MacRumors.com

A Computerworld.com blog reports on an interesting comment by Apple COO Tim Cook during last week's Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium. Cook revealed that Apple has edged past Dell and is now the #1 laptop supplier in higher education:

"We just received word on Monday that Apple surpassed Dell as the number one supplier of portables to US higher education for 2007," Cook claimed. "The ceiling for the Macs is nowhere in sight. Even if the market itself isn't growing, for us, switching Windows users is an enormous opportunity," Cook also added.

This finding corroborates an increasing number of anecdotal reports that Apple's popularity has been booming in Universities settings. Apple's success is even more striking when compared to 2006 numbers. At that time, a survey across 100 college campuses showed that 40% of students were planning on buying a Dell laptop, while only 21% were planning on buying an Apple laptop.

Apple has also started efforts to integrate the iPhone into university settings with pilot programs expected to start shortly.