Notes of interest from Apple's Q1 2011 conference call
Apple on Tuesday reported its best quarter in the history of the company, reaching $26.74 billion in revenue with a net quarterly profit of $6 billion. Following the news, Apple executives participated in a conference call with analysts and the press, and notes of interest follow.
Apple crushed estimates with record sales of 16.24 iPhones, 4.13 million Macs, and 7.33 million iPads. The company also sold 19.45 million iPods in the three-month span that included the holiday buying season.
Participating in Tuesday's conference call was Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, and the company's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer.
Apple's regional business segments
International sales accounted for 62 percent of Apple's revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
$9.2 billion of Apple's revenue for the quarter came from the Americas, and $3.8 billion from retail. The remainder of the $26.74 billion came from Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific.
Next to America, Europe was the second-largest region, accounting for $7.3 billion in revenue.
BRIC countries: Identified China as their top priority and put an "enormous energy" there. "The results of that have been absolutely staggering."
Viewing Greater China -- mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan -- revenue was $2.6 billion. Up 4X from the prior year quarter.
"We did a little over $3 billion for the entire year, in fiscal year 10," Cook said. "We're very proud of the team and the results that we've got there.
Korea is doing well, as is Japan, where revenue was up 83 percent year over year.
Apple's Mac business
Mac sales were a record 4.13 million for the quarter, with portables leading the way, accounting for $3.7 billion in revenue on sales of 2.9 million.
Desktop Macs earned Apple another $1.7 billion for the three-month period, on sales of 1.2 million.
Mac sales almost 8 times IDCs estimate for world average, fueled by strong sales of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
On the Mac App Store, Cook: "We are thrilled to have reported over a million (downloads) in a very short amount of time. So we're very happy with the start of it."
"We've done outstanding in our Mac business," 19 quarters straight of growing faster in the market, but still have a "very low share." Still have "enormous opportunity."
iPad cannibalization of the Mac: "Yes, I think there is some cannibalization," Cook said. "But I also think there is a halo effect."
"We have introduced millions of people in Asia to Apple through the iPhone. And we're now introducing many more through the iPad, and I think some of those decide to buy a Mac."
"If this is cannibalization, it feels pretty good."
Apple still has a low share of the PC market, so cannibalization isn't a concern to them. "The other guys lose a lot more. And we have a lot more to win because of that."
On bringing iPad features to the Mac: MacBook Air got instant-on because people loved the feature in the iPad. Cook says there are "tons of examples" of where something started in one product and flowed to another. There aren't "walls" within Apple.
Cook on the MacBook Air: Got off to an "unbelievable start." Customers love it. "We're really happy with how it's doing." Have been shipping for less than 90 days. "We've just gotten going."
Apple's iPhone business
iPhone sales were a record 16.24 million, amassing $10.5 billion in revenue for Apple during the quarter.
The iPhone grew in sales 86 percent in the December quarter, compared to IDC's estimate of 70 percent.
The average selling price of the iPhone was $625.
88 of the Fortune 100 companies are now deploying iPhone.
Apple continues to have sizable backlog and could have sold more if they could have manufactured them faster
On Verizon, Cook: "We're going to do everything possible to get the iPhone into as many hands of those customers as possible."
"It's not enough:" their efforts to meet demand. "We do still have a significant backlog," Cook said. "We are working around the clock to build more."
Expecting "huge" results from the Verizon launch. Won't make a prediction of when supply and demand will equal.
Oppenheimer: "Demand for iPhones has been incredible, and we would have loved to have made more of them."
Cook: "I don't envision the overall iPhone ASP decreasing" from quarter to quarter, with the launch of the CDMA iPhone.
"We're always assessing in every country who we should be doing business with and exploring different deals and arrangements, etc. And so we'll continue to do that."
Growth and market share have changed "significantly" in countries where they have moved from a single carrier model to a multi-carrier model.
CDMA iPhone, Cook says: "I don't have any specific thing to announce today other than we are truly thrilled to be working with the Verizon team. They have built quite a company and earned a great deal of respect from their customers, and some of them have waited a long time to get the iPhone."
Also signed a multi-year non-exclusive deal with AT&T. No longer in a contractual exclusivity in any country in the world -- the U.S. was the last one.
Have sold more than 160 million iOS devices to date
"We think that our integrated approach is much better for the end user, because it takes out all of the complexity for the end user, instead of making the end user a systems integrator themselves. I don't know about you, but I don't know many people who want to be systems integrators."
Apple's iPad business
Apple's sales of 7.3 million iPads accounted for $4.6 billion in revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
iPad demand is strong for consumer, enterprise and education customers.
Over 80 percent of the Fortune 100 are already deploying or piloting iPad.
The iPad has an average selling price of $600.
Supply was increased in the quarter. Channel inventory increased by about 525,000 by the end of the quarter.
iPad, increased dramatically in sales. Cook said they met supply-demand balance and expanded to a total of 46 countries by the end of the quarter. Are adding 15 countries in the month of January to top 60 total.
"We believe the market is huge," for iPad, Cook said. The market is just starting.
"We're into some great markets, some fast moving markets. We have the best products we've ever done, and an incredible product pipeline. We feel very, very confident."
On margins: Oppenheimer: "We have always aggressively worked to lower our costs." The company has been "quite happy" with their ability to lower margins on the iPad.
On the competition, Cook says "there's not much out there." Right now there are two kinds of groups on the market: ones using a Windows-based operating system ("big," "heavy," "expensive," require a keyboard or stylus, and have "weak battery life"), and ones based on Android ("the operating system wasn't really designed for a tablet").
The next generation of Android tablets: "There's nothing shipping yet, and so I don't know. Generally, they lack performance specs, they lack prices, they lack timing. And so today they're vapor. We'll assess them as they come out, however, we're not sitting still. And we have a huge first mover advantage, and we have an incredible user experience from iTunes to the App Store and an enormous number of apps and a huge ecosystem, and so we're very, very confident with entering into a fight with anyone."
iPad broke into the mainstream in "record time," Cook says, with a short early adopter period.
Apple's iPod business
iPod sales for the quarter were 19.4 million, representing $3.4 billion in revenue. Compared to 21 million in the year-ago quarter.
The iTunes business also exceeded $1.1 billion in revenue.
iPod touch grew 27 percent year over year, and accounted for more than 50 percent of iPods sold.
Apple's retail business
Apple's retail sales accounted for about $3.5 billion in the quarter, nearly doubled -- increased 95 percent from a year before.
Record Mac quarter -- selling 851,000 Macs, an increase of 24 percent.
About half of Macs sold were to customers who never owned a Mac before.
International store volume exceeded U.S. store volume. Stores in China were most trafficked.
Average of 321 stores open in the quarter, average revenue per store of $12 million. 6 new stores opened in the quarter, 323 stores total, with 87 outside the U.S.
Apple's next (Q2 2011) fiscal quarter
Apple has projected revenue of about $22 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $4.90.
Gross margins are expected about 38.5 percent.
Taxes going forward are expected to be about 25.5 percent.
Cook: "In my view, Apple is doing its best work ever. We are all very happy with the product pipeline. The team here has an unparalleled breadth and depth of talent and innovation that Steve has driven in the company, and excellence has become a habit. And so we feel very, very confident about the future of the company."
Oppenheimer: "Thrilled" to be giving 53 percent earnings growth year over year for its guidance.
Expect Mac and iPod sales to see a sequential decline, typical for a holiday season. With the iPhone they expect a "significant" over year increase, while the iPad is a new market, and they're unsure.
Apple crushed estimates with record sales of 16.24 iPhones, 4.13 million Macs, and 7.33 million iPads. The company also sold 19.45 million iPods in the three-month span that included the holiday buying season.
Participating in Tuesday's conference call was Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, and the company's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer.
Apple's regional business segments
International sales accounted for 62 percent of Apple's revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
$9.2 billion of Apple's revenue for the quarter came from the Americas, and $3.8 billion from retail. The remainder of the $26.74 billion came from Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific.
Next to America, Europe was the second-largest region, accounting for $7.3 billion in revenue.
BRIC countries: Identified China as their top priority and put an "enormous energy" there. "The results of that have been absolutely staggering."
Viewing Greater China -- mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan -- revenue was $2.6 billion. Up 4X from the prior year quarter.
"We did a little over $3 billion for the entire year, in fiscal year 10," Cook said. "We're very proud of the team and the results that we've got there.
Korea is doing well, as is Japan, where revenue was up 83 percent year over year.
Apple's Mac business
Mac sales were a record 4.13 million for the quarter, with portables leading the way, accounting for $3.7 billion in revenue on sales of 2.9 million.
Desktop Macs earned Apple another $1.7 billion for the three-month period, on sales of 1.2 million.
Mac sales almost 8 times IDCs estimate for world average, fueled by strong sales of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
On the Mac App Store, Cook: "We are thrilled to have reported over a million (downloads) in a very short amount of time. So we're very happy with the start of it."
"We've done outstanding in our Mac business," 19 quarters straight of growing faster in the market, but still have a "very low share." Still have "enormous opportunity."
iPad cannibalization of the Mac: "Yes, I think there is some cannibalization," Cook said. "But I also think there is a halo effect."
"We have introduced millions of people in Asia to Apple through the iPhone. And we're now introducing many more through the iPad, and I think some of those decide to buy a Mac."
"If this is cannibalization, it feels pretty good."
Apple still has a low share of the PC market, so cannibalization isn't a concern to them. "The other guys lose a lot more. And we have a lot more to win because of that."
On bringing iPad features to the Mac: MacBook Air got instant-on because people loved the feature in the iPad. Cook says there are "tons of examples" of where something started in one product and flowed to another. There aren't "walls" within Apple.
Cook on the MacBook Air: Got off to an "unbelievable start." Customers love it. "We're really happy with how it's doing." Have been shipping for less than 90 days. "We've just gotten going."
Apple's iPhone business
iPhone sales were a record 16.24 million, amassing $10.5 billion in revenue for Apple during the quarter.
The iPhone grew in sales 86 percent in the December quarter, compared to IDC's estimate of 70 percent.
The average selling price of the iPhone was $625.
88 of the Fortune 100 companies are now deploying iPhone.
Apple continues to have sizable backlog and could have sold more if they could have manufactured them faster
On Verizon, Cook: "We're going to do everything possible to get the iPhone into as many hands of those customers as possible."
"It's not enough:" their efforts to meet demand. "We do still have a significant backlog," Cook said. "We are working around the clock to build more."
Expecting "huge" results from the Verizon launch. Won't make a prediction of when supply and demand will equal.
Oppenheimer: "Demand for iPhones has been incredible, and we would have loved to have made more of them."
Cook: "I don't envision the overall iPhone ASP decreasing" from quarter to quarter, with the launch of the CDMA iPhone.
"We're always assessing in every country who we should be doing business with and exploring different deals and arrangements, etc. And so we'll continue to do that."
Growth and market share have changed "significantly" in countries where they have moved from a single carrier model to a multi-carrier model.
CDMA iPhone, Cook says: "I don't have any specific thing to announce today other than we are truly thrilled to be working with the Verizon team. They have built quite a company and earned a great deal of respect from their customers, and some of them have waited a long time to get the iPhone."
Also signed a multi-year non-exclusive deal with AT&T. No longer in a contractual exclusivity in any country in the world -- the U.S. was the last one.
Have sold more than 160 million iOS devices to date
"We think that our integrated approach is much better for the end user, because it takes out all of the complexity for the end user, instead of making the end user a systems integrator themselves. I don't know about you, but I don't know many people who want to be systems integrators."
Apple's iPad business
Apple's sales of 7.3 million iPads accounted for $4.6 billion in revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2011.
iPad demand is strong for consumer, enterprise and education customers.
Over 80 percent of the Fortune 100 are already deploying or piloting iPad.
The iPad has an average selling price of $600.
Supply was increased in the quarter. Channel inventory increased by about 525,000 by the end of the quarter.
iPad, increased dramatically in sales. Cook said they met supply-demand balance and expanded to a total of 46 countries by the end of the quarter. Are adding 15 countries in the month of January to top 60 total.
"We believe the market is huge," for iPad, Cook said. The market is just starting.
"We're into some great markets, some fast moving markets. We have the best products we've ever done, and an incredible product pipeline. We feel very, very confident."
On margins: Oppenheimer: "We have always aggressively worked to lower our costs." The company has been "quite happy" with their ability to lower margins on the iPad.
On the competition, Cook says "there's not much out there." Right now there are two kinds of groups on the market: ones using a Windows-based operating system ("big," "heavy," "expensive," require a keyboard or stylus, and have "weak battery life"), and ones based on Android ("the operating system wasn't really designed for a tablet").
The next generation of Android tablets: "There's nothing shipping yet, and so I don't know. Generally, they lack performance specs, they lack prices, they lack timing. And so today they're vapor. We'll assess them as they come out, however, we're not sitting still. And we have a huge first mover advantage, and we have an incredible user experience from iTunes to the App Store and an enormous number of apps and a huge ecosystem, and so we're very, very confident with entering into a fight with anyone."
iPad broke into the mainstream in "record time," Cook says, with a short early adopter period.
Apple's iPod business
iPod sales for the quarter were 19.4 million, representing $3.4 billion in revenue. Compared to 21 million in the year-ago quarter.
The iTunes business also exceeded $1.1 billion in revenue.
iPod touch grew 27 percent year over year, and accounted for more than 50 percent of iPods sold.
Apple's retail business
Apple's retail sales accounted for about $3.5 billion in the quarter, nearly doubled -- increased 95 percent from a year before.
Record Mac quarter -- selling 851,000 Macs, an increase of 24 percent.
About half of Macs sold were to customers who never owned a Mac before.
International store volume exceeded U.S. store volume. Stores in China were most trafficked.
Average of 321 stores open in the quarter, average revenue per store of $12 million. 6 new stores opened in the quarter, 323 stores total, with 87 outside the U.S.
Apple's next (Q2 2011) fiscal quarter
Apple has projected revenue of about $22 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $4.90.
Gross margins are expected about 38.5 percent.
Taxes going forward are expected to be about 25.5 percent.
Cook: "In my view, Apple is doing its best work ever. We are all very happy with the product pipeline. The team here has an unparalleled breadth and depth of talent and innovation that Steve has driven in the company, and excellence has become a habit. And so we feel very, very confident about the future of the company."
Oppenheimer: "Thrilled" to be giving 53 percent earnings growth year over year for its guidance.
Expect Mac and iPod sales to see a sequential decline, typical for a holiday season. With the iPhone they expect a "significant" over year increase, while the iPad is a new market, and they're unsure.
Comments
And yet still no white iPhone.
You could paint one
And so today they're vapor.
Yea, but vapor is invisible. How can an iPad crush an invisible competitor? It can't. The Invisible Man rarely got his ass kicked. You know why? BECAUSE HE WAS INVISIBLE.
Vapor. Invisible. BOOYAH. Eat that iPad. (Oh wait, you can't. Because you can't find it.)
It is all astounding, but I'm amazed they are still selling 20 million iPods a quarter despite the fact that most every phone (i or not) now plays music too!
Simply amazing news. All this in one of the most difficult economic times of our generation too!
aapl is doomed...
well yeah right! , simply amazing numbers. The Ipod touch too. I think I'm going to get and iPod touch and attach a wi max 4G router to it, then make calls for virtually nothing over skype. Theres plenty of apps to do Texts and SMS. Why people buy iPhones is a mystery to me, yeah I know its harder to receive calls but hey, Is paying over
199+(24mths*85)=> $2239.00
or 199+(24mths*105)=> $2719.00 both are 1 GB per month data
for ONE device , ONE freaking device?
Compared with this: -
Wi-Max (4G) + Ipod touch (month to month contract, unlimited data plan, with up to 5 wifi devices)
($50*24)+ 299 => $1399.00
This is a saving of between $840 - 1320, is imho a really good deal given that I can get the same and more - up to 5 wi-fi devices ie:- run a laptop, iPad, ipod touch and Kindle
Plus I can stop and start the Wi-Max plan as needed to save more
Yea, but vapor is invisible. How can an iPad crush an invisible competitor?
Steam is water vapour which is visible. Argument not valid
The Invisible Man rarely got his ass kicked. You know why? BECAUSE HE WAS INVISIBLE.
And yet he got hit in the head with a shovel which killed him.
Simply amazing news. All this in one of the most difficult economic times of our generation too!
If you look at it in comparison to movie theaters during the depression of 1929 there are similarities. In the case of movie theaters, they had just introduced sound at that time and people although hurting from the economic situation afforded themselves a single luxury of going to the movies once a week. While other businesses failed, movie theaters with sound stayed open.
Similarly Apple introduced a revolutionary advancement in cell phone technology and although we find ourselves in a similar economic condition, we afford ourselves the simple luxury of this new gadget. We may not go on vacation, entertain guests, or buy new homes and cars, but we aren't going to deny ourselves an iPhone. While Apple is soaring due to the innovative technology they offer, the competitors with less notable features are struggling due to the economic downturn.
Wow! It's almost enough to make you pity the trolls...
It is all astounding, but I'm amazed they are still selling 20 million iPods a quarter despite the fact that most every phone (i or not) now plays music too!
Are folks using the Ipod Touch with Skype perhaps, hmmm lemme see - YES, hmmm doesn't take a rocket scientist to work that out.
In fact I'm using my old Iphone 3G WITHOUT an ATT plan and make calls from it using my internet connection at home over SKYPE app! there. It saves me $85 per month ! And when not at home I use a WiMAx!!!
Apple Death Knell #54: Apple: Short Term Winner, Long Term Loser
By Fabrice Grinda, Published in BusinessInsider
Relevant Quote:
Android, with its relative openness, seems to be playing the role Windows played for the Mac. […] On the DOS, then Windows side, the constant competition between PC makers, processor makers, and software developers, while less elegant and functional at the beginning, given enough time led to a plethora of offerings and innovation that not only copied many of the Mac’s best features but extended them.[…] The combination of faster PCs with more software at lower prices eventually completely marginalized the Macintosh.
Steve Jobs seems to be repeating the same mistake all over again. The elegant integration between the iPhone, iTunes and the App Store is definitely a current source of comparative advantage. It is easier to offer a better user experience at the beginning when you limit the form factor and completely control the hardware and software. The iPhone 4 is clearly the best smartphone on the market. The apps in the Apple App Store are clearly the best apps on the market.
However, Apple’s insistence on having a single form factor, on being a premium player at a premium price point (to carriers at least), and its arbitrary decisions with regards to what apps make it in the App Store will eventually make Apple a niche player. Even if Apple keeps innovating and has the best phone on the market, it won’t matter.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/
Aug 27, 2010
Apple Death Knell #54: Apple: Short Term Winner, Long Term Loser
By Fabrice Grinda, Published in BusinessInsider
Relevant Quote:
Android, with its relative openness, seems to be playing the role Windows played for the Mac. [?] On the DOS, then Windows side, the constant competition between PC makers, processor makers, and software developers, while less elegant and functional at the beginning, given enough time led to a plethora of offerings and innovation that not only copied many of the Mac?s best features but extended them.[?] The combination of faster PCs with more software at lower prices eventually completely marginalized the Macintosh.
Steve Jobs seems to be repeating the same mistake all over again. The elegant integration between the iPhone, iTunes and the App Store is definitely a current source of comparative advantage. It is easier to offer a better user experience at the beginning when you limit the form factor and completely control the hardware and software. The iPhone 4 is clearly the best smartphone on the market. The apps in the Apple App Store are clearly the best apps on the market.
However, Apple?s insistence on having a single form factor, on being a premium player at a premium price point (to carriers at least), and its arbitrary decisions with regards to what apps make it in the App Store will eventually make Apple a niche player. Even if Apple keeps innovating and has the best phone on the market, it won?t matter.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/
There's nonsense, and then there's bloody nonsense. This is bloody nonsense.
There is reason to believe that Apple will do well at Android’s expense. The main reason is Verizon itself.
If Verizon was really pleased with Android offerings, it wouldn’t be seeking to negotiate concessions with Apple to carry the iPhone. Verizon isn’t at all acting like PC makers in the late 90s who found the Mac OS irrelevant; it’s acting like a big box retailer of the past decade that already carries cheap MP3 players but desperately wants to sell the iPod.
also
When adherents talk about Android’s market share, they forget that Android isn’t a product like Windows, it’s a technology portfolio. Android’s popularity doesn’t benefit Google in the way that Windows made Microsoft extremely rich. Google gives Android away, and in some cases pays hardware makers to use it. Pointing out that lots of phones being sold use Android is like saying that a large number of smartphones are black. So what?
Also I believe you are fooling yourself if you really believe Android is open. It isn't open at all really. There have been plenty of articles as to why. Aslo you idea thethe app store will marginalkize apple is also erroneous because it is the main reason the IPhone, Ipod and Iphone are selling, no other vendor has a one stop shop where people can rely on the authenticity of the titles .
Aug 27, 2010
Apple Death Knell #54: Apple: Short Term Winner, Long Term Loser
By Fabrice Grinda, Published in BusinessInsider
Relevant Quote:
Android, with its relative openness, seems to be playing the role Windows played for the Mac. […] On the DOS, then Windows side, the constant competition between PC makers, processor makers, and software developers, while less elegant and functional at the beginning, given enough time led to a plethora of offerings and innovation that not only copied many of the Mac’s best features but extended them.[…] The combination of faster PCs with more software at lower prices eventually completely marginalized the Macintosh.
Steve Jobs seems to be repeating the same mistake all over again. The elegant integration between the iPhone, iTunes and the App Store is definitely a current source of comparative advantage. It is easier to offer a better user experience at the beginning when you limit the form factor and completely control the hardware and software. The iPhone 4 is clearly the best smartphone on the market. The apps in the Apple App Store are clearly the best apps on the market.
However, Apple’s insistence on having a single form factor, on being a premium player at a premium price point (to carriers at least), and its arbitrary decisions with regards to what apps make it in the App Store will eventually make Apple a niche player. Even if Apple keeps innovating and has the best phone on the market, it won’t matter.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/
I wonder what it feels like to have 60 billion in cash...
I wonder who they are going to buy. Got to be Nokia for all their IP.
... Participating in Tuesday's conference call was Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook ...
The thing I like about Time Cook is that I don't think I've ever heard him say anything, even a single word, that he didn't fully intend to say and in precisely the way in which he actually said it. He's very Jobsian in that way.
Balmer waffles and blusters and talks in half finished sentences full of buzz words, and most people occasionally say one thing but mean another from time to time. Cook and Jobs on the other hand, say precisely what they mean and mean exactly what they say.
Even if you don't like Apple, you gotta love that. It's so rare nowadays.
Aug 27, 2010
Apple Death Knell #54: Apple: Short Term Winner, Long Term Loser
By Fabrice Grinda, Published in BusinessInsider
Relevant Quote:
Android, with its relative openness, seems to be playing the role Windows played for the Mac. […] On the DOS, then Windows side, the constant competition between PC makers, processor makers, and software developers, while less elegant and functional at the beginning, given enough time led to a plethora of offerings and innovation that not only copied many of the Mac’s best features but extended them.[…] The combination of faster PCs with more software at lower prices eventually completely marginalized the Macintosh.
Steve Jobs seems to be repeating the same mistake all over again. The elegant integration between the iPhone, iTunes and the App Store is definitely a current source of comparative advantage. It is easier to offer a better user experience at the beginning when you limit the form factor and completely control the hardware and software. The iPhone 4 is clearly the best smartphone on the market. The apps in the Apple App Store are clearly the best apps on the market.
However, Apple’s insistence on having a single form factor, on being a premium player at a premium price point (to carriers at least), and its arbitrary decisions with regards to what apps make it in the App Store will eventually make Apple a niche player. Even if Apple keeps innovating and has the best phone on the market, it won’t matter.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/
I just love this kind of things coming from people who have no clue what they hell they are saying, seriously, we all should hammer these people who write this stuff and ask them to defend their position and asked them how many times there are wrong in their life.
I wish the news media would return to this people and ask them what happen. It was like the Y2K and all the people who were convince the world was coming to an end and how everything you ever knew would fail this people were stock piling food and other things in their basement and the new interview them before Y2K but never went back and asked if the food all went bad and laugh in their faces
Android, with its relative openness, seems to be playing the role Windows played for the Mac. [?] On the DOS, then Windows side, the constant competition between PC makers, processor makers, and software developers, while less elegant and functional at the beginning, given enough time led to a plethora of offerings and innovation that not only copied many of the Mac?s best features but extended them.[?] The combination of faster PCs with more software at lower prices eventually completely marginalized the Macintosh.
One of the things that is different about the PC Mac comparison is that almost from the very beginning people were making PCs at home from parts which were readily available, as was a copy of DOS. This was not possible with Apple computers for which parts and ROMs were tightly controlled, which may have been Apple's mistake. Because of that grass roots PC following and eventually IT departments who were able to repair and trouble shoot PCs without a certified dealer's help, Microsoft based computers became widespread very quickly.
The difference now is that you can't make your own smartphone from parts and you can't make a call without a carrier. Since the iPhone is no more expensive than the alternative, Android, it is all about the best phone for the money.
This means that Apple, with its guidance of $22 billion next quarter could have its first $100 billion fiscal year for 2011, and pretty much definitely have one for calendar year 2011. That would beat analysts predictions of $86 to $94 billion. I'm assuming that the March quarter will show at $24 billion or so.
As that's the worst quarter for Apple, all others would be over $25 billion, and possibly by a good margin.
$60 billion in cash. They generated much more cash than I, or I think anyone thought. it means they could generate an average of $6 to $7 billion this year per quarter. What to do. What to do.