Yea, I know may get slammed with hate mail for this one but I am open to alternate opinions. The market has been ripe for Apple to pick up a sizable portion of the computer share but it has failed. According to market researchers IDC and Gartner, Macintosh sales are up but their share is still way below 10%. That compares to PC sales by Acer and Toshiba. Why doesn’t the Mac have a larger market share?
Apple Inc has a polished image, high customer satisfaction and its brand identity couldn't be much better. People who chose Macs have been very happy with their purchase. The only portable music play anyone wants is an iPod. The iPhone has set the bar so high for cell phones that companies are struggling to keep up. The stock value of AAPL is double what it was a year ago and is still climbing.
So, why are people still forking over their hard earned money for Windows 7 machines and not Macs? It doesn't make sense. Did Apple drop the ball while Steve Jobs was on sick leave? In their efforts to target the cool people did they missed an opportunity to attract the main stream market disappointed with Windows Vista?
In the early days, Apple ruled the education market. When families were deciding on a home computer purchase it was easy. If the kids are learning on an Apple, then we should have an Apple at home. Now, the education market doesn't hold the same impact. The business community now has computers on every desk and the same logic holds true. If I'm using a Windows PC at work, I'm probably going to want a Windows laptop or PC at home.
Lately, the advertisements for Mac have been spending a lot of time telling you what's wrong with Windows. This appeals to current Mac fans but doesn’t give us a reason to switch. They need to spend more time telling people what is right with the Mac.
Current Mac vs Windows 7 Ad
When Apple does talk about how much fun you'll have on a Mac they forget something important. Sure we all want to create musical slideshows and videos but many of still have to do word processing and spreadsheets. Maybe you can't make my database more fun but I'd listen if Apple told me how I could be more productive on their Mac. Doesn’t Apple want to see a Mac in the office environment? Check out this ad from 1990 when they did it right.
This ad from 1990 is timeless
While most of my cool friends are using a Mac nothing has compelled me to switch. I’m not suggesting the Mac is a bad machine and I’m not trying to compare Snow Leopard to Windows 7. I just think Apple failed the Macintosh and lost a chance to establish a 15-20% of the market share. I am a fan of Apple Computer Inc. and I use my iTouch daily. In the late 80's they published their "Human Interface Guidelines" which opened my mind to better understanding the computer user experience. If you'd like to open my mind to other ideas just click on the Comments link and share your thoughts. Are Mac users happy to be a elite group or would they benefit from more attention from software and hardware developers?
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