Forget Market share, It’s All About Mindshare
When you think about it, Apple's place in the tech industry is a bit weird. Even before the iPod took the MP3 player market lead and at the same time helped Apple go from fledging computer company to tech industry leader, Apple has always been included in almost every tech discussions. Even today, with both the iPod and the iPhone being huge successes, Apple has managed to keep its Mac computers in the news despite the smallish market share.
Same with Safari on Windows really. Whatever Apple does these days, it will be discussed, it will be analyzed and it will bring about both very ardent fans and very ardent detractors. Contrast this with a new computer released by HP or Dell and you'll understand why mindshare is what matters.
Apple has always done things differently. "Think Different" was their slogan for a while and it certainly applies to what Apple does, even to this day. When Apple updates its online store, the store goes offline for a few hours. When they release major new products or major updates to a product, Apple invites journalists to a special event. When Apple created the Mighty Mouse, they ceded on the 2 buttons issue but still did it their own way by having a 1 button mouse with a sensor. When Apple created the iTunes App Store, instead of going the open route, the company decided to control everything that goes on sale. Instead of using Linux or Windows, Apple has its own operating system and for a long time was using its own special CPU architecture.
Why? I don't know the answer to that for sure, but I can certainly say that it's been working to their advantage for many years now. Since they never do things like everybody else, whatever they do is discussed. There's no doubt the Droid is a very good phone, but other than "can it beat the iPhone" stories, it hasn't come close to getting the kind of attention the iPhone gets. Dell is a very big company that has had a lot of successes, but they release stuff that many other companies release and they do so the way many other companies do. The result? They get the same "normal" coverage and buzz everyone else get.
With the success its had in the past 10-12 years, Apple will no doubt be studied for a while in business classes around the world. Hopefully people will understand what it is that make Steve's company a different beast. Apple may only have 5-12% market share worldwide, but it doesn't really matter. They are winning the mindshare war, and that's what will matter in the long run.