Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster didn’t get to list Apple under “areas of expertise” on his CV by not knowing a fair bit about the Cupertino company, and the smiling soothsayer has been addressing fifteen key Apple-related questions this week in a report to his flock of investors. Covering all aspects of Apple’s retail, Mac, Apple TV and, of course, iPhone business, Munster describes his predictions for a family of 2-3 Apple cellphones, why lower price points are an inevitability, and how he expects the company to move to being carrier agnostic. His suggestion of 2-3 new iPhones that diversify the range isn’t a new one, but he has decided that China will get the handset in 2009.
“We continue to expect Apple to offer a family of iPhones (2-3 separate models) in the first half of 2009, including lower priced ($200-$300) models. Just as the company slowly diversified the iPod lineup and entered lower price points with every new version of the iPod, we expect Apple to launch new models of the iPhone at lower price points in CY09. This expectation, along with the expectation for lower price points, and world wide availability of the phone, is critical to our CY09 iPhone estimate of 45m units” Gene Munster, analyst, Piper Jaffray
“[W]e believe Apple is not hesitant to try business models other than the exclusive models the company has chosen during the iPhone’s first year. It has enabled Apple to maintain tight control on the user experience of the iPhone, but expanded availability will likely become a higher priority, and we believe it will eventually drive Apple to offer the iPhone on multiple carriers in each country” Gene Munster
Munster also addresses Apple’s introduction of the App Store, describing it as a recognition that the iPhone user base was “dissatisfied with the simplified Web 2.0 apps available on the iPhone’s web browser.” He describes the developing iPhone and iPod ranges as a sign that Apple is looking to “transform the MP3 market into a portable computing market” and that the iPod touch is the first of many WiFi-enabled, internet-friendly PMPs. For anybody hoping for an Apple Tablet, Gene suggests it may take a few years, but will come as an evolution of the MacBook’s MultiTouch trackpad (which itself will evolve to an embedded color touchscreen):
“Eventually, we expect Apple to change the trackpad to backlit color screens for a more dynamic user interface on the Mac. And ultimately, we expect Apple to develop a full touch-screen MacBook, although not until the technology has fully matured over the next 3-5 years” Gene Munster
Nothing especially new on the iPhone, overall, but the omission of the 3G iPhone from any of Munster’s answers is a curious one. You can read the full list of questions and answers at Apple Insider.
A Santa Cruz woman is using Leopard’s Back to My Mac remote control software to track a thief who stole her laptop.
The woman, named Joey, had her MacBook and iPhone stolen from her truck. The thief didn’t wipe the MacBook, and Joey was able to log on remotely every time the crook connected to the internet using Back To My Mac. Built-into OS X, Back To My Mac allows administrators to take full control of machines over the Net.
Joey was able to remove sensitive data; copy and delete files; and then spy on the thief using the MacBook’s built-in iSight camera.
The crook spends a lot of time in cafes using free WiFi to search file sharing networks for software, music and movies.
As the crook surfed the Net, Joey was able to compile a full profile for police, including his Gmail account, home IP address, mother’s maiden name, and even snap clear pictures showing the detail of his tattoos.
Santa Cruz police are reportedly issuing a warrant to arrest the thief.
Joey was documenting the entire process on a LiveJournal account, which has been taken offline, likely to prevent the crook from getting wind of his impending arrest.
Back in January, I was fairly effusive in my disappointment in the MacBook Air. I still think it’s a product that has a long way to go before it fulfills its promise as a thin, light, road warrior’s machine (the fact that it isn’t standard with an SSD is a pretty poor statement about its long-term reliability), but I’m now willing to admit that it hits the mark with at least some people, including people I really respect, like BusinessWeek’s Reena Jana, their innovation editor.
I’ve had a lot of conversations with Reena in the past, and she’s a constantly on-the-go kind of person, meeting with design and innovation leaders around the country. She probably travels for business more than I do. And she loves her MacBook Air:
OK, so I personally don’t have the need for many USB ports, nor for a huge, huge hard drive. And I don’t even feel that bad that there’s no Ethernet port, although I could get an attachment for it, which to me isn’t such a big deal (I rarely use the Ethernet jack). I’m reminded of when MacBook’s stopped having a floppy drive, or a dial-up jack. People were upset. But other laptops followed, because these features became obsolete. I see a parallel here, and my laptop lifestyle was starting to reflect the phasing out of DVDs and Ethernet jacks before the Air was released.
Fair points all, though I think I’d be more comfortable with the Air’s lack of a DVD drive if Apple distributed its own software, such as iWork, on USB key instead of DVD… Still, this is another reminder that a lot of people don’t need anywhere near the file storage capacity that I do. Just this weekend, I learned that my sister-in-law is desperate for an Air, as well. I’ll be very interested to hear how the Air performs in the market. I still think it will meet a fate similar to the G4 Cube, but there are some people who are incredibly excited by it.
For me, I think I’m stuck in Steven Levy’s camp: If I even had one, I think I’d probably throw it out with the newspapers by accident.
Apple COO Tim Cook gave the following comment during last weeks Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium: "We just received word on Monday that Apple surpassed Dell as the number one supplier of portables to US higher education for 2007," Cook claimed. "The ceiling for the Macs is nowhere in sight. Even if the market itself isn't growing, for us, switching Windows users is an enormous opportunity," Cook said.
This is great news, and can be supported by the numerous images of college lecture halls dominated by the Apple symbol. This story comes accompanied by the latest Apple idea, 'iPhone University'. Apple's laptops are highly appealing in education due to their durable, reliable nature, as well as the many great graphic and textual applications for macs only.
Update 3: Got the full scoop. Penryn in both Macbook and Macbook Pro (see here). Check out Mac Rumors and Apple Insider coverage. New NVIDIA graphics cards (still integrated in Macbook-shame). Check the Apple store for full specs.
Update 2: The Macbook Pro’s now come fitted with multi-touch, LED screens (on all models) and faster processors. No word on the inclusion of Penryn just yet. The Macbooks don’t include multi-touch (why not?), but their processor speed have also been increased.
Update: The store is back up. Well, what have we here. Not only the promised Macbook Pro refresh, but also a nice speed bump for the Macbooks.
Its happening. By the time Tuesday is over, Apple will have at least released one new product, if not more. The Apple online store has been down, worldwide, for about an hour.
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Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster didn’t get to list Apple under “areas of expertise” on his CV by not knowing a fair bit about the Cupertino company, and the smiling soothsayer has been addressing fifteen key Apple-related questions this week in a report to his flock of investors. Covering all aspects of Apple’s retail, Mac, Apple TV and, of course, iPhone business, Munster describes his predictions for a family of 2-3 Apple cellphones, why lower price points are an inevitability, and how he expects the company to move to being carrier agnostic. His suggestion of 2-3 new iPhones that diversify the range isn’t a new one, but he has decided that China will get the handset in 2009.
