Mac Sales Up?

Despite all the signs of a consumer slowdown, Apple has eked out a strong quarter. In fact, revenue increased 43% over the same period last year. And the majority of that came from sales of Mac computers—they shipped 2.3 million Macs, more than 51% higher than the previous quarter.

Steve Jobs, the company’s infamously meticulous CEO, says the past quarter was the strongest in Apple’s history. And he chalks that up to increased foot traffic in the companies 181 stores nationwide—the company reported 33.7 million visitors to the US stores.

One analyst in this New York Times article says what’s interesting is that Apple is making a move on the PC market share, particularly in the laptop segment. They cite problems with Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system pushing people toward Mac.

“I think people are really noticing the difference between Mac OS X and Windows to a greater degree than ever before,” Jobs said. “The more people understand that there is an alternative, the more people are choosing a Mac.”

Guess we’re not the only ones jumping on the Mac train. [The New York Times]