Key Quotes
"New research indicates that Apple laptop sales have soared to new highs on the back of a new halo effect for the company's products generated by clamor surrounding the iPhone."

"A ChangeWave survey confirms first intimations of the move as indicated in a previous such survey in June. A survey run across the first week of August now describes a "transformational shift" that is propelling good fortune for Apple -- but denting Dell."

"But it's the future that truly represents the change. A total of 28 percent of respondents who plan to purchase a laptop in the next 90 days say they'll get a Mac -- maintaining the momentum originally observed by ChangeWave's June survey. An additional 23 percent say they'll buy a desktop Mac."

Surging Apple portable sales
The article then describes how Apple laptop sales have surged from 12 percent to 17 percent over the past 90 days.  Desktops however saw a one percent decline over the same period.

Mac owners are Very Satisfied
The research also demonstrates that a very high percentage of new Mac owners over the past 90 days are "Very Satisifed" with their Macs.

"Apple satisfies. The poll claims 86 percent of those who bought a Mac over the past 90 days report being "Very Satisfied" with their purchase -- by far the highest of any manufacturer."

Dell sales are dropping
Data shows that Dell's market share is suffering a "huge hit".  Only 30 of the purchasers in the survey bought a Dell desktop over the 90 day period representing a drop of 7 points and second-lowest desktop number for Dell in any ChangeWave survey. Dell laptop purchases fell four points to 24 percent over the same period, a new low point for the vendor.

You can read the InfoWorld article here.

Switch To A Mac Commentary
Apple desktop sales most likely dropped as a result of the long delay between iMac revisions.  Rumors of a newly redesigned iMac were all over the web and the point of discussion within the computing industry weeks prior to their August 7, 2007 release.  We have long held the belief that Apple would lure customers away from PC vendors.  In a April 7, 2006 article I made the following statements which have been proven true, the ChangeWave data only solidifies the trend:

In numerous articles since the inception of this site we have put forth the argument that Apple was to embark on a period of significant market share gains at the expense of Windows based PCs.  We have performed analysis from both market share and earnings perspectives with fairly accurate predictions of actual Mac unit sales.

I also put forth my view that the release of the iPhone would usher in a new halo effect which I termed the "Mobo Effect".  Is the data collected by ChangeWave simply a coincience with respect to the time period and release of the iPhone or is the shift caused by the iPhone?  In my view, it's a coincidence.  Mac growth has been well established over the past several quarters.  The iPhone has simply added another dimension to the rapid expansion and acceptance of the Mac.

The new Mac era is well underway.  Sorry PC vendors and that company based in Redmond, the Switch To A Mac is real.