Events Calendar
In This Section
A. Schulman CEO recounts working to turn company around before recession hit
Natural gas plunges 15 percent this month
Region's stocking full of ideas for those on the prowl for holiday gifts
Ohio unemployment rate rises to 10.5 percent in October
Seeking 'power shoppers' on Black Friday hunt
Download available to try Microsoft Office 2010
Michelin might double car-tire plant in Russia
Facing more uncertainty, investors leave stocks for safer alternatives
Most Read Stories
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Body with gunshot wounds found in Canton Township creek
Blogs:
Pets:
Sick Pets Get High-tech Health Care
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
The proposed new LeBron mural doesn't do it for me
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Attention Haters, Palin And Hannity Together
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Muslim McCarthyism & Death Prayers
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Norma asks if Barkitecture is still at Stan Hywet.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Higher development costs suggest new products that will thrill users but initially lessen earnings
By John Boudreau
San Jose Mercury News
Published on Thursday, Aug 07, 2008
When Apple announced last month that it anticipated higher development costs in coming months, analysts cringed and the stock dropped. But tech heads rejoiced.
Such a message often means new products are coming from the company.
Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told analysts that a ''future product transition'' will lower gross margins from nearly 35 percent during the quarter that ended in June to about 30 percent in 2009.
While that news cast a shadow over Apple's stock, it generated excitement in the blogosphere, as Apple acolytes played their favorite game of name the company's next big — or small — thing.
As usual, Oppenheimer was cryptic, saying only ''we're delivering state-of-the-art products at price points that our competitors can't match.''
He added that one of the investments is ''to introduce new products that initially cost more because they deliver an entirely new level of value to the customer. . . . We have some of these types of investments in front of us that I can't discuss.''
Analysts say the mystery could be a refresh of Macintosh laptops, a new architecture for its PC line, a new mini-laptop or a completely new product. However, it could be a stretch for Apple to roll out an entirely new product any time soon, given its struggle to keep up with demand for its new iPhone 3G.
Whatever the surprise is, Apple is likely to roll it out in early fall to take advantage of the holiday shopping season.
''Normally, when they introduce a new category, it
takes some upfront development costs,'' said longtime Apple watcher Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. ''I believe when they introduced the early iPods, they said something similar about impacting the margins. It appears they have something really new in the works.''
In a research note to investors, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he expects Apple to offer up a redesign of its MacBook laptops and possibly offer them at lower prices. Its lowest-priced laptop retails now for $1,099. He also anticipates new iPods and perhaps a lower-cost iPod touch player.
Jennifer Colegrove, an analyst with iSuppli, is convinced Apple is cooking up a new touchscreen mini-laptop. Sales of touch-screen technology, popular with handheld devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch, are expected to double between now and 2013, becoming a $6.4 billion industry, she said in a new report.
Colegrove believes Apple might unveil a 7- to 10-inch laptop, joining the many other PC companies that are offering relatively low-cost and lightweight laptops.
''If you look at Apple's products — the iPhone, the iPod touch — what's next?'' she said. ''It's natural that you'll see (touch technology) with notebook computers.''
Other analysts, though, aren't convinced Apple, which has done well with higher-priced PCs, is willing to enter the low-margin mini-laptop market.
''Historically, Apple has not been a company willing to sacrifice margins,'' said John Jacobs, director of notebook market research at DisplaySearch.
He expects Apple to aggressively transition from laptop displays with fluorescent lamps to ones with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, which contain no mercury, are less of a drain on batteries and could lead to slightly slimmer notebooks.
They are also more rugged and provide brighter screens. All PC companies are expected to use LED technology by 2015, Jacobs said.
When Apple announced last month that it anticipated higher development costs in coming months, analysts cringed and the stock dropped. But tech heads rejoiced.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
