Apple may have shipped 2.5 million Macs in spring thanks to Vista

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Seen on AppleInsider.com:

The poor reception of Windows Vista, along with a strong Mac OS X, will help Apple continue to ship Macs at three times the industry average by the end of the spring, according to BMO Capital Markets.

While most observers are focusing on iPhone 3G, it's the Mac sales that should help drive Apple's quarter ending in June, BMO analyst Keith Bachman explains in an investment note.

The researcher maintains that Apple should ship between 2.4 to 2.5 million Macs over the three-month period and that this would equate to about a 39 percent year-over-year surge in Mac shipments -- 3.2 times the predicted industry average of just 12.2 percent.

Competitive pricing plays a part in the increased sales. Bachman notes that while Apple's lineup isn't always immediately comparable, a 2.4GHz MacBook at $1,300 is often priced only a few dollars more than the average $1,292 paid for a 13-inch notebook while running faster than most; other configurations trade storage for speed but are still close enough to sway some buyers.

Ironically, however, it may be Microsoft driving customers into Apple's hands. Ongoing jitters regarding bugs and performance in Windows Vista a year and a half after its launch are believed to be driving would-be Windows upgrade customers towards Macs, which are considered by the analyst to be less problematic, simpler, and more secure.

"Thus far, user satisfaction ratings for Vista have been weak, and startup times for Vista have been known to be much slower than the Mac OS X," Bachman says. "Thus, more than 50% of recent customers buying Macs in Apple retail stores are first-time buyers."

Continued at source

Apple's sales department should be really happy if these numbers are correct. What do you think contributes to this trend - dissatisfaction with Vista, Macs being 'en vogue' or a combination of both?

[coresx]

I think it's just the overall package that the consumers are loving. Microsoft have been falling way short and not all their own fault.

To some degree, you buy a Mac, it works. PC on the other hand with Vista, cheap, slow bargain PCs riddled with bloatware with 1GB of RAM that should be default 2GB for Vista along with the 3 versions of the OS, it's just confusing and puts Windows in a bad light which it has been for years and only being saved by Microsoft's sheer dominance.

The recent talk of Microsoft opening street stores like Apple is great move, late as usual though. People need to see what a Windows OS looks like on a reasonably slick looking and performing laptop or desktop. If Microsoft can get it right with these stores showing PC, Laptops, Zune, Xbox 360, Media Centres, Peripherals, 3rd Party all working together in a seamless way with no bloat, then all for the better. That's what consumers need to see from Windows OS's from now on. The complete package they can take home and enjoy with little headaches.

Bill was right years ago, usability sucks and it still does but so does presentation.

[Hurmoth]

I think it's just the overall package that the consumers are loving. Microsoft have been falling way short and not all their own fault.

To some degree, you buy a Mac, it works. PC on the other hand with Vista, cheap, slow bargain PCs riddled with bloatware with 1GB of RAM that should be default 2GB for Vista along with the 3 versions of the OS, it's just confusing and puts Windows in a bad light which it has been for years and only being saved by Microsoft's sheer dominance.

I agree with you there. A large part of Vista's problems can be blamed on OEM's such as Dell and HP.

The recent talk of Microsoft opening street stores like Apple is great move, late as usual though. People need to see what a Windows OS looks like on a reasonably slick looking and performing laptop or desktop. If Microsoft can get it right with these stores showing PC, Laptops, Zune, Xbox 360, Media Centres, Peripherals, 3rd Party all working together in a seamless way with no bloat, then all for the better. That's what consumers need to see from Windows OS's from now on. The complete package they can take home and enjoy with little headaches.

Bill was right years ago, usability sucks and it still does but so does presentation.

The problem with opening retail stores is getting employees who know what their doing. I've been in Apple Stores all over the US and every time I go in, the employees are very knowledgeable. Microsoft will have to be very strict with this, otherwise customers are going to have questions that can't get answered by either lazy employees or by dumb employees.

[SomeAzn]

I agree with you there. A large part of Vista's problems can be blamed on OEM's such as Dell and HP.

The problem with opening retail stores is getting employees who know what their doing. I've been in Apple Stores all over the US and every time I go in, the employees are very knowledgeable. Microsoft will have to be very strict with this, otherwise customers are going to have questions that can't get answered by either lazy employees or by dumb employees.

Agreed. My GF swears by her Mac because she knows whenever she runs into a problem, she can just go to an Apple store and they'll take care of it for her. It seems as if getting an extended warranty for a Mac might actually be worth it, because instead of spending hours on the phone with someone you can't understand, all she needs to do is drop it off at the Apple store.

Maybe Microsoft needs to open some of their own stores. They don't have to have their own hardware, but maybe they could partner with Dell or HP and work together to get a high quality store opened. A store like the Apple store where people can just come in and play around or bring their faulty laptops in.

[Cara Veteran]

Maybe Microsoft needs to open some of their own stores. They don't have to have their own hardware, but maybe they could partner with Dell or HP and work together to get a high quality store opened. A store like the Apple store where people can just come in and play around or bring their faulty laptops in.

The problem with this is that Microsoft already partners with Dell/HP and many others...but they still play the blame game when there is a problem. MS tells people they have to talk to their OEM, the OEM says call Microsoft...

Apple can provide that level of service since they are the sole OEM, they make the software and the hardware so there is no one to pass the buck to.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Vista was partly my decision to move to a Mac, but also just on the strength of MacOS and the Mac hardware itself. This is something that Apple needs to get into its head, in its advertising as well - the products are strong enough without having to slate or compare themselves to the competition. It is strong enough to be sold on its own merits.

Leopard is a brilliant product. I wanted it regardless of what Microsoft were doing with Vista, etc etc!

[ahhell]

There is still no proof that Mac sales have any relation to Vista being "bad".

[C_Guy]

"Ironically, however, it may be Microsoft driving customers into Apple's hands."

Ummm does the author know what irony means? It DOESN'T mean that Apple's top selling features lead to sales of their product. That's not irony.

Apple's been more than happy to tell people to buy a Mac because (1) it runs Windows Vista and (2) it runs Microsoft Office. So when people buy a Mac because it runs Vista that shouldn't shock anyone. And it's not ironic either. It's Apple's marketing tactics succeeding.

What people easily forget is Microsoft wins whether you buy Office for Mac or PC. Now they win twice if you buy a Mac, since many Mac owners have a Windows installation in some form on their computer.

[Hurmoth]

There is still no proof that Mac sales have any relation to Vista being "bad".

The fact that Vista sales are performing poorly and that Brad Brooks, Microsoft's VP of Windows Vista consumer marketing stated, "'I'm a Mac... and I'm a PC,' commercials criticize Windows Vista. 'You know it. I know it. It's caused some impact.'"

[Cara Veteran]

"Ironically, however, it may be Microsoft driving customers into Apple's hands."

Ummm does the author know what irony means? It DOESN'T mean that Apple's top selling features lead to sales of their product. That's not irony.

Apple's been more than happy to tell people to buy a Mac because (1) it runs Windows Vista and (2) it runs Microsoft Office. So when people buy a Mac because it runs Vista that shouldn't shock anyone. And it's not ironic either. It's Apple's marketing tactics succeeding.

What people easily forget is Microsoft wins whether you buy Office for Mac or PC. Now they win twice if you buy a Mac, since many Mac owners have a Windows installation in some form on their computer.

+1

Microsoft wins until customers start realizing they don't need Windows on their Mac and moving to Alternative Software such as OpenOffice or iWork.

[Hurmoth]

What people easily forget is Microsoft wins whether you buy Office for Mac or PC. Now they win twice if you buy a Mac, since many Mac owners have a Windows installation in some form on their computer.

It's to bad Office for Mac sucks and probably isn't selling very well. Office 2008 is a nightmare.

+1

Microsoft wins until customers start realizing they don't need Windows on their Mac and moving to Alternative Software such as OpenOffice or iWork.

I can't imagine most people haven't already realized that. I took Office off my Mac after the most recent update didn't help any. Never really needed it anyway.

[Cara Veteran]

I can't imagine most people haven't already realized that. I took Office off my Mac after the most recent update didn't help any. Never really needed it anyway.

It is a VERY slow process actually.

When Snow Leopard comes out with Exchange support that works it will be the final nail in Office:Mac's coffin I think.

[techbeck]

I think a lot of Mac sales has to do with the increase advertising they have been doing. For a while you never saw any Mac ads on TV and in the past year or so, there are a lot of them. Not to mention that every year more and more PCs/Macs are being sold. But Macs are never going to become as popular as PCs unless they take over the business side of things,

Vista isnt "bad". The major turn off for most people concerning Vista is the hardware requirements to run it. I have vista ultimate at home (64 bit) and it works great on my system. Everything I have installed works without problem. I also installed Vista on my laptop (wanted to force myself to learn it cuz I need to for my job) and that works just fine. I also have Vista on a test system at work and have no issues. Vista actually loads all my apps faster than on my Windows XP system.

Macs for personal use are ok for a normal user who doesnt know much and wants the Mac store to fix everything for them. You also dont have as much software options for the Mac as you do for the PC.

We use Macs at work (the new gen g5s) and they are a pita to get working on the network properly. Printing is a pita as well. Also, the hardware is EXPENSIVE. I bought an extra 2gb of RAM and it costs my work $500. You can get the same speced RAM for a PC for a little over $100. Video cards are more expensive and I dont even want to know how much more the other components are. Plus, one thing that irritates me about the Mac is the inability to eject the damn CDROM drive without having to use the eject key on the keyboard. But I wont rant to much about this since I could go on and on... :)...I do like how the G5s have their HD bays setup. No cables to mess with and the HD plug in directly to the mainboard via a daughterboard....now that is slick

Oh, on a side note I compared my Quad Core AMD system to a new quad core G5 and my AMD is faster :)

[Hurmoth]

It is a VERY slow process actually.

When Snow Leopard comes out with Exchange support that works it will be the final nail in Office:Mac's coffin I think.

I had forgotten about Exchange support. To bad Microsoft doesn't offer just Entourage like they do for Outlook on Windows.

[Cara Veteran]

We use Macs at work (the new gen g5s) and they are a pita to get working on the network properly. Printing is a pita as well. Also, the hardware is EXPENSIVE. I bought an extra 2gb of RAM and it costs my work $500. You can get the same speced RAM for a PC for a little over $100. Video cards are more expensive and I dont even want to know how much more the other components are. Plus, one thing that irritates me about the Mac is the inability to eject the damn CDROM drive without having to use the eject key on the keyboard. But I wont rant to much about this since I could go on and on... :)

Not picking on you but thought I'd point out some problems with your logic...

Apple systems integrate with TCP/IP networks flawlessly...what problems did you have trying to get them to work on a network? With built in Active Directory / Open Directory support I guess I'm at a loss there...

2GB for a G5 Tower costs $133.98 + shipping/tax from Crucial... Video cards are a bit harder to come by, admittedly. The rest of the components should be simple PC parts, such as IDE Drives, SCSI Drives, SAS, PCI cards... Normal cheap parts.

I won't address the software issue as it's personal preference.

I had forgotten about Exchange support. To bad Microsoft doesn't offer just Entourage like they do for Outlook on Windows.

Why give up an Office Sale, it's the only reason Corporations are buying it! ;)

[markwolfe Veteran]

I think a lot of Mac sales has to do with the increase advertising they have been doing.

...

No doubt that advertising helps. Bringing a product into the consumer consciousness is important. But Linux really doesn't advertise. While they have a small (an accurate term may be "minuscule") marketshare on the desktop, there has been a doubling of client Linux since March 2007, according to sources such as NetApplications Hitslink. I think that more people are aware that there are alternatives. And more people think it is acceptable to use an alternative to Windows.

Does this have anything to do with Vista? Who knows. Some stats show Vista doing better than XP did. Some show that is is a "failure". The truth, most likely, is somewhere in-between. Apple was on an upward trend long before Vista, and they are just continuing it.

[techbeck]

Not picking on you but thought I'd point out some problems with your logic...

Apple systems integrate with TCP/IP networks flawlessly...what problems did you have trying to get them to work on a network? With built in Active Directory / Open Directory support I guess I'm at a loss there...

2GB for a G5 Tower costs $133.98 + shipping/tax from Crucial... Video cards are a bit harder to come by, admittedly. The rest of the components should be simple PC parts, such as IDE Drives, SCSI Drives, SAS, PCI cards... Normal cheap parts.

I can get AD integration working but have had some issues using it. Its not flawlessly and it can be a pain. This is my experience.

And the memory is not that cheap. The 1st Gen G5s had regular memory the same as a PC and are cheap. The new Gen G5s have 2 daughter boards that hold the memory and plug in to the main board. Each memory stick has a heatsink/cooler on the side. This memory is what costs $250 per 1gb.

No doubt that advertising helps. Bringing a product into the consumer consciousness is important. But Linux really doesn't advertise. While they have a small (an accurate term may be "minuscule") marketshare on the desktop, there has been a doubling of client Linux since March 2007, according to sources such as NetApplications Hitslink. I think that more people are aware that there are alternatives. And more people think it is acceptable to use an alternative to Windows.

Does this have anything to do with Vista? Who knows. Some stats show Vista doing better than XP did. Some show that is is a "failure". The truth, most likely, is somewhere in-between. Apple was on an upward trend long before Vista, and they are just continuing it.

You also have to remember that Linux is free and there are a million different flavors out there to choose from. People like free stuff and I like Linux and wish i had more time to learn it. Ubuntu all the way!! :)

[Cara Veteran]

I can get AD integration working but have had some issues using it. Its not flawlessly and it can be a pain. This is my experience.

And the memory is not that cheap. The 1st Gen G5s had regular memory the same as a PC and are cheap. The new Gen G5s have 2 daughter boards that hold the memory and plug in to the main board. Each memory stick has a heatsink/cooler on the side. This memory is what costs $250 per 1gb.

Odd, I've setup AD on tons of Macs without issue... If you could be more specific as to the problems you're having I'd be happy to make suggestions.

As for the memory, can you perhaps toss me a G5 Model Number that uses that memory so I can look it up specifically, I haven't been able to find any G5 memory that expensive.

[Phixion]

Yeah... I'm sure the fact that Macs are a fashion statement has nothing to do with it :rolleyes:

[Cara Veteran]

Yeah... I'm sure the fact that Macs are a fashion statement has nothing to do with it :rolleyes:

A Mac Pro is a fashion statement? Wow, next time you see someone walking around with one please take a picture! Or even an iMac, I guess it could be carried like a backpack...

[Phixion]

A Mac Pro is a fashion statement? Wow, next time you see someone walking around with one please take a picture! Or even an iMac, I guess it could be carried like a backpack...

Are you actually questioning the fact that Macs are the new "cool in thing"? If so... please open your eyes! At the Uni where I work there are hundreds if not thousands of students walking around with Macbooks/iPods/iPhones.

[sanctified Veteran]

I haven't been able to find any G5 memory that expensive.

Me neither. I told you via pm that the situation in my country its quite bad yet I managed to fill my old Powermac up to 8GBs

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

in my opinion, the only people that have problems w/ Vista are the ones that arent using it.

i have nothing against OS X, but this whole fear of Vista and losing XP is mind boggling to me.

"waaah Vista doesnt run well on my XP machine from 2001!"

"waaah Vista doesnt work well with my PCI 28.8k modem from 1992!"

[Cara Veteran]

Are you actually questioning the fact that Macs are the new "cool in thing"? If so... please open your eyes! At the Uni where I work there are hundreds if not thousands of students walking around with Macbooks/iPods/iPhones.

I know that they are the in technology at the moment, but that is not solely due to looks. Apple is the best selling computer in higher education, students not only enjoy the looks of Apple's equipment but also the stability and increased functionality over traditional PC's. :)

iPods are everywhere, again, best (arguable by some, not for this thread) and most established portable entertainment device on the market.

iPhones, same as above only with phone capabilities. :)

Looks count, functionality counts for more.

[matt4pack]

Are you actually questioning the fact that Macs are the new "cool in thing"? If so... please open your eyes! At the Uni where I work there are hundreds if not thousands of students walking around with Macbooks/iPods/iPhones.

If you want to use that as your excuse for the reason Macs are becoming popular then go ahead but the real reason is because most people want a computer that they don't have to maintain and can just get their work done on with little hassle. People are also realizing how unintuitive Windows can be which is the hallmark of a Mac. I'm sure their are a few shallow people who just got Macs because they think it's cool but for the majority of people it's much more then that.