“Apple’s robust earnings report for the latest quarter surprised few, given the runaway success of its ubiquitous iPod, yet there already is concern sales of the digital music devices will not suffice to keep Apple growing in the longer term. Moreover, criticism against iPods is on the rise, particularly from environmentalists,” Shihoko Goto writes for UPI.
MacDailyNews Take: Surprised few? What planet is this guy from? The highest estimate for iPod sales was 5.5 million. Apple sold 6.155 million iPods. The consensus estimate of $3.33 billion in revenue was nearly $200 million short of Apple’s reported $3.52 billion.
Goto continues, “…many analysts are already worried that Apple is far too heavily dependent on a single product… Apple faces the problem, however, that even its computer sales hinge on the success of the musical device, said Chris Green of London’s Computing magazine… Meanwhile, environmentalists have complained that Apple has been less responsible than other companies in using recyclable products in its music devices. The batteries and microprocessors inside iPods contain potentially hazardous material, and the company should be ‘more proactive in using materials that are less harmful to the environment,’ Zeina al-Hajj, campaign coordinator for toxic-waste disposal at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam, told United Press International.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s stellar earnings might not last due to environmentalists’ criticism against iPod. We’ve heard it all now.
From Apple.com: Apple rechargeable batteries provide a better solution for both your pocketbook and the planet. For instance, if your iPod were powered by 4-AA Alkaline batteries and you used one pack per week (which is conservative), after two years you would have spent over $200 (buying in bulk) and piled up 400 dead batteries for your local recycling center. http://www.apple.com/batteries/ipods.html
MacDailyNews Note: The once-proud UPI is currently owned by Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church which, in the year 2000, caused battleaxe Helen Thomas to leave the Moonified organization after 57 years for Hearst Newspapers.
