Apple: Not a top seller of business laptops

From Forbes

It’s easy to give Dell a hard time. Earlier in this decade the company built on cranking out desktop computers for American businesses decided to dive into consumer electronics. That move didn’t work out. Yet while Dell had its share of consumer clunkers–anyone remember the DJ Ditty?–the company is still entrenched in corporate America.

In many ways Dell ( DELL – news – people ) is now the mirror image of rival Apple ( AAPL – news – people ). That’s because Apple remains as clueless about big business as Dell is about digital music players.

Just look at the numbers. Dell sells 32% of the computers used by companies with more than 500 employees, according to IDC. While HP holds the PC sales crown, it trails in that category, with 25% of the market, followed by Lenovo ( LNVGY.PK – news – people ), Acer and Toshiba ( TOSBF.PK – news – people ).

While Apple has pushed the story that it is gaining ground in corporate America, it still doesn’t rate a blip on the radar screen.

If you want to know why, compare and contrast Dell’s latest laptop, the Latitude Z, with the MacBook Air.

The $1,500 MacBook Air, introduced early last year, remains a charmer, thanks to a tapered aluminum case that makes the three-pound, 0.76-inch thick machine look as if it could levitate above the desktop. Apple had the discipline to remove things laptop aficionados really don’t need.