“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.
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