Apple juggernaut looks to roll on, strengthen in 2006

21 years ago

“Five years ago, Apple Computer Inc. was barely an afterthought in the halls of electronics companies,” May Wong reports for The Associated Press. “Not anymore. With its best-selling iPods and landmark licensing deals with music and television moguls propelling new ways of consuming digital media, Apple now is the pacesetter. ‘In the consumer electronics world, there’s always talk now about Apple, the way people used to talk about Sony,’ said analyst Richard Doherty of The Envisioneering Group. ‘At the water cooler or in boardrooms, they’re asking, ‘What is Apple doing next?’ or ‘How do we stay out of their way?'”

Wong reports, “If anything, the company’s momentum accelerated in 2005. It gave us the iPod shuffle, the Mac mini, the nano, the video-playing iPod, a new iMac with a remote control and TV shows for sale on its iTunes online store. Apple is characteristically mum on the products it has in store for 2006, but analysts and observers say there’s no question rain is on its way. The only debate is on how strong a downpour.”

Wong reports, “Different varieties of the iPod are reported in the works by sites run by Apple afficionados. Perhaps an iPhone, or an iPod-cell phone hybrid. There is considerable speculation that iPods will get wireless Internet connectivity. Analysts also expect a bigger display at some point for better video viewing. As Apple works to make its computers digital multimedia hubs, the book-sized Mac mini introduced in early 2005 is predicted to get features that will make it fit more comfortably in a living room. Add an iPod dock or a TV tuner, for instance, and it could serve as a home’s music hub and a TiVo-like digital video recorder. The slimmer iMac that Apple introduced in the fall — complete with a remote control and ‘Front Row’ software that lets users access their music, photos and video from across the room — suggests Apple is readying to step deeper into the media center arena. Many expect Apple to sign more deals with TV networks in 2006, expanding its video portfolio much as it did with music and thereby swelling its coffers.”

Wong reports, “Apple has also recently made market share inroads in the United States, according to IDC. After years of hovering between a 2.5 and 3.7 percent share of the U.S. PC market, the company finally cracked 4 percent in the first half of 2005, IDC analyst David Daoud said. Apple’s market share of PC shipments was 4.4 percent in the third quarter, an increase of 43 percent from the year ago period, while the overall PC market expanded by only 2 percent, he said. As many as 1 million of the 4.5 million computers Apple shipped in fiscal 2005 were from Windows users switching platforms — a sign of a ‘halo effect’ from iPod sales and Apple’s growing retail presence, said Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf.”

Full article here.

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