Industry Sales
Statistics released by Dataquest reveal that Dell extended its lead as the top Windows-based PC supplier to the U.S. education market in the second quarter of 1997. According to Dell, the firm achieved growth of 83% in the education segment versus the year-ago quarter, further closing the gap between itself and Apple Computer.
"As the education market continues to switch to a Windows platform, Dell is becoming the vendor of choice for a growing number of school districts and higher education institutions," said Ro Parra, vice president and general manager, Dell Americas, Public and International.
Dell recently formed separate business units for the education and government markets to better focus on the specific needs of these customers. Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, TX, (800) 388-8542, www.dell.com.
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In another survey, Gateway 2000 came out as the leader in second-quarter desktop and portable PC sales to education, capturing 22.4% of the market share. Computer Intelligence (CI) reported that Gateway's market share grew from 7.9% in 1995 and 11.2% in 1996 to its current level.
"Educational customers in the past chose Apple because of ease of use, customer support and great service," noted Matt Sargent, a senior analyst for CI. "Gateway 2000's success within the education market indicates the growing mass acceptance of purchasing PCs through the mail."
The firm's product line includes E-Series desktops, G-Series multimedia and professional PCs, Solo notebooks and the Destination BigScreen PC/TV. Gateway 2000, N. Sioux City, SD, (800) 846-2419, www.gateway.com.
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Compaq, meanwhile, announced that it is America's preferred retail brand for home computing, edging out Packard Bell, Hewlett Packard, Toshiba and IBM. For July and August 1997, Compaq had a market share of 22.9% and 36.1% respectively.
"A combination of competitive pricing, distribution, product mix and brand equity have come together to make Compaq the number one brand at retail," said Carl Ravitch, executive vice president of Audits & Surveys Worldwide.
According to Personal Technology Research, Compaq has consistently held the largest share of retail shelf space for desktops and notebooks throughout 1997. Compaq Computer Corp., Houston, TX, (800) 88-TEACH, www.compaq.com.
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Educational Technology Trends 10th Edition, from Quality Education Data (QED), shows that 84.7% of U.S. schools own The Learning Company products. More than half of responding schools reported plans to purchase the firm's products during the 1997-98 school year.
The Learning Company SCHOOL publishes software under the MECC, SoftKey and Compton brands. The Learning Company, Inc., Cambridge, MA, (617) 494-1200, www.learningco.com.
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This article originally appeared in the 12/01/1997 issue of THE Journal.