It’s all how you look at things. If Apple were measured only by its notebook computers, the tech giant would be in last place, behind HP and others. However, throw the iPad into the mix and the Cupertino, Calif. company jumps to the head of the class with 20 percent of the market and ahead of PC goliath HP. But no matter how you cut it, Apple is thriving while the PC languishes in a ‘stagnant’ ecosystem, a report claims.
For some time, a number of research firms, such as Canalys and IDC have said the iPad could be seen as a PC. Now comes Wall Street’s Deutsche Bank. Analyst Chris Whitmore tells investors Tuesday Apple would have 20 percent of the notebook market, ahead of HP’s 15 percent, if the iPad were counted in the second quarter of 2011.
What’s even more heartening is Apple is expected to make gains whether or not the iPad is classified as a PC.
“Within the computing market, we see significant opportunity for Apple to take meaningful share in the second half as the Microsoft/PC ecosystem is relatively stagnant, lacking meaningful offerings,” writes Whitmore. By comparison, Apple has a new Mac OS, new MacBook Airs, and a new iPad iOS.
As for the Apple tablet, it “remains the Gold Standard as competitors struggle for mindshare and traction,” the analyst writes, noting the multiple TouchPad price cuts by HP. Additionally, PC makers’ answer to the MacBook Air won’t reach volumes until 2012. The sticking point: they can’t cut prices much below the MacBook Air, according to Whitmore.
It’s an embarrassment of riches for Apple. If the iPad is a PC, Cupertino wins. If the tablet is just a fun content-delivery device, Cupertino wins. The company “appears particularly well positioned for more share gains heading into the back-to-school and holiday selling season,” Whitmore concludes.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
6 responses to “Apple Leads Notebook Market — If iPad Viewed as Notebook”
how the hell can a tablet be viewed as a notebook? when you attach a keyboard to it, it kinda becomes one. but it doesn’t ship with a keyboard.
I just paid $ 23.86 for an iPhone and my girlfriend loves her Dell laptop that we got for $ 38.76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 42 inch LED TV to my boss for $ 665 which only cost me $ 62,81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, GrabPenny.com
But the iPad really can’t be viewed as a notebook at least in a physical sense since the form factor isn’t the same. All notebooks have physical keyboards and they all have covers or lids to protect the display from damage. I don’t feel that the iPad should be lumped in with tablets no matter how good it makes Apple look. The iPad is a tablet computer. It doesn’t need to be compared with notebooks. Apple is making plenty of revenue from the iPad and that’s what really matters. Not some arbitrary category to boost notebook sales numbers on some analyst’s spreadsheet. Apple is making a killing from the iPad in the tablet category and it should be shown as such. Steven Jobs defined the iPad as the device that fits between the iPhone and the MacBook and it should be acknowledged as such.
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