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•  
  • Toni +
  • 32 Comments

  Oct 03 10:16 AM
  It's funny how many suggestions people is giving AAPL.
  
  It's seems to me noone of them was there with suggestion when Apple needed them, and after that Apple did quite well.
  
  It's still doing quite well.
  
  But now someone believe it's needing help. SUGGESTIONS.
  
  "Believe me Steve, you should do this and that."
  
  We'll see how the thing will play out.
  
  

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•  
  • LongAAPL
  • 25 Comments

  Oct 03 10:29 AM
  Funny, after reading Steve Ballmer's recent comments about how MSFT will take a hit from the economy, I was glad Apple did NOT have a larger corporate footprint.
  
  IMHO, it will be more likely that business purchases of new computer and tech equipment will be cancelled or postponed due to the economy. However, it is always true that in bad economic times people will spend as much or more on personal entertainment. Apple is in a very unique position today in the tech industry, they not only sell entertainment (the iPhone is more of an entertainment device than a corporate tool) but the best equipment to use with it.
  
  We don't need wall street.

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•  
  • Roger Knights
  • 311 Comments

  Oct 03 11:09 AM
  If IBM were to make a deal to resell Apple's products to businesses, that would give Apple the cred it needs in that market. IBM's stock would rise 10% on the announcement. Here's hoping.

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•  
  • Tom B
  • 1771 Comments

  Oct 03 11:18 AM
  Historically, the DOS-bred in Enterprise have had little but hostility towards Apple. Yes, the quality gap between Mac and Windows has grown enormously in the past few years and, as a result, some Enterprise people are integrating Macs. But the "dam has not burst open" --YET--so, Apple probably feels its ad dollars are better spent focussing on the consumer, weak economy or not. The big change that needs to happen is that IT guys need to be more responsive to their USERS, most of whom woule LOVE to upgrade to Macs. Technologically, the "issues" involved in integrating Macs into Enterprise networks are quite small. Probably SMALLER than the issues involved in downgrading people from Win XP to Vista.

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  • Hayweed
  • 134 Comments

  Oct 03 11:52 PM
  IT departments don't want Apple since that would reduce the need for IT people. Budget cuts by management will solve that barrier.
  
  As for Apple, people (analysts) are convinced that Apple sales will slow dramatically but this is bunk. Apple is a high end retailer that sells to the top 20% of consumers not the bottom 80% think Chevrolet and Asus/Gateway/ and Dell's consumer PCs. Management is in the 20% and what they use at home will begin to make it into work. What executive wants the hassle of virus scans and the crap that happens to PCs.
  
  Apple owns the over $1,000 computer space. Dell gets twice the revenues of Apple and only half the profit. Apple could cut prices and try to compete on price. Is Porsche going to drop the price of the 911 to compete with Chevrolet. Doubt it. The upper end consumer while not immune to recession, may decrease spending but they will spend money on perceived value. Where is the value add on a dell pc at Walmart.
  
  A $150 - $230 ipod is not that big of a luxury. That is like filling up your suv 2 or 3 times. In recessions people cut back but would you buy your kid some off brand mp3 player like the Zune which they would throw away or would you buy the leader.
  
  The iphone at $199 is a steal compared to most of the junk phones for sale.
  
  As for Rimm, they can't seem to get any of their new phones launched in the USA, their biggest market. The fact that they have told everyone that new products are coming (something apple hardly ever does) has caused most Blackberry consumers and business users to hold up on a new phone. Who wants to buy last year's model a week before the new phone comes out. Since the Bold seems delayed indefinitely, this is allowing more AT&T (largest seller of Blackberries) customers to give up on Rimm and switch to the iPhone.
  
  Rimm's Bold is 3G. The new pearl is 2.5G. Why? The Storm is EVDO on Verizon. Too many different phones, too many different radios, too many different operating systems. Rimm seems to be making new phones into new platforms. Apple has one phone with one operating system that is a smaller version of OS X. No one not even MSFT has figured out how to put the computer OS on a phone except Apple.
  
  All the new touchscreens, the Gphone, Nokia, the Instict, the Dare, Touch and even the not yet available storm, are all being compared to the iphone and all have not measured up. Just driving more and more people to look at the iphone at the apple store and now Best Buy, which results in more computers and more ipods.
  
  I have a white imac in my conference room at work and almost every client under the age of 50 has asked me about the computer or the brand new imacs that my assistants have. They all ask how I like them and that they are thinking about switching. That never happened a year ago. People never paid attention to the fact that we used Apple computers.
  
  The point is that the drop in Apple is due to fear not operating perfomance. Also remember that Apple accounts for phones by taking 1/8 of the price per quarter. This quarter will show 6 million old iphones at $400 a pop which is 6 million * $50 = $300 million. Add in 6 million new phones at $25 (1/2 of $200) and you get another $150 million. That $450 million also goes into next quarter even if they never sell another phone.
  
  Apple will sell $1.2 billion in phones this quarter and only put $150 million towards revenues and earnings. That is why apple is a steal below $100.

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•  
  • BryanZ
  • 59 Comments

  Oct 04 02:07 AM
  @Hayweed
  Look, I'm an AAPL shareholder but the things you're saying are so fanyboyish that bias is dripping off your sentences.
  
  The Bold not being released on AT&T yet, from what I've heard from several sources, is because of AT&T not being able to handle the saturation of the 3G network of the iPhone and so T is hesitant to put another data intensive phone on their network. The Bold is in several other markets already so it's not like the phone is still in RIMM's R&D.
  
  The Storm has obviously been more of a hassle and I'm curious myself to see how it will perform (I'm a RIMM shareholder too).
  
  You talk about RIMM having multiple radios like that's some kind of detriment. It's actually what allows them to serve multiple networks and introduce phones and multiple price points. Both iPhones (with their different radios) exist only on AT&T w/i this country. RIMM is on every single major network in the US and hundreds across the world... it's what allowed them to get into China and other huge markets before AAPL did.
  
  I know RIMM has been hammered lately, AAPL has too, but to think that both these companies can't still grow in the smartphone space is crazy.
  
  And don't talk like the $199 is what the iPhone costs... you're leaving out the $35/month service plan that iPhone buyers are on the hook for 24 months for.

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•  
  • winindthedust
  • 36 Comments
  • My Website

  Oct 04 03:14 PM
  Apple competes against competitors that don't compete against themselves.. this is power for Apple, as they sell multiple products... they are the new Sony.
  
  Their competitors:
  
  Phones: RIMM, Nokia, Motorola, HTC
  Computers: Dell, HP
  OS: Microsoft
  Browsers: M$, Firefox, Opera
  Software: Microsoft, Adobe (each of which is also a partner, too)
  Music: ?? Amazon, Microsoft
  Music Players: ?? Creative, Microsoft
  Video: ?? Netflix, Microsoft
  Game players: Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft
  
  
  They have revenue streams that come from multiple sources and multiple venues; thus the name change from "APPLE COMPUTER" to simply "Apple, Inc."
  
  Even Apple's competitors are indirectly helping Apple in other businesses.... for example, both Dell & HP, who compete selling hardware, have started selling Linux preloaded, thus indirectly helping Apple on the OS front against Microsoft. Dell & HP and others, now need to find an alternative OS just as badly as the smart phone market does- their future existence depends on it!
  
  Another case & point: The push for Web 2.0 and open cross platform standards, only helps Apple. It doesn't matter what the browser market share is... what matters, is, that Microsoft's IE will either die (because it is the worst in meeting these standards), a win for Apple and the market place... or, it will eventually get around to dropping proprietary tech. in its browser, to comply... also a win for Apple, as this will continue to shore up Apple tech such as MPEG4, WebKit, etc. which are all open source or standards. Either way M$ is screwed, they held a monopoly by being proprietary... now if they drop the proprietary, legacy will be abandoned and people will flock to Apple. If they keep proprietary, people are leaving to open source and standards compliance, anyway, where there wallets are no longer tied to decades old technology. Firefox, Opera, & Safari are all indirectly a challenge to M$'s very existence in the OS arena... it's a check mate with no where to run, as M$ no longer has the power to make their own weather.
  
  Another case: Application development on the iPhone has way more power then anyone can imagine. Apple has won back the developers. All developers that are learning Objective C and Coco Touch frame works, are then in turn attracted to Webkit, and guess what? It all works on OSX. That means, development for iPhone will modernize programming for years to come, as it is a computing platform, not a phone platform. Developers are already starting to develop for OSX first, then port to Windows, rather then the other way around. This allows programmers to leverage power and do things they never realized possible before (because it just isn't on windows). This creativity, will produce beautiful and useful programs, that just won't be able to exist with the same power & features on Windows.... people will flock to this, as developers do.
  
  Apple really does own the whole nut; and there are plenty of squirrels, economy or no economy that want what Apple is selling.
  
  Enterprise? Enterprise is no longer stupid. CEO's now know there is an alternative that works. They are getting as savvy as their IT guys, and wondering why they are paying them so much. It is no secret, that loads of money is ready to be saved by businesses jumping ship to Apple- and many already are. Millions are saved in M$ licensing fees and in IT labor costs; this is an indisputable fact. Why the apparent slow adoption? The biggest reason: Laziness, businesses are accustomed to what they know, and paying for it. As the recession moves on, this actually will help Apple get in the enterprise, as it will break up this apathy, as cuts and efficiency are mandated. The myth that Apple costs more, has been broken- now it's just laziness. For some, it's custom written programs. As virtualization grows, this will be overcome... and know what? Maybe it's time for a program refresh and rewrite anyway... and maybe a commercial program, that didn't used to be available will do the job. Nevertheless, the old IT regime that had to defend their faith in M$ to keep their jobs, is dwindling. A new crop of younger generation is coming in... and they don't have an emotional attachment or alternative motive for promoting M$ or failed past decisions.
  
  All of this is converging into a perfect storm for Apple.

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•  
  • sleepyg
  • 22 Comments

  Oct 04 04:58 PM
  Clueless article. Apple will be one of the last to feel the pinch from the consumer. It's the latte's, eating out, new cars and extra vacations that are going, not the new Mac or iPhone.
  
  Apple has an enterprise strategy. One that's lightweight on costs both for Apple and for the enterprise. Expect cost cutting by eviction of Microsoft and its parasites inside and outside the organisation in favor of Apple's better, simpler product. You're about to witness a landslide. Wouldn't surprise me to see Dell fail in the next 3 months with no tangible assets, unable to pay suppliers.

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•  
  • brewer
  • 418 Comments

  Oct 05 03:04 AM
  As usual, ZD net is writing for their 98% clueless wintard readership.

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•  
  • Hayweed
  • 134 Comments

  Oct 07 01:06 AM
  7.5 million iPhones in one quarter. That is the enterprise strategy. PS that is more than the 6.1 million phones shipped by Rimm.

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