Windows Campaign Focuses on Hardware, Retail

In an effort to stop Apple’s gains in the PC market, Microsoft is launching a multiyear campaign centered on improving perceptions of the Windows brand. Fundamental shifts in Microsoft’s approach to the PC market include reference designs and test suites, promotion of tested PCs, and Microsoft employees in retail stores. OEMs will likely welcome the Windows campaign as a long-overdue response to Apple’s growth, and OEMs and retailers could benefit from more sales. However, the campaign could be hampered by conflicts between Microsoft and its partners, antitrust concerns, and fundamental problems with some Windows-branded products.

Apple Gaining Market Share

In the second quarter of 2008, Apple—which installs its own OS on computers built to its specifications and with its brand—became the third-largest PC manufacturer in the United States, with about 8% market share, according to Gartner and IDC. It’s also the fastest-growing PC manufacturer by far, with U.S. year-to-year unit growth of more than 30%, compared with about 12% for Dell and less than 10% for all others, with many OEMs showing declines; overall unit growth for PCs in the United States was only 4%.