Apple Mac Sales Grew 36 Percent in January, On Track for 2.8M For First Quarter

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Apple sales of Mac computers jumped 36 percent in January, potentially signaling 2.8 million will be sold for the first three months of 2010, according to retail sales figures released Tuesday. If on target, sales would beat a Wall Street estimate for 2.6 million Macs sold during the first quarter, one analyst said.

Although Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster in December proclaimed 2010 the “Year of the Mac,” he said it is “way too early” to predict how the quarter will end. Many expect Apple to introduce new or updated MacBook Pro notebooks, a move that could boost sales.

Mac sales got off to a slow start in the first half of 2009, however selling a record 3.6 million Macs by the holiday period, fueling a 50 percent jump in profits worth $3.38 billion. If the 28 million first quarter sales indications continue, the numbers point toward a 26 percent increase over the start of 2009.

The NPD numbers also show the average retail price for Macs fell about 9 percent compared to the same period last year with the average selling price for iPods almost 4 percent higher. Sales of iPods in January were up 5 percent over the previous year, according to NPD. The slight bump led Munster to expect between 9 million and 10 million iPods will sell during the first calendar quarter for 2010. The Piper Jaffray expectations are in line with Wall Street’s expectation of 9 million iPod sales for the first quarter.

Munster also sees these early sales figures potentially allowing Apple to exceed expectations compared to last year, which started weakly.

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[Via AppleInsider]

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