top of the heap...2
by: csi_satyr (40/M/Bradenton, FL)
54618 of 54621
In North America, Dell gained 60.9 percent over 1997, taking the No. 2
position with 12.7 percent market share. Gateway Inc. followed at 8.4
percent market share and growth of 38.4 percent.
Gateway made its way into the top five based on strong third- and
fourth-quarter performances, Schaub said. "It shows their unique approach to
the home market and small business by opening up the Country Stores
appears to be a nice compliment to their business and success."
IBM took the fourth spot with 8 percent share and growth of 10.1 percent,
followed by Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP with 7.5 percent market share and
stronger growth of 37.1 percent.
Apple Computer Inc. failed to break into the top five either worldwide or in
North America but earned meritorious comments from Schaub. "In discussing
Apple going forward, the next two quarters become critical as they have
captured the pent up demand of Apple users. Going forward we need to find
out whether some of their [Internet] strategies . . . broaden the appeal of
Apple beyond their existing Macintosh family," he said.
Several trends emerged from the results, which include consumer and
commercial PCs, notebooks and ultraportables. About 37 percent of U.S.
households are online, but not enough to reach the critical mass needed to
make the Internet a must-have commodity. Women now are the No. 1 users
of PCs in the home.
On a cautionary note, Schaub said there is now in the United States a
saturation of PCs used by people "each day and all day. Those seats have all
pretty much been taken up. So we are truly at a replacement stage for that
portion of the market."
The challenge for the commercial marketplace is to have the double digit
growth rate the industry expects, Schaub said. "We need to find ways and
methods to maybe step up the replacement cycle."
Dataquest also estimated some stability in prices for 1999, with less dramatic
declines than in 1998. "What that means is that the growth rate in units
shipped starts to sync up with the growth rate of revenue, which is very good
news," Schaub said. |
