October 28th, 1999

[3:30 PM] Dell Sneaks Past Apple In 1st Quarter Education Sales Reuters is reporting that Dell Computer has become the number one vendor to the education market, based on unit shipment. The company has been on a roll of late, overtaking Compaq in the crowded PC market as the number one PC manufacturer overall. This is significant to Apple Computer, as Apple has maintained the number one position in sales for many years. According to Reuters: Dell Computer Corp. said Wednesday it took the No. 1 place in sales to the US education market from Apple Computer Inc Based on unit shipments, Dell overtook Apple in the education market in the first quarter and has continued to lead in the second quarter of the calendar year, according to market researcher Dataquest, the company said. Dell maintained a lead of five percentage points over the nearest competitor, Apple, for both quarters. Dell, which sells computers directly to consumers, had a 21 percent share of the educational market in the second quarter, Dataquest said. The shift came just as Apple has positioned its colorful laptop computers for use in schools. The iBooks are outfitted with handles, which means the computers can be easily moved from class to class, and have a disk drive that can't be removed easily so as to guard against theft. Apple PR was not available for comment. The Mac Observer Spin: This is disturbing news, but it is our opinion that this trend will reverse itself as Apple's new product lines start to figure into these numbers. This report covered the 1st quarter and hints at the 2nd quarter. Traditionally, Apple's strongest quarters in Education are the 3rd and 4th calendar quarters. When these quarters are finally touted, Apple's iBook and iMac DV product lines will likely help make a very strong impact on Apple's standings. Apple - Dell