With their focus on moving from niche market to eventual cultural iconoclasm, Apple computers is on their way to supplanting the traditional technology powerhouses of the domestic computer industry. Externally, Apple is under consistent pressure from competitors to stay at the top of their market. Even though Apple has been the de facto winner within innovation and overall product quality, many other manufacturers are attempting to advance their own technology. Apple is fighting in affect a three front war, because it is competing in three separate industries each with their own strong competition. Within the computer manufacturing industry they must battle the likes of IBM, Dell and HP in order to maintain their market share. Within the software industry, their Mac technology must compete with Microsoft. Finally, within the music sector they are consistently faced with challengers such as Dell and Microsoft. However, because Dell has branded themselves as a niche player and created strong brand loyalty they have at present had little problems with maintaining the same level of production and sales despite their external competition.

Against its competition in two important sectors, Apple is well ahead of its contemporaries. Over the past five years, Apple has increased its overall revenue by 135%, with its stocks gaining at a pace of 21% per year within this period. The best growth for Apple in general has come within the past two years as sales of iPod and its music store has grown exponentially. Compared with other companies within their two important sectors, Apple has outclassed...

Within the portable music sector, Apple controls an 87% market share. They have completely destroyed their competition in Sony, which was the chief player within the market in the early 1990s. They also have stifled new entrants into the market through their careful branding. Products such as Microsoft's Zune and Dell's Ditty have had little success within this sector because they are unable to fully articulate a plan to win over I-pod fans to their new platform. Within the computer sector, Apple has expanded its market share also, although it is still significantly behind the major players such as Dell, HP, and IBM, they have slowly gaining market share. Their biggest weakness is the limitations of their product for the average end user. Apple's focus on technology innovation means that they cannot stay price competitive with bulk manufacturers such as Dell, which means that overall their sales figures will always play to niche buyers who focus on quality and high performance rather than cost. Furthermore, Apple also does not have the streamlined business and production cycle that Dell and other competitors are known for which means that it is significantly harder for them to enter into complete mainstream sales battles. Its chief strength however is that Apple has an extremely loyal following. While other companies and products appear to be almost interchangeable and therefore competing consistently on price, Apple has a brand loyalty that ensures that buyers of Apple will continue to purchase their technology. Their focus on technology innovation has clearly set them apart…