A report from Computer Industry Almanac predicts that Apple is on track to sell 33 million Macs between 2006 and 2010. In comparison, Apple sold 16.2 million computers from 1991 to 1995. From 1996 to 2000, it sold 17.2 million, and the 2001 to 2005 period saw 17.2 million Macs sold.
Although the numbers look good for Apple, they are still small compared to other PC manufacturers. The report predicts that Dell will sell 246 million PCs between 2006 and 201, and that HP/Compaq will sell 205 million units.
Appleis switch to Intel processors for the Mac product line, coupled with the ability to launch Windows and run Windows-based applications is likely to help boost sales. Even a one or two percent increase in Mac sales would translate to a significant increase in the companyis bottom line.
Total computer sales have been climbing steadily since they first became available to consumers. From 1975 to 2004, total computer sales hit 1.4 billion units. PC sales for 2006 through 2010 are expected to be nearly as high as the prior 30 years at 13 billion units sold.