“Despite the growing competition ranged against the company within the digital media markets, Apple may be a tough beast to tame, analysts believe,” Jonny Evans reports for Macworld UK. “American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu summed up the feeling in a note to clients received by Macworld UK, saying: “It may be difficult for competitors to replicate Apple’s easy-to-use user interfaces without infringing on its patents. ‘Apple is known for its strong legal team and its patents not only cover technology but the ‘look and feel’: interfaces, and methods, too.'”
“Wu rates Apple as a stock to buy with a $77 target price. He expects Apple to have achieved $4.9 billion in revenue in its December quarter with 9.7 million iPods sold in the period. He also expects new products to be released by the company this year will drive revenues and expectations up,” Evans reports. “Apple carries a competitive advantage that’s based on more than just its software, Wu explained: “The company’s focus, vision, industrial design, and integrated approach with hardware, software, and service help create its easy-to-use and best-selling products. ‘We believe this unique approach is engrained in Apple’s DNA and culture since its founding in 1976. We believe running a company this way is more difficult to execute than most think and Apple has Steve Jobs, one of technology’s top visionaries, who helps it maintain its position as an innovator and trend setter, not a follower.'”
Full article here.
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HP is going with RealPlayer and Windows Vista is coming. Apple is toast!
I’m gett’n a Dell!
Please do and shut the F*ck up!
Great Expectations
Steve Jobs is an uncompromising perfectionist who demands the the best all the time. I’d hate to be one of his kids, but a little of that attitude would go a long way in corporate America.
Make it better, make it right. Keep at it until it is ready. Stick to the subject, focus on the goal. Don’t cut corners to save money in the short term. Reputation is paramount in the long-run.
Now, let me download again my music that I’ve paid for!
I can’t tell you how many people I know now who are asking about Macs. I’ve advised to hang on until mid-Jan… The knock on affects from all the recent and forthcoming switchers are going to be enormous.
Remember that people who switch and lose the need to send their PC back to the shop for re-installation after 6 months will be SELLING MACS to everyone THEY know.
It IS going to be a BIG year.
$95 before the end of the year…
Apple has no rival when it comes to creating buzz, maintaining a perception of quality and premium value in a market degenerating into commodity products. 2006 is the year when Mr. Softie gets his teeth kicked in. Every day another delay in the much overdue Windows update, every day more bad news about defects in Windows to be patched, every month more bad news from the EU about predatory bundling practices of MS that are getting punished and penalized, every week inroads into its core business. Meanwhile, Apple Stores are flourishing profit centers, new Apple laptops will be faster, slimmer, cooler (both culturally and tempwise), the long sought hope of convergence will occur in a seamless, user friendly and intuitive environment with a discrete and tastful Apple logo prominently displayed. All of this in an environment where Apple is making ocean going freighters full of money and where any small increase in market share will go directly to the bottom line.
Don’t be too hard on “dude,” the first poster. Nobody is so stupid to say what he did without sarcasm being intended.