As the school year gets into gear, many first year college students will be buying their first machine. The economy's been rough, which has been a boon for netbooks, but Apple has been persistent in its advertising and has put out a variety of wonderful products to tease those of us without the disposable income to try them out. But how do the numbers really stand when it comes to computer purchases for college-bound kids?
A study by Retrevo says that full-sized Windows notebooks come in first - an unsurprising finding. However, 34 percent of kids will buy netbooks this year, leaving Apple in third place with a mere 17 percent of sales. Apple's goal isn't to have the most sales volume, but the numbers must be something of a bummer.
Retrevo CEO Vipin Jain explained the results of the study as follows:
"While Apple has done well historically in the education market, 2009 marks the dawn of the netbook… Students told us they wanted longer battery life, smaller size, and a lighter laptop. 58% of them plan on spending less than $750.00. Only 18% have a budget over $1,000.00. Netbooks are affordable; some costing only $170.00. In contrast, Apple laptops start at $949.00. At a time when many people are experiencing economic hardship, having a new Apple laptop isn't a necessity."
Be sure to read the study here if you're curious for more.
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