Mac vs. Windows

Students crazy about iPod follow the music to Apple laptops

By Jefferson Graham
USA TODAY 

Apple's trendy iPod digital music player, which has revitalized the company, is giving laptop sales a boost during back-to-school season.

Many students, after falling in love with the iPod, are packing for college with new Apple Macintosh computers.

“This is my third student rush season,” says Jason Thorpe, a sales associate at the University of Oregon's computer store. “When I started, people wouldn't even look at Macs. Everyone came in wanting a PC. This year, two-thirds of them want Macs.”

In Tucson, at the University of Arizona's on-campus store, salesman Jeff Guba says Apple sales are way up from last year, when 4 of 10 computers sold were Macs. This year, it's 6 of 10.

Now that Microsoft Office is available for Macs, Guba says, students can work with many Windows programs, such as Outlook for e-mail and Word for documents. “That made a big difference,” he says.

Also helping to lure students: an Apple promotion that gives a $200 iPod rebate to students who purchase a new Apple laptop. At Apple's discounted education price, that effectively makes an entry-level iPod just $69.

Arizona student Lynnsey Bender, 21, just picked up an Apple iBook laptop to go with her new iPod, after several years of owning a Dell PC.

“Everyone I know at school has switched this summer, or is in the process of going to Mac. Apple is so much easier to use. It's awesome,” she says.

Besides the afterglow of iPod, other factors are giving Apple laptops a boost:

•Viruses. Internet viruses that affect Windows machines “have gotten out of hand,” says Charles Hendee at New York University's computer store. “Every week, we have three or four people switch for just that reason.”

•Price. Unlike Mac desktops, which tend to cost more than comparable Windows machines, entry-level iBook laptops are competitively priced, at about $949 with Apple's education discount.

Most students buy laptops.

Overall, 74% of new computer sales are desktops, says market tracker IDC. But Apple does more business in laptops — 53% of sales in the third quarter.

Apple's share of the education laptop market has risen to 26.7% from 22.6% earlier this year, IDC says.

“Students love their iPod, so now they're considering using an Apple computer,” says Apple Vice President Greg Joswiak. “We love that.”

Yet, IDC analyst Roger Kay cautions, Apple's focus on the student market didn't serve it well when it lost direction in the '90s.

“When students graduated, they bought computers to be compatible with the rest of the world, and that was a Windows machine,” he says.

If Apple can convert some new student buyers to lifelong Apple customers, it would mean a jump in market share from 2% now to perhaps 4%, he says.

Windows dominance is so overwhelming, he says, “There's no chance to go back and change that.”