Notebook computer market share, Q1 2008

"Apple is beating out 8th place Asus by just 100,000 units. Asus, by the way, had even bigger year-over-year growth than did Apple." Funny you should mention that about Asus. If you actually look at the ODM division of Asus, the score would be much MUCH higher, since most of those brands are being, or at least have at one time been built by Asus, including Apple. OEM sales in the entire Asus company account for a lot. I also rebrand certain Asus notebooks that are carried under the ASmobile brand (the ODM Common Building Block models). Asus is something like 3rd or 4th biggest notebook ODM in the world. Quanta is the largest, Compal the second. Clevo falls in to the 3rd or 4th slot (whichever one Asus doesn't) and has some really slick gaming and mobile professional workstation machines. Clevo also makes the system that Eurocom calls the "Phantom X", which supports desktop quad-core CPU's, NVIDIA SLI, and more than one hard drive in RAID for added performance in a mobile desktop-replacement laptop (the battery is more for use as a UPS than for mobility, and the weight will likely shatter your knees if you tried to use it on your lap). Powerful? Absolutely! Mobile? Moreso than a desktop, but don't cancel your gym membership just yet.

Oops, I forgot to mention that I think he is looking for a 15 inch screen on the laptop.

@DRWAM 'He does not want a Mac' No doubt with 40% of college students using a Mac he wants to think different ;-). Computer satisfaction surveys here done by our Consumers' Association rate them like this: Apple 87%, Lenovo 64%, Sony 58% and so on down the line (and I can tell you it goes pretty low. If he does not want a Mac (and frankly I cannot understand why???) I would go for a Lenovo. They are well made and not half bad.

@Doc: Don't listen to these people as they are basing their decision on their own platform preference and obviously don't have a clue about how to recommend a computer. I ask you this: 1) Is he already enrolled? How long is the course? 2) What course is he taking? 3) Has he talked to the school IT division or course department head to find out what his computer requirements might be? Many schools have recommendations or requirements on purchasing a computer. Some schools offer systems directly. Some of those schools even require that you purchase or lease through them. 4) What software do they require for the course load? 5) Is he able (or required) to obtain software through a school volume licensing plan that's offered to students? These are questions that need to be answered before you start shopping around.

Oh, and I told you that that mini-Asus was a HOT seller...

Thanks guys. Especially Waethorn [I owe you another beer] . He's undecided in his Major, and I am pretty sure it's not related to technology. He will attend Westminster in PA, USA. I checked at the college web site [I will have him call to check for a student discount for the laptop as the state that Office pro is heavily discounted] and here's what they state: "To connect to and use the full benefits of the campus network, the College recommends a laptop computer with the WINDOWS XP or VISTA operating system that is capable of functioning on a Novell network. MAC OS version 10.3 and higher and certain versions of Linux have been tested satisfactorily with regard to Internet and file access activity on TitanNet, but the College does not provide staff support for these systems and the full range of network resources may not be available on all operating systems."

@snakedoctor1 - We bought a laptop for my daughter today (6/14). It was $699. No rebate involved. It has a lower end AMD X2 2.0Ghz. Not as fast as a Core2 at the same Ghz, but it's plenty. 3GB of RAM at no extra cost. It has a 15" screen, 3 USB ports and 120GB HD. Go to the the Apple store and price a Macbook with lower specs or equivilant specs and it starts at $1099. The only are where I see it falling short of the Macbook are slower CPU, lack of bluetooth, and the shinier screen is not as readable (IMHO). I have a Macbook, so I think I have a pretty reasonable take on this. The HP has an extra USB port, 3x the RAM, and a larger screen. The Nvidia GF7510 video is slightly faster in some applications and a lot faster with OpenGL (if you need it). I like my Macbook, but we could no justify spending $300+ more for my daughter's system. I won't argue over Vista versus OS X. I've used both extensively and my productivity is not impacted by the type of OS.

@whiplash55 If I were you I would not go out in a thunderstorm. You seem to attract bad luck! We have 4 Macs and the only one that has given us problems was my oldest daughter's 1st Gen MacBook (bought the week it was introduced). Two logic boards needed replacing as did the DVD drive but all done within 48 hours of problem occurring. My 2nd Gen MacBook has given no problem at all. The Consumer's Association here rates Apple laptops as average reliability amongst the top brands, the only one that scores above average is Toshiba. After 12 years of having Macs I would say their service and support are second to none and it seems that lots of people agree with that on both sides of the pond. http://www.macworld.com/article/133293/2008/05/consumer.html @kellymjones You seem to have forgotten about the Apple Education discount. Here it is running at 15% for Higher Ed and I believe they are now throwing in 3 years of Applecare with that.

I've gone through two Acers and a Lenovo. All three were utter crap as far as reliability (the Acers more so than the Lenovo). My brother in law has gone through an HP and a Toshiba in just under three years. He now has a new Toshiba and it is causing him problems (and he wants me to format it back to XP becuase he does nothing but scream and yell at Vista) and when it finally gives up the ghost, he's told m he's getting a MacBook. With the exception of the first Acer I owned ($799 + tax) all the above laptops were in the over $1000 category. My MacBook Pro has had *no* problems of any kind at all since I got it. It's fast, sleek and runs both OS X and Windows like a champ. Now, Paul, ask me if I care whether or not Apple "dominates" the laptop market or not.

@avro and @snakedoctor -- I totally agree that you should buy according to your needs. My only point (if I had one), was that by evaluating my daughter's needs, I able to get 3GB RAM, a superdrive, and a card reader (which was important in our case) in exchange for a little less processor power, bluetooth, GigE, and Wireless N. All this for $400 less than 1 GB Macbook with a combo drive. The choice was there to save >$400 and get what we needed versus spending a lot more for features that weren't important to us. I wish Apple offered more choices in the same feature category as HP/Dell/etc.., but they don't. As for Vista, it runs great with 2 or 3 GB and DDR2 is super cheap.

Thanks Paul. I will do some price shipping for my nephew. Maybe Thinkpads have an edu discount. Doc

Yawn. Right, is it time to grind on about Apple's market share worldwide again? Check back next quarter, Paul "Only I tell the truth" Thurrott will be back to explain how once again Apple and their minuscule market share means nothing. For the life of me I can't understand how a company with such a small market share isn't out of business yet. (Note : sarcasm).

@DOC It's too bad "The Ultimate Steal" program is over - Office Ultimate 2007 for ~$50 for students only (I forget the EXACT price, but that's about what it was)! Microsoft recommends going here for student discount purchase information: http://www.microsoft.com/education/howtobuystudents.mspx Don't forget that colleges often still recommend/require certain software for the workload, even if it's not a technology course. Usually the IT department head organizes that with the other dept. heads. The software requirements are based on how assignments are handed in, or presented. If they're still using Novell (blech!) for their network, I'd recommend a 32-bit version of Windows Vista for compatibility issues with Novell's client software. If they offer wireless access, the new wireless security options in Windows Vista are a MUST! Too many people abuse school networks because there's oodles of bandwidth, and usually their IT security sucks. He might be required to utilize some kind of wireless gateway protocol software or a mandatory school antivirus program too. Again, this is where the 64-bit compatibility might become an issue, so the 32-bit version should be the preferred option. Word of advice here: If he has an option to purchase Software Assurance through the school purchase program (if he buys his computer from the school), it might be a worthwhile add-on. With Software Assurance for a Windows client license (for Business or Ultimate), he'd get Windows Vista Enterprise, which adds support for 4 licensed Windows client virtual machines. You might be thinking: "what the hell does he need virtual machines for??". The answer is simple. He'll get options for running Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000 in a virtual machine if he needs it for compatibility reasons, but his main host OS can be Windows Vista. This gives him the most recent OS (and the security to go along with it), as well as the previous one to run as a "guest" inside the host OS, in the event that he needs to run older software on it. He should inquire about that with the school software store BEFORE purchasing the computer so that he knows how he can purchase it. It allows him to run both OS's but without paying the full cost of a second Windows license. Downgrade rights only allow you to run 1 client Windows license, meaning that if you downgrade, you're stuck with XP until you choose to upgrade back to Windows Vista. It is a single-boot scenario. Windows Vista Enterprise allows you to run up to 4 virtual machines of either the current license, or any downgraded license version (XP, 2000, NT, etc.), and any combination thereof. Software Assurance can also be purchased for other Microsoft software, such as Office. ....of course, during the term of Software Assurance, you also get Upgrade Rights to the newest version of that software available (Office "2009", Windows "7", etc.) - assuming that they release it within that contract period. There's also training options available, among many other benefits. Stick with 2GB of RAM if it's an option. 3GB isn't much of an upgrade, and because of 32-bit OS limitations, 4GB is just a waste. At least make sure it's dual-channel though (2 sticks of 1GB). If he doesn't require all of the programs in Office, you can still get an educational discount on lesser versions of Office (Standard, Small Business, or even Home & Student). Why pay $300+ for Office Pro/Ent/Ult EDU when you can get Home & Student for ~$140? You have to look at the applications offered and choose the right version. Getting the highest version of Office will probably result in wasting additional money. Compare educational prices of what the school store sells vs. what you'd pay for OEM bundled software prices. If all he needs is Office Home & Student (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote), and the school only sells Office Pro and higher, buying H&S as an OEM package WITH the computer might be cheaper. Keep lots of notes on pricing so that you can save the most money. I hope that helps.

"So much for the "Apple owns the notebook market" baloney." I believe, this is what you'd call a classic "strawman" approach to discussion. Setup some hyperbolic statement without attribution and insinuate that it is a broadly accepted notion by a group. lame. I think more often than not, Paul's posts like this are aimed at this strawman construct in his head. This guy is the amalgam of all the most hyperbolic statements of the more partisan mac users from across the internet. Of course, there's no way to link to mr Mac Strawman. He is all of us and none of us. He is a pure construct and, frankly, a pretty weird motivation for writing.

"This guy is the amalgam of all the most hyperbolic statements of the more partisan mac users from across the internet. " Many of which come here, and I'm sure many of them also e-mail him directly (in reference to the .mac address owners, for which we don't know what they say to him). I don't think anyone can deny that many vocal Apple or nothing people visit this blog and comment on a very regular basis. So to say that he is making a strawman argument is really not true. His experience is based on what he sees, and he sees this exact discussion a lot. Additionally, I don't think we need to speak about Enderle. He is a total hack, much like I don't read Mossy anymore. However, I don't think that they need to rot in hell.

John, if you are looking for an argument for Apple owning the laptop market, look one post above this one to Avro. While everyone can say what they want about how that is really not what Avro is saying, blah, blah, blah, that is the essence of his argument. True, no one has said that they "own" the laptop market, but enough people carve out enough of a niche to prove such an argument. If you were wondering about the basis for which Paul makes such generalizations, we don't really need to look too far, now do we? Kelly, also remember that Dell coupons are a dime a dozen. You don't need to look very far at all to find them, and with the right combination, you can save big bucks. Dell also has very aggressive education discounts, so don't forget to go to http://www.delluniversity.com/, the official portal for Dell higher education deals. Lenovo also offers education discounts, and will also allow the stacking of coupons and deals.

@DOC: If you have an option for Intel TurboMemory, take it. Instead of the sad little 16MB cache that most notebook hard drives have (or sometimes even 8MB's), TurboMemory is often available as a full 1GB. It makes a big difference on drive speed and power efficiency.