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#1 Music Retailer in America: Apple is BACK
By ubernietzschean | April 6, 2008
Those that know me know that I am a total Apple zealot. I own an iPhone, an iPod, 3 Macs (a mini, a Power Mac G5 and a MacBook Pro), the iPod Hi-Fi, an original Newton, etc. So it is with great pride that I re-report the Ars Technica article that states that Apple is now the #1 music retailer in America. That’s right, ahead of Wal-Mart. Apple has 19% of the market vs. Wal-Mart’s 15%.
Consequently, Apple market share is also considerably on the rise. Up to 14% now. One might say that that is an insignificant number but in a soft economy where other manufacturers are seeing less purchases, this is a real win for Apple.
Why is this case?
Now the author of one of the above articles contends that this is due to Apple’s new product lines, aggressive marketing and the whole Mac vs. Windows feud in light of “Vista.” I would argue that while those factors certainly hold true there is also the total engineering superiority of all Apple products.
With an Apple product, everything is thought through and accounted for elegantly. The ports are neatly lined up, the body of an Apple product is smooth to the touch, the best materials are chosen and the software….ohhh the software. That’s Apple’s secret sauce. MacOS X. That and the iPod. Apple has the iPod “halo effect” going on where people buy iPods and then fall in love with Apple products and eventually MacOS X, the ultra-well engineered operating system based on reliable BSD UNIX and optimized for the modern GUI-using world. They also have a sweet-heart deal with Intel to keep them on the technological edge of development.
I would assert that Apple is on their A-game with regard to market and that they are going to prove to be a juggernaut to stop. With new, innovative products like the MacBook Air constantly being churned out Apple is clearly paying attention.
über nietzscheanTopics: Apple, Computing, UNIX |
One Response to “#1 Music Retailer in America: Apple is BACK”
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April 8th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I still don’t think that the MacBook Air is going to prove to be a great financial success, to be honest. It seems like a great idea with poor execution and priced about 2x what people are willing to pay for it’s very limited capabilities.
Then again, give it a year or two and watch the price go down and the content go up, and maybe. But I’m still just saying “maaaaaaybe.”
I do see why the iTunes store is so popular - it’s the most convenient way to acquire music, bar none. You never even have to get off your ass. While I like free music and will go the extra step to get it, sometimes I just break down and click the “buy” button.