Apple will weather consumer spending 'breakdown' better than rivals, says research firm
Saying that "it's going to be a very tough holiday season," the preference of potential buyers for Apple and Dell must be weighed against this increasingly smaller pool of consumers willing to part with their money. "It's almost like a split decision in the short term," Carton said. "It looks like Apple has some very solid demand, but you have to put those numbers in perspective. They're in a diminishing pie overall."
ChangeWave's numbers bore that out. Just 8% of those surveyed said that they planned to buy a laptop in the next 90 days, while only 6% said that they expected to purchase a desktop in that same period. While both were unchanged from September, they were also both down from the same time a year ago. In November 2007, 11% of those polled said that they planned to get a laptop, and 8% said they planned to buy a desktop.
Longer term, however, Carton said Apple will come out stronger than ever. That's partly because of its ability to retain buyers, even in the face of terrible economic conditions, but also because of its iPhone, which he characterized as a "mini-computer" in its own right. In ChangeWave's polling, the iPhone came out the clear winner for those who said they were planning on buying a smart phone in the next three months: Apple's device accounted for 41% of the total.
"Apple will clearly come out of this as the biggest tree in the forest," Carton said. "They'll be in extraordinary shape compared to everyone else when things improve. I don't think that Apple can escape the enormity of this downturn in the short run, but in the big picture, I think [these numbers] are wonderful news for Apple.
"It's not easy to increase market share in one of the worst spending environments in years," Carton concluded.
Read more about macintoshes in Computerworld's Macintoshes Knowledge Center.
Apple
Additional Resources



Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.
White Papers & Webcasts
Managing Macs in a Windows World
Learn to extend the capabilities of Active Directory for authentication, single sign-on and Group Policy to Macs.
Data in Action: Making the Planet Smarter
Register Now
Oracle Accelerate - Not Just Smart but Timely
Download Now!
Why BI is Ripe - Now! - For Businesses of Any Size
Download Now!
The Workday User Experience Video
Watch Workday's Creative Director, Scott Lietzke, discuss the business-centered design philosophy at Workday.
Business Process Framework Demo
Learn about Configurable Business Processes and Calculated Fields. Watch Now!
Rapid Implementation: The New Age of ERP
Download Now!
Manager Experience Demo
Go beyond self-service solutions to perform more effectively. Watch Now.

