Despite iMac boost, Mac sales still set to decline
Apple's new iMacs will help offset a poor February, but sales are still forecast to decline.
(Credit: CNET)As expected, February was not a good month for Mac sales.
Piper Jaffray has analyzed a month's worth of NPD Group data on Apple's Mac sales during February, and is projecting that Apple will sell between 2 million and 2.2 million Macs during the first calendar quarter of the year, which ends in a couple of weeks. That's the same number it was working with based on January's NPD figures, and the estimates would range from a 13 percent decline to 4 percent decline compared to Mac shipments in Apple's first fiscal quarter of 2008.
Two offsetting events occurred during in February. On the bad side, Mac sales in February were down 16 percent compared to the same month last year, according to NPD. February was a brutal month for consumers as the stock market plunged, and Piper believes Apple also faced a tough comparison in that the MacBook Air began shipping last February.
On the good side, Apple's new iMacs, Mac Minis, and Mac Pros that are now shipping were not included in Piper's earlier analysis, and should help offset February's decline. Apple's desktop group was a source of weakness in an otherwise strong first fiscal quarter, and although desktops aren't strong for anybody these days the new systems appear to have been well-received by consumers.
Piper says the financial community as a whole is expecting Apple to post about 2.2 million Mac shipments in the quarter, which would be a 4 percent decline and the first quarter Mac shipments have declined year-over-year in a long time. So, in their thinking, the situation could be a lot worse: if Apple makes the Wall Street estimates the fallout could be minimal because of the overall poor health of the economy, even though Mac growth has come to a halt.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
Remember this classic line from years past?
"It's the economy, stupid."
It means that this is not an unexpected result and can be closely tied to the economy and should not be perceived or misconstrued by readers to think that it is a decline of Macintosh popularity/demand.
Trying to avoid a Mac/PC/Linux debacle here.
Mac's are great machines but those prices need to come down a great deal if they want to appeal to everyday buyers. Have you seen the prices for a moderately equipped mac pro machine? Lexus $
I don't get what I want from a Windows PC. And I'm not a celebrity So your lame generalization fails.
P.S. you seem to be the only person on the planet who doesn't work for Microsoft with anything good to say about Vista. Hmm...
Methinks you're subconsciously expressing your Apple jealousy.
Your loyalty to Microsoft makes you look dumb.
Ugh.
yeah there are
because PC's are faster and cheaper
I hate Vista too, I love 7 though
do people still believe the "Apple uses better quality chips than everybody else" FUD
or the "Apple people are tech savvy" FUD
I think that just shows that there's a lot of variables out there. It's a different product for different people. There's no one true solution for every situation.
Do some research. We're not stupid, we actually DO compare prices.
CDubber: I've used vista for 2 years, and recommend it to everyone, provided that you have a good machine to run it on. Biggest problem I had was with crappy drivers from NVidia. They've fixed 'em now. Windows 7 looks even better, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend vista.
Case in point, I'm configuring a laptop model for my mother-in-law at Dell.com. The grand total, (tax and shipping) for a 15.6" screen, built-in webcam (which will work with a host of IM clients), 250 GB hard drive, 3 GB RAM with a dual core Intel processor AND a Netgear wireless router is *under* $550 (because they're offering a special savings of $140 right now). Apple has no such offering for the consumer in that price range and you can basically turn blue holding your breath waiting for Apple to announce a $140 discount on any *current* hardware.
I was just on Dell's site and if I tried to load it with comparable software, Hardware, RAM, bus speeds, and other features it is more like $1,600.00 -- XPS M1530 Intel® Core? 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)... This was still missing DDR3 RAM, faster bus, built in camera and illuminated LED lit keyboard.
The Dell is not as cheap as you make it out to be when you put it "spec per spec"... PLUS the Dell came in at over 6.1lbs and was quite a bit thicker and mostly plastic. While The Mac version is Unibody aluminum, and was 5.5 pounds and much thinner. Also, you're not getting OS X nor any of the iLife apps, which believe it or not do add tremendous value! Let's not forget long term cost of this PC for Virus and maintenance software every year and so on...
CAn you get a Cheaper PC (Dell, HP or whatever) than a Mac? SURE!!! But PLEASE people look at all the specs, long term cost and SOFTWARE... It is the whole package folks!!! Geesh!
YMMV, of course, but that experience certainly made me skeptical of the idea that Macs are overpriced.
what's with the software argument?
open source software is free and superior
if there's not open source, there's always proprietary freeware
yes, I have a Mac, the only iLife software that I use is garage band. the rest of the stuff, I can find for free, and I get to make changes and not get sued
Mac OS doesn't add much value, its better than Vista at least, I wouldn't pay more extra to get it though. I can always hackintosh Mac OS on if I wanted, for only $99
I have a very strong feeling you are not a mac user nor have you really used Ilife apps and benefited from the integration of them... I am not saying open source is bad but most will not go that route nor has anything I have used open Source offers the complete seamless feel as the the whole I life package.. What you end up is a piece meal solution that kind of get the job done... That offers much less value!! in fact is a hinderance for most...
Bring down the prices and Mac sales will improve.
The answer is simple.... Apple will sell you bunch of underpowered outdated "junk"! Try upgrading any of the Apple's junk....it will cost you fortune. The guy that you replied to was 100 % correct! Do little research before you start correcting people!
"PC shipments worldwide will drop 8 percent in the first half of this year, according to a forecast update Thursday to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker."
So it likely has nothing to do with value of the machine (regardless of opinion) 4-13% decline is right around the 8% drop for the whole industry.
Just as a Honda Civic would get me to work and back just fine, it doesn't do it with as much comfort and joy as my European Sport/Luxury car does.
I (much) prefer the consistent user interface on the Mac to the cluttered and inconsistent interface of a Windows Box. I prefer the fact that under the pretty hood is a full-featured Unix environment in which I can shell script (supplanting with AppleScript) to my heart's content. I prefer the fact that I can use the iWork suite as an alternative to either MS Office or OpenOffice, because, even if it doesn't have 8,000 functions (7,900 of which I'll never use), it has a much better interface. I prefer that I can create a Keynote presentation in a third of the time of what it takes to create a PowerPoint presentation because Apple knows how to create an interface that works well and doesn't get in the way.
And lets not forget that with the 'premium' cost of the Mac comes a suite of software that, in many cases, rivals anything available commercially for the PC.
I'm not going to bash those who like buying a cheaper machine that gets the job done, because I'm sure most of you are happy with what you've got. As they say, ignorance is bliss. I, as a former PC user, discovered many years ago the joyful computing experience that comes with a Macintosh--one I didn't have when I was using a Windows machine. I'm willing to pay a bit more for that experience.
PLease stop and look at the big picture folks you get so much more than just hardware with your Mac... If you want cheap then go cheap and get the PC. But the value you get with the Mac is much deeper than the Hardware... It really is the software the tight integration of hardware and software that makes those babies such an amazing experience. :)
I just may be used to Windows environment, but I don't see any reason to move to OS X. It is just not worth the money, and no - it is not the same comparison as Honda and a luxury car.
The OS X "experience" is not that great or unique that is worth moving to it.
Just look at the iphone - the OS there is unique compared to other OSes in the mobile world. This probably will change soon, but this is why the iphone is doing so well. OS X is not that unique.
The reason I am asking is so many who use Windows based PC's all there life try use their Mac like a Windows machine. Making things harder and often missing so many of the features... Taking 5 steps to do things like in Windows vs not seeing you cna do the same step in one. Things like QuickLook, Expose, Spaces, iLIfe APps, drag and drop features, PDF creation, Disc burning, and so much more... Sometimes being a long time Windows person causes to use your Mac in a way that after a week of use you see no big deal... BUT Sir there are so many things I am sure you are not seeing!!!
You are probably right. I didn't use it enough to have a real "taste" of it.
My point was that I just don't have a reason to move to OS X. I'm very pleased with Windows, and it works great for me.
I know people that own Macs and they are very happy with them. I know a lot of people that own Windows based PC and they're very happy too. So, I guess it goes down to personal taste or what you're used to.
This is fair and would never debate that and I feel anyone should use what they like most and fit their needs best. I have many friends who also use windows but I would not say the love it they just "use" it and tollerate it. You often find people love their Macs and once they dive into one most of them as "why did I not do this sooner?" Or "I will never go back!" NOW I will admit that my world bubble is small and I have this experience with about 15 people I know well.
One place where this was huge was my old job where we switched from all Windows PC's and went to All Mac and many were very resistant but after about 6 months everyone was praising the Mac and going to be getting one at home. It was quite an amazing social Mac conversion expereince! :) Nothing Wrong with Windows, but again once the light comes on when using the Mac to get comfortable with it, it is often pure WoW factor for most. BUT I am sure not everyone! IN some cases Windows will do just fine for where the need is. :)
1) availability of software: plain and simple, it's just not there. this is a windows world, and mac is only an afterthought (from time to time) in the way things work. popular things like autocad, defacto gis software, games, office suites etc. Aren't written or ported for osx. While this isn't entirely the fault of apple, it still affects the platform. When a consumer buys a mac, it illustrates that they're not in the productivity sector. A beautiful interface for browsing and sychronizing your ipod is what it comes down to...
2) availability of hardware: i wanted an ultra light but capable laptop (not netbook). on a whim, i looked into apple's options: there were none. The mac air was not only overpriced, but larger than its competitors and without otherwise standard options like optical drives, etc. Dell's e4200 is lighter, has better battery life, smaller (ultra portable, right?), faster, more memory and is cheaper. That's just one example. Work in an environment requiring fingerprint scanning (or other high-level security features)? Tough. Want one with internal broadband wireless? no. Card readers? nope. Apple gives you the bare minimum at an excessive price, one "high end" option and the $999 version of the computer the rest of the world has been using for the past two years.
3) customer loyalty: My GF purchased a G5 from apple, as a student. She didn't have lots of money, but she saved and pinched where she could to make it happen (i chipped in too). What does she get for her money? An increasingly worthless platform. An increasing number of applications are closing support to ppc. Again, not apple's fault-- but a consumer who bought into a platform only to be forced (essentially) to upgrade before the hardware itself was truly obsolete is a bad thing to see. She realizes that this summer will be her last summer as a mac user... she'll be purchasing a dell or building her own next fall.
I won't get into the OS itself and its increasing problems playing nice with others, annoying noises from the console, lack of home/end support (key combo? really?), terrible support for high res video files (2009 and still no x64 support? typical... mac waits five years before catching up with what the rest of the world does), too much backround process running (watch top for a few minutes to see what i mean), etc; what i will say, though, is that apple's safe, sterile environment is a fantastic choice until you need to really push the system. Then, it just falls apart at the seams...
FINALLY.. Get your own third party mouse use it with you mac.. Apples Mouse is and option only!
Besides, showing the Mac UI wouldn't nearly be as exciting enough to put into a TV commercial. I don't find it practical advertising for Mac OS X on TV. It's not a new sight; iPhone OS is relatively new, it attracts people's attention.
tell me your ip address, I'll send viruses over to you expecially made for Macs. :)
Can ANYONE tell me how to rename a printer in OS X? Not rename the queue on my specific computer, but how to go out over the network to the HP 4si and tell it is now called "Den," not "HP4SI," so any computer sees it with the new name. There was a small utility called Apple Printer Utility (APU) that did this just in in OS 9 and I've yet to find anyway to do so in any version of OS X. I keep the TAM on the network just to run the APU.
How to rename your printer (Mac OS X 10.5) Go to: System Preferences > Print & Fax. Highlight the printer name and click on Options & Supplies. Edit the name in the text entry box at the top. Click OK.
He probably meant the mac cube... It was released in 2000.
And you are correct, I looked up my receipt and I bought my MacMini on Feb 2, 2005, so my system is only four years old. I am getting old now and my memory plays tricks on me.
Apple cannot and will not race to the bottom. Apple actually spends money on research and development of both hardware and software. Most other PC manufacturers don't spend much on hardware R&D (relying on Intel and board manufacturers) or software (Microsoft is it).
Is Windows getting better? Yes. Would Microsoft have made the improvements it has if it did not have Apple to goad it on? No. So even if you do subscribe to the cheapest is the best notion, you still benefit by Apple existing, and by Apple keeping its profit margin high enough that it can invest in R&D.
Apple has 8 GB RAM DDR3 for 1200 bucks. You get a macbook for under that...LOL
Per Gartner, as reported by ZDNet on March 2nd:
"The global PC industry will suffer its 'sharpest decline in history' in 2009, as overall demand for PCs falls by 11.9 percent compared with 2008, according to analysts at Gartner."
In addition, IDC is calling for a 5% drop in the global PC market, which tracks with the Mac numbers.
So if Apple Mac q1 sales drop by 4% over 2008, then they are actually doing better than the market space estimates overall (a bit over the IDC estimate and quite a bit over the Gartner estimate).
Same can be said of apple fans.
That said, as a freelance designer in the current economy, a new Mac Pro is right OUT of the question. The Steve has decreed there shall be no mid-range mac. And for the cost of an Apple Display and a Pro Mac, I could buy a MacBook Pro AND the 24" iMac. *** Apple. I just did a much more modest upgrade, I bartered a project for a used G5 tower, and picked up a replacement keyboard in eBay.
Indeed, it IS the economy. Sorry Apple. But I do hope they continue to innovate.
But yes, the price criticism is QUITE justified.
- by Briarios March 16, 2009 9:35 PM PDT
- I think it's odd that people keep referencing Dells against Macs. You can get better P.C.'s for better prices elsewhere. And while I do think Macs are overpriced, they are very good computers- and for the crowd that needs what they can offer (I.E. photographers, video editors, et. all) they're excellent computers.
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