Apple is seriously considering price cuts on its desktop machines and on the 13” MacBook. Word of the changes comes just weeks after Cupertino-based company became the target of a renewed advertising blitz from rival Microsoft Corp., which is using a new series of controversial television spots to cast Macs as overpriced novelty PCs that command a premium purely for their distinctive aesthetic.
For the three-month period ended March, Apple announced that Mac units contracted by 3 percent, signaling the first time in nearly 6 years that the growth of its personal computer business reversed course on a year-over-year basis to see growth fall into red figures. Consequently, market research firm Gartner estimated that the company’s share of the U.S. PC market slipped 10 basis points to 7.4 percent.
Slowing down of sales and the laying-off of staff in its retail outlets, may also have prompted Apple to contemplate such a move.
