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Monday, Nov 17, 2008 3:45pm
Mac sales hold to expectations, iPods in decline
Data from the NPD Group backs up in-store checks on Mac sales, according to Piper Jaffray. The analyst group notes that October figures are up 28 percent year-over-year; this is being attributed to release of new MacBooks on October 14th, which may have satiated many Mac followers who had been waiting for an upgrade. Piper is now estimating between 2.5 and 2.7 million Macs for the whole quarter, which would represent 8 to 16 percent growth year-over-year compared to Street predictions of 13 percent, or 2.6 million computers.

Given the October influx, Mac sales are only expected to decline in November and December, though checks have so far hinted that Mac sales have not dropped precipitously. The 90 percent jump between this year and last year's in-store evaluations is said to be disconnected from reality, but at the same time, Piper argues that the figure would not arise if Mac sales were unsound. It is thus siding with the Street's 13 percent growth for the quarter.

iPod sales are said to be in trouble, by contrast, with October sales pointing to a possible 18.5 to 19 million units for the December quarter, a drop of 16 to 14 percent. The iPod is known to be an increasingly less important part of Apple's business however, and as the Street has leaned towards 16 percent, any chance of bettering performance is said to be a plus.