Macs’ popularity growing on US campuses
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Oct 23, 2007 at 5:59am
While Dell remains the most popular computer brand among college students, survey results published by SurveyU show that Apple is gaining ground thanks to its discounted student purchase programs and the “halo effect” of the iPod.
The survey of 1,000 online participants earlier this month found that the success of the Mac maker’s back-to-school and educational programs are a significant contributor to its on-campus momentum, with more than 4 of 5 (83 perent) of Mac-owning students having purchased their Mac under a student plan that included a free iPod, notes AppleInsider.
Slightly less than a third (30 percent) of Dell’s collegiate sales were made under a similar plan, SurveyU said, while the remaining computer manufacturers did not fully leveraged the power of discount or incentive programs.
“US College students have spent an average of $1,290 on their computers, resulting in more than $22 billion spent by those currently in college,” says Dan Coates, co-founder of SurveyU. “Given that colleges are swelling to accommodate the massive Millennial generation, PC manufacturers would do well to get in front of this critical consumer segment.”
The survey found that current iPod owners are more likely to be current Mac users (29 percent versus 23 percent) as well as future Mac purchasers (52 percent versus 44 percent). Also, according to SurveyU, college students are mobile and therefor their choice of notebooks versus desktops reflects their demand for portability. More than four out of five college students use a laptop as their primary computer, the organization said.
Based in Brooklyn Heights, New York, “SurveyU collects feedback from students, amplifying each individual act of expression and opinion into a definitive source of insight into the attitudes and behaviors of students worldwide.”
Submissions are being taken for the “Macsimum Macworld San Francisco 2008 Coupon Book.” For details email Dennis at daseller@earthlink.net
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
