Jack In The Crack

I chose Apple Computers as a candidate for long-term growth because over the past three years the company has shown a steady overall growth pattern. Another reason I chose Apple is because of the possibility for growth. Currently the company holds less than 5% of the operating system market share. The popularity of the iPod, which currently holds around 85% of the market share in portable audio players, has made people look twice at Apple computers as well. I believe that if the company plays its cards right, they have a tremendous opportunity to gain market share and increase long-term growth.

Another plus the company has going for it is the popular positive reviews it has been receiving from WSJ and online review companies such as cNet.com. It has also been featured in many mainstream movies, which shows a trend towards Apple as being fashionable as well. The introduction of the Intel chips could also help the Apple brand since Intel is a more popular company in the tech industry. The move to Intel chips means faster computers for Apple, a much needed improvement over the IBM-based computers. In addition to these already known pieces of information there are rumors of a significantly improved iPod Video as well as an Apple smart-phone, which could also help the company gain market share in the phone realm as well as the already popular iTunes Music Store content sales, which accounts for a large amount of Apple's profits. Overall I see the future for Apple looking quite bright with a lot of opportunity for growth and market share gains, which is why I have chosen Apple as my long-term candidate.

My biggest concern is how Apple chooses to implement their novel ideas. They have shown patterns in the past of not playing well with others. Trying to keep their products too exclusive to its' own brand may result in its' failure. However, given the overall trends of Apple, at least lately, I still believe