Apple NewsFlow 2.0

Apple Media Coverage Moves To The Mac

With so much focus on the iPhone and the iPod this year, media coverage on Apple’s core business -- the Mac -- has taken a back seat. Even analyst comments have considered the Mac an afterthought. But that’s changing.

Things started a week ago when American Technology analyst Shaw Wu led his Apple comments with projections of stronger-than-expected back-to-school Mac sales. Then Scott Moritz of thestreet.com had an exclusive story on booming Mac sales this quarter. Citigroup followed this week, also leading their comments with the Mac.

On Monday’s “Mad Money,” Jim Cramer focused his positive Apple comments on the iMac, saying the share price of Apple is “undervalued.” He set a $175 target. His Apple comments have been trending more towards the Mac in the last several weeks.

Looking ahead, the Mac will also likely take the lead in Apple’s third quarter earnings report, followed by the release of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) late in October.

This will be the Mac’s most visible OS release and, in contrast to the lackluster, better-late-than-never release of Microsoft Vista, will bring the Mac to the media forefront. Can’t wait to see what Apple will do with the Mac and PC guys television commercials around Leopard.

Stay tuned for what could be Apple’s biggest Mac attack ever. Oh, and then there’s the holidays.

London Analyst: 18 million 2008 iPhones Will Be Sold at $200 Average

Very early Tuesday morning (about 8:50am London time) I saw a very informative report and series of interviews about the European iPhone launch on CNBC Worldwide.

Per Lindberg, managing director of technology research at Dresdner Kleinwort, was interviewed. Here’s a direct quote:

“In our projection, we believe there will be about 18 million iPhones sold next year at an average selling price of about $200, and that means a very sizable portion of total handset revenues will move from other manufacturers to Apple. (It) will be in the vicinity of 5 percent that Apple will steal from incumbents.”

Lindberg went on to say the iPhone would be available in a “palette of models” by next year and that competitors’ products would, along with the iPhone, inject new interest into the smartphone category. He said the current 2.G iPhone is Apple simply “testing the market” and that the real sales growth will come with the 3G iPhone models, which he expects will be available in early 2008.

Aside from this interesting projection ($200 for an iPhone!), the CNBC Worldwide crew in Europe seems to uncover a level of detailed analysis in their interviews that U.S. television producers might find boring. I found it fascinating and informative.

Steve Jobs Makes The Right Move

Well, it's been an interesting 24 hours of newsflow since the announcement that the 8G iPhone will drop in price to $399.

Those who argued this was just a case of “early adopter blues” were incorrect. This was different, especially so given the extraordinary iPhone buildup.

Steve Jobs did the right thing by offering his half-explanation/half-apology to early iPhone purchasers. The $100 rebate-credit is appropriate given the circumstances.

Now the AAPL question still remains: How are iPhone sales doing? Is this a sign of strength or weakness? Some hints can be found in CNBC’s Jim Goldman’s great blog earlier today, which surveys analyst comments before the announcement of the rebate.

Apple Pi**es Off One Million Customers

It rarely happens, but it did today...Apple made a PR mistake.

Steve Jobs just announced a $200 price cut on the 8G iPhone barely 10 weeks after its introduction. If I were a buyer of the iPhone at $599 when it launched, I'd be angry. We're all accustomed to price drops for new technologies, but this one is stunning. Especially since the media buildup to the iPhone was so unprecedented. I would imagine the core of the Apple faithful who stood in line for the first iPhones must be quite angry today.

The question is: will it have any negative impact given the overwhelming positives of today's iPod and iTunes announcements and the amazing good will Apple is enjoying.

The iPhone price drop also raises some other questions. Does this mean iPhone sales are not as strong as projected? Does it mean the initial price point was too high?

Of course, if you're not among the one million, you're probably thrilled you waited to buy an iPhone. And if you're an iPod customer, you're also thrilled that many iPhone features are now on an iPod.

And if you're an AAPL shareholder, you're probably happy that the iPhone is now an even more amazing proposition compared to RIMM or Palm. Holiday sales could go through the roof.

This will be interesting to watch.