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CAPITALIZING ON an improving supply situation, Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. is seeing its share of the small- and midsizenotebook market move sharply higher, according to the February CRN/Answers Research Inc. reseller poll.
Poll results show 37 percent of resellers citing Toshiba as the manufacturer of their best-selling notebook. This is a record high for the Irvine, Calif.-based company and is up from 30 percent in January and 27 percent in December.
The IBM PC Co., Somers, N.Y., is a distant second, with 12 percent of reseller votes, followed by Compaq Computer Corp., Houston, at 10 percent. On average, these figures have shown little change in the past six months, according to polling data.
Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, Calif., captured a 4 percent share in February. This was down from 7 percent in January, but still above the percentages seen in the previous six months.
Moreover, shortages of Apple notebooks are rising sharply. Some 40 percent of resellers are reporting short supplies, according to the CRNproduct shortage measure, up from 31 percent in January and 26 percent in December.
In contrast, notebook shortages continue to ease for the top three manufacturers.
Thirty percent of resellers reported shortages of Compaq notebooks, down from 39 percent in the previous surveythe lowest figure since August 1996.
For IBM, the figure is 44 percent, down from 46 percent in January and the peak level of 61 percent last May.
Toshiba notebooks remain in the tightest supply, with 47 percent of resellers reporting shortages. This is the same percentage as in the previous poll, but a considerable improvement over the average of 58 percent in the fourth quarter of 1996.
Data on three-month...