe on a greased pig. (Don't think about that analogy for too long, by the way-- we don't really know what it means, either.)

Basically, the iMac is an appliance. Lots of the fear-inducing factors inherent in buying a non-iMac computer go out the window; you don't have to choose what size hard drive, how fast a processor, how much RAM, or any of that stuff-- all you have to do is pick a color. It's brilliant. In that sense, buying an iMac is like buying a blender-- sure, it's an $1199 blender, but it's a blender nonetheless. Hassle-free computer purchasing: that's a big reason for the iMac's success among new buyers. This is why we were excited to see iMacs sold at Best Buy (shudder), and now Sears; the more the iMac shows up in the same stores where you can buy TV sets and food processors, the better it'll sell to all those people who still don't have a computer because "computers are too complicated."

What got us thinking about this was a MacWEEK article on the iMac's progress in Italy. There, fruit-flavored iMacs are on display in appliance stores like Mediaworld and Mondadori Informatica, which sell "vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, [and] refrigerators" in addition to consumer electronic gizmos. In that environment, the iMac's design makes it seem more like a futuristic television than a personal computer. The result? A whopping 40% of all iMac purchasers in Italy have never owned a computer before. And market share just keeps climbing...