iLounge

“In a research report Monday, he said the success of the iPod demonstrates Apple’s “tech know-how and strong brand” and could make the company “relevant again.”

And the iPod isn’t expected to be small business for Apple. Milunovich estimates iPod’s revenue to come in around $1 billion this year, contributing 15 cents to per-share earnings. By fiscal year 2006, the analyst said revenue for the iPod could double to $2 billion, adding 25 cents to the EPS.”

“My name is Rajeev B. and I’m sitting here with my partner Jeremy C…. we are both SJSU Apple Campus Reps and we have been out here since 1:30 pm PT today.  It’s getting cold but we have been sitting bundled up.  The line is about 30 or so people and it’s currently 7:49 pm.  There is a guy with an iSight broadcasting a live feed that updates every 2 minutes at ifoapplestore.com. So far everything seems cool. The lights inside the store have gone off for the night but everybody here is really nice and friendly and and we’re all helping out each other and waiting for our chance at the 200 grab bags that are going be available at store opening at 10 am.  These bags are valued at over $600… and some will contain an iPod mini.”

“Mr Justice Mann, of the High Court Chancery Division, revealed today that he owns an Apple iPod – the neat little portable computer which allows its user to download thousands of music tracks over the internet. He asked lawyers if this disqualified him from hearing a trademark dispute between Apple Computers and the Beatles company Apple Corps over the computer giant’s iTunes online music store.

Lord Grabiner QC, for Apple Computers, said he was delighted to hear the judge had an iPod and added: ‘We would perhaps have sent you one free if that would not have been improper.’”

“Rapper Eminem’s music publisher is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the company used one of the hip-hop superstar’s songs in a television advertisement without permission.

Eight Mile Style filed the copyright infringement suit late last week against Apple, Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency.

At issue is an ad for Apple’s iTunes pay-per-download music software, in which a 10-year-old sings Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” The suit claims the commercial aired on MTV beginning in July 2003 and ran numerous times for at least three months. It also appeared on Apple’s Web site.”

“The analysts speculate that if half the 100 million tracks available through the Apple/iTunes promotion are redeemed, “it will increase iTunes downloads over 100 percent”. This will also increase Apple’s market share in comparison to rival vendors.

The report looks at the true strategy behind the store—increasing iPod sales. As most competing players utilize an incompatible file format, IDC says: “Apple stands to develop a built-in market for the iPod”. It agrees that if users use and choose iTunes then they will be more likely to buy Apple’s music player in preference to competing products.

The conclusion? “Apple stands to benefit greatly form this promotion and carry its momentum forward”.”

“Q: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ ) just announced that it would resell the iPod and load iTunes on its home PCs starting this summer. That’s a major change of course for Apple. Why? Have you approached other PC makers about doing similar deals?

A: HP looked at the choices they had, and they thought what we were doing was the best in the industry, and they expressed an interest in working with us. The more we discussed it, the better it sounded. Look, we don’t make our own printers. We use HP’s printers. They’re better at making printers than we are. HP decided that we’re better at making portable music players and online music stores, and there is no shame in any of that. I think it’s pretty smart.

Q: The iPod is Apple’s first non-Mac hit in years. What’s the significance of that to you?

A: It’s very exciting to be able to apply Apple’s innovation, engineering excellence, and marketing skill in a market where we don’t have that 5% market-share ceiling to see what we can do. And it feels good.”

“Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2004 first quarter ended December 27, 2003. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of $63 million, or $.17 per diluted share. These results compare to a net loss of $8 million, or $.02 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter reached a four-year high of $2.006 billion, up 36 percent from the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 26.7 percent, down from 27.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter’s revenue. The quarter’s results include an after-tax investment gain of $3 million which increased earnings per diluted share by $.01. Apple shipped 829 thousand Macintosh units during the quarter, up 12 percent from the year-ago quarter, as well as 733 thousand iPod units, up 235 percent from the year-ago quarter.”

“Despite critics who decry Apple’s proprietary audio format, this deal shows that Steve Jobs’s digital-music strategy is a winner. [...]

‘He was smart enough to go do something that was beneficial to the music industry in creating a paid environment that protects their interests. He’s pretty much golden in terms of getting deals with the labels,’ says Tim Bajarin, CEO of consultancy Creative Strategies. That Jobs could become the most powerful guy in digital music from a platform with a mere 5% or less of total market share is like Houdini pulling a Hummer out of his hat.”

“Microsoft’s planned move into the digital-video player market is misguided, and can never match the success of music players, says Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

In an interview with the New York Times Jobs explains that high price and long up-load times means Microsoft’s move into this business area is “misguided”.

Jobs said: “There’s just no equivalent of headphones. While a music player gives you a concert-hall experience, watching video on a tiny three-inch hand-held screen is nothing like the experience of watching a movie in a cinema or even on TV.”

“The recent HP-Apple announcement makes the significance of the iPod mini announcement at Macworld well, look minute. Finally it looks like Steve Jobs has not let his ego get the best of him, and done something that is right for Apple as a public company. Let’s look at what could have been; Apple could have decided to keep the iPod and iTunes an Apple-only product greatly limiting the sales of both. Instead, any PC user can now buy and listen to digital music using Apple products. Brilliant.”

“LAS VEGAS, Consumer Electronics Show, January 8, 2004 - ”Working to provide consumers with the most compelling digital content whenever and wherever they desire, HP and Apple today announced a strategic alliance to deliver an HP-branded digital music player based on Apple iPod the number one digital music player in the world, and Apple award-winning iTunes digital music jukebox and pioneering online music store to HP’s customers.

As part of the alliance, HP consumer PCs and notebooks will come preinstalled with Apple iTunes jukebox software and an easy-reference desktop icon to point consumers directly to the iTunes Music Store, ensuring a simple, seamless music experience. This offering is yet another way that HP is helping consumers enjoy more from their personal digital entertainment content.”

“Another growing source of complaints surrounds Apple’s wildly-popular iPod line of digital music players, which many enthusiasts believe will get an upgrade at Macworld with the introduction of smaller, less-expensive models and a range of case colors.

In California, a lawsuit seeking class-action status is expected to be filed January against the company over the claim that Apple’s warranty does not run long enough to cover problems with the player’s battery.”

“The widely reported rumors, which Apple declined to address, suggest that the company will unveil an inexpensive iPod that will cover the end of the market dominated by cheaper MP3 players from Creative, Rio and Dell.

The risk in such a move would be undercutting brisk sales of iPods, which now range in price from $299 for a 10GB drive to $499 for a 40GB drive. In Apple’s fourth quarter, ended Sept. 27, sales of the iPod generated $121 million in revenue, up 9 percent from the prior quarter and 128 percent from a year ago. The company has said the iPod business is profitable.

‘I don’t think Apple currently needs to sell a $100 iPod at risk of cannibalizing sales of existing models and sacrificing gross margins,’ said Tim Deal, analyst with Technology Business Research in Hampton, N.H. ‘Apple already has the market lead, so I don’t see the need for (the $100 version) when people are buying $299 and $399 models.’”

“In the not-too-distant future when compact discs are museum pieces and vinyl records are near fossils, 2003 will be remembered as the year digital music stepped into the mainstream. [...]

Mark Mulligan, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said: “A lot of the important building blocks have now been put into place. [...]

Effectively a device for storing music files, the iPod helped kickstart a rush to move music from the compact disc to the portable hard disc drive.

In an effort to boost iPod sales, Apple launched its own online music service in May 2003, offering music lovers a wide range of tracks for 99 cents.”

“Few people recognise Jonathan Ive. Few could tell you what he does. But most of us know, admire and use his work. Ive, who has just been awarded the highest British design honour with his appointment to the RSA’s Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry, is ‘Mr Mac’. He is the British designer who has reinvented the computer, the personal stereo and much else besides. By banishing beige boxes and replacing them with sculptural, easy-to-get-to-grips-with products, such as Apple’s iMac and iPod, Ive has transformed the way we look at the electronic stuff that surrounds us.”