“At a riotous MacWorld keynote address earlier this week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs contradicted earlier promises and introduced two products he had previously said Apple would never produce: A sub-$500 Macintosh computer and a flash RAM-based iPod audio player dubbed iPod shuffle. And contrary to my pre-MacWorld analysis of the rumored low-end Mac, the Mac mini, as the computer is known, looks awesome. In fact, it’s so good, I expect Apple to sell millions of them this year. We can bicker about the missing features (no keyboard, mouse, or screen–stock components that come with a typical $500 PC, which is also more expandable), but it doesn’t matter. By hitting the $500 sweet spot, Apple now has a credible vehicle, finally, for increasing the Mac’s market share. And the display-less iPod shuffle? It’s a stroke of genius with an amazingly small form factor (think pack-of-gum small) that will also sell in the millions in 2005. I’ve berated Apple when it does the wrong thing, but with the Mac mini and iPod shuffle, Apple has proven that it can deliver when it needs to. Very, very impressive,” Paul Thurrott writes for Paul Thurrott’s WinInfo.
“Apple [also] revealed… that its profits for the quarter ending December 31, 2004, were up almost 500 percent to $295 million on sales of $3.49 billion. Apple credited the surging iPod for the improvement, and though iPod sales in the quarter fell short of the 5 million units analysts were expecting, the 4.6 million iPods the company did sell is still an impressive number. Even Macintosh sales were up, with Apple selling over 1 million Macs in a quarter for the first time in more than 4 years. Apple’s iTunes Music Store, which made only a small profit, has sold over 230 million songs to date, the company noted. Let’s recap: Apple’s kicking butt with the iPod, and it has a new iPod out that will likely sweep up the two-thirds of the portable digital audio market that Apple doesn’t already own. And though the Mac is now stuck with less than 2 percent of the PC market, the recent Mac sales resurgence occurred before Apple announced the Mac mini, which should dramatically improve matters. Apple–and the Mac, from what I can tell–are back,” Thurrott writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: While it makes us extremely nervous, more than a touch lightheaded, and fairly nauseous, we pretty much agree wholeheartedly with Thurrott about the iPod shuffle and the Mac mini. Yikes! Please cut it out, Paul, you really are scaring us! 
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Kiss of death II: Thurrott wants an Apple Mac mini, calls it ‘drool-worthy’ – January 12, 2005
Kiss of death: Dvorak likes Apple’s new Mac mini – January 12, 2005
Kiss of death III averted: Analyst Enderle calls Apple’s Mac mini a ‘crippled product’ – January 13, 2005
Just to be picky, sub $500 computers usually do not come with combo drives, firewire, or modems. (such as the Dell $500 computer for example)
Nice article though.
billy boy:
The Intenet is your friend:
from dell.com:
cheapest is $399 (was 443), dell dimension 2400
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=D24F1&s=dhs
briefly:
– 2.4ghz celeron, xp home (celeron is fairly cripled, xp – <you fill in the issues here
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> >, apple much better here)
– no printer (apple has a deal on a freebie printer, don’t they?),
– 90 day warranty (apple has 1 year; for 1 yr warranty add 17)
– 256mb/40gb/dvd rom
– 17″ crt monitor, keyboard, mouse (apple missing these)
– no speakers
– wordperfect, no ilife
– no security subscription, meaning that, unless you xfer from another pee cee a desperate after the fact band-aid to staunch the bleeding, security wise, you will probably be infected as soon as you try and download the patch of the day from the Microsoft Felon
– modem, 10/100 ethernet
– integrated intel graphics (apple has better)
– loud fan (apple quiet)
– generally considered ugly, boxy (apple generally considered elegant, stylish)
– more expandability (nice for adding advanced graphics; apple doesn’t support add-on graphics – not so good for gamers)
– hardware and operating system grossly innovation impaired, gaping security flaws (apple massively superior here)
jump up to $499 and you get a p4 2.8ghz (arguably a bit better than apple, but it uses more energy, altho it will serve as a supplemental heater if you live in a cold climate)
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dp_desktop1_1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
in other words, 499 pee cees exist.
to make it an even comparision, hardware component wise (leaving out the MASSIVE issues with the operating system)
– delete the monitor and save 45 at dell
– add an apple keyboard and kensington pocket mouse for 45
(60 for an apple mouse and keyboard)
at the end of the day, they seem fairly close, price wise – less than 100, and issues like no viruses would seem to tip the scales for apple, assuming objectivity, of course.
magic word: turn
it is rather amazing how often these magic words have relevance…
Or OSX, or iLife, or a small footprint.
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DaddySteve:
Damn – good point:
– i completely forgot about firewire – add $27 to $499 dell (not
available on 399 el cheapo)
– add $20 for cdrw to dell
– i should add a security package, $62 more to the dell
– modem is included on dell
now this pretty much wipes out the approx 100 difference – almost like Jobs did his homework – weird huh?
So, anybody who says the pee cee is still cheaper is simply wrong, IMHO (there are a few of them out there still pushing this, but they’re dropping fast).
Sheesh… Thurrott is actually more reasonable and logical than many here. He’s “justifiably” been critical of Apple in the past. Many just choose not to listen to negative press.
…cuz proverbial hell has frozen over.
whoa.
That explains the cold weather here in hell.
Paul needs to lay off the Jeckel and Hyde action. What a freak.
you can’t argue with profit
‘best Q1 profit ever’
his bias would be too obvious after that. Like stick out like a tumour!
On the Gateway site I clicked on the link for the $399 system. All the deficiencies mentioned above, PLUS did anyone check the weight? The CPU alone for the Gateway is 23 lbs! Holy crap! 20 lbs heavier than the Mac mini. That’s a lot of shit! It’s also 7.5″W x 16″D x 14.25″H. Just imagine, all that wonderful PC “performance” crammed into such a small box!
What a joke.
What gets me about this guy is his shameless whoring. His Internet Nexus blog has a lot about Apple, and amazingly, it is mostly quite well-reasoned and objective, and he constantly talks about his love for Macs. What really pisses me off about him is the way he puts on his Mac-bashing hat on his Wininfo site and bad-mouths Apple for the Wintel fanboys. I refuse to trust a writer who changes his convictions with his URL. Which is it Paul? One side or the other, but be consistent.
“Many just choose not to listen to negative press.”
Atomic Flower,
I don’t mind negative press in the least, as long as it’s <objective</i>. If the guy wants to bash Macs, that is certainly his prerogative, and if his objections are well-reasoned, I will certainly pay attention, because guess what? I honestly want to know what shortcomings others perceive. I strenuously object to his Jekyll-and-Snide writing, which if you visit both sites, would become abundantly clear. His views are diametrically opposed, depending on whom he’s addressing, and there’s no way to take him seriously. His Wininfo site is nothing but a movable feast of Apple-bashing, while on Internet Nexus, his views are not just favorable, they’re more objective, and I value objectivity more than I do praise.
Maybe Paul is wondering where his income will be coming from with the fall of Wintel, and he’s hoping someone in the Apple world will throw some dollars his way?
to all those that will compare Macs to PC’s . . . . i.e. Mac mini cost vs. cheap PC . . . .there is no point. It’s the OS stupid. Mac OS X kicks ASS!!!
I’m a new Mac user as of 2 months ago. Lovin’ this OS X!
“I refuse to trust a writer who changes his convictions with his URL. Which is it Paul? One side or the other, but be consistent.”
Why does MDN always dismiss concerns about the Mac’s low market share, but always gloats about the “market dominating” iTunes and iPod?
Why does MDN always dismiss concerns about the Mac’s low market share, but always gloats about the “market dominating” iTunes and iPod?
—-
Trying to be clever hrmm?
Apple is making boatloads of profit.. the same cannot be said for some other hardware makers out there with a lot more marketshare.
The iTunes/iPod combo IS the market. That’s all there is to it.
As for the Mac OS..Sure Macs were too expensive back in the 80’s, but they sure aren’t now. Furthermore, there are 12,000 Native OS X apps and.. well.. Virtual PC if you MUST run Windows.
So why does marketshare matter? I’m sure Gateway would love to have Apple’s ‘shitty’ marketshare (25mil installed base) if they could have some profit…
It’s all about Developer Support. I know. But 12,000 Apps is nothing to sniff at.. and frankly, beyond gaming (get. a. ps2.) Mac users are rarely inhibited by their platform selection.
Sure Am Relieved
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The Dell Dimension 3000, their $559 (on sale for $499) can be upgraded (for a price) to CDRW but then you loose DVD. It also comes with the “Dell Media Experience” or at least the experience without a DVD. And “Mouse (is) included with Keyboard purchase” I’m not sure what that means, I just did a copy/paste from from their web site. Good luck on paying for a FireWire upgrade. FireWire isn’t mentioned on their web site, just some cryptic thing called IEEE 1394.
Oh “and one more thing,” don’t forget to add another $80 for a real copy of Windows XP. It you forget it will cost you $208.99 to upgrade later. (price from PC Mall)
“Why does MDN always dismiss concerns about the Mac’s low market share, but always gloats about the “market dominating” iTunes and iPod?”
You’d have to ask the MDN editors about their reasons for gloating, but the fact is that market share is irrevelant so long as a company is profitable, which Apple is.
Paul Thurrott, Medication Time.
(Classic line from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest)
Enough marketshare B$ already. Nobody sells marketshare- they sell units, and Apple has been making a profit while rolling out and maturing Mac OS X through a general economic recession, tech depression, and the post 9/11 downturn. Not bad for a company that has supposedly been going out of business for more than 10 years.
At MWSF, his Steveness reported that over 14 million people are running Panther currently. That means that since the launch of Panther, 14 million people have either bought a new Mac with Panther installed or have paid for a copy of the current OS. He did not report on how many are currently still using 10.0-10.2.x, but the number is probably enough to round the OS X world out to at least 20 million. That is a considerable market, and one more than large enough to support a developer base.
This year is going to see the last of the laggards from sys 7-9 convert to the current OS and a bunch of switchers. By the end of 2005 Apple should easily have an installed base of OS X users somewhere north of 25 million, and that’s without a big spike in Mac sales. 25 million potential customers with the demographics of the average Mac user is a very nice market.
Who was that columnist, and what have they done with the real Paul Thurrott?
“You’d have to ask the MDN editors about their reasons for gloating, but the fact is that market share is irrevelant so long as a company is profitable, which Apple is.”
You can’t have it both ways. If people want to dismiss market share, then they should dismiss it consistently. Instead, MDN dismisses those market share numbers which are not convenient, but then turns around and gloats over the iPod’s market share when it makes them look good. So which is it? A couple of people here insist that market share is not important. If that’s so, then don’t talk about or praise iTunes and iPod market share either.