Apple’s pathway to success in 2008
By Triston McIntyre
It is easy to forget how quickly Apple’s fortunes have risen in the last years; Steve Jobs has single-handedly brought Apple from the pits of despair to the top of the technology industry with his reinvention of the iPod and iMac. Some believe that Apple’s steady rise in success is bound to stop soon; however, rising stock prices, the release of Leopard, and the rumored release of both a new MacBook and Newton point to an even brighter future for Apple.
Apple is preparing to release the new, much-anticipated iteration of OS X known as “Leopard” later this month, possibly on the 28th. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster released a statement to clients, noting that Tiger’s release resulted in $125 million in sales; he estimates Leopard’s release will result in approximately $240 million in sales by December. “This assumes similar uptake rates to the Tiger launch, which saw 15% of the user base upgrade in just 6 weeks (eventually 66% of the user base upgraded to Tiger),” writes Munster.
Munster also alledged his firm believes this spring’s MacWorld will mark the release of one of the two currently-discussed products: either a newer, ultra-thin Macbook or a PDA-like Newton. A new Macbook is rumored to be ultra-thin and ultra-portable, utilizing flash memory technology and the like. A newer Newton would most likely resemble the iPod Touch and iPhone, but be more centered around data entry and organization.
Also demonstrative of Apple’s rising success are the steadily increasing stock prices; Friday, Apple closed at a new record $161.45. Forbes believes the time may be approaching in which Apple chooses to split its stock, according to MacDailyNews.
Inevitably, Apple’s success will continue to rise, greatly spurred on by the release of Leopard and the recent line of iPods. I feel a new MacBook is more feasible than the Newton; rumor has it Apple will update the new iPod touch to allow calendar entries, which was a large problem for the Apple community. A new Newton would be nice, but the shared functionality of both the iPhone and the iPod Touch wouldn’t legitimize another nearly identical device.
The Macbook is well overdue for an update; I see a slimmer 12″ model hitting production, with updated casing and possibly another bell or whistle. Ideally the 13″ model will stay, with only case and technology updates, and Apple will add the slimmer 12″ MacBook everyone is pining over.
Big things are in Apple’s future; to all the naysayers and hate-mongers, perhaps now is the time to stop whining and griping about Apple and get on the bandwagon.
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[...] Bersvendsen wrote an interesting post today on Appleâs pathway to success in 2008Here’s a quick [...]
October 8th, 2007
[...] Mark Wilson wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptSome believe that Apple’s steady rise in success is bound to stop soon; however, rising stock prices, the release of Leopard, and the rumored release of both a new MacBook and Newton point to an even brighter future for Apple. … [...]
October 8th, 2007
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptSome believe that Apple’s steady rise in success is bound to stop soon; however, rising stock prices, the release of Leopard, and the rumored release of both a new MacBook and Newton point to an even brighter future for Apple. … [...]
October 8th, 2007
Kudos to Apple and Steve Jobs for the fantastic turn around. Innovation is always good for everyone. I just hope Apple doesn’t overreach, and spread it’s resources too thin.