The success of the iPad has shot Apple up the list of best-selling portable computer makers.
Before the iPad’s launch in April, Apple was the seventh biggest maker of portable computers with 5% of the market, according to figures from Deutsche Bank. The subsequent success of the new tablet — three million units sold by the beginning of July — has put Apple in third place with 12%, a huge jump in such a short period of time.
It’s more remarkable given that the iPad is more expensive than many a PC laptop, including all the netbooks that have caused such a stir in the industry over the last few years.
“Our retail checks suggest this share shift continues in July, where the iPad is directly cannibalizing demand for other vendors’ notebook products,” Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore wrote in a note to investors. “Remarkably, Apple’s traditional MacBook business posted accelerated unit growth [in the second quarter] despite the launch of the iPad while every other Top 5 vendor slowed.”
And on the question of whether the iPad is a computer, Steve Ballmer is quite sure.
“Of course it is. It’s a different form factor of PC,” the Microsoft chief executive told the Wall Street Journal.
