iLounge

During Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference Keynote on Monday, Steve Jobs introduced a new promotional video touting the success of iTunes and iPod. The iPod, iPod mini, musicians, music video snippets, Airport Express, Airtunes and the recent BMW iPod integration are featured.

The Wall Street Journal’s Walter Mossberg interviewed Steve Jobs at the D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, California. Mossberg talked with Jobs about the success of iTunes, Mac’s future, and movie piracy, during which Jobs casually mentioned he would like to the lower the price on iPods. “I mean, we’re not happy with iPods costing $300 and $400 and we want to keep driving the prices down on them so we’re working very hard on that.”

MacMinute reports Apple’s iPod is a hit, but analysts’ belief that it commands 25 percent of the global market may be overblown, Alex Salkever writes in his latest “Byte of the Apple” column for Business Week Online. He says this is because “very little good data exists on international sales of consumer electronics.” “According to one of those chipmakers and to industry analysts, worldwide shipments of digital-music-player chips hit about 15 million last year,” Salkever writes. “An April, 2004, report from investment bank CIBC on this market estimated global sales of flash and hard-drive music players at 17 million. If that’s true, then the 1.5 million iPods sold in 2003 gives Apple 8 percent to 10 percent of the global market.”

Apple today released Mac OS X 10.3.4. We don’t normally announce operating system software updates, but this particular update makes mention of USB 2.0 support for iPods. iPods connected via USB 2.0 are now recognized by iTunes and iSync. The update is available via the Software Update preference pane.

In his latest column for PBS, Robert Cringely has written an editorial on why Apple recently created a separate division for the iPod. “Apple is essentially getting out of the business of making its own products… Why would they take someone used to producing products like the G5 workstation and turn his attention to little music players? It’s hardly a comparable challenge… I think it comes down to a combination of structural changes in the industry and Apple trying harder to cut costs, which really means raising profit margins.”

Apple has created a new division within the company to sell and promote the iPod. Jon Rubinstein, who has led Apple’s hardware engineering efforts, will run the new division. Timothy Cook, head of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, will now lead a newly organized Macintosh division. The moves were announced today in a company-wide internal email sent by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “This organizational refinement will focus our talent and resources even more precisely on our industry-leading Macintosh computers and the wildly successful iPod,” an Apple spokesman told Reuters. 

The Mac Observer is reporting that This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE) magazine has ranked Apple 23rd out of a list of top 100 electronic retail chains - moving up from 34th.

For the first time, the iPod has outsold Macintosh computers. “We feel great,” Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said in an interview. “We sold a lot of Macs, but we’ve sold more iPods in the quarter than all the Macs put together.”

MacMinute reports that Apple on Wednesday posted a net profit of US$46 million, or 12 cents a share, for its fiscal 2004 second quarter ended March 27, 2003. These results compare to a net profit of $14 million, or 4 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter was $1.909 billion, up 29 percent from last year. Apple said it shipped 749,000 Macs and 807,000 iPods during the quarter, representing a 5 percent increase in CPU units and a 909 percent increase in iPods over the year-ago quarter. “Apple had a great quarter with 29 percent revenue growth and 200 percent earnings per share growth year-over-year,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “We experienced growth in most areas of our business-most dramatically in selling a record 807,000 iPods, up more than 900 percent over the prior year.”

MacMinute is reporting that Apple has extened its iPod personalization promotion, which allows customers to get free custom laser engraving on any new iPod purchased between March 28 through June 26, 2004. The engraving normally costs US$19 extra.

The iPod mini has “fueled a 22 percent increase in the company’s [Apple] stock in the past two weeks.” “Shares of Cupertino-based Apple have risen to their highest since September 2000 as investors bet the business card-sized iPod mini, released last month, will boost profit.”

StarBrite, developers of the pPod PocketPC iPod emulator software has been asked by Apple legal to change the name and to revise the interface so it does not resemble an iPod. StarBrite has complied with Apple’s requests and has changed the name to pBop and changed the layout so the touch wheel is now located between the menu and row of buttons. “Apple felt pPod was being ‘passed off’ as an Apple iPod,” says Ryan Kelly, a Starbrite spokesperson. “We were surprised to hear this as we have heard of no one buying a Windows-powered Pocket PC application being confused they are buying a hardware device.”

Rajeev and Jeremy have reported with an update from the Grand Opening of Apple Store SF. Rajeev described the opening as ‘hectic’ as hundreds of people swarmed the front entrance while San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, former Mayor Willie Brown, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs cut the ceremonial ribbon for the opening at 10 am PT. Apple sold 200 $259 grab bags marked ‘Do you feel lucky?’ containing; Apple Airport Extreme Base Station, Bluetooth adapter, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Apple Wireless Mouse, .Mac account, Keynote (presentation software), iLife ‘04 and a 10% gift card. In addition, some (1 in 6) lucky individuals also received Silver iPod minis and 15GB iPods, but one lucky person got a 40GB iPod. Both Rajeev and Jeremy got an iPod mini in their bags.

A couple of hardcore Apple fans are enduring the cold San Francisco night as they camp out in front of the new Apple Store San Francisco to be the first 200 people to be able to purchase a $259 grab bag valued at $600 - some containing iPod minis. Two San Jose State Apple Campus Reps, Rajeev and Jeremy sent us an email describing the situatuion as they await the Grand Opening at 10 am Saturday morning.

MacMinute - As reported yesterday, Eight Mile Style, Eminem’s music publisher, is suing Apple claiming that the company used one of the rapper’s songs—"Lose Yourself” from the 2002 film “8 Mile"—in an iTunes television commercial without permission. MacMinute has obtained the 15-page lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 20 in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Michigan. The suit—which also names Viacom, its MTV subsidiary and the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency—said “Eminem has never nationally endorsed any commercial products and… even if he were interested in endorsing a product any endorsement deal would require a significant amount of money, possibly in excess of $10 million.”