Three decades ago, Apple Computer made a name for itself by selling taupe-colored boxes that popularized the idea of computers for personal use. But as the Cupertino, California-based company turns 30 on Saturday, it may want to consider dropping the word “computer” in its name.

In its heyday, Apple had 15.8 percent share of the world’s personal computer market, according to Gartner. And that was in 1980—four years before its ubiquitous Macintosh made its debut in TV ad during the Super Bowl that had the look of an art film.

Fast forward to 2005, when IDC reported Apple’s global share of the computer market at 2.35 percent for the year, up only slightly from 2.02 percent in 2004 (see It’s a Mac, Mac, Mac, Macworld). Compare that to the 16.8 percent share that Dell, the No. 1 PC vendor in 2005, enjoys.

Dell

No, Apple’s strength is no longer its computers, despite their elegantly simple design and loyal base of hardcore users. At least not if you’re talking use of computers as a word processor, number cruncher, Internet browser, and email checker.

But the Mac may develop more mass appeal if Apple can successfully tie it into the company’s current strength: digital entertainment.

Apple’s iPod portable music player makes up 80 percent of the U.S. market for portable digital media players and 50 percent of the global market, according to Apple. The company’s online music store, iTunes, was originally set up as a support service for the players but has grown to dominate legal music downloads. It handles 70 percent of such downloads in the U.S. market, Apple said.

U.S.

Offerings from iTunes have grown from song tracks to include entire albums, TV show episodes, and even certain Disney and Pixar feature films. Most analysts say it’s a matter of time before all kinds of feature-length movies are for sale. And that could boost Apple in a new direction.

Pixar

Digital Entertainment Company

“Will Apple ever become a predominantly computer company again? I don’t think so,” said Roger Kay, founder of tech research company Endpoint Technologies. “I think they’ll become a digital entertainment company.”

“Will Apple ever become a predominantly computer company again? I don’t think so,” said Roger Kay, founder of tech research company Endpoint Technologies. “I think they’ll become a digital entertainment company.”

That means entertainment by the customers as well as for them.

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“Apple wants to be what’s next, and that’s the digital PC in the living room,” Piper Jaffray research firm analyst Gene Munster said. “The way we use computers is changing…The average person is becoming more creative, and people want to do things with computers they haven’t been able to do in the past.”

Like create and edit photo montages, videos, and music tracks. Indeed, notes Mr. Kay, “The iLife suite [of Apple’s creativity software] is what’s really cool about the Macintosh.”

To be sure, Apple’s computers may not need to rely on the increasingly digital nature of household entertainment.

In February, the company filed a patent on what many figured to be an improved version of a tablet computer, complete with interfaces that make child’s play of mouses and simple touchscreens.

That could push the company to the cutting edge of mobility, with a smaller-than-laptop machine that can be used as a personal assistant, emailer, or even media player.

Improving on Other’s Mistakes

No matter that Microsoft’s Origami mini-computer fell flat on introduction (see Origami Could Get Crushed). Apple is known for watching others make mistakes, then putting out their improved version of a product.

Origami Could Get Crushed

But analysts say that Apple’s quest for wide-ranging computer dominance will probably be cut short. Except for highly creative businesses, Mr. Kay and Mr. Munster noted that Apple will have a hard time making inroads in businesses, due in part to limited office software available for its machines.

Munster

And only certain consumers will continue to covet Apple machines as they can be too pricy for bargain shoppers. Most telling, Mr. Munster says, will be when Apple introduces its replacement for the iBook laptop, likely to happen in June.

Munster

“If it’s still around $1,000, then that would be a sign they want to stick to their niche market,” Mr. Munster said. “But if they lower the price, that would be a sign that they’re looking to increase their market share.”

Munster

And if that happens, maybe the “computer” in Apple’s name won’t be such a misnomer after all.