But not everyone is as optimistic about Apple's chances in the education sphere. Dell has been successful in getting that Wintel platform into the schools so they have a good grip on the market right now. Apple has lost a lot of market share over the past few years, and their probabilities of regaining that share are extremely unlikely. Steve Jobs will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Apple still is a respected name in education despite recent losses, Ballard says.
Kids are very resilient.
That makes support and an understanding of the sector more important, and that's what Apple offers. Apple transitioned away from its indirect sales model for education, and just kept 600 direct sales reps. That transition happened right as the education buying season was in full swing, and it hurt them. The transition makes sense in the longer term because it allows Apple to control distribution more directly, but the timing was poor. Nonetheless, Apple sounds confident that the new iBook, along with the iMac and its other products, will help the company regain glory in the education sector.