Apple Matches Dell in Student Consumer Market

Dell (News - Alert) has long been the dominate player in the education sector, standing as the preferred brand for college students. That may be changing, however, as Apple is gaining share. 

According to a Business Insider report, Apple (News - Alert) now owns just as much of the market share as Dell.A survey from Daniel Ernst at Hudson Square Research shows that 38 percent of the students who bought a computer in the last three months purchased a Mac, while another 38 percent bought a Dell.

Apple had only 14 percent share of the market in 2007.To measure this part of the market, Ernst surveyed 212 students at seven different universities. While this sample size may seem small, the report from Ernst matches a report from Student Monitor that surveyed 1,200 students at 100 different schools.

While the results of this survey show the strength of Apple in the overall market, it does not bode well for Dell or Microsoft (News - Alert) in this segment of the market. Dell and Microsoft continue to dominate in the enterprise, yet the latter may need to reconsider its model. The more Apple spreads its wings, the shakier the platform that is the Microsoft software monopoly. It could be argued that perhaps this isn’t the best year to measure share, simply because fewer college students are buying new computers this year.

Just a little over 20 percent of the 212 polled students reported they bought a new computer in the last three months, compared to more than 30 percent in 2009, 40 percent in 2008 and almost 70 percent in 2007.

According to an ipodnn report, the current survey group is actually Mac-based as a whole as 51 percent of all owned systems were Macs, an increased from 33 percent in 2009. It isn’t any surprise that other Apple products are favored, including the iPod, which represents 95 percent of the MP3 players that 92 percent of students own.

 The iPhone (News - Alert) accounts for 42 percent of the phones bought in the last three months, which was a jump from 35 percent in 2009.Apple is also dominating in the tablet market with its much coveted iPad. As consumers and business professionals alike continue to buy into these products, Apple is solidifying its hold on the overall global market.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Ed Silverstein