consumer are so distrustful of Microsoft that Apple could double its market share due to defection from the Windows operating organisation , a report by marketplace analysis firm Forrester Research says .

The input come in a write up that looks at brand identity and the grandness of a companionship ’s brand . The report also studies the effect a party ’s brand has on the pricing of its products and the demographic of those that purchase the products .

Over all , only Apple and Tivo see their marque trust rise in the last two old age , according to the report . The net tally saw Bose , Dell , Hewlett - Packard , Panasonic and Sony earn the highest scrape , while Microsoft , Gateway and LG rank lowest .

The down in the mouth scores for Microsoft could signify good news for Apple as consumer show their mistrust of the Redmond - based software - goliath .

“ Microsoft faces big consumer desertion risk : One measure of consumers ’ dissatisfaction with Microsoft is seen in the 5.4 million household that gave it a brand reliance of 1 ( distrust a lot ) or 2 ( distrust a bit ) , ” the report said . “ compare with all Microsoft user , these at - risk user have higher income , are much more likely to be male and are openhanded on-line spender . These households know they run Microsoft software system but would be just as happy to leave it behind — if they could . Apple could double its PC share by make headway Microsoft ’s at - risk customer . ”

The demographic of Microsoft ’s at - risk customers fits well with Apple ’s exploiter foot , which Forrester describes as “ moneyed , affirmative about technology and blade cognizant . ”

The study was also done before Apple gave users of its Intel - found Macs the power to lean Windows natively on their computers using a double - kick configuration .

Forrester had a duet of finding in the write up that may be worrisome . One finding is that Apple ’s brand realization conk out to cover theiPod .

“ The Apple brand adoption data bet wrong — after all , the caller has sold 42 million iPods , far more than the 5.2 million households that claim to use the Apple steel regularly — until you realize that ‘ Apple Computer ’ is not the same mark as ‘ iPod , ’ the Forrester story said .

Forrester says that Apple should link the iPod more strongly to the Apple brand in next publicizing . This would also link potential customers to the higher margin estimator product .

The second problem for Apple is the cock-a-hoop differences between its unconstipated users and its aspiring user . While Apple users may be moneyed and optimistic , aspiring Apple customers have lower income and are more pessimistic about technology in worldwide .

Apple has been trying to reach entrance - stratum customers with mathematical product like the Mac mini , but the report suppose they need to continue to reach out to consumer .

“ Those who plan to utilise Apple in the future have on average a third less income and bigger families , ” said the report . “ To reach these 7 million US households , Apple must continually cue them that its pricing is competitive and its products are accessible to everyone . ”