“Some had begun to consider Apple Computer Inc. irrelevant. After five years of no growth in its Macintosh business, California-based Apple’s share of the worldwide personal computer market had shrunk to a paltry 2.2 percent. But now analysts are having second thoughts about Apple’s relevance, because it appears music may save the company from oblivion,” Steve Alexander writes for The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“Apple’s rescuer is the iPod, a palm-size digital music player with a tiny computer hard drive that puts an entire music library in your pocket,” Alexander writes. “The iPod is so popular with consumers that some analysts now believe it carries a “halo effect” that will help Apple move its computer business off dead center. Apple’s Macintosh sales grew twice as fast as the overall personal computer industry’s sales in the first quarter, a surge that coincided with record iPod sales. And the company just introduced a new low-cost Apple, the Mac Mini computer, which has iPod-like characteristics.”
Alexander continues, “‘We are big believers in the iPod halo effect,’ said Gene Munster, a senior analyst at Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray… If Macintosh computer sales continue to rise along with iPod sales, it could increase Apple’s share of the worldwide personal computer market to as much as 4.5 percent by the end of 2006, said Munster. That may not sound like much, but each 1 percent of market-share gain in the personal computer market is worth about $1 billion in revenue, said Ron Johnson, Apple’s senior vice president of retail… ‘Within two years, there will be 60 million to 80 million hard-disk-based digital music players worldwide, compared to 15 million now,’ Munster said. Because of the iPod’s early success in digital music, ‘we think Apple can sustain its momentum.’ In addition, Apple’s high-volume production of the iPod gives it manufacturing-cost advantages that others will find hard to duplicate, he said. ‘The iPod has given Apple a second life,’ Munster said. ‘Without the iPod, Apple would be irrelevant.'”
Full article here.
‘Without the iPod, Apple would be irrelevant.'”
Don’t believe the hype.
Full stop. No MDN take needed. That article says it. Woot!
“….Without the iPod, Apple would be irrelevant…..'”
Who is this guy, and what “qualifications” does he have that makes him an “expert” ?
Irrelevant ??
To whom ??
To him ??
This guy is a dork !!
Doh!
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Without the iPod, Apple would be irrelevant
I’d like to take a moment to point out that Apple, not PortalPlayer, not Creative, made the iPod.
The fact that the Mac is ‘irrelevant’ should not be synonymous with ‘badly designed’ or ‘out of touch’ or ‘underpowered’ or ‘just for the artsy types’
Irrelevant says as much about the buying public as it does about Apple..
Apple sells Xserves for up to $5000…
Because of a music player, IT managers now know Apple isn’t going out of business, and might start looking at Xserves.. ?!
Doesn’t sound so farfetched does it?
…makes you want to vomit.
On a lighter note, a worldwide share of 4.5, means a US share of 9 percent…(very very rough estimate) which is about a quarter of Dell’s share in the US (hint. That’s not an insult. That’s a good thing. That’s an amazing thing.)
Like I said, the street is drunk on the 499 number… before Apple was lost and distracted, now they’re bold, innovative and expanding?!
But thanks to the analyst for putting a very positive message out..
FWIW, the link MDN provides points to page 2 of the article. Here is the link to page 1:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5203159.html
Interesting, He quotes Ron Johnson, Apple Retail V.P. – since so many iPods are being bought by Windows users, and assuming that Windows users will have more problems than Mac users (natch), I wonder how these customer’s experiences at the genius bars are affecting switching. I haven’t seen a Windows PC at the genius bar – how do the geniuses restore a Windows iPod? Virtual PC? And do the geniuses have to become Windows experts now, too?
when you think how much behind the curve the analysts have been about apple’s stock price, if they, or some of them, are thinking that apple might get 4.5% market share in the next one or two years, then think what that probably really means about where the market share might get to!
Back in the 80’s, the whole industry was young and all the players were looking to find their role. Apple played a major role in the development of todays popular platforms. Unfortunately they suffered some set-backs in their day, but managed to keep their heads above water.
Now more recently, there have been a lot of contenders in the new musicscape frontier and Apple has shown their mettle and ability to fine tune the desires/demands of the consumer with their vision of what the future is going to hold. They are truly forging their own destiny.
I believe that OS X and beyond are going to accomplish the same thing in the computer realm that they’re doing in the music market (and probably movies very soon, also).
I just want to thank Apple for holding their ground and creating products that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
I’d also like to thank MDN for these magic words that frighten me with their eerie foresight….
I would like to point out that WITHOUT Apple – Microsoft would be irelevent!!
Without Apple inventing the mouse, desktop pc, the OS gui, firewire etc etc Microsoft users would still be using a command line OS with no interface!
I believe the mouse and GUI was the brainchild of Xerox first, but it missed the party. Apple is the one the forwarded the idea and developed. I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong
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Actually, iMaki, the mouse, GUI, hypertext, and collaboorative software were all invented by Doug Engelbart and his team, and demonstrated in 1968.
No, I’m not joking.
http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/1968Demo.html
The next thing some poxy analyst will be saying is that the only reason why Apple is making ground is because of Windows’ attraction to virus writers!
What tosh they do talk.
4.5% is conservative, as we’re talking sales increase, not installed userbase. I think 6-7% is more likely by 2006, especially when people realise that Longhorn isn’t going to deliver on any of MS’s promises.
LOL – EITHER WAY MICROSOFT DIDN’T INVENT ANY OF THOSE THINGS!
Dave H.
AND the fact that all Longhorn will be is a re-designed gui of XP on top of the same old DOS command line with a few new features.
In theory – all the 90,000+ existing windows xp virus’s will automatically be able to run on longhorn too!
Fantastic! Upgrade you windows OS and get all those familiar virus’s too! Should make the learning curve on Longhorn quite short!!
LOL – Im sooo glad I use Macs!!!
Solar, yeah that’s a good point. When I read that Longhorn is basically lipstick on XP, that’s the first thing that came to mind, “Oh good so all the viruses & spyware will be backward compatible”
LOL
“Some had begun to consider Apple Computer Inc. irrelevant. After five years of no growth in its Macintosh business,”
Isn’t this actually incorrect? If I am not mistaken I believe that Apple grew their business, but it just did not grow as fast as the industry as a whole, thus the loss in market share.
Magic word “increase” – there ya go.
It’s Macintosh business grew, it’s market share didn’t.
That reveals all you need to know about the abilities of the writer of the piece.
re: xerox & apple
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=On_Xerox,_Apple_and_Progress.txt&topic=Origins&sortOrder=Sort by Date&detail=medium
try again:
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=On_Xerox,_Apple_and_Progress.txt&topic=Origins&sortOrder=Sort by Date&detail=medium
You know what? A lot of the world changing technologies in the future have already been thought up and demonstrated on a small scale, but if Microsoft made any of them into a viable product years ahead of their time in the same way Apple made the GUI and mouse into the first Mac then I’d have no problem giving props to Microsoft for ‘inventing’ it, or at least making it all happen. And it’s not like Apple took someone elses hardware and software and slapped their logo on it. They made it happen. If next year Apple started flying people to the moon for $300 we’d all agree that’d be a fundamental achievement, but in 20 years after everyone took how they did it and copied it some would look back and say Apple just did what the Apollo missions did years before it. Pfffffft.
magic word “makes” as in who makes it happen?
What if they release Longhorn and it turns out to be riddled with mad cow disease?
Brought to you by the magic word BILL as in bill never could create software, only enhance someone else’s work.
Jee Jee…
Apple has gone through the roof already. AAPL will be over $150 before summer. Sales here in the Europe has gone wild.
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Apple has gained market share rapidly. Mark my words… This is the year of Apple
Sorry Less is More. I have to disagree. The correct word would be DEhance not ENhance.
(if there even is such a word as dehance, but hey, maybe innovation rubs off)