Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a juggernaut that just won't stop being successful. Although sales of its iPod digital music players have waned a bit in recent memory, the company is selling boatloads of its newer iPhone 3G, which are also iPods in case you have forgotten. But one area that just won't get as much mainstream press is the incredible success Apple is having getting more customers to buy its computers.

Apple moved into the third spot in the U.S. in PC sales recently -- overtaking Taiwan's Acer -- and now is the world's sixth-largest seller of computers in addition to the third place ranking in the U.S. For Apple to make these kinds of strides among the commodity companies that all pretty much sell the same product with Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Vista operating system is quite the achievement. And remember, on all those new Apple machines comes Microsoft's main consumer nemesis -- the Apple Mac operating system (also enjoying leaps in market share).

If Apple CEO Steve Jobs planned on the iPod and iPhone causing so much market stir that it would actually lead to more Mac PC sales, he was right. Apple has never had the market share it has now and it's done nothing but grow for over a year now. IDC analyst Loren Loverde told CNET, "They've got great products and they are executing well ... they are benefiting from the excitement and press over their other products." That quote describes the halo effect Apple continues to have right now which is benefiting more areas of its business than just the iPod/iPhone universe. Jobs:1, Microsoft:0. For now, at least.

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) just can't stop taking market share in one area or another. The iPod and iPhone maker was found in a recent study by research house NPD Group to have about 66% of the PC market for machines costing more than $1,000. Although the majority of PCs don't sell for over $1,000, Apple's still kickin' it when it comes to those nicer PCs.

Apple's current share of the U.S. PC market stands at 14% which is impressive considering it's grown that figure in every quarter since 2007. The company's retail store presence has been a success, and the brand euphoria from the iPhone's debut almost a year ago has helped Mac sales continue to grow.

This isn't some overnight success story, though. PC competitors such as Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) ship millions of sub-$1,000 PCs every quarter, but Apple only has one PC below that price point, the diminutive Mac Mini, which does not even come with a keyboard, mouse or monitor.

A customer can buy a fully-equipped desktop of laptop PC (non-Apple) for that price -- so why doesn't Apple compete better in the sub-$1,000 space? Because it doesn't have to. Its brand and product designs command premium prices and customers seem eager as anything to pay those prices. That's the power Apple has -- one that any manufacturer in any industry would love to have.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been on a roll this quarter. Up almost $30 since its July peak, the company has seen continuing enthusiasm about its iPhone release, with international launches in France, England, and Germany adding to the excitement. New iPods and the iPod Touch also helped keep Apple in the public eye.

However right after the earnings release last July, and iPhone enthusiasm, the stock suffered a strong dip due to fears about iPhone sales. That seems to have ameliorated, but investors do have to watch out for Apple investors who are really iPhone or iPod investors. Investors who are buying into the excitement, but not the fundamentals of the company, and who don't understand the full range of Apple services. Whenever negative iPod or iPhone news comes out, they have a tendency to run from the stock. Apple will have to demonstrate iPhone sales in line with its projections, and prove that iPods are not being hurt by iPhone sales to reassure jittery fair weather investors.

Last quarter Apple forecast earnings of 65 cents a share, or some $5.7 billion, for this upcoming fourth quarter. This is not as rosy as the third quarter: Apple is expecting back to school promotions and parts costs to cut into it's profit. However Apple has also beat its expectations for quite a few quarters running now.

As our sister site, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, points out, Apple is gaining marketshare, with somewhere between 6.3 or 8.1% of the market depending on who's surveying, making it the #3 computer company in the US. With solid sales of its computers, and now iPods and iPhones boosting the bottom line and attention, this fourth quarter is probably going to be another solid one for Apple. Analysts are estimating more than Apple's predicted 65 cents a share quarter, and consensus seems to be upwards of 80 cents a share.

But we'll only know for sure when we tune in on Monday to hear what Apple has to say with its latest earnings report. You can also tune in here at Bloggingstocks.com, where we'll be liveblogging the earnings report.

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Visit Bloggingstocks.com liveblog of the earnings call here.

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced that they will roll out the Apple stores mini-version in the Best Buy stores. Apple and Best Buy ran a test on 57 of the Best Buy stores with dedicated space for the Apple Mac and other peripherals. Best Buy stopped selling the Mac computers back in 1998 because of low demand and very lackluster profitability.

Apple pulled out of all major retailers and began to build their own retail distribution channels. The success of the system has been stellar. The 173 stores have the highest sales per square foot of any retailer in the world. Apple sells over $4,000 of merchandise per square selling -foot. To leverage this franchise further, Apple and the best electronics retailer ran this 57-Best Buy store test.

Although neither Best Buy nor Apple would comment on the profitability of the venture or the margin split. Best Buy seems happy enough to now roll out the dedicated Apple mini-store -within- the -store to 200 of their units. Currently Apple has a 5% market share of the PC industry thus allowing for room to grow.

Best Buy has been quite negative on Dell and does not recommend Dell computers to their customers. The best sellers at Best Buy are Hewlett Packard Compaq and Gateway. Adding a strong presence of the Apple Mac is creating incremental sales for Best Buy and of course Apple. As far as Wall Street is concerned, analysts have not factored in any additional revenues from the Best Buy channel. How much and to what degree will be calculated after Apple releases its March quarterly numbers on April 26th.

I think it's safe to say, the numbers are not going to go down!!

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Apple's marketshare and browsershare have been marching upwards over the last several years, and this is no exception, a strong indication of Apple's strength as a brand as its turning around of its historically very niche and marginal portion of the market. Switch To a Mac breaks down a recent report showing that from November to November the Apple marketshare jumped 31%, a nice run. Another thing to note is that Macs started the year as 4.21% of the whole market, and right now are 5.39% of the market.

That's still pretty niche, but to understand context, only a few years ago the Mac was 2 or 3% at most of the market.

Needham and Co.'s analyst Charles Wolf estimates that by 2016 Apple will have 8.6% of the market. It's a straight projection, however, remember that market adoption of products works in similar way to viral spreads, with exponential 'tipping points' where products 'take off.' It may be more of a case that Mac will either still be in 4-5% area, or it climbs significantly higher.

Some hints of this can be found in the Switch to a Mac's analysis of Apple marketshare that shows very fast adoption rates of Intel processor Macs, the kinds of Macs that so-called 'switchers' are more likely to take a chance on due their ability to dual-boot Windows. Another demonstration of growing marketshare comes from a look at browser marketplace results, where the use of Mac browsers has jumped 45% to just a little over 4% of all browsers used.

All of that tells you that Apple is still a niche computer system, but a growing niche nonetheless. It faces a challenge in that most computer manufacturers sell to people with existing computers that are growing old. Apple is selling to both their own customers and trying to talk them into upgrading, while also trying to convince people to switch. It has a long way to go, according to these figures.

Or it has a large potential market.

It all depends on the perception of the investor.

Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) ended the day up $1.51, or 1.89%. This put the stock's price at $81.46, breaking the $80 barrier quite nicely. This was nice momentum due to last week's incredible earnings report and figures of both iPods and computers shipped.

The other good news for Apple is a new survey by ChangeWave Research that shows lots of switchers are getting ready to move to Apple this holiday season. After surveying members the company sees that planned purchases of Apple computers will be up for the holidays. While ChangeWave's members are a bit more tech-oriented, the percentage of members wanting a Christmas Apple have shifted from 19% last year to 37% this year, and ChangeWave thinks it's the start of big market-share shift.

Apple retail stores are popping up all over the U.S. -- as well as the U.K., Canada, and Japan. The stores function as a location for educating customers about the best the company has to offer, as well as providing a clean and well lit space to promote Apple products. The effect of an Apple store opening anywhere new is always to increase Apple awareness. It is pretty much a proven strategy by Apple.

Now it is rumored that Apple might be expanding its retail presence into Australia. A location in trendy downtown Sydney is being speculated about by ardent Apple followers. Certainly an Apple store in Australia's most famous city would be a smart move. The more marketshare Apple can snag the better. Many of these stores have a demographic of 50% 'new to mac' sales, so the more stores, the more new customers Apple gets. And that's a good thing.

[Disclosure: I own Apple stock at the date of this post]

Apple closed today at $58.33, up a $1.33, a nice 2.33% jump. That made it one of the big movers in the NASDAQ today. Market analysts attribute this to an upgrade on Apple by Needham & Co. The idea that Mac would gain significant market share because of Mac's new ability to run Windows on their computers now thanks to the Intel chip has lots of heads turning.

Most of the new attention comes as a result of a new survey of Windows users that indicate as many as 8% would switch if Mac ran windows, which would triple Apple's market share. Apple is also getting attention with head-turning new ads.

[Disclosure: I own Apple stock at the date of this post]