In my last post I stated why I switched to the Mac and how my year has gone so far. I got away from the original idea I had for the post so this follow up will try to tie up the loose ends. In my opinion the Mac has had a strong year in 2006 and the opportunity for more growth in 2007.

In the last post I think the most important paragraph for what I was trying to say is this one:

The first line of new iMacs and MacBook Pros came out sporting their Intel based chipset while keeping the sleek look that the Mac has become to be known for. Added to the speed increase that the new Core Duo chips provided you were now able to run Windows and OS X together. This fact alone has to be one of the biggest selling factors for these new machines, not everyone will do it but the possibility of being able to do it is the point.

You cannot deny the fact that a lot of people have made the switch in the past year and the dual boot option is a driving point. But that simply can’t be the only reason why people are switching right?

I think the Apple brand has been building it’s reputation in the public’s eye for the past couple of years and you can look no further than the iPod. Many people state that the iPod is the reason for people making the switch, the iPod users become accustomed to Apple’s ease of use designs, quality control and brand. Power users know Apple’s brand, they know what they can expect. General users on the other hand usually base decisions off of what they are most familiar with. General users buy iPods as they are the main player in the MP3 player market, so now general users know the Apple brand and are becoming familiar with an Apple product.

A lot of computer sales are based on recommendations as well. Any one whose main job revolves around computers know this. Family and friends approach them for their recommendations on what to buy and what is best for their needs as they simply get lost in the confusion of tech speak. With more knowledgeable computer users making the switch to Mac (maybe on the surface because of the dual boot option) they gain more experience with the Mac and if they end up liking their experience this gets relayed down the line of friends and family and may become their top recommended system/brand.

For myself I know that I would recommend a Mac to most people but I’d warn them first of a small learning curve if they are familiar with the Windows world. I’d also check on budget and what they’d like to use the computer for because sometimes Macs can be out of the general public’s price range, I can admit that. But the entry level Mac Mini is very reasonably priced and a good starting computer for anyone.

The last possible reason for people switching can be Apple’s aggressive ad campaign. We’ve all seen at least one of the “I’m a Mac” “I’m a PC” commercials over the past year. We can all probably admit that we get a bigger kick out of the PC played by John Hodgman as he is the comic relief in the ads. But these ads once again put the name out there, get the public interested in the Mac and maybe when they are at their local store they might ask to look at one just because they saw the ad on TV. Some people may argue that the ads are not very persuasive and that the Mac may seem pompous but I think the ads are more for a memorabilty factor than a direct selling point. You are more likely to remember an ad that made you laugh than one that made you change the channel.

There are probably many more reasons for people making the switch. But the quick reasons listed above cannot be denied. More and more people are seeing the Mac as a viable alternative and I didn’t even mention people becoming annoyed with Microsoft.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 23rd, 2006 at 2:11 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.