“Apple Computer may have met an internally kept goal of selling one million iPod shuffles a month during the first fiscal quarter in which the flash-based digital music player was widely available,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider. “Out of the nearly 6.2 million iPods the company shipped during its third fiscal quarter of 2005, about 3 million were likely iPod shuffles, according to research by American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu.”
“If accurate, it’s believed Apple would have met an internal goal it set for sales of the flash player in the latter months of 2004, just before it was announced,” Jade reports.
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Thurrott: ‘I don’t see how Microsoft will ever stem the flow of iPods coming out of Cupertino’ – July 15, 2005
Apple iPod sales quiet concerns that demand has peaked – July 15, 2005
Apple smashes street with record revenue, earnings; shipped 6.155 million iPods – July 13, 2005
Apple lowers price of 1GB iPod shuffle to US$129 – June 28, 2005
Apple’s Mac mini, iPod shuffle take Gold in 2005 Industrial Design Excellence Awards – June 24, 2005
Apple’s iPod shuffle takes nearly 60 percent of US flash-player market in March – May 04, 2005
Microsoft offers six tips for not buying an Apple iPod shuffle – March 22, 2005
Associated Press: Apple’s iPod shuffle is ‘the best portable music player for the money’ – January 30, 2005
USA Today: Apple’s iPod shuffle should ‘send shivers through’ competitors – January 20, 2005
Creative CEO: Apple iPod shuffle ‘a big let-down, worse than the cheapest Chinese player’ – January 12, 2005
Apple introduces iPod shuffle, first iPod under US$100 – January 11, 2005
“…may be…may have…likely…it’s believed…”
But … but the experts were assuring us just a couple of days ago that the iPod Shuffle was an under-performer in the market! They TOLD us we were DOOMED! Now this!?
MW: hospital … that’s where the experts need to go … the MENTAL hospital.
“”…may be…may have…likely…it’s believed…”
Thanks for posting that. Saved me a lot of copy pasting
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This is all bogus IMO.
Firstly, Shaw Wu is one of those analysts who wrote, based on little data, that iPod sales were slowing. Second, Shaw Wu is one of those analysts who saw downside for Apple’s next quarter based on a highly selective view of tiny omens. Thirdly, no one has any clue about either the breakdown of iPod sales nor any Apple internal goals.
We have the total number of iPods sold (6.2 million), the total revenue these iPods brought in, and thus an average revenue point of about $179 per iPod.
Now one has to solve a Diophantine equation with as many variables as we have different iPod price points. These kinds of equations usually yield multiple solutions. The math is not there for an outsider to make a decent guess. Moreover, we’ll never know how good or bad their current guess is just like we’ll never know how good their guesses of the past are — the guesses that lead them to their current analysis.
In other words, pure bullshit (with a hint of crow).
Lastly, when was the last time you ever heard about a numerical goal for a specific product from Apple. Ummm. The Steve once predicted a hundred million tunes sold in the music store. That’s the only one I can recall. I have never heard of ANY goal whatsoever for any particular computer, monitor, printer, or hard-drive iPod. Why should the shuffle be different? No leaks whatsoever. More BS from the BS crowd.
MW: door, as in don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Shaw Wu.
You know folks…I would really love to see a group of all these tech writers, and analyst, together, at one table and fielding questions about the accuracy of their tech writing, especially as it has pertained to Apple. Maybe held at a carnival with dunking booths and pie throwing booths.
Jade is spot-on, IMO. HP is putting iPods and iPod shuffles into Wal Mart, Taiwan 7-11 stores, executive gift guides and in-flight magazines.
The trend is obvious, and is growing.
“…when was the last time you ever heard about a numerical goal for a specific product from Apple ?”
The article did say that it was talking about meeting an internal goal.
You don’t get to hear about internal goals, but I am quite sure that they exist.
For instance, after Wednesday’s financial report, we heard how disappointed Apple were with the meagre increase in revenue of 35% that Japan achieved.
That implies that there is some sort of internal goal that they failed to meet.
“You don’t get to hear about internal goals, but I am quite sure that they exist.”
I agree, but consider than no one gets to hear about them. They haven’t been leaked before. So what credibility does a guess of a million shuffles have?
Please. The only internal goal at Apple is to gain market share. Everything else is just what they would be comfortable with to show the shareholders. Every business wo/man speculates on how good it would be for the business to sell x amount of product. But the fact of the matter is that the iPod is a peripheral, like a monitor or a mouse, and not a stand alone product.