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Throw in Apple and Microsoft and watch the hits jump. Here's the facts as I see them. Apple has nearly doubled their market-share over the last 5 years almost entirely in the consumer space which is much harder to sell to than the business space. Business is all about Windows and Office. That's fine, Microsoft made a standard and if there's one thing that most businesses like it's consistency. Dell and HP and nearly every other PC makers races to the bottom in cost, usually at the expense of quality. As a commodity that gets replaced every 3 years who cares right?

The consumer market is very different. You need computers that will last 3-5 years. Apple makes that as does Dell and HP (and others), but not at that 300 to 500 dollar range that keeps getting thrown out when people blather about how expensive Macs are. Even at the higher end, Apple computers still command a higher price, but it's perceived (rightly or wrongly) that they are better computers.

Microsoft has little to worry about from Apple in the desktop/laptop space. They won that battle a long time ago. The new battle is in the mobile space and we'll see if (even at higher prices) Apple or Microsoft (or Google for that matter) can gather the kind of market-share that MS has enjoyed in years past.

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