According to IDC numbers released Wednesday, HP sold 4.6 million PCs in the U.S. during the quarter, a growth rate of 6.6 percent. Apple sold roughly 1.7 million Macs, a growth rate of just 5 percent over the previous quarter.

It’s true that HP is the world’s largest producer of computers by a long shot — it has 18 percent marketshare worldwide and 28 percent in the U.S. But Apple’s computers — especially its MacBooks — have become a surprising success story for the company in the last year or so. The company’s marketshare doesn’t even register in the top five globally, but in the U.S. Apple has worked its way up to the third-largest computer maker with about a 10 percent share. And its sales growth rates have far surpassed its competition over the last few quarters — in the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple was up 18 percent while HP was down a whopping 25 percent year over year. So this last quarter was a significant improvement for HP.

Meanwhile, as expected, the rest of the market saw a bare minimum of growth — 2.3 percent worldwide. But that’s a bit more inspiring than the previous quarter, which saw a .17 percent decline in shipments from the previous year.

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Apple lowered the price of its refurbished original model iPads by $100 over the weekend, and all of these models get a brand new battery and outer shell before being resold, so you won’t be able to tell it isn’t a new device. Having purchased many refurbed Apple goods over the years I can tell you the quality of these products is usually indistinguishable from new. Prices for the refurbished iPads now range from $299 to $599, with each Wi-Fi model getting an additional $100 off their existing discounts, and Wi-Fi + 3G models knocking off $130 from the price of each.

Stock is bound to be limited, and there’s no telling how long Apple will be offering these prices. As of this writing, all storage capacity and connectivity options are still available.

At this price, I’m considering picking up a basic model 16 GB refurbished model as a dedicated development and testing device for my personal projects. Anyone else think this is too tempting to pass up?

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• The rise of tablets in the enterprise
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• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era

The reason Apple devices and those using Google’s mobile OS will be able to stay dominant is because both have a significant platform advantage: the availability of software and content from development and publishing partners. It’s an advantage that In-Stat thinks will be insurmountable for competitors, and the recent cautionary tale of HP’s TouchPad seem to back that assumption up.

The TouchPad's multitasking was one of its strengths but ultimately couldn't save it.

While many were impressed with webOS, the mobile operating system powering the TouchPad, and not offended by the hardware itself (which did have more in common with the original iPad than the current model, despite competing for consumers’ dollars with the newer Apple device), third-party developer support was severely lacking when compared to the iOS and Android ecosystems.

In-Stat also predicts that the overall tablet market will grow to 250 million shipments by 2017, up from around 17 million in 2010. New devices from Apple, Motorola, LG and HTC will help spur that growth, according to the report, as well as new devices from BlackBerry. It’s that last one I’m not so sure about. RIM’s PlayBook isn’t doing so hot so far, and we’ve heard that carrier support is eroding for the device, at least in the U.S. In-Stat even acknowledges that “wireless operator business models could have a tremendous impact on future tablet demand,” and I agree; subsidies will help non-Apple devices catch up. If RIM is already being locked out in that regard for poor performance, it seems unlikely that new tablet designs from the BlackBerry maker could turn the tide.

The PlayBook is a 7-inch device, a form factor outnumbered among tablets by larger screens.

One final highlight from the In-Stat report: The company predicts 9- to 11-inch devices to rule the roost, with 56 percent of the tablet market. I agree that larger screens will continue to beat out smaller devices, but I question whether it will even be that close of a race. As of yet, 7-inch devices haven’t really proved their viability: Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is the best-selling example, and it still doesn’t seem to have come close to the iPad’s numbers, even if you count shipments instead of sales.

I fully agree with In-Stat that the tablet market will expand by leaps and bounds in the next few years, and I also agree that iOS and Android will lead that expansion. But I’m not sure that Android will make up as much of that expansion as In-Stat suggests. Google is beset on all sides by patent claims that call in to question Android’s future, and it has yet to release a solid version of its mobile OS that really stands up well on tablet hardware. One thing’s for sure: Apple has a seat at the head of the tablet table, and that’s a very good place to be, if recent trends are any indication.

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When first unveiled by HP, the TouchPad showed a lot of promise, thanks in large part to the slick tablet-optimized version of webOS that powered it. Our own Kevin Tofel was genuinely impressed with the TouchPad in his testing of the device.

But it was also obviously not a runaway hit yet for HP. Reports suggested that it was selling only somewhere around 10 percent of its stock at Best Buy locations, and HP instituted two big price drops already for the TouchPad even though it has only been on the market for two months. Apple’s iPads, in contrast, haven’t seen a price drop prior to a new model being introduced.

New numbers released Thursday revealed that world tablet sales are growing, even without the iPad included in those figures. But it’s not clear that the TouchPad helped spur any of that increase. And for HP, it’s likely that even a moderately successful device wouldn’t have generated acceptable margins at the price point it was eventually forced to set for the TouchPad. It’s still possible HP will attempt to license webOS to third-party hardware makers, but it can’t instill confidence in those device manufacturers that HP itself can’t make a go of it. Nor will developers be lining up to create software for the platform without a clear future for it.

Gartner didn’t see webOS as a significant threat to Apple’s tablet market share in the immediate future, predicting HP would take only three percent of the overall market by 2015, despite being one of only a handful of potentially viable competitors in play. The only true competitors to the iPad are Android tablets, and even those aren’t doing too well just yet, since tablet shipments overall from all manufacturers and platforms besides Apple only reach 5.6 million last quarter. Apple is also making headway against Android tablets in court, which may help it stay out in front of the crowd of Google-backed devices for a while longer. After Android, the only other major alternative is the BlackBerry PlayBook, and we all know that device is on shaky ground at best.

One thing’s for sure: Calling any bets regarding the tablet game is a sucker’s bet right now. HP and RIM have both performed pretty poorly using a unified hardware/software approach in coming up with iPad competitors. Add in Google purchasing Motorola, which might indicate that the Android-maker is on the verge of trying the same thing, and it’s clear the landscape for tablets is undergoing rapid and unpredictable change. Despite the upheaval, however, the iPad remains a surefire winner.

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• The rise of tablets in the enterprise
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Some might consider it contentious to include tablets in mobile PC rankings, but there are a few reasons it makes sense. First, consider that the PC industry is experiencing negative growth, at least in some markets, and slowing growth in others: DisplaySearch found that notebooks were up only 2 percent year over year this past quarter and were down 2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011. At the same time, the tablet market is up. Tablet PC shipments rose 70 percent in the second quarter of 2011 versus the first and 400 percent year over year. Even without the iPad, tablet shipments were up 25 percent year over year, with more than 5.6 million shipped during the latest quarter, according to DisplaySearch.

The numbers suggest that some, at least, are replacing traditional mobile PCs with tablets, and especially with iPads. And that’s backed up by various observations. I see more iPads at events and conferences than I ever have before; in many cases notebooks are carried but remain in the bag while the tablet stays out. Also, friends who don’t use a computer very often outside work have been very happy to replace their notebooks and desktops with a tablet full-time. Surveys seem to be showing that these examples aren’t isolated statistical oddities.

Of course, Apple stands to gain the most from the inclusion of tablets, since the iPad remains the clear category leader. But the iPad 2 is apparently really helping things along. Late in 2010, we noted that Apple had reached the No. 3 spot in the mobile PC market, with iPads included. According to DisplaySearch, it now has 21.1 percent of the mobile PC market by shipments, while HP is the next closest, with 15 percent. Dell, Acer and Lenovo make up the rest of the top 5, with 11.6, 10.9 and 7.5 percent, respectively.

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Without iPad sales included, Apple ranks last out of the top six global notebook manufacturers in terms of sales. But once you include the tablet, Apple jumps to the number one overall spot. Including tablets in global PC sales makes sense, because since the iPad’s introduction, sales share of traditional notebook devices among top companies like HP, Acer and Dell have either been in steady decline or more or less stagnant.

Even last December, it was apparent that the iPad was propelling Apple’s stake in the mobile PC market higher, and that doesn’t appear to be showing any signs of slowing. Competitors are still having trouble finding a foothold for their own tablets, although some predict that they’ll manage to do so in the next few years. But even if Apple doesn’t have as commanding a lead by then, it will still have secured its spot atop the mobile-computing heap, if trends continue along the path outlined by Whitmore.

A recent report from Jeffries analyst Peter Misek suggests that Apple might be moving toward a unified OS for its desktop/notebook and portable devices as early as next year. I’m still skeptical of this, since it involves a complete overhaul of the Mac line using ARM-based processor architecture, which would also necessitate huge shifts on the software side. But the iPad’s continued strong performance is a sign that Apple’s time and money may be better invested in efforts that benefit that platform most. After all, Apple has realized an additional $6 billion in revenue from the iPad alone, according to the company’s most recent earnings call. Predicting what comes next for such a game-changing product isn’t easy, but it definitely makes waiting and watching that much more exciting.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab possibly printing

In conjunction with the iOS 4.2 beta, Apple has issued a press release touting “AirPrint.” The trendily named wireless printing feature for iOS will be included with iOS 4.2 in November.

“AirPrint is Apple’s powerful new printing architecture that matches the simplicity of iOS—no set up, no configuration, no printer drivers and no software to download,” gushed Apple VP Philip Schiller.

First demoed at the Apple Event in September, AirPrint will initially work with HP ePrint printers or shared printers on a PC or Mac. HP ePrint printers use unique e-mail addresses to receive documents from devices with e-mail capability, supporting a variety formats including Microsoft Office, PDFs, rich text, HTML, and others, though no mention is made of iWork.

Compatible shared printers include HP Photosmart, Officejet, and LaserJet models. Of course, only iOS devices capable of running iOS 4.2 will be AirPrint ready: iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (second generation and later).

As nice as wireless printing from iOS devices will be, the unanswered question in the press release is why we are hearing about it again. The answer is the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the first real rival to the iPad launching this week in the U.S. that is wireless printing capable. This is something of a role reversal for Apple, fighting a real competitor with features on paper, paper that can’t yet be printed wirelessly.

The history of Apple’s flat panel monitor offerings is pretty dry, but as we’ll see, shows a pattern. Apple’s first LCD was a 15″ monitor that came in July 2000 and had a max resolution of 1024×768. It was a beautiful, very expensive display that weighed 12 pounds and had a viewing angle of 120 degrees. Soon, similar models in 17- and 22-inch configurations arrived. Finally, in 2002, we long-time Apple fans were caught drooling over the 23″ Apple Cinema HD display that pushed a 1920×1200 pixel resolution and was available directly from Apple for $3499.

Design-wise, updates have also been rare. Even after Apple went all aluminum with its PowerMac G5, and more recently, its Mac Pro, the plastic and translucent Cinema Displays remained unchanged. It wasn’t until June 2004 that Apple updated the design and went aluminum with displays bearing the same Cinema Display name in 20-, 23- and 30-inch configurations costing $1,299, $1,999 and $3,299 respectively. You were paying about the same as you did back in 2002, but for slightly larger monitors in sleeker packages with a viewing angle of 170 degrees and a much higher brightness (400 cd /m² versus 200 cd /m² in the old models). These monitors were pretty good, but still insanely expensive compared to comparable monitors from Viewsonic and Dell.

In October 2008 (nearly two years ago), Apple released the 24″ LED Cinema Display with a 178-degree viewing angle, IPS display and a 100:1 contrast ratio besting the previous model that only offered 700:1. The 20″ and 30″ Cinema Displays with old specs are still readily available, but only from eBay and a few resellers, so Apple is technically selling one monitor to replace a previous offering that included three: a 20″, 23″ and 30″ model. What gives?

Yesterday, that changed when Apple announced that a 27″ LED Cinema Display will go on sale in September for $999.

Where is the 30″ Model?

We don’t cover non-Apple news very much, but yesterday, HP released a new 30″ display that leverages IPS technology and has a 7-millisecond respond time, which is two times faster than Apple’s current 24″ display for $1399. The HP offering is only $400 more than Apple’s 27″ display that isn’t even shipping yet. What’s the holdup, Apple?

I covered the past Apple offerings because it’s obvious that Apple takes its sweet time with display releases, but there’s absolutely no need. I understand its withholding of cool features like FaceTime and bluetooth multitouch trackpads to fuel demand and excite Mac users every few weeks with a new toy, but display technologies universally offer exactly the same function.

Apple’s CRT, LCD and now LED monitors are exactly the same as monitors from every other manufacturer aside from the pretty aluminum-and-glass casing and nice additions like MagSafe ports or a built-in webcam, but Apple somehow charges a premium on identical technology (something we’re all used to as Mac users). Apple gains nothing by holding back on larger monitor releases. The fact that Apple released a 24″ model in October 2008 and in September 2010 is finally getting around to releasing a 27″ display gives me the impression that we’ll see a 30″ LED Cinema Display with a $1999 price tag sometime in July 2012. Of course, I’m doubtful of that, but the Adam of 2008 would have laughed when you told him he’d be waiting two years for a 27″ LED Cinema Display.

My point is that Apple’s withholding of larger monitors only makes power users like me buy a monitor from another manufacturer. My 30″ Dell 3008WFP that I bought two years ago has a higher contrast ratio, response time and brightness than Apple’s unreleased 27″ LED Cinema Display with a similar viewing angle. It also uses IPS technology which Apple acts as if it invented or as if using it is, somehow, cutting edge. The truth is, the 30″ Dell monitor released three years ago that costs only $1599 has the exact same specs as HP’s $1399 30″ that came out yesterday and will probably have the same specs as Apple’s $1999 30″ LED Cinema Display that may come out sometime in the next 24 months.

What Apple is doing is making pros buy monitors elsewhere. I wish the 30″ display sitting next to my iMac was an Apple-branded one and not a Dell, but I need the screen real estate and Apple has left me hanging.

So, Microsoft has unveiled a new tablet PC — a prototype made by HP, dubbed (not coincidentally) a Slate. Fake Steve Jobs suggests it ought to be called the “meh,” and he’s dead right, while the UK’s Telegraph said it could be a “major blow” to Apple, and they’re just dead wrong.

I’d like to laugh at this crazy last-minute pantomime display of “Me too!” (all dressed-up, it seems, as “Me first!”) but I can’t because the whole thing reeks of desperation.

In my personal blog yesterday I made some (not particularly original) predictions about Microsoft’s new tablet. I said it would fail, and that it would fail because it would run the full version of Windows 7 and require a stylus. My stylus prediction proved incorrect (so far; just you wait for the “Microsoft Slate PC Student and Business Edition” which will likely have a stylus and fold-out keyboard. That’s right, aka “a notebook”.)

Now, I know what the first comments down below will be; I’m a shameless Apple fanboy and this is pointless Microsoft bashing, yada yada… but while the former might contain an ounce of truth, this is by no means a pointless exercise. There’s good reason to study the Microsoft slate; while it doesn’t precisely tell us what to expect from Apple’s tablet, it does demonstrate what not to expect.

Chunky Fingers, Dinky Screens

A mixture of bad timing and poor UI design doomed Microsoft’s original Tablet PC vision. The hardware available in the early 2000’s was underpowered, overpriced, and remained that way through the end of the decade. (And I should know — I owned several tablet PC’s myself!)

Ironically, it was the one thing Microsoft could have fixed, the software, that proved to be the weakest link. Microsoft crowbarred-in a mostly-unmodified version of their desktop operating system, an OS designed with a keyboard and mouse in mind. Not a stylus. Certainly not a finger. If you ever tried holding a bulky tablet in one hand, brandishing a delicate stylus in the other, while doing anything other than sitting perfectly still and you’ll know why the whole thing was an exercise in error and frustration.

Apple avoided making that mistake. The iPhone’s software might be based on OS X, but you’d never know by looking at it. Its UI is perfectly suited for a chunky finger on a dinky little screen. I expect when Apple’s slate is revealed it will employ yet another version of OS X; something that lies between the iPhone’s UI and that of the full-fat, full-sugar, carb-rich desktop Mac OS X.

And I guarantee you will not see a single control element (button, tab, scrollbar and the like) migrate, intact and unchanged, from desktop OS X to tablet OS. Apple knows not to make that mistake. Microsoft does not; it’s loading Windows 7 — unmodified UI et al — onto its tablet. But this time there’s not even a stylus to help you. You gotta use your pinkies. The result — an awkward, practically unusable UI.

Ballmer very handily (pun intended) demonstrated this by fumbling about with the thing. His fingers weren’t particularly good at hitting the UI controls on the 7-inch screen that, due to its very form factor, rendered Windows controls as little more than diminutive dots.

We can only conclude Microsoft is making the same mistakes it made nearly 10 years ago with the first tablet PC’s. At least in 2002 it was doing something innovative.

Microsoft’s tablet announcement — just weeks before Apple’s — seems a desperate attempt to grab a little media attention and be the first to announce a tablet. Only, there’s nothing to gain in rushing to make this announcement, particularly not now, while it’s still only at prototype stage. The indomitable Andy Ihantko said it best on Twitter;

Title of Ballmer’s CES keynote: “Sorry, Guys…I Panicked And Told The NYT We’d Unveil A Tablet. You Have 72 Hrs To Build One.”

Worse: Microsoft has backed itself into a corner. This summer, in the wake of Apple’s iSlate (or whatever it’s called) if HP releases this tablet largely unchanged, it’ll get laughed out of the room. The alternative — massively changing it to more closely resemble Apple’s device — will be humiliating.

If we lived in Bizarro World, and Apple’s tablet turned-out to be just like Microsoft’s prototype, I’d be devastated. I’d question Apple’s creative strategy. I’d wonder if Jonny Ive was out of his mind. I’d definitely question Steve Jobs’ sanity. But you and I both know that when El Jobso takes the stage on the 27th and unveils his shiny new toy it will be breathtaking.

In the entire tech industry, the company with the requisite financial and engineering might to even come close to challenging Apple’s tablet is Microsoft. So, is this tired-old slate the best they can do? C’mon. For even the most ardent Microsoft fan, that’s simply embarrassing.

Who will buy this? The curious? Microsoft fanboys? Those who can’t afford an Apple slate? Or just masochists? Disagree vehemently with my fanboy ravings in the comments below.

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The new study, by Rescuecom, which is a U.S. firm specializing in computer repair, puts Apple at the top of the list when ranking computer makers. Previous studies by the repair franchise had seen Asus take the top spot, in keeping with the results of the SquareTrade study, but the most recent numbers (Q3 2009) show Apple with a commanding lead, according to Electronista.

Apple scored 374, which is more than double Asus’ 166. The PC maker scored third. Rescuecom’s rankings are based on the numbers of machines that it sees come in for repairs, as measured against the number of computers each company ships. The methodology for the study also includes factoring in things like system construction quality and manufacturer post-sale support, in order to bring some influence outside of Rescuecom’s operation to the table. Apple’s sales accounted for nine percent of the market in Q3, while only making up 2.4 percent of Rescuecom’s repair calls.

CEO David Millman suggests that Asus’ recent slip may be due to the growing presence of netbooks in its lineup of offerings. “Now that many of the netbooks by ASUS have been out for a while, there is obviously a higher need for service,” said Millman. It’s true that while Asus makes some of the most sturdy netbooks around, to achieve the incredibly low price points they offer to consumers, corners have to be cut in parts and manufacturing quality.

Lenovo also fared better in Rescuecom’s study, placing a strong second behind Apple with a score of 320. Toshiba and HP rounded out the top five with fourth and fifth place scores of 165 and 134, respectively. The common thread? All of these manufacturers offer at least one netbook-type computer.

There’s no way of saying for certain that low-cost netbooks are definitively affecting the reliability scores of computer makers, but it is beginning to look like Apple was wise to abstain from joining the fray, at least in this regard (though not in others). No doubt Apple’s introduction of unibody aluminum construction, which requires far fewer moving parts and better overall structural strength is also contributing to its increasing product dependability.

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