“An analyst for PiperJaffray said Wednesday strong sales of Apple Computer’s new iPod shuffle digital music player could make his current quarter iPod unit estimate appear low. ‘While Apple has maintained a robust inventory, our checks with 40 big-box retailers and online vendors show that demand is outweighing supply in these channels,’ analyst Gene Munster wrote in a research note, referring to the new $79 flash player,” Katie Marsal reports for AppleInsider.
“Also in his note Wednesday, Munster said checks with big-box retailers show that store clerks are suggesting iPods significantly more than other brands, and added that they are making those recommendations more frequently than they used to,” Marsal reports.
Marsal reports, “While Munster acknowledges that it’s ‘way too early to make a call’ on Apple’s December quare iPod results, his analysis last week of the first month of NPD data (October) for the quarter suggested the Cupertino, Calif.-based company would sell between 14 and 15 million units. ‘Since the shuffle was not released until 3 November, the player will likely have a material impact on the November and December NPD data and our current expectations could prove to be low,’ he explained.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “ChrissyOne” for the heads up.]
As we said yesterday and last Thursday (and as Munster himself also warned was possible), the expectation of 15 million iPods is simply too low.
Related articles:
Apple shares rocket to new all-time highs on strong sales outlook – November 21, 2006
Apple ‘iPhone’ could hit 15 million units in first year – November 21, 2006
Expert: ‘Apple will be a triple-digit stock in a matter of months’ – November 21, 2006
Apple shares hit new all-time high – November 20, 2006
Analyst estimates Apple will sell 14-15 million iPods in holiday quarter; says estimate could be low – November 16, 2006
Wasn’t it already expected before these reports that the December quarter would be a record quarter for iPods? If iPods sell below 14 million, it would be the first YOY decrease in sales since the iPod was introduced. AAPL will need more than even 15 million to keep Wall street happy… I think they’ll do 17 million.
well i guess i’ll have to be the first to put a too high number out there, 21 million
22.379 million iPod units total.
My Christmas list is easy this year. Shuffles for everyone!
Fred you’re wrong. 22.378 million iPods is more like it.
Come on, setting up high expectations isn’t good for anyone… unless you’re planning on pumping and dumping.
No, the expectation of 15 million is wonderful. That way, when actual sales blow the expectation out of the water Apple will ride another huge wave of good press
At 7 bucks, I’ve ordered a dozen of them.
Thank MS for this a little. Sales people are whispering to customers, Not to get involved with MS since it’s unknown where playsforsure is heading and Zune is tanking. 2 big unknowns.
Apple will be in the game for a long time and when the phone comes out,
look for the Japanese and euro states to eat them up, yum.
Wait until that Zune phone comes out, yawn!
Zune Phone?!?
Is that the one that rings three times and then hangs-up – never to let you call that number again (unless you buy some more ‘points’)
Thirty.
Million.
-c
MW: ‘face’ (it, you need at least 3 iPods to be truly happy)
“22.379 million iPod units total.”
Great Shuffle sales would be good for Apple, but the iPod mix seems to be shifting to units with lower and lower price, so growth in unit sales is needed to produce the same amount of revenue. Wall street doesn’t care how many iPods Apple sells, just how much profit they make doing it.
You know, as tedious as it got sometimes, I think I’ll miss all of those “Squirts For Sure” jokes that were going around. Zune is kinda like that guy that falls down the escalator. It’s truly not funny and it’s a terrible thing to happen, but somehow you still catch yourself laughing.
The only record levels iPods will set this quarter are the levels of disappointment for users who could have got a Zune. What a miserable Christmas morning it will be when mommy and daddy have to explain to the kids that their iPod can’t squirt and Santa couldn’t put a screen on their Shuffle this year. This is how Apple stole Christmas, 2006.
I’ll say it again: 5 million iPods, 22.5 million Zunes this quarter. I’ll bet my points on it. iPod lemmings, you don’t have to put up with Apple’s shoddy designs, hodge-podge of an interface and horrible method of transferring music, video and pictures to an MP3 player. Hey Apple have you heard of a little something called user-friendly, seamless integration? If you did you got the idea from Redmond. Again. Stick with an original: Zune.
I watched my poor update her iPod through iTunes a couple of months back. What a nightmare. Thank you Microsoft for once again coming to the aid of long-suffering consumers. It doesn’t have to be this way.
As far as Apple’s Shuffle debacle goes, good luck Cupertino, you’re gonna need it.
Welcome to the Social.
My checks on Amazon’s top 100 today reveal the black Zune at #45, with the other 2 nowhere in sight. Yes, ZT, Microsoft in lying in wait, ready to strike any minute now…
{holds.breath}
{dies}
-c
MW: ‘type’ (caffully, we c’ant modsify outr pozsts)
Zune Tang,
The top 10 bestselling items at Amazon.com are iPods. The Zune comes in at 45.
Keep betting those points, dicksmack.
I think y’all are missing the most important part of the story-
ChrissyOne is giving up head!
Or did I get something backwards?
Alright, even I don’t believe that was Frank.
Unless he’s hitting the bottle already.
No, that just doesn’t sound like Frank.
Yeah, TowerTone, ya got something backwards. It probably happened in the prison shower.
How much do analysts get paid? Can I be one? It has to beat working for Traveltrain’s long distance passenger railway service; grossly underfunded, abandoned by both QR’s upper management and our government owners and run by managers with no vision, no passion and no clue.
Great trains journeys and service though. Still a great way to see Queensland.
Are you speaking from experience, Zoonces the Pussy?
I sure am. The experience of watching you take it in the prison shower. Do you intentionally drop your soap each morning?
Should read poor sister. It was my sister.
Still breaks my heart thinking about it.
TowerTone: “Oh no! I dropped my soap again!!! Whatever shall I do? I guess I will have to bend over and pick it up, just like I do every morning when I get violated. I sure hope no one is around to violate me today!”
Pause. TowerTone looks around. Picks up soap and drops it again.
TowerTone: “My goodness! I just can’t seem to keep a grip on my soap these days!! Fortunately I cleaned my bum before I dropped it! Yessirree! Nice and clean bum! Like butter!!”
WOW Zoonces!
As long as we are sharing our dreams,
I can’t wait for the day MDN uses logins,
and world peace.