[IP] Apple juggernaut shows no sign of waning
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From: Bob Rosenberg <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 26, 2005 10:30:20 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Apple juggernaut shows no sign of waning
Dave
Perhaps for IP.
Cordially,
Bob Rosenberg
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Apple juggernaut shows no sign of waning
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/biztech/12/26/apple.whats.next.ap/
index.html
SAN JOSE, California (AP) -- Five years ago, Apple Computer Inc. was
barely an
afterthought in the halls of electronics companies.
Not anymore. With its best-selling iPods and landmark licensing deals
with music
and television moguls propelling new ways of consuming digital media,
Apple now
is the pacesetter.
"In the consumer electronics world, there's always talk now about
Apple, the way
people used to talk about Sony," said analyst Richard Doherty of The
Envisioneering Group. "At the water cooler or in boardrooms, they're
asking,
'What is Apple doing next?' or 'How do we stay out of their way?"'
If anything, the company's momentum accelerated in 2005.
It gave us the iPod shuffle, the Mac mini, the nano, the video-
playing iPod, a
new iMac with a remote control and TV shows for sale on its iTunes
online
store.
Steve Jobs, Apple's rainmaker, was even parodied in a "Saturday Night
Live"
sketch, evidence of how the Cupertino-based outfit is ingrained in
pop culture
like no other tech company.
In the skit, an actor impersonating the chief executive (sporting black
turtleneck and jeans, of course) introduces three iPods within
minutes of each
other. Each device makes its predecessor obsolete -- from the iPod
Micro to the
iPod Pequeno, and finally the iPod Invisa, which though invisible can
still hold
8 million songs and every picture ever taken.
Apple is characteristically mum on the products it has in store for
2006, but
analysts and observers say there's no question rain is on its way.
The only
debate is on how strong a downpour.
Different varieties of the iPod are reported in the works by sites
run by Apple
afficionados. Perhaps an iPhone, or an iPod-cell phone hybrid.
There is considerable speculation that iPods will get wireless Internet
connectivity.
Analysts also expect a bigger display at some point for better video
viewing.
As Apple works to make its computers digital multimedia hubs, the
book-sized Mac
mini introduced in early 2005 is predicted to get features that will
make it fit
more comfortably in a living room.
Add an iPod dock or a TV tuner, for instance, and it could serve as a
home's
music hub and a TiVo-like digital video recorder.
The slimmer iMac that Apple introduced in the fall -- complete with a
remote
control and "Front Row" software that lets users access their music,
photos and
video from across the room -- suggests Apple is readying to step
deeper into the
media center arena. (Full story)
Home media servers, computers designed to control digital music,
video and TV
consumption, are starting to pick up in sales, with about 5 million
shipped
worldwide in 2005, according to IDC analyst David Daoud.
The nascent market is dominated by a variety of machines that run
Microsoft
Corp.'s Windows Media Center Edition operating system. But there's
little
consumer excitement, certainly not matching the thrill that followed
the debut
of Apple's original iPod in 2001.
Apple sold 22.5 million iPods in the 2005 fiscal year that ended in
September,
bringing cumulative iPod sales to more than 28 million.
The Web site ThinkSecret.com, which has correctly revealed some of
Apple's
previous products before launch -- to the ire of Apple and its
lawyers --
reports from unnamed sources that Apple will unveil in January an
upgrade of
"Front Row," allowing users to stream content purchased from the
Internet
without storing it on a computer hard disk.
If true, it could mark yet another Apple coup in digital content
delivery mode.
Apple's recent breakthrough offer of selling television shows on
iTunes for
viewing on computers or its newest iPods is already expected to spur
online
distribution of video.
Many expect Apple to sign more deals with TV networks in 2006,
expanding its
video portfolio much as it did with music and thereby swelling its
coffers.
Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of applications, wouldn't discuss
future
products but explained Apple's modus operandi.
"The key thing is we could bring three things to the table all at
once -- the
hardware, the software and the service," he said. "And we integrate
those so
it's an easy, compelling experience for consumers."
Few other companies are similarly equipped.
Those that are, such as Sony Corp., have failed to make a dent in
Apple's
crushing dominance in the portable player and online music markets.
The streak of innovative products in 2005 sent Apple soaring to an
all-time high
of nearly $14 billion in revenue, more than double what it had two
fiscal years
ago. Its stock was also on a tear in 2005, and now trades at more
than double
the 52-week low of $30.80 on December 21, 2004.
Apple's planned move to use microprocessors from Intel Corp. -- the
world's
largest chipmaker and Microsoft's entrenched partner -- is also
adding fuel to
upside reports on Wall Street.
Sales of computers, still Apple's biggest revenue generator, could
get a boost
if Apple scales down prices with the help of lower-priced Intel chips.
Citing the possibility Apple might introduce an Intel-based laptop as
early as
January, Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner recently raised his Apple
PC unit
shipment estimates from 5.1 million to 5.5 million for the 2006
fiscal year. He
was also bullish on expected sales of the video-playing iPod,
estimating Apple's
revenues would be up 46 percent from fiscal 2005.
Apple has also recently made market share inroads in the United States,
according to IDC. After years of hovering between a 2.5 and 3.7
percent share
of the U.S. PC market, the company finally cracked 4 percent in the
first half
of 2005, Daoud said.
Apple's market share of PC shipments was 4.4 percent in the third
quarter, an
increase of 43 percent from the year ago period, while the overall PC
market
expanded by only 2 percent, he said.
As many as 1 million of the 4.5 million computers Apple shipped in
fiscal 2005
were from Windows users switching platforms -- a sign of a "halo
effect" from
iPod sales and Apple's growing retail presence, said Needham & Co.
analyst
Charlie Wolf.
The iPod's continued success notwithstanding, Wolf thinks the
strength of
Apple's performance in 2006 "will depend on how well they convert
Windows users
to the Mac."
Indeed, all eyes are on Apple.
"Apple is moving faster than ever and we expect them to move at an
even faster
pace next year," Doherty said.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This
material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/biztech/12/26/apple.whats.next.ap/
index.html
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