Fifthfiend
08-07-2007, 11:39 PM
Apple's Mighty Metal Mac
CUPERTINO, CALIF. -The iPhone grabs the headlines, but the real news at Apple is its recent success in clawing market share away from rival computer makers.
On Tuesday it struck again, revising its lineup of all-in-one iMac desktops, dropping the price, shaving them down in size and adding a brushed-aluminum finish.
Sales of Apple computers rose to 1.76 million units during its third quarter of the year, up 33% from the same period a year ago. Market researcher IDC now places Apple third in the U.S. computer market, tied with Gateway.
Apple's new machines will come in two sizes. A model with a 20-inch screen will start at $1,199, down from $1,499. A 24-inch model will go for $1,799, down from $1,999. Apple no longer sells a 17-inch model.
The new models, and lower prices, partly explain why Apple guided its current-quarter earnings lower during its latest earnings call, citing an upcoming "product transition".
In addition to the cost of reshuffling its iMac inventory, the thinner, less-expensive, aluminum-clad models could reduce the fat margins that Apple has been reaping from its desktop machines over the past several quarters.
But don't think for a nanosecond that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is going to go too far downmarket in a bid for market share. "We can't do it, we can't ship junk. There are thresholds we can't cross because of who we are," Jobs said in response to a question from a reporter. "The difference is, we don't offer stripped-down, lousy products."
Not content to raise the pressure on Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ), Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) and Gateway in the computer market, Apple also tweaked software company Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), rolling out new editions of its iLife and iWork desktop software packages. The new iWork desktop application now includes a spreadsheet program, dubbed Numbers, offering an Apple alternative to Microsoft's Excel. Apple shares are up more than 60% so far this year.
Klink! (http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/07/apple-jobs-imac-tech-cx_bc_0807apple.html)
Every time I see one of these stories I start thinking this is where I'm finally gonna go buy me one of them shmancy-lookin' Apple computers, but it never happens.
CUPERTINO, CALIF. -The iPhone grabs the headlines, but the real news at Apple is its recent success in clawing market share away from rival computer makers.
On Tuesday it struck again, revising its lineup of all-in-one iMac desktops, dropping the price, shaving them down in size and adding a brushed-aluminum finish.
Sales of Apple computers rose to 1.76 million units during its third quarter of the year, up 33% from the same period a year ago. Market researcher IDC now places Apple third in the U.S. computer market, tied with Gateway.
Apple's new machines will come in two sizes. A model with a 20-inch screen will start at $1,199, down from $1,499. A 24-inch model will go for $1,799, down from $1,999. Apple no longer sells a 17-inch model.
The new models, and lower prices, partly explain why Apple guided its current-quarter earnings lower during its latest earnings call, citing an upcoming "product transition".
In addition to the cost of reshuffling its iMac inventory, the thinner, less-expensive, aluminum-clad models could reduce the fat margins that Apple has been reaping from its desktop machines over the past several quarters.
But don't think for a nanosecond that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is going to go too far downmarket in a bid for market share. "We can't do it, we can't ship junk. There are thresholds we can't cross because of who we are," Jobs said in response to a question from a reporter. "The difference is, we don't offer stripped-down, lousy products."
Not content to raise the pressure on Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ), Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) and Gateway in the computer market, Apple also tweaked software company Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), rolling out new editions of its iLife and iWork desktop software packages. The new iWork desktop application now includes a spreadsheet program, dubbed Numbers, offering an Apple alternative to Microsoft's Excel. Apple shares are up more than 60% so far this year.
Klink! (http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/07/apple-jobs-imac-tech-cx_bc_0807apple.html)
Every time I see one of these stories I start thinking this is where I'm finally gonna go buy me one of them shmancy-lookin' Apple computers, but it never happens.