MacBook back on top at Amazon
In a sign that should bode well for Apple's (AAPL) earnings in its third fiscal quarter — which ended Saturday — the MacBook has clawed its way back to the top of Amazon's (AMZN) bestseller lists.
The Mac, which once led the pack in the online retailer's Computers & PC Hardware Bestsellers category despite its $1,000 to $2,000 sticker prices, had fallen behind the blistering sales pace set by netbooks like the Asus Eee and the Acer Aspire One, which sell in the $300 to $400 range.
By June 1, the bestselling Apple computer on the list — a white plastic MacBook — had been pushed down to the No. 14 position.
But netbooks have started to fall out favor recently — as witnessed by reports of return rates as high as 30% and an NPD study that found that 60% of consumers who bought them didn't understand the difference between a netbook and a notebook.
Meanwhile, Apple announced on June 8 that it was refreshing its notebook line and lowering its prices. Result: its computers have become hot sellers on Amazon once again.
Apple's entry-level 13-inch unibody MacBook, renamed the MacBook Pro, has been one of Amazon's top 100 bestsellers for 20 days — basically since the moment it went on sale. As of Monday morning, it was the site's No. 4 bestselling computer overall and No. 1 in the laptop category.
In fact, three of the top 10 and five of the top 20 bestselling laptops on Amazon are now MacBooks.
Apple is not the only beneficiary of what some see as growing consumer disillusion with netbooks. HP (HPQ) Pavilions, Toshiba Satellites and Samsung Mini Notebooks are also selling briskly online.
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@Intosh,
Get a life dude. The ranking means what it means: the 13' Macbook Pro is outselling other PC notebook models, not the entire PC world. I think most people get that, we don't need you to make excuses for lame PC's which cant even outsell cheap Taiwanese pieces of plastic netbook crap. Each individual PC laptop model has it's own opportunity to be on top, but it's not. So there.
not so fast my friend:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/pc/ref=pd_ts_pc_ldr_pc/183-2900095-8191014
ex ped: It's a fluid list, updated every hour.
This laptop ranking doesn't mean much is terms of Apple notebook sales versus "PC" notebook sales. You have literally thousands of PC notebooks to choose from; whereas there are only about half a dozen Macbook models. The only thing this list says is that a certain Macbook model is more popular than certain PC laptops (and it doesn't do a good job at that either since lots of popular PC laptops are not available at Amazon). So this ranking is only useful for smug Apple fanboys who like to self-congratulate themselves.
PED – Can you explain where you got the information on fiscal Q3 ending Saturday? I thought it ends tomorrow (June 30th)?!
Thanks.
ex ped: I got it from the old hands at Investor Village's AAPL Sanity board. Apparently Apple closes its books on the last Saturday of the quarter.
It would be much more useful if journalists dig up data on why people are dissatisfied with netbooks (if that is indeed the case) rather than dig into Steve Jobs' medical history,
People must not realize the difference between an Atom processor and a Core 2 Duo processor. Certainly they don't think they're going to get the same type of performance, do they? I thought mainly it was the price that were drawing people to netbooks, but maybe it was just the size. Maybe people thought that only the size was scaled down without a loss in performance.
I'd be interested to know what their dissatisfaction was with netbooks. I figured they'd know that the keyboards and displays were smaller when the tried them out. I'd guess it's an overall performance issue when it comes to running applications.
I hope the netbooks are going away and people are going back to Core 2 Duo notebooks.
PED, you got your Netbooks backward – should be ASUS EEE and Acer Aspire One
ex ped: Asusaceraaarrgh. Thanks for the catch. Fixed now.
Another interesting fact: on the top 25 laptops list, only one computer from another vendor tops $1,000, whereas the MacBooks start there and range up to $2,000. Higher prices with competitive unit volume means consumers' value perception is much greater than their competitors, not to mention significantly better margins.
Amazon has remodeled their best selling categories.The MacBook is the leader in the laptop category. There is also a netbook category. So, it may not be the same comparison!
ex ped: Yes, but they both appear in the Computers and PC Hardware category, where less than four weeks ago the MacBook was No. 14 and now the MacBook Pro is No. 4
Netbooks are fun but when you really need a laptop the MacBook Pro is a great choice. If my iBook G4 dies maybe I'll have an excuse to get one 
)
SHaitien,
If you love your ibook G4, you could try spending $400 on a netbook, buy a new copy of snow leopard, and hackintosh your way to a 10" ultraportable Mac with a 9 hour battery life thats faster than your current model. You would also have free access to linux and XP for work.
Would you want to edit HD video with it, probably not, but it is very convenient for anyone working on the go.