Apple Mac sales slumped early this year before recovering to post record figures in the second half of the year. But the recovery has not ironed the creases on the Apple boss’s forehead. For the earlier slump may prove to be a pattern that’s been emerging ever since the portable laptops entered the computing arena two and a half years ago.

The Mac slump came at a time when portable laptop sales went through the roof. According to IDC, the global orders for portable laptops saw a tremendous growth in the first quarter of 2009 and even by conservative estimate, the order count will not be any less than a whopping 22 million by the year-end. And going by the run rate till date, the sales seem to be keeping pace with the ticking clock.

You think these are significant signs of things to come? Actually, these are ominous signs of competition — both for the Mac as well as laptop makers. The slump for Mac sales was the first in more than five years and it does not seem that the recession had a bearing on Mac sales. If that was the case, then the same logic would have also applied to portable laptop sales figures, pulling them down drastically. The effect, has been quite dramatically opposite.

And in spite of the Mac recovery, there are no visible slowdown signs for the ultra portable laptops that have seen unprecedented demand. In fact, the portable laptop makers are finding it hard to keep pace with spiraling demand from the tech savvy consumers who want a smart and snazzy machine that is cheap, easy to lug around and yet, is not completely a no-frills and stripped-down version of the big brother, powerful laptop.

Clearly, the portable laptop is not a fad as predicted and written off by many industry watchers. The prophecy that the arrival with a bang will whimper off to oblivion has not come true. In fact, such has been the meteoric rise of the machine that the boot has now literally shifted on the other foot.

But what’s the secret behind the mini machine’s success? Many analysts believe that people are now coming to terms with computing that’s good enough to satisfy their basic demands. The vendors have also taken the hint from the consumers that their machines need not be an all-frills super comp rattling off numbers at the blink of an eye. What’s the use of a Core 2 Duo CPU if all a person does on his machine is basic computing?

What people did not have earlier was a cheap option that gave them the right tools to do the job required of them. And since a good enough machine is now available for a cheaper price, the non-geeks now prefer a simpler machine that are stripped off the flashy stuff and extra power but have the right add-ons to get their job done.

So what’s the way forward for competition? A stripped down version of the popular franchise or a lowering of the price tag? That’s for the tech gurus to ponder.