Notes of interest from Apple's Q209 quarterly conference call - Page 2

Netbooks are recession-candy.

Once the economic climate improves, watch netbook sales tank.

Apple doesn't need to be a part of the cheap junk. Consumers are also interested in Dells, HPs, etc.

If Apple does make a netbook-style device, the differentiator will be great software running in a small package - meaning, dynamic portability. Not price.

".... we think that competition is great... as long as other companies invent their own stuff."

I'm really beginning to like this guy!

Offer SLI and even triple SLI on the Mac Pro and you'll see sales noticeably improve.

Without that the CAD/CAM/FEA industry will use Linux before OS X.

From my experience you at least need a 12 inch display to correctly view a webpage.

A webpage that has been formatted for mobile phones, you don't have to do any zooming on the iPhone. Pretty much all of the most popular websites have mobile formatted sites too. Also websites arraigned in a column format are easy to navigate on the iPhone without the need for a lot of pinch/zoom. The problem is not as big as you make it sound.

Here's what Tim Cook had to say about netbbooks:

For us, its about doing great products. And when I look at what is being sold in the netbook space today, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens, and just not a consumer experience that we would put the Mac brand on, quite frankly. And so its not a space, as it exists today, that were interested in, nor do we believe that customers in the long term would be interested in.

Tim Cook to netbooks: "Drop dead."

Make of that what you will, but whatever ever Apple tends to openly denigrate, ends up losing its desirability. It gets Wal-Mart'ed.

It's an absolutely brilliant way of saying you're the superior brand, the superior option. It's ballsy in the extreme. No one else does that. And no on else is enjoying the success that Apple is, either.

Apple will release a device to "compete" with these netbooks in the Premium category. But it won't look like a netbook. Other companies will try to follow suit - that is, duplicate the features and desirability of this new product/paradigm at lower cost (what they usually try to do.) Netbooks will be supplanted and die a slow death.

So get one of these budget-bangers while you can, because they won't last.

iPods and IPhones are sold at Wal-Mart.

Net book?
After spending too much time on the ipod touch, I am ready for a larger version that I can see better, type on easier, with better reception, that I can run the game apps on, surf on, get on my time machine disk for reading and editing documents, and view a movie on, or listen to music.

I want a handpad I can read a newspaper on, read a book on, and answer my emails on. I don't expect a two handed touch typing system. It would be nice if I could skype on it too. I want to use Ical, safari, and Itunes. If you want to toss in a gps feature, OK, but that's too much like the phone. The compass and accelerometers would expand the game market, as long as they could talk to one another.

I don't want a phone ( G3 or G4 voice thang) . I don't want to take real pictures with it. I don't want to write a novel on it. I want a heavy duty touch, with a great screen, that I can network into my other Imacs, and use them for a remote drive. If you want a USB port, thats OK too, but not a deal breaker.

Decent battery life would be nice, and a decent amount of on board memory.

I am getting an Air, but I want something I don't have to read on my lap in bed. I figure that is what SJ is monkeying with at home right now. That, or driving the wife and kids crazy. It's half the reason I think he took off, to get better and get this project done.

Oh, and I want a baby blue unicorn and talks and poops rainbows.

But a netbook makes more sense for browsing the web, taking notes, writing extended e-mails, etc, than an iPhone/Touch.

I just can't get that warmed up over spending more than a few minutes using mobile Safari on a 3.5" screen, or not being able to check or even write e-mail in landscape mode on my Touch, not to mention it lacks CPU speed, storage, and memory.

It could also be an issue with my Touch (OS 2.2), but it has a lag when trying to type messages in Safari, or it just gives up and crashes. The whole reason I got a netbook, is that I wanted something smaller than my laptop, but had more oomph than my Touch; the Touch a better browsing experience than my phone, but it's only good in a pinch.

Absolutely, and a notebook makes more sense than a netbook. More importantly, the iPhone isn't trying to be a notebook, it's a handheld device with some internet capabilities.

The problem with all of today's netbooks and a lot of CE is they wedge themselves into an area they think is devoid and then try to fit the needs of everything above and below it. Netbooks are really the worst of everything. It's not a comfortable or usable notebook and it's not a portable handheld device. It's better to have a notebook and an iPhone/Touch than it would be to have a netbook, and there is no reason to have all three at once. They have Atom processors that can't even run "high quality" video on Hulu because Flash is too resource hungry. It's 480p and a low bitrate at that, but you have to use 360p if you want to prevent stuttering.

Why must you always challenge me? You always loose. The 13inch MacBook is 2 inches wider than the 12inch PowerBook. Put down your KoolAid and look it up -I dare you. You're laughable- you can't read text on an 11 " display? Right and that's why netbooks are designed primarily just for that and they go down to 5 inches.
By your reasoning your iPhone's screen is worthless but alas I'm positive you'll come up for a reason that it's better than an 11" screen to view because it's an Apple iPhone.

At least I'm glad you agree that a notebook makes more sense.

Lose? When have you ever come close to having a viable argument you could win. Case in point, I state that 4:3 ratio 12" PB was taller and the 13" 16:9 MB being shorter and you come back with a comment about the MB being considerably wider, which with a 16:9 ratio proves my point to a tee, but you think think proves your point in some bizarro Teckstudian logic. You need to check your meds and your math again. Back to the ignore list with you, Tecktroll.

Originally I was going to buy an iMac but for reasons I've mentioned before decided to stay with my white power horse,
So now I want a new laptop.I was in Apple yesterday & was talking to a sales rep telling her I kinda of like the MBA without the black border but was told for video editing (iMovie) not good- go for the MacBook. However the new MacBook has no firewire for my camera! Then I notice how the body show scratches very easy unlike the white one. And then there's the high glossed screens. There they all were bouncing lights off them and the Mac class is being taught with the old matte cinema display which all could view from every angle. I swear - whoever decided to go high glossy screen for the environment should be waterboarded- I'm talking to you Al Gore.
However the 17 inch matte MacBook Pro is unbelievable- amazing. NO ugly black border around the screen. And that screen is gorgeous. Why Apple why? I am stuck too.

Lose? When have you ever come close to having a viable argument you could win. Case in point, I state that 4:3 ration 12" PB was taller than the 13" 16:9 MB being shorter and you come back with a comment about the MB being wider, which with a 16:9 proves my point. You need to check your meds and your math again.

Tecktroll? People want a small form factor- I don't care if it's 16:9-.4:3 -whatever. Small is in- that my point. You keep distorting it with screen ratios and everything you can conjure up in your kool-aid bag of tricks.

Got Kool-aid?

- They are not selling as well- the figures and the writer of this article states that not me. Stop spinning lies and distortions.

- Never said no one likes glossy screen. But many of us don't - again you distort what I write.

- Apple had refused to give us a small formed factor laptop again and again. MBA is not small- it's thin. The 12 inch Powerbook was 2 inches less wide than any 13 inch current model MacBook and was wildly popular and missed by those that owned them. Fact not fiction. An 11inch 16:9 would be a small formed laptop. The 13 inch MacBook simply does not fill this niche nor does the MBA.

- I mention one price drop in the MacMini and you go ballistic stating I said price drops everywhere?

-The new shuffle does suck - what does "buyers responded well" mean? It's a brand new product- of course it's gonna sell to the trendoids and the uninformed. Why wouldn't it sell?

You're laughable with your constant distortions and misrepresentations of what I or any others say against the doctrine.

146 million notebooks were sold in 2008, while roughly 11 million netbooks were sold. Just to put their popularity in perspective.

7% over very few years- not bad.
Kinda of like Mac's share of computer sales- like 8 % over like how many years?
your point? so? and?

I don't think so...

If Apple comes up with pricey competitor to netbooks, it will do as well as other Apple computers do in their respective markets... taking, on average, less than 10% of that market. No matter how cool Apple "netbook" (or whatever comes out) will be, majority of people will still need just a basic ultra-portable computer with adequate price.

Only markets where Apple does rock&roll (market share wise) - beside not being typical computer market segments - are markets where Apple pricing is very competitive to competition. iPods - at least here in NZ - are equally priced, often even cheaper than equivalent Creative Zens and other brands. iPhone is more than price-competitive with high end Nokias, Blackerries and HTC - actually, handful of them are more expensive than iPhone and, arguably, are not offering more features.

And meanwhile perhaps 10 million Touches were sold in 2008 (13 million were sold from its first release in fall 2007 through end of 2008). with 3 million more now in the first quarter of 2009. it may have started as a better iPod, but once iPhone apps arrived last year it became much more - a mini net tablet.

So if/when apple releases a 9" Touch this year, it will blow the "junky" netbooks away (and they'll be selling for $99), more than doubling its current sales pace, dramatically surpassing all PC netbook sales.

Why on earth (or any other planet) would Apple want to build a low cost netbook to compete with all the other netbooks (and eat into their own highly profitable laptop business)? Although they seem to be selling in good numbers, It seems unlikely that any netbook manufacturer is making any profits on the little buggers. To throw out junk equipment would not enhance the Mac user experience. Apple does not make junk and hopefully never will.

Will the larger touch screen device be priced in the $300 to $500 range. Very doubtful. But it will be a slick machine built on quality equipment, based on an ever expanding software platform. No doubt it will be able to print, accept external keyboards and mice, and have other USB expandability. It will be a game changer for the long run, unlike the netbook fad, which, I predict, will fade as users realize how crummy they really are.

(Fire away!)

The point being that netbooks are not all that popular.....at least not so far.

Netbooks sell at an average price of $350, Macs sell at an average price of $1500. Which one is the better percentage to have?

Yeah, cheap computing for the masses is a bad thing.

I just find it remarkable, that I now have a device, that fits in the palm of my hand, weighs 2.5 pounds, has an LED LCD, wireless, a mult-card reader, a HD twice the size of the one that came in my Mini, and the same GPU, more USB ports than a MB, and last Nov., it cost $350 for the AAO.

And it's powerful enough to do mundane things like browse the web, e-mail, run OOo, a few older games (like AoE III), and the Atom N270 is not to shabby. And if I had the 6-cell battery, I could easily get 4-5 hours out of it. And most important to me, I can choose what applications I want to run on it, and can run a variety of OS (currently Ubuntu 8.10, XP, and Win7 beta 1).

And Nvidia Ion platform is already available in nettops, and it uses the same 9400M found in current Macs. Now only if Adobe would rewrite Flash in CUDA. It's only a matter of time before it winds up in a new netbook.

I don't give a rat's ass about some logo or how some company can rape me on high profit margins. I love OSX, but I'm not that dense to pass up something that I think is a pretty good price/performance ratio, and I can even type pretty well on it too (like I am right now).

Oh, my mistake, I thought I liked my netbook. Let's see. My Dell Mini 12 has a perfect form factor, a nice minimalist design and good build quality. It has a comfortable keyboard with good action and a nicely sized 12" 1280x800 screen. The included Ubuntu software works flawlessly. It cost me $400.

On the other hand, the screen quality sucks. Glossy and reflective. I'm sure Apple would never use a screen like that!

I think he is referring to the recent customer satisfaction study, which found that netbook customer satisfaction is very lower compared notebooks.

Well, for me, I use my MacBook 13" White Core Duo for basically everything essential and work-related. iPhone 3G for everything really-on-the-go.

Then, a bang-for-buck AMD+ATI PC for gaming, Folding, and tinkering around.

For me, a netbook is rubbish.

Maybe something to do with my brain, although I have very good eyesight I really cannot operate a computer with anything less than 13". I start to feel a little dizzy, can't think as clearly. The iPhone 3G is great as it is because everything is mostly the right size and user-friendliness. But I'm a very, very light app user and I would not actually play any games on the iPhone 3G.

Well, that's my perspective on things.

You can bet your bottom dollar though that there is something in the 10" marketspace that is *not* a usual netbook that has potential... I think Apple is right, there's the opportunity for innovation there. It could be Apple, it may not be.

In the meantime, I'm looking at the best way to get 20"+ screens for my work and home... The best bang-for-buck visually and *ergonomically*.

I'm just waiting for the price of Alu Macbooks to come down and 4GB RAM costs to drop. Or, to say, let the technology filter down to the white Macbook price point... except with no more white!

"kool-aid bag of tricks"

While on some level, the earnings call shed no new data, this is one of those cases where no news is actually GREAT news, something that I blogged about in:

ANALYSIS - Apple Quarterly Earnings Call: When No News is GREAT News
(http://bit.ly/2DmNZ)

Check it out if interested.

Mark

That'll be extra.

Yet no information about AppleTV.

Because they are going to realize that their existing customer base is already buying netbooks.

Personally, I have no interest in them. But I see a lot of other Mac owners who are buying them. Especially owners of the 12" PowerBook.

They are a market segment that is going to stay and Apple needs sell into this space for the same reasons they sell a Mac mini.

You see "a lot of other Mac owners" buying netbooks . . . to not run OS X and Apple applications??

So "a lot of other Mac owners" are buying into products that are the exact antithesis of Apple.

Right.

Or are these "other Mac owners" just the tech enthusiast niche that post on AI, like you and me that like to screw around with netbooks and hack them to run OS X?

No.

Some have jobs that require lots of travel and they don't like carrying around a bulky MacBook.

Others are women who complain that the MacBook is too heavy.

selling better (percentage wise) than the market, and a world wide recession is lies and distortions?

heres a hint, let someone else wear the asshat for a while

well then, to paraphrase Billy Connelly "GO - OFF!"

This proves it. Apple has their head up their rear ends are getting high off the stench. Then explain why so many people are hacking their netbooks to run OS X and many want a netbook that runs OS X but don't know how or to afraid to hack.

The rumors of Apple's 10 inch something project are driving people like me mad with anticipation which will probably end in major frustration just like the 13 inch MacBooks did and every product released in the last 5 years.

This is just Apple's way of saying we don't have the engineering know how how to build a netbook or a 10 inch laptop with full features like HDMI, several USB/firewire ports, or anything useful that we as customers want.

Blu-ray, a bag of hurt,

No Flash in iphone/ipod touch-too complicated,

Replaceable battery in MacBook Air, iphone/touch-Can't be done (use carbon fiber and it can like the Voodoo Envy).

No firewire in 13 inch Mac Book-it appeals to a different group and people don't need it.

Anything useful that uses 3G, sorry no can do, we support only tech that makes you buy music, shows, movies and services from us and our partners at ridiculous cost and anything of value to you is not allowed.

Tethering-hell no, well maybe me if you sell your first born but then we will still stop you from skyping or accessing sling player.

Problem with screens being too reflective- sorry that looks better to us so shut up and just buy our product or prepare to be socially ostracized

future excuse-Its our mission to stop putting in CD/DVD drives in our computers so you can't watch any content you have available on CD/DVD so you must download your content from us.

Seems like everything we want is being countered with some BS and then they add customers don't want it and they are too cool to make crap. Dude wake up You have made nothing but crap the last 5 years.

The iphone, with version 3 is what a basic iphone should have been at launch. Trying to use your fingers is a nightmare. Especially trying to edit or cut, copy and paste. With a stylus they would not need those two end quotes or points. No keyboard or support for 3rd party BT keyboards, so how do you do much of anything on that device. I admit, i like the browser but no flash support is sick.


Seriously folks Apple has really lost its way, being an Apple fan boy for nearly 3 decades, i am ashamed of what they have become. They are now Big Blue. They have become what their founders hated. Think Different. Well Apple its time you Think Different. Start innovating again and listening to what we want. Stop making deals with companies that hurt your customers like AT&T. You walked away from NBC (as you said) so AT&T is a bully. I too have been waiting to buy a new mac, laptop, etc but they are not giving me what i need. Their hardware is dated and needs to be updated. They still don't have a mac that can kill at PC games, no quad core, no blu-ray, HDMI, etc. Seriously at your prices, i should be getting a lot more then coolness and social status.

Vote with your dollars folks and let Apple know that we the consumers are the ones with the power. They do what we want and not the other way around. Their big head needs to be shrunk. If you are a mac Fanboy/loyalist, then you must help Apple find its way again as it is drunk with power and blinded with greed. Steve Jobs lost his mind just like this and he was tossed out. Yeah his insanity/genius made Apple what it is today and saved them from ruin, but he is going over the edge again and now he has brainwashed cronies to do his bidding. So vote with your dollars don't buy their crap until they give us what we want and save Apple.

By the way Steve Jobs favorite phrase is "a sucker is born everyday". So, time for you to ask yourself, are you one?

did you read that part in the report that said, "we want to sell the BEST computers, NOT the MOST" ??

Who really gives a shit that a notebook is 2" wider? It's primarily weight and short enough so the seat in front of you doesn't crush your notebook. Width helps in keeping the keyboards a little bigger.

The 10" netbooks primary weakness however is height resolution. 1024x576 sucks. But higher resolution screens should fix that. Of course, it'll be a bit smaller text wise at 1366x768 but bumping it up to 11-12" and you're not that much smaller than a MB.

There's a reason why netbooks have had a steady progression from 7" to 9" to 10" with some 12" ones. Folks want smaller and lighter yes, but they don't need ultra small unless it fits in a pocket. The MBA is a perfectly suitable lightweight machine. It's just a tad pricey.

I like my wife's 10" Lenovo netbook and steal it a lot for work. I wouldn't bother with a 9" tablet but given Apple's consumer focus I could see them going with a tablet over a netbook. It's just nearly as useful without a keyboard.

Right...which is Dell is on the ropes (with all the stuff you say is critical) and Apple is doing better than most of the industry. Because Apple has no clue on how to keep customers happy.

I recommend you go buy a Dell and help keep them from getting bought out by some Chinese company.