This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Going by ad campaigns alone, you would think that every person -- or, at least every cool person -- had abandoned their Windows PCs and hoisted themselves onto the Macintosh bandwagon. Not so. The truth is that PCs far outnumber Macs in the market. The big-business worlds of finance, law, medicine use predominantly PC, while the areas of video production, web design and art use Mac. These computers do most of the same things (play games and DVDs, word-process, create web pages, store and play music) but they are completely different operating systems. Even though Apple computers now include the Intel processor that makes it possible to use Windows-only applications, it can still be hard to compare products.

But what about the companies themselves? What does the Apple brand signify that the Dell brand does not? And vice versa.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL): Providing innovative products and a user-friendly interface, Apple has turned the whole computer thing into a fashion accessory. For someone who used Dell products for years and then switched to Mac, the difference is like night and day. A Mac is so easy to use. With a clean interface, a near-universal compatibility with external products and tools, these computers are a beautiful breeze. And now that Macs include Intel processors, one can switch back and forth between a Windows interface and a Mac interface, making previous incompatibilities (software, games, etc.) now perfectly compatible. And when it comes to customer service (see below) Apple really socks the house.

Well it's harvest season here in New England, and the Macintoshes are ripe. But in Silicon Valley, it looks like Apple (NYSE: AAPL)'s Macintosh brand is the fruit filling in the PC market pie. According to TheStreet.com, Apple's Macintosh is gaining market share.

How much? In the third quarter, Apple's Mac computers accounted for 6.3% of all PCs sold, up from 5.7% a year earlier, according to IDC. This growth means that Apple pulled further ahead of its competitors as it increased its lead as the third-ranked player in the market, a position it took over earlier in the year.

This gain in market share should help Apple when it reports on Monday, as the Macintosh has been accounting for a greater share of Apple's own profit pie. In the first nine months of the company's fiscal year, the Mac accounted for 41% of the company's total revenue, up from 36% during the same time last year.

It's a tasty time to own Apple shares. The question for investors is whether Apple -- trading at a Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio of 2.6 (on a P/E of 49 and earnings growth forecast of 19% to $4.48 in 2008) -- is ripe for harvest or hot to hold. What do you think?

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Apple.

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When it comes to predicting various product sales from hipper-than-hip Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), it's good to know that we have more than financial analyst statistics and feelings to look at. One stock watcher recently hung out quite a bit at several Apple retail stores to try and collect empirical data from his own two eyes to see if Apple's analyst-predicted iPhone and Mac product sales numbers are indeed stacking up or are falling short.

The conclusion? Apple will most likely achieve its goal of 730,000 iPhone sales in the quarter ended September 30. In fact, the conclusion this analyst came up with from his store checks indicate Apple could bypass its own estimate and sell over 800,000 iPhones in the July-September quarter.

As far as Apple Mac sales go, Gene Munster's research stated that about 2 million Mac systems would be sold in September alone, pushing past his earlier estimate of 1.9 million. It's interesting to note that the average Apple retail store sells over 55 Mac systems per open day, not counting website sales or other retail sales, like those inside Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) locations. Are Apple shares headed above $200 territory? Munster maintains his $211 target.

Today saw a massive leap in Apple's stock price, a $6.40 leap, some 11.83%, ending the day at $60.50. On the evening of the 18th I noted that at $52.90, with basically one trading day to go, Apple was very attractively priced due to fears of back-to-school iPod sales forcing it down and the stock options scandal.

As Grant Robertson blogged earlier this morning, a 48% increase in profit, 1.3 million Macs moved, and 8.1 million iPods sold, made for some great numbers. Fears about the iPod? Sales were up 32% this quarter, and the next quarter is usually a more standout one for Apple. They seemed pretty psyched up in their conference call about a lot of really good numbers.