Apple set to build on its blockbuster success in 2010
Following Apple's rebirth over the past decade under the leadership of chief executive Steve Jobs, the company is now set to build on its established foundations over the next decade.
A report by Frank Cioffi, published by MarketWatch, indicates investors have multiple reasons to closely watch Apple as it heads into the new decade.
Cioffi cited the company's sustained sales of iPods, which have hovered at or above ten million units per quarter, as a strength that will allow Apple to "contribute consistently to its bottom line" even as the potential for big new growth in the MP3 market levels off.
Also noted was Apple TV, which while being rumored to face discontinuation as an experimental "hobby" that the company never managed to achieve blockbuster sales with, is still being updated and expanded. Over the past few months, Apple released the Apple TV 3.0 update and added support for iTunes LP and Extras.
Another topic to watch that Cioffi highlighted in the article was Steve Jobs. Despite back and forth reports on the seriousness of his health issues that culminated in the news of his liver transplant, Cioffi cited three takeaway discoveries: "Apple's stock price could still rise even as concern over Jobs' suspected demise grew, that Apple has a deep bench of talent aside from its chief executive, and that Jobs' determination is as extraordinary as his ability to create compelling products."
The article said that it's possible that new Tablet rumors may result in a disappointment for investors, "not because it won't be a good product or a good seller, but because it will not be the iPhone-level megahit many are expecting." At the same time, Cioffi notes that the blockbuster sales of the iPhone may be less important in the long run than the wild success of the iTunes App Store.
"Software still drives hardware, and with thousands of apps available and developers creating new ones every day, every other mobile platform will be playing catch-up for years to come," Cioffi wrote.
Apple's incredible financial results throughout the severe economic downturn are also a factor to watch closely, and in particular the growth in Mac sales. The article cited an ITIC survey which "showed 73% of global IT administrators and C-level executives say they were likely to allow their end-users to deploy Macs as their corporate enterprise desktops within the next year."
Cioffi also pointed to the fact that Apple has a strong position in home sales, with Needham & Co. analysts reporting that "Apple gets one out of every $10 spent on home computers worldwide. In the U.S., its dollar share is more than 1 in 5."
Apple's global market share of around 6% shows that the company has tremendous potential for growth, suggesting a "trend that may have a decade or more left to unfold."
A report by Frank Cioffi, published by MarketWatch, indicates investors have multiple reasons to closely watch Apple as it heads into the new decade.
Cioffi cited the company's sustained sales of iPods, which have hovered at or above ten million units per quarter, as a strength that will allow Apple to "contribute consistently to its bottom line" even as the potential for big new growth in the MP3 market levels off.
Also noted was Apple TV, which while being rumored to face discontinuation as an experimental "hobby" that the company never managed to achieve blockbuster sales with, is still being updated and expanded. Over the past few months, Apple released the Apple TV 3.0 update and added support for iTunes LP and Extras.
Another topic to watch that Cioffi highlighted in the article was Steve Jobs. Despite back and forth reports on the seriousness of his health issues that culminated in the news of his liver transplant, Cioffi cited three takeaway discoveries: "Apple's stock price could still rise even as concern over Jobs' suspected demise grew, that Apple has a deep bench of talent aside from its chief executive, and that Jobs' determination is as extraordinary as his ability to create compelling products."
The article said that it's possible that new Tablet rumors may result in a disappointment for investors, "not because it won't be a good product or a good seller, but because it will not be the iPhone-level megahit many are expecting." At the same time, Cioffi notes that the blockbuster sales of the iPhone may be less important in the long run than the wild success of the iTunes App Store.
"Software still drives hardware, and with thousands of apps available and developers creating new ones every day, every other mobile platform will be playing catch-up for years to come," Cioffi wrote.
Apple's incredible financial results throughout the severe economic downturn are also a factor to watch closely, and in particular the growth in Mac sales. The article cited an ITIC survey which "showed 73% of global IT administrators and C-level executives say they were likely to allow their end-users to deploy Macs as their corporate enterprise desktops within the next year."
Cioffi also pointed to the fact that Apple has a strong position in home sales, with Needham & Co. analysts reporting that "Apple gets one out of every $10 spent on home computers worldwide. In the U.S., its dollar share is more than 1 in 5."
Apple's global market share of around 6% shows that the company has tremendous potential for growth, suggesting a "trend that may have a decade or more left to unfold."
Comments
Here's to another 10 years!!!
+1
Apple TV clearly needs a shake-up. The TV revolution is not happening fast enough for Apple in that sector and they should bite the bullet; add BluRay and tuners or give up and come back in a couple of years.
The iPhone/iSlate platform will grow into an absolute monster over the next few years with Google the only credible competition.
...he seems to hint that Jobs may be sicker than we've been led to believe.
A liver transplant really only prolongs the eventual.
Once he's gone, the world will morn and Microsoft will rear it's ugly 95% market share head once again.
Where are the Windows 7 viruses when you need them?
The way I see things going, Apple is going to lean heavily upon the new iTablet/iSlate/iPhone OS UI with new devices and when Steve goes, OS X will fade off into the sunset on MacBook Pro's and MacPro's only as Windows 7 gains strength.
Apple might even begin selling Windows 7 Mac's in order to keep selling hardware.
I don't think the innovation and drive will continue long at Apple without Steve.
China is draining the world of jobs, industry and resources. Japan never recovered from their real estate bubble, neither will the US until the Chinese market is saturated which could take quite some time. This means high unemployment in the US, Japan and Europe for at least a decade, and less people that can afford pricey computers from Apple.
So this iSlate, it better be cheap and very functional for mass appeal.
Apple would be wise to target the post baby boom generations needs with the device, it's the only segment of the population with the most disposable income. Most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms.
Could be a rise in basement dweller geeks though...
A liver transplant really only prolongs the eventual.
Once he's gone, the world will morn and Microsoft will rear it's ugly 95% market share head once again.
Where are the Windows 7 viruses when you need them?
The way I see things going, Apple is going to lean heavily upon the new iTablet/iSlate/iPhone OS UI with new devices and when Steve goes, OS X will fade off into the sunset on MacBook Pro's and MacPro's only as Windows 7 gains strength.
Apple might even begin selling Windows 7 Mac's in order to keep selling hardware.
I don't think the innovation and drive will continue long at Apple without Steve.
China is draining the world of jobs, industry and resources. Japan never recovered from their real estate bubble, neither will the US until the Chinese market is saturated which could take quite some time. This means high unemployment in the US, Japan and Europe for at least a decade, and less people that can afford pricey computers from Apple.
So this iSlate, it better be cheap and very functional for mass appeal.
Apple would be wise to target the post baby boom generations needs with the device, it's the only segment of the population with the most disposable income. Most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms.
Could be a rise in basement dweller geeks though...
What the hell are you talking about?
less people that can afford pricey computers from Apple.
I think they're doing pretty well actually. Everyone else with cheaper computers is doing much worse. Seeing the final price is only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
Optical discs, no matter what flavor, are on their way out. They are as dead as dead.
Streaming, downloading and hard drives are coming back in a big way.
Thank God for that.
What the hell are you talking about?
A liver transplant really only prolongs the eventual.
Once he's gone, the world will morn and Microsoft will rear it's ugly 95% market share head once again.
Where are the Windows 7 viruses when you need them?
The way I see things going, Apple is going to lean heavily upon the new iTablet/iSlate/iPhone OS UI with new devices and when Steve goes, OS X will fade off into the sunset on MacBook Pro's and MacPro's only as Windows 7 gains strength.
Apple might even begin selling Windows 7 Mac's in order to keep selling hardware.
I don't think the innovation and drive will continue long at Apple without Steve.
China is draining the world of jobs, industry and resources. Japan never recovered from their real estate bubble, neither will the US until the Chinese market is saturated which could take quite some time. This means high unemployment in the US, Japan and Europe for at least a decade, and less people that can afford pricey computers from Apple.
So this iSlate, it better be cheap and very functional for mass appeal.
Apple would be wise to target the post baby boom generations needs with the device, it's the only segment of the population with the most disposable income. Most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms.
Could be a rise in basement dweller geeks though...
According to this website, there is a pretty good success ratio for liver transplants at Steve's age.
http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/
click on National data, click on survival (drop down), click on liver (drop down), click on survival by recipient age - center of page - to see results.
Plus Steve is fortunately in a position to pay for a second liver transplant.... maybe his odds are even better?
I'm not a doctor, just not ready to write off Steve Jobs based on currently available scientific data...
A liver transplant really only prolongs the eventual.
This of course is try of almost every action, including eating and breathing
According to this website, there is a pretty good success ratio for liver transplants at Steve's age.
http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/
click on National data, click on survival, click on survival by recipient age to see results.
Plus Steve is fortunately in a position to pay for a second liver transplant.... maybe his odds are even better?
I'm not a doctor, just not ready to write off Steve Jobs based on currently available scientific data...
With a bit of luck (and money) I think The Steve will be around for a while if he so desires... In which case Apple will become an even stronger company with desirable products at the higher end of the price spectrum. While I wish there were more options at cheaper prices, that will not happen.
I disagree about optical... I think BR will become as ubiquitous as DVD and Apple will miss it. I think they should at least put a BR drive in the Apple TV, then I would buy it.. eventually more people will stream and DL but that is miniscule compared to BR sales and reaching a broader base. Just my opinion....
With a bit of luck (and money) I think The Steve will be around for a while if he so desires... In which case Apple will become an even stronger company with desirable products at the higher end of the price spectrum. While I wish there were more options at cheaper prices, that will not happen.
I disagree about optical... I think BR will become as ubiquitous as DVD and Apple will miss it. I think they should at least put a BR drive in the Apple TV, then I would buy it.. eventually more people will stream and DL but that is miniscule compared to BR sales and reaching a broader base. Just my opinion....
How can BR become as ubiquitous as DVD when it requires an HDTV to really take advantage of it? I'm not saying that BR is going to die (in fact, I refuse to pay for media in any non-optical format due to DRM), but it's going to be one option among many: BR for the highest quality, "HD" downloads for portable devices, and streaming for convenience (the "I want to watch it RIGHT NOW" factor).
If anything, Apple should really just try and position the Mac Mini as the entertainment PC of the home. Stick in a BR drive and update Front Row to match the AppleTV 3.0 interface (plus capabilities). That would really make it more valuable. I don't like dedicated devices like the AppleTV which are only useful if you give your heart and sole to the Apple ecosystem. It's a great platform, but I'm not deluded into thinking it's the only platform out there.
... The way I see things going, Apple is going to lean heavily upon the new iTablet/iSlate/iPhone OS UI with new devices and when Steve goes, OS X will fade off into the sunset on MacBook Pro's and MacPro's only as Windows 7 gains strength ...
Have you even been paying attention recently? Even during the recession, Apple is coming out with record numbers. They are selling more now then they ever have, so what about that trend leads you to believe that it's going poorly for Apple? I'm not saying they will keep up this growth rate forever, but you make it sound like the trend has been decline.
And a statement like "most college grads are not finding jobs and moving back in with moms" is just begging for a source. If you're going to make predictions based on data, rather than anecdotes, you need a source. Otherwise it's a worthless statement.
A liver transplant really only prolongs the eventual.
Everything just prolongs the inevitable. Rumor has it, we're all going to die.
FWIW, Robert Scoble says he knows someone who used to work at Apple with first-hand knowledge of a tablet device. According to him, Jobs wants it to be his legacy product and he seems to hint that Jobs may be sicker than we've been led to believe.
Or, even if true, that he's not planning on working until he drops.
I do admire your writing 90% of the time.
But, this time, you added nothing that Frank Cioffi did not say.
,dave
How can BR become as ubiquitous as DVD when it requires an HDTV to really take advantage of it? I'm not saying that BR is going to die (in fact, I refuse to pay for media in any non-optical format due to DRM), but it's going to be one option among many: BR for the highest quality, "HD" downloads for portable devices, and streaming for convenience (the "I want to watch it RIGHT NOW" factor).
If anything, Apple should really just try and position the Mac Mini as the entertainment PC of the home. Stick in a BR drive and update Front Row to match the AppleTV 3.0 interface (plus capabilities). That would really make it more valuable. I don't like dedicated devices like the AppleTV which are only useful if you give your heart and sole to the Apple ecosystem. It's a great platform, but I'm not deluded into thinking it's the only platform out there.
If you look in Costco today, there are as many BR as DVDs, more in fact and the price is down to the old DVD level. HDTVs are a lot cheaper and flying out the door even in the recession. I agree a Mac Mini with BR would also be a great or better choice, but more expensive. An apple TV with the ability to play the BR discs would sell way better in Costco. I use that example because that is where I shop mostly and Apple has made big inroads there already. I'm sure that it would apply across the retail market just as well. A tuner or 2 would be nice........ I'm waiting for at least BR and external storage since I heard that is not even an option at the moment
http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet
Very sound observations.
I disagree about optical... I think BR will become as ubiquitous as DVD and Apple will miss it. I think they should at least put a BR drive in the Apple TV, then I would buy it.. eventually more people will stream and DL but that is miniscule compared to BR sales and reaching a broader base. Just my opinion....
Think about why DVD became a PC standard in the first place. It was the cheapest and best option at the time for the amount of data it could hold and was a huge jump over floppy discs. Blu-ray is great for your home entertainment system but it?s not ideal for your PC. Blu-ray will be around for awhile being re-solidified with 3D movies, players and TVs, but I?m certain it?s the last optical format we?ll see in disc form.
The argument that you can watch a Blu-ray movie on a plane on your laptop means you are lucky to get in a 2 movie before your battery dies and you aren?t even getting the benefit of the quality with your small display. Best just to get the DVD version and copy the files to your HDD or get a digital [download] copy for the flight.
Now we have HDDs that take up much less space for comparable data storage, are much faster for read/write, and use a lot less power to do it.
NAND is even faster, smaller and uses even less power. How much does an SD Card slot plus a 32GB SD card cost compared to a 9.5mm slot loading Blu-ray drive (the kind that fit in Mac notebooks) plus a 25GB Blu-ray disc?
Now we have 3-bit NAND on the horizon adding 50% more storage in the same place for the same price. There are some hiccups with it but you aren?t going to get that kind of capacity growth with optical discs. Even if optically recorded data could be as fast or as energy efficient as NAND it?s still not as easy to write and rewrite with and the drive is inherently fault prone do to more moving parts and takes up a huge amount of internal space and 5? of port-side space.
Also keep in mind that Apple hasn?t added Blu-ray yet, the uptake on PCs is low and the usage even lower, Blu-ray drives for Apple?s machines cost even more than other vendors do to their thinness making it even more prohibitive, Apple added SD Card slots to most of their line up last year after the SDXC was announced despite being very late to this market when cameras now mostly allow USB cables to grab data, and the ODD is the one device that keeping the machine thickness up now that 7mm HDDs are out and 2.5? SSDs are standard at 7mm (note: there is a new 7mm ODD out but I don?t think it?s slot loading and it?s certainly not Blu-ray).