There were no tablets before Apple (unless you count the thing the UPS guy carried with him), just laptop computers without keyboards, with touchscreens.
Apple may not "enter" a new market this year. But for all these (clueless) analysts know, they may create one. Or two.
sure, there were no "tablet" computers before apple invented them, just like there was no "Facetime" before Apple invented that. Apple is very good at inventing new names for existing tech.
i'm hoping Piper is wrong - i want to see an Apple/iOS in-dash system. Sync Suks.
Only one person seriously thinks that Apple would get into manufacturing TV displays, and that is Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray, and he has been banging on about this idea for many years, since long before the first Apple TV was announced.
Gene Munster's stupid idea about Apple making a living-room-style TV has not been able to even take on board the latest changes that Apple made to the "Apple TV" hardware module, in particular the consumer-friendly $99 pricing, that will encourage many people to try it out.
It's too soon yet to see the effect of the $99 Apple TV on Xmas 2010 sales, but we have already heard that a million have been sold. I am sure that those sales will help Apple in its move into supplying TV content to Apple products such as the Mac, iPhone, iPad etc. and of course via the Apple TV to many HDTV screens made by so many different makers in so many different sizes.
I am equally sure that Apple will not turn into a home-appliance seller anytime soon.
I also think there's a good chance Apple will do a Tv. Despite what some people here are continually saying, a Tv seems to be a natural extension of Apple's product lines. A Tv is not an appliance, a fridge is an appliance, a washing machine is an appliance. A Tv is a product that is in the same category as what Apple is doing now, computing and home electronics.
I somehow don't think that all the patents Apple has recently gotten or applied for, involving 3D and backlighting is just for small handheld products. They've applied for a patent in LED backlighting which I read the other day which is unique, and has advantages over RGB backlighting that's expensive now, and bulky. When you apply that to a product, you can see that it's excellent for large monitors and Tv's, as well as small computers and handhelds.
Combine that witheir also unique 3D patents, and you have a way of making a large 3d Tv that doesn't need glasses. When might we see any of this? Hard to tell, and likely in small devices first, but the possibly for Apple to upend the large screen Tv segment is there, with the first non glasses 3d models. This also does holography, another unique component in the mix.
I wouldn't put it past them. tv is a very large business. It's exactly the kind of business Apple likes to get into and shake up. This would have all the manufacturers scrambling again.
As for a PHONE- to my mind it is a silly idea. There are a large number of entrenched players in that field and I don't think they could ever hope to make the margin levels that they are used to. In the short run they might, but in the long run they would not be sustainable.
There, now your post is fixed. It stated what you would have said in 2005, or so. Never underestimate the power of new technology used in ways that no one else is using it to change an industry.
It will be a busy year regardless. The iMac and MBP will need major redesigns for Sandy Bridge. OS X Lion is due. iPad 2 is coming (based on the leaked case moulds).
As for new markets, they are already in your pocket, your den and your living room. How about the car? But Apple's approach seems to be to find markets where things are being done poorly and enter the market and actually do it right (e.g. digital music players and iPod, cellphones and iPhone, iPad and tablets). But what is there horrendously bad in cars? Autodrive would be nice, but the driving experience overall is not terrible as it is.
In that sense (in the sense of fixing crap things) their biggest unfinished job is the computer, because people still find computers confusing, even the Mac. The Mac App Store will help a lot but there's more to be done. There are fundamental computing/visualization problems, like how you manage and easily browse large amounts of data. And speech recognition. And just the general stupidity of computers at understanding what the user wants to do. If you could just explain to the computer what you want, like with another person, you could have a lot less cluttered user interface. But that kind of thing is 30 years away I guess. But if they *could* get something like that working, it would be like the release of the original Macintosh, the whole audience would mess themselves.
I also think there's a good chance Apple will do a Tv. Despite what some people here are continually saying, a Tv seems to be a natural extension of Apple's product lines. A Tv is not an appliance, a fridge is an appliance, a washing Mashona is an appliance. A Tv is a product that is in the same category as what Apple is doing now, computing and home electronics.
An appliance is an instrument, apparatus, or device for a particular purpose or use. The implication that it only applies to machines that are used for domestic use or in a kitchen is not the only or original meaning.
Putting that aside, how would a TV fit into their lineup? Where in there stores would they house dozens of TV models of various sizes to accommodate all the various needs and desires of even their top tier buyers? Or would they simply have a few different TV panel sizes that would work for everyone? It’s not like the PC market where you tend to sit about the same distance from the monitor regardless of the user.
What benefit does having the AppleTV in an AppleHDTV serve if you can buy a better and cheaper HDTV from another and then a $99 AppleTV? Does not switching inputs to connect to an AppleTV worth it? I think a layover for apps would be nice, but wouldn’t this be more easily resolved by partnering with various TV makers to offer a special AppleTV interface across multiple brands?
How much can they feasibly make from HDTVs? Here’s an article that shows Sony only made $300M for the entire year. How many HDTV models do they sell?
I see more of a market for Apple to make an internet appliance with the capabilities for television. Something more along the lines of Sony’s internet TVs.
What else can Apple get into? I already have too many devices (although I love each and every one of them!!). Between portable media players, phones, tablets, computers, and a TV set-top box, I don't really know what else Apple needs or wants to get into as a consumer electronics company.
Oh there's plenty. There's professional markets like Airlines and Travel. There's also a huge social media market that Apple can hit but I am not sure what is their stand on internets.
There's also automotive market that apple can go into.
I see more of a market for Apple to make an internet appliance with the capabilities for television. Something more along the lines of Sony?s internet TVs.
And anyway it's not the TV itself that confuses people, it's the gaggle of boxes underneath, and that is what Apple TV replaces.
Well, at least that's what I think Apple should get themselves into... Maybe they already have, but simply haven't told us yet.
Why should Ford's (Microsoft) SYNC and in Europe/ROW, Fiat's Blue&Me (Microsoft) be one of the few OEM In-Car Entertainment (ICE) available? Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if Google is (or already has) started due-diligence in this market.
What I'm looking for is a Apple SmartICE that can do, as examples, the following:
1. Remotely start my vehicle from my iPhone or other iOS (compatible) device
2. Sync my iTunes media
3. Show car diagnostics (e.g. Engine Oil Life, Tire Pressure) on my iOS device(s)
4. Set up a scheduled service (iCal'd of course) and include a diagnostic report
5. Sync a trip with way-points/sight-seeing, restaurants, traffic from my iPhone
6. Calculate estimated amount of fuel left and look for fuel stops with the lowest prices
I'm sure there are lots more we'd want a Apple SmartICE to do like SatNav, phone, text dictation/speaking, integrate with a sound system (e.g. Bose) etc., you get the idea, but feel free to chime in. Indeed, some features may already exist in other ICEs.
Well, at least that's what I think Apple should get themselves into... Maybe they already have, but simply haven't told us yet.
Why should Ford's (Microsoft) SYNC and in Europe/ROW, Fiat's Blue&Me (Microsoft) be one of the few OEM In-Car Entertainment (ICE) available? Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if Google is (or already has) started due-diligence in this market.
What I'm looking for is a Apple SmartICE that can do, as examples, the following:
1. Remotely start my vehicle from my iPhone or other iOS (compatible) device
2. Sync my iTunes media
3. Show car diagnostics (e.g. Engine Oil Life, Tire Pressure) on my iOS device(s)
4. Set up a scheduled service (iCal'd of course) and include a diagnostic report
5. Sync a trip with way-points/sight-seeing, restaurants, traffic from my iPhone
6. Calculate estimated amount of fuel left and look for fuel stops with the lowest prices
I'm sure there are lots more we'd want a Apple SmartICE to do like SatNav, phone, text dictation/speaking, integrate with a sound system (e.g. Bose) etc., you get the idea, but feel free to chime in. Indeed, some features may already exist in other ICEs.
I think they are dominating the living room (not to be confused with the HEC) and the the car is the only place that Apple has always been a 3rd-party participant. I like the points you lis but I think this would be a harder but to crack than making a cable box for the US.
An Apple television doesn't seem to make sense. People don't change their television sets very often. Apple wants you to buy a new model of an iDevice in a couple of years which is why the AppleTV box makes sense. Get the new one, install it in your home theater, put the old one in the guest bedroom or give to the kid who's going to college.
Apple needs to keep its priorities straight when dealing with the living room. They need to sign more content deals, particularly with the sports leagues before then can really dive into this market.
Besides that, the margins on television sets are far below what Apple's typical gross margins are. A television is a commodity. As an AAPL shareholder, I'd rather prefer to see them in something with a higher margin.
I'm not so sure, Solipsism. I can definitely see a need for such integrated technology. A SmartICE would be a key differentiator to the car manufacturers. Indeed, market studies have indicated a Ford SYNC system is a big check-mark (tic) on the features list, for those drivers in their 20's and 30's, buying their first new car.
I also think that consumers would really take notice of a Apple iOS equipped car, and have more cache than SYNC/Blue&Me (Microsoft), Bose and BMW (iDrive) put together.
Everyone is looking at the recurring revenue business model. And yes, the "TV" is where it may be easier to get revenue from media sales or gathering statistical data. Still, I'd prefer to be a big cog in a small machine.
I like the way Apple is getting into the TV business by sneaking the aTV into the mix and allowing it to AirPlay. I think if they gradually add features like an HD tuner and a cable pass through, a couple of extra ports, and an Apple brand HD antenna, they can position aTV as an inexpensive management center for the living room TV. Death by a thousand cuts to the cable box.
Comments
There were no tablets before Apple (unless you count the thing the UPS guy carried with him), just laptop computers without keyboards, with touchscreens.
Apple may not "enter" a new market this year. But for all these (clueless) analysts know, they may create one. Or two.
sure, there were no "tablet" computers before apple invented them, just like there was no "Facetime" before Apple invented that. Apple is very good at inventing new names for existing tech.
i'm hoping Piper is wrong - i want to see an Apple/iOS in-dash system. Sync Suks.
80% of all statistics are made up.
56% of people know this.
Only one person seriously thinks that Apple would get into manufacturing TV displays, and that is Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray, and he has been banging on about this idea for many years, since long before the first Apple TV was announced.
Gene Munster's stupid idea about Apple making a living-room-style TV has not been able to even take on board the latest changes that Apple made to the "Apple TV" hardware module, in particular the consumer-friendly $99 pricing, that will encourage many people to try it out.
It's too soon yet to see the effect of the $99 Apple TV on Xmas 2010 sales, but we have already heard that a million have been sold. I am sure that those sales will help Apple in its move into supplying TV content to Apple products such as the Mac, iPhone, iPad etc. and of course via the Apple TV to many HDTV screens made by so many different makers in so many different sizes.
I am equally sure that Apple will not turn into a home-appliance seller anytime soon.
I also think there's a good chance Apple will do a Tv. Despite what some people here are continually saying, a Tv seems to be a natural extension of Apple's product lines. A Tv is not an appliance, a fridge is an appliance, a washing machine is an appliance. A Tv is a product that is in the same category as what Apple is doing now, computing and home electronics.
I somehow don't think that all the patents Apple has recently gotten or applied for, involving 3D and backlighting is just for small handheld products. They've applied for a patent in LED backlighting which I read the other day which is unique, and has advantages over RGB backlighting that's expensive now, and bulky. When you apply that to a product, you can see that it's excellent for large monitors and Tv's, as well as small computers and handhelds.
Combine that witheir also unique 3D patents, and you have a way of making a large 3d Tv that doesn't need glasses. When might we see any of this? Hard to tell, and likely in small devices first, but the possibly for Apple to upend the large screen Tv segment is there, with the first non glasses 3d models. This also does holography, another unique component in the mix.
I wouldn't put it past them. tv is a very large business. It's exactly the kind of business Apple likes to get into and shake up. This would have all the manufacturers scrambling again.
As for a PHONE- to my mind it is a silly idea. There are a large number of entrenched players in that field and I don't think they could ever hope to make the margin levels that they are used to. In the short run they might, but in the long run they would not be sustainable.
There, now your post is fixed. It stated what you would have said in 2005, or so. Never underestimate the power of new technology used in ways that no one else is using it to change an industry.
As for new markets, they are already in your pocket, your den and your living room. How about the car? But Apple's approach seems to be to find markets where things are being done poorly and enter the market and actually do it right (e.g. digital music players and iPod, cellphones and iPhone, iPad and tablets). But what is there horrendously bad in cars? Autodrive would be nice, but the driving experience overall is not terrible as it is.
In that sense (in the sense of fixing crap things) their biggest unfinished job is the computer, because people still find computers confusing, even the Mac. The Mac App Store will help a lot but there's more to be done. There are fundamental computing/visualization problems, like how you manage and easily browse large amounts of data. And speech recognition. And just the general stupidity of computers at understanding what the user wants to do. If you could just explain to the computer what you want, like with another person, you could have a lot less cluttered user interface. But that kind of thing is 30 years away I guess. But if they *could* get something like that working, it would be like the release of the original Macintosh, the whole audience would mess themselves.
I also think there's a good chance Apple will do a Tv. Despite what some people here are continually saying, a Tv seems to be a natural extension of Apple's product lines. A Tv is not an appliance, a fridge is an appliance, a washing Mashona is an appliance. A Tv is a product that is in the same category as what Apple is doing now, computing and home electronics.
An appliance is an instrument, apparatus, or device for a particular purpose or use. The implication that it only applies to machines that are used for domestic use or in a kitchen is not the only or original meaning.
Putting that aside, how would a TV fit into their lineup? Where in there stores would they house dozens of TV models of various sizes to accommodate all the various needs and desires of even their top tier buyers? Or would they simply have a few different TV panel sizes that would work for everyone? It’s not like the PC market where you tend to sit about the same distance from the monitor regardless of the user.
What benefit does having the AppleTV in an AppleHDTV serve if you can buy a better and cheaper HDTV from another and then a $99 AppleTV? Does not switching inputs to connect to an AppleTV worth it? I think a layover for apps would be nice, but wouldn’t this be more easily resolved by partnering with various TV makers to offer a special AppleTV interface across multiple brands?
How much can they feasibly make from HDTVs? Here’s an article that shows Sony only made $300M for the entire year. How many HDTV models do they sell?I see more of a market for Apple to make an internet appliance with the capabilities for television. Something more along the lines of Sony’s internet TVs.
What else can Apple get into? I already have too many devices (although I love each and every one of them!!). Between portable media players, phones, tablets, computers, and a TV set-top box, I don't really know what else Apple needs or wants to get into as a consumer electronics company.
Oh there's plenty. There's professional markets like Airlines and Travel. There's also a huge social media market that Apple can hit but I am not sure what is their stand on internets.
There's also automotive market that apple can go into.
I see more of a market for Apple to make an internet appliance with the capabilities for television. Something more along the lines of Sony?s internet TVs.
And anyway it's not the TV itself that confuses people, it's the gaggle of boxes underneath, and that is what Apple TV replaces.
There were no tablets before Apple... just laptop computers without keyboards, with touchscreens.
A.K.A "tablets"
Why should Ford's (Microsoft) SYNC and in Europe/ROW, Fiat's Blue&Me (Microsoft) be one of the few OEM In-Car Entertainment (ICE) available? Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if Google is (or already has) started due-diligence in this market.
What I'm looking for is a Apple SmartICE that can do, as examples, the following:
1. Remotely start my vehicle from my iPhone or other iOS (compatible) device
2. Sync my iTunes media
3. Show car diagnostics (e.g. Engine Oil Life, Tire Pressure) on my iOS device(s)
4. Set up a scheduled service (iCal'd of course) and include a diagnostic report
5. Sync a trip with way-points/sight-seeing, restaurants, traffic from my iPhone
6. Calculate estimated amount of fuel left and look for fuel stops with the lowest prices
I'm sure there are lots more we'd want a Apple SmartICE to do like SatNav, phone, text dictation/speaking, integrate with a sound system (e.g. Bose) etc., you get the idea, but feel free to chime in. Indeed, some features may already exist in other ICEs.
A.K.A "tablets"
As a simplistic umbrella definition, sure, but you can?t deny that Apple redefined the market.
We?ll see later this week how many tablets at CES are using Windows 7.
Well, at least that's what I think Apple should get themselves into... Maybe they already have, but simply haven't told us yet.
Why should Ford's (Microsoft) SYNC and in Europe/ROW, Fiat's Blue&Me (Microsoft) be one of the few OEM In-Car Entertainment (ICE) available? Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if Google is (or already has) started due-diligence in this market.
What I'm looking for is a Apple SmartICE that can do, as examples, the following:
1. Remotely start my vehicle from my iPhone or other iOS (compatible) device
2. Sync my iTunes media
3. Show car diagnostics (e.g. Engine Oil Life, Tire Pressure) on my iOS device(s)
4. Set up a scheduled service (iCal'd of course) and include a diagnostic report
5. Sync a trip with way-points/sight-seeing, restaurants, traffic from my iPhone
6. Calculate estimated amount of fuel left and look for fuel stops with the lowest prices
I'm sure there are lots more we'd want a Apple SmartICE to do like SatNav, phone, text dictation/speaking, integrate with a sound system (e.g. Bose) etc., you get the idea, but feel free to chime in. Indeed, some features may already exist in other ICEs.
I think they are dominating the living room (not to be confused with the HEC) and the the car is the only place that Apple has always been a 3rd-party participant. I like the points you lis but I think this would be a harder but to crack than making a cable box for the US.
Apple needs to keep its priorities straight when dealing with the living room. They need to sign more content deals, particularly with the sports leagues before then can really dive into this market.
Besides that, the margins on television sets are far below what Apple's typical gross margins are. A television is a commodity. As an AAPL shareholder, I'd rather prefer to see them in something with a higher margin.
Markets Apple could enter, but probably wont:
6. Remote control
That is one I want them to enter. 3rd-party offerings are poor and expensive.
I also think that consumers would really take notice of a Apple iOS equipped car, and have more cache than SYNC/Blue&Me (Microsoft), Bose and BMW (iDrive) put together.
Everyone is looking at the recurring revenue business model. And yes, the "TV" is where it may be easier to get revenue from media sales or gathering statistical data. Still, I'd prefer to be a big cog in a small machine.
80% of all statistics are made up.
If the shoe fits, buy another one just like it.