Apples in Europe

Are Apple computers more widely used in Europe than Windows PCs are? I guess I've just always wondered... Thanks

No, you see at lot more macs in America than in Europe and even there you have tons more PC's than Apples.

Here macs are actually quite rare AFAIK.

Yeah, I do see Macs all over here in the USA. Go to any printer, newspaper, graphics studio, audio studio, etc. and you are going to see several. Most companies are PC users in general, but a few are mac focused. My father works for a US based company, and they gave him the choice between an "IBM" laptop or a Ti Powerbook. He went with the Powerbook.

I once heard the following numbers, and I have absolutely no idea of their truthfullness. Don't hold me to them.

In the USA, 3-5% of all computers sold are Macs. ~10% of all currently used computers in the USA are macs.

I also see a huge amount of macs in movies in the US. I'd say 80% of the time, if I see a computer in a movie, it's a mac. Otherwise, it's typically a no name brand computer. Not sure how this compares with Europe.

Well since most movies released over here are American that sound about right

Obviously the print and graphics industry is typically mac-dominated, but as far as everyone else goes it's Windows most of the time.

Although the city of Munich actually uses Linux on all their machines now...

Yea, here at my uni in Central London, I have only ever seen a maximum of 5 people using Macs, lol. I don't know anyone else who uses one too.

There are very few Mac useres over here. My dad uses one at work but uses XP at home, and a friend of mine uses a Mac too (as well as her brother but I don't know him personally).

There's a few at my uni who have iBooks, but that's about it. While PCs dominate Europe, Linux is coming up strong and quite a few government agencies throughout are switching their systems over from Windows.

I think the number of macs outside the US will increase over time because of all the appe stores.

macEfan said:

I think the number of macs outside the US will increase over time because of all the appe stores.

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I'd have to agree, seeing their 'flagship store,' in Regent St. its an inspiring sight. I visited it on a weekday morning (the quite time) and there was a LOT of people there and being able to just sit in a lecture room and watch a pro giving you a seminar on why OS X is so great, I can imagine that the store will convert a lot of people to mac (such as me for example).

Tel said:

I'd have to agree, seeing their 'flagship store,' in Regent St. its an inspiring sight. I visited it on a weekday morning (the quite time) and there was a LOT of people there and being able to just sit in a lecture room and watch a pro giving you a seminar on why OS X is so great, I can imagine that the store will convert a lot of people to mac (such as me for example).

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Unfortunately, most of the people who visit the store are there to use the free internet, lol. I always have to wait at least 10-15 minutes before I can find a free Mac to check out. But I still believe the store is a great success as many people are buying iPods there. Hopefully, their iPods will influence them to try out Macs too.

mangoSharingan said:

Unfortunately, most of the people who visit the store are there to use the free internet, lol.

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Thats one of the reason why I was visiting the store. But it gave me my proper first exposure to Mac and thats what caused me to switch, so it can't be a bad thing!

Tel said:

Thats one of the reason why I was visiting the store. But it gave me my proper first exposure to Mac and thats what caused me to switch, so it can't be a bad thing!

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Get them in that store just to search the internet and that can happen that is probbably why they allow you to go in and fool around with their computers for as long as you want because they know that you might decide you like the computers and buy one.

PowerBookG4 said:

Get them in that store just to search the internet and that can happen that is probbably why they allow you to go in and fool around with their computers for as long as you want because they know that you might decide you like the computers and buy one.

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At the same time, what are they going to do? Kick freeloaders out? They do that, and they've lost what could be a potential customer for that customers lifetime, and he can tell all his friends how Apple sucks because they kicked him out (with some of the details stretched).

And, they have to have internet access there. Some of the macs best features are connected with the internet. So I guess the freeloaders are there to stay.

Someday I have to get to London to see the Apple Store. I was going to be there this year (kinda glad I'm not with the bombing, I hope my friends are ok...), but my plans had some big changes, and I had to push the trip off for a year,

mangoSharingan said:

I don't know anyone else who uses one too.

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Jeez, your not doing your job, lol. I personally have converted like 5 people to mac since I got my first one in febuary.

rs2sensen said:

Jeez, your not doing your job, lol. I personally have converted like 5 people to mac since I got my first one in febuary.

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Yeap, I have converted a few people two...in Europe, actually in one of it's smallest countries, Luxembourg.

Something I've noticed is that, since the iPod's huge success, people get a lot more aware about Apple, getting curious and ask questions...
the main reason why Apple is not very good known over here in Europe is because there wasn't much advertising aver here. That has changed since the iPod. In those special branches, like print shop, layout design, music production, etc. They were, and still are, the leading brand...but all of those branches are kinda minorities compared to the rest of the industry.

What is pretty funny though is that Apples get used extensively in adds, even for products outside the computer world. Whenever you see a computer in an add, it's 95% sure that it is an Apple. Sometimes even for products that are untypical for Apple (like Virus-scanner-software or Spyware-remove-software).

yeah, thats been the advantage of the iPod. It's put Apple in the world spotlight again and it has created a lot of interest in Apple's other stuff.

Call me nuts, but I think what you noticed was carefully planned by Apple to direct interest at their other products. (Take a look at my "Apple going after Microsoft?" thread)

Yeah, I see Apple's in a huge amount of advertising for everything. They spend a lot of money for it. I touch on that in the above mentioned thread, and there is also a thread about where people have seen Macs.

rs2sensen said:

Jeez, your not doing your job, lol. I personally have converted like 5 people to mac since I got my first one in febuary.

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Well, it's pretty hard considering most of my fellow uni students are on a budget and have no money available for a Mac system. We have to work on both Windows and Linux most of the time for our course so I doubt anyone can be bothered with a Mac atm. I didn't get my iBook because I actually needed it for my course or anything, but because I'm an absolutely spoilt brat

I can't wait till the Apple store opens in Meadowhall, in Sheffield... I think I'll be bothering the staff there a fair bit

(well, when my g/f is away anyway. I can't see that she'd take too kindly to me spending my free time hanging about in a computer shop, gazing with a child-like glee at everything that caught my eye.)

math said:

(well, when my g/f is away anyway. I can't see that she'd take too kindly to me spending my free time hanging about in a computer shop, gazing with a child-like glee at everything that caught my eye.)

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LOL... just tell her there are worse places you could be "gazing with glee at things that catch your eye"... So she should consider herself lucky.

My wife lets me go to the Apple store.... she just won't let me take my wallet with me.

sarahsboy18 said:

.... she just won't let me take my wallet with me.

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Very wise...