If you're seeking out a new PC for your own holiday gift or for someone near and dear, some research says you're probably looking at Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) or Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to fill your need. ChangeWave said yesterday that two-thirds of those looking to buy a laptop PC this holiday season have visions of Steve Jobs or Michael Dell dancing in their heads. Interesting, since Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) outsells both of them by a huge stretch in the U.S. market.I'm not sure where ChangeWave conducted its survey (perhaps college campuses?), but it revealed that 33% of the 3,699 respondents stated they would be buying an Apple Mac if they would be buying in the next 90 days, while the same amount -- 33% -- indicated a Dell laptop purchase was on the radar this season.
Since the consumer market is the one keeping PC makers in business (as businesses have stopped almost all PC purchasing), it's just astounding that HP and even PC makers like Sony, Toshiba and Acer weren't mentioned in this research. Regardless, it's good for Apple. The company has continued to defy expectations by selling higher-priced laptops at an increasing rate every quarter throughout 2008.
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