Tuesday, November 28, 2006

According to popular consensus, the much beloved iPod has boosted Apple Computer's Mac sales ... But five years of PC sales data paint a far more complicated picture.

Did the arrival and popularity of the iPod coincide with a reversal of an ominous slide in sales of personal computers at Apple? Yes. But sales at many other PC makers grew as well. And some, like Acer, which doesn't even have a digital music player, gained market share at a much quicker pace than Apple.

Overall, Apple shipped 52 percent more computers in 2005 than it did in 2002. And so far, 2006 is shaping up to be a banner year. In the third quarter, Apple accounted for 2.79 percent of the global market and 5.71 percent of the U.S. market.

But during the same period, a lot of other consumer PC companies surged without selling music players.

In 2005, Acer grew shipments by 58.1 percent. Acer now commands 5.9 percent of the world market and is the fourth largest vendor, according to Gartner. In 2003, the company only had 2.9 percent of the worldwide market.

Over the past five years, Toshiba, Gateway and Sony have all experienced the kind of sustained growth spurts Apple currently enjoys.

The halo effect is barely detectable.