TEXT B The competition among
producers of personal computers is essentially a race to get the best, most
innovative products to the marketplace. Marketers in this environment frequently
have to make a judgment as to their competitor’s role when making marketing
strategy decisions. If major competitor’s are changing their products, then a
marketer may want to follow suit to remain competitive. Apple Computer, Inc, has
introduced two new, faster personal computers, the Mackintosh Ⅱ and Mackintosh
SE, in anticipation of the introduction of a new PC by IBM, one of Apple’s major
competitors. Apple’s new computers are much faster and more
powerful than its earlier models. The improved Mackintosh is able to run
programs that previously were impossible to run on an Apple PC, including
IBM-compatible programs. This compatibility feature illustrates computer
manufacture’s new attitude of giving customers the features they want.
Making Apple computers capable of running IBM software is Apple’s effort
at making Mackintosh compatible with IBM computers and thus more popular in the
office, where Apple hopes to increase sales. Users of the new Apple can also add
accessories to make their machines specialize in specific uses, such as
engineering and writing. The new computers represent a big
improvement over past models but they also cost much more. Company officials do
not think the higher price will slow down buyers who want to step up to a more
powerful computer. Apple wants to stay in the high price end of the personal
computer market to finance research for even faster, more sophisticated
computers; Even though Apple and IBM are major competitors, both
companies realize that their competitor’s computers have certain features that
their own models do not. The Apple line has always been popular for its
sophisticated color graphics, whereas the IBM machines have always been favored
in offices. In the future, there will probably be more compatibility between the
two companies’ products, which no doubt will require that both Apple and IBM
change marketing strategies. The best title for the passage would be ______.
A.Apple’s Efforts to Stay Ahead of IBM B.Apple’s New Computer Technology C.Apple’s New Personal Computers D.Apple’s Research Activities