Apple boss claims one in four computers sold in America is a Mac

Macs are now the best-selling desktop and laptop computers in America, according to Tim Cook. Speaking at the 'Let's Talk iPhone' event in Cupertino where the iPhone 4S was launched, the Apple boss claimed nearly one in four computers sold in the United States is a Mac.

Cook, who quoted figures from NPD for US retail, claimed the Mac platform has achieved epidemic-like year on year growth of 23 per cent over the past five years and now has a total user base of almost 60 million. Year on year growth of PCs were stunted, in comparison, at just 4 per cent.

Cook also revealed some impressive adoption rates for Lion, the latest iteration of the company's laptop and desktop operating system. Six million copies have been downloaded thus far, which accounts for 10 per cent of the entire OS X installed base.

According to Cook, it took Apple took just two weeks to reach that milestone. Microsoft, in comparison, had to wait a whopping 20 weeks for 10 per cent of its customers to make the shift to Windows 7.

Cook has attributed OS X Lion's popularity to two factors. Firstly, he quoted Walt Mossberg, saying it's the "best operating system out there", and secondly, that the process for upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion is about as easy as falling down stairs (our words, not his).

These are valid points, but there's a third factor at play: the Lion update was so incredibly cheap you'd basically be an idiot not to buy it. Here in the UK, it cost a mere £20.99, which is a small price to pay for Apple lovers to get their mitts on 250 new features, including improved gesture control, the ability to make applications run full screen and Mission Control.

Are you another PC owner who's tempted to make the switch to Macs, or are you firmly entrenched in the Windows camp? Let us know in the comments section below.