14 DAY TRIAL // The iPad is the key topic of discussion when it comes to Apple’s foray in emerging markets, but one analyst decided to look at the performance of Apple’s MacBook Air, when addressing investors this week.
According to Fortune, J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz told clients that MacBook Air is the fastest growing member of the Macintosh line, and that revenue from Air sales tripled year over year, thanks to some key ingredients used by Apple to move more units.
Refreshed last year in October, the MacBook Air is not only better looking, more portable, faster and more powerful, it also retails for a lot less compared to its predecessor which originally launched with a $1,799 price tag.
The Air now costs $999, about as much as the entry level MacBook Pro, though it’s more portable and has solid state (SSD) storage.
It also has a design to kill and now comes in two models (13-inch, and 11-inch screen) with various configuration tweaks on each one.
“We believe that the growth rate of the MacBook Air stands to moderate, but we expect the product to exhibit increasing contribution to the overall Mac business,” Moskowitz wrote.
“(The fourth quarter of calendar 2010) was the first quarter in which the MacBook Air accounted for greater than 10% of total Apple Mac units,” Moskowitz said, according to a report by Cultofmac.
“More importantly, the MacBook Air accounted for 15% of total notebook sales during the quarter, versus 5% in the prior year,” he noted.
Moskowitz also said that demand for the Air remains "sturdy," according to the report.
In fact, by retouching a previously failing product, Apple may have well created a whole new category of products that aid the computing needs of regular users and business users alike.
"We believe the key attributes that distinguish the MacBook Air from standard notebooks and even tablets could help define a new category -- ultra-portable devices for productivity users -- within the PC market," he said.