February was the first full month of TiPB sales — a month that saw retail notebook sales grow just 2.3 percent, compared with the same period in 2000. The company’s retail notebook sales surged 23 percent in February, compared with January, according to NPD Intelect. What’s more, the TiPB skyrocketed portables to 30 percent of Mac sales, up from a 20 percent average, according the report. The titanium laptop accounted for 16 percent of Apple’s overall sales.
“With the retail notebook market darker than expected, the one bright spot was Apple Computer,” ARS analyst Matt Sargent said in a CNET story. “Typically, notebook buyers must either choose between portability or full features. “Apple has done a good job finding the middle ground.”
In comparison, Compaq Computer retail notebook sales declined 5.8 percent in February year over year, while Toshiba was down 9.1 percent, according to NPD Intelect.
“Titanium’s sales gain is not surprising,” Gartner analyst Chris LeTocq said. “It fully upholds Apple’s reputation for cool. That’s why people are buying it.”
“This is the kind of surge Apple’s product cycle is designed for,” said Technology Business Research analyst Tim Deal, in the article. “They plan their product introductions strategically to create this kind of demand.”