iPod halo effect hits Windows, claims analyst

Charles Wolf, the Needham analyst, believes up to a million Windows users may have switched to Apple Macs this year because of the iPod “halo effect”. Users may also be exasperated with Windows security problems. “The momentum generated by these products has translated into financial results that have easily beat most estimates. Most importantly, Windows users are buying Macs in increasing numbers.

“We estimate that in the first three quarters of calendar 2005, over one million of them have purchased a Mac compared to our estimate of 500,000 for the entire calendar year. Clearly, the so-called halo is working. Windows users are also switching because of the growing epidemic of viruses infecting their PCs,” he says.

Wolf’s view is that the company’s competitors have “effectively ceded the download market to Apple”, and bringing in subscription services instead.

[Source: TechWorld]