Apple has risen to fourth place in the home notebook PC market, driven by its success at attracting younger, more highly educated, and higher-income households, as well as the self-employed, a research firm said.
In a survey of 10,000 U.S. adults, MetaFacts found that Apple is entering households as the second or third home computer. As the third computer, a sweet spot for the computer maker, Apple ranks fifth with 8% of the market. In home notebooks alone, Apple is fourth, also at 8% of the installed base.
MetaFacts also found a strong brand loyalty among households with Apple products. More than four in five households with Apple as their primary home PC planned to buy the same brand for their next computer.
In addition, Apple PCs are used differently than Windows home PCs. The former is more often used for Web content creation, graphics, and personal activities, MetaFacts said. Also, 21% of Apple home computers are used in public places, nearly double the 12% of Windows home PCs.
"If you look around at a Starbucks or cybercafe, you might think the whole world's gone to Apple," MetaFacts analyst Dan Ness said in a statement. "Apple users are very active and use their notebooks in more locations than Windows notebook users."
