Writing for Business Week, Charles Haddad echoes the same information that MacCentral exclusively released on Monday morning. Educational market research firm Quality Education Data reports that Apple is once again at the top of the heap when it comes to PC educational sales. Haddad’s comments come in a new Byte of the Apple column entitled How Apple Is Reclaiming the Classroom.
Haddad notes the same facts that MacCentral first reported — Apple has between 2.7 and 3.2 million computers in schools, way more than its closest Wintel-compatible competitor, Dell, can claim. MacCentral also noted that QED’s projections show that for this coming school year, US schools will purchase more Macs than PCs — please read our coverage for more complete details.
Haddad suggests that Apple’s apparent resurgent popularity is due to its wireless networking strategy and compelling new hardware choices, such as the new iBook, which Business Week refers to as the “IceBook.” Another factor is Apple’s acquisition earlier this year of PowerSchool, which makes products for school administrators and faculty to help manage grading, attendance and other day-to-day tasks.
“Macs may not be the cheapest of computers, but Apple is working to make them the most useful. And that’s the key to the company staying at the head of the class in the education market,” said Haddad.