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Apple blows the doors off (again)

post #1 of 72
7/21/09 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/07/21results.html

Translation:
Hey, this subscription pricing thing actually works pretty well, it doesn't even matter if we sell fewer iPods.
Imagine if the economy were going up!
Imagine if we had a device tied to Verizon instead of sucky AT&T (disclaimer: i still have no complaints about AT&T)
Hey we actually fixed almost all the complaints folks had about the iPhone so now we can focus on the tablet and maybe some cool things like a mac app store (Don't even think about mentioning Bluray here Sam tho!)
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post #2 of 72
7/21/09 at 1:51pm
Thread Starter 
The conference call should be a hoot, really:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq309/
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post #3 of 72
7/21/09 at 2:00pm
Imagine if they had a device for the entire US market instead of just 30% of it.
(should have kept my Apple stock)
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post #4 of 72
7/22/09 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF View Post

Imagine if they had a device for the entire US market instead of just 30% of it.
(should have kept my Apple stock)
If they offered the iPhone to all US cell carriers ("the entire market") subsidies per phone would be much lower (AT&T pays more because it is exclusive), thus some combination of phone price higher/Apple profit lower would occur.  In any event they haven't been able to yet meet demand for iPhone 3GS, so they wouldn't have sold more iPhones, no matter what.

It would undoubtedly be better for consumers if they could get an iPhone on the carrier of their choice (even at a higher upfront price), but it isn't clear if it is better for Apple (and Apple investors) -- certainly not in the short term.
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post #5 of 72
7/22/09 at 1:50pm
I'll take your word for it. I've not yet read an explanation of these carrier-exclusivity deals, and how they benefit the phone manufacturers.
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post #6 of 72
10/19/09 at 6:15pm
Thread Starter 
Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS is how you DESTROY expectations.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/167404-apple-f4q09-qtr-end-9-26-09-earnings-call-transcript?page=1

Simply unbelievable success. 

And they are just getting started....
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post #7 of 72
10/19/09 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


BWAHHAHAHAHAH

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/10/19results.html

Quote:

Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

Most Profitable Quarter Ever; Record Mac and iPhone Sales

CUPERTINO, California—October 19, 2009—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $9.87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

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post #8 of 72
10/19/09 at 7:39pm
There are days when I regret selling my APPL stock.
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post #9 of 72
10/20/09 at 7:51am
Apple is definitely on a roll. Can't believe their computer market share hit 10%. Just think, back in the 90's Apple was close to death before Jobs came back.
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post #10 of 72
10/20/09 at 8:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd H View Post

Apple is definitely on a roll. Can't believe their computer market share hit 10%. Just think, back in the 90's Apple was close to death before Jobs came back.

Was the 10% announced on the earnings call or...?  Yeah, Apple is truly kicking ass.  Think of what will happen if the iPhone starts taking on serious market share in the future -- or if the iTablet or some other future product (call it iX) takes off.  We'll be living in bizarro world.  
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post #11 of 72
10/23/09 at 8:57pm
Just think what would happen to the use of Voip if the iPod touch had a mic and camera. What do you think would happen if the iPhone was on a 4G network with a forward facing camera that allowed you to do video chats with an iChat app?
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post #12 of 72
10/26/09 at 6:02pm
 Apples stock has not done anything yet.  with the tablet coming out and iPhone sales about to start in China, the ride has just begun
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post #13 of 72
10/27/09 at 3:14pm
Thread Starter 
What if the iTablet sucks, or is only goodfor surfing the web from the can?
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post #14 of 72
10/27/09 at 4:32pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.investorplace.com/changewave-alliance/articles/smart-phone-market-aapl-palm-rimm.html
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post #15 of 72
10/27/09 at 4:59pm
By my definition, being able to do the second would exclude it from sucking!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Posten View Post

What if the iTablet sucks, or is only goodfor surfing the web from the can?
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post #16 of 72
10/27/09 at 5:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Posten View Post

What if the iTablet sucks, or is only goodfor surfing the web from the can?
According to MacBreak Weekly, the story is Steve Jobs previously dismissed tablet products as they were only good for just that one purpose. So if there is one, that's not its only purpose in life. :)

I have trouble seeing any value in a tablet, in part because for over 10 years I've had a very specific tablet design in mind, that's yet to produced and certainly won't come from Apple.

But as I reflect a bit more, I can imagine a tablet that would replace my laptop for my lightweight home use. With bluetooth mouse & keyboard, and a desktop stand, it's a fair desktop computer. And pick it up and carry it to the couch for web stuff. Put in the satchel for vacation travels, watch a movie on the plane on a luxurious 10" screen. And if wireless video were a reality, plus a Pre-like Touchstone charger, and back on the desk it's a comfortable desktop solution with cable-free desk.
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post #17 of 72
10/27/09 at 6:46pm
Another use is as a Kindle type device (rumors are that Amazon's working on a Kindle type app for the iPhone). I too was very dubious about a tablet device, but if it could replace a laptop for light use, a Kindle for reading, it would provide a better browsing experience on the go than the small screen of the iPhone, as well as a great portable video device.

 

The more I think about what Apple did with the iPhone, if they could create an in-between device (between the iPhone and the laptop) and leverage in the App model they've succeeded with on the iPhone, and get electronic print equivalent delivery like a Kindle but perhaps with color, I think it has a real chance to succeed.

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post #18 of 72
10/27/09 at 7:31pm
 That's exactly what I envision for the table if it comes.  A kindle type device that does apps and sized between an iphone and macbook air
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post #19 of 72
10/27/09 at 8:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo Medina View Post

Another use is as a Kindle type device (rumors are that Amazon's working on a Kindle type app for the iPhone).
(Long term, definitely, we're moving to digital copy. I think these are early days, like 640x480 digital cameras saving to floppy) But for now, it seems Kindle is much lighter and thinner than a likely table and much longer battery life (thanks to e-ink) and relatively cheap. That's weighed against being a single-purpose device. So can a (likely) $600 - $800 tablet at a couple pounds and a good fraction of an inch with perhaps 5 hrs battery life sell on the strengths of book reading?

Book reading as one of many features is interesting. But is it compelling per se?
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post #20 of 72
10/27/09 at 9:58pm
I don't believe reading, as in novels, is necessarily ready for prime time. Truth be told, most people don't like looking at screens, even with easier-on-the-eyes e-ink technology, for the amount of time it takes to read a lengthy novel.

I think a more likely use for it is for lighter reading like newspapers, magazines, short stories, articles, blogs, etc.

Just my opinion. I'm much more likely to read those on a Kindle or tablet device than I am a novel.
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post #21 of 72
10/27/09 at 11:35pm
Amazon is working on a colorized version of the Kindle. I think any of tablet devices needs a similar connection to the web as the Kindle has with access anytime instead of being tied to wi-fi.

Actually one of the netbooks out there with a tablet screen, more RAM, always on access would be great. The screen would have to be a touch type and could be rotated from a tablet to a standard netbook. In tablet mode you would get a virtual keyboard and could load aps like those used for the iPhone, iPod Touch. In the tablet mode you would get a traditional GUI.
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post #22 of 72
10/28/09 at 6:06am
 The killer App is a color magazine/book reader + video & video game player (all the iPod Touch type functionality), more sophisticated remote controls, medical devices, etc.

The barrier (from Apple's point of view) is that e-Ink tech is too slow for video, games, etc.  So I would guess this is not going to be e-Ink.  Also e-Ink appears to have issues with touch screen, as the new Barnes & Nobles book reader has a separate LCD screen for the touch screen activity from the eInk screen for reading.

So my guess:
Unless Apple has a breakthrough in eInk type tech that no one else is privy, the iTablet (or iSlate if the NY Times editor casual remark is to be taken literally) will feature an LCD/LED/OLED or similar and emphasize periodical/newspaper reading over books, plus all the current iPhone/iPod Touch type functions: Apps, Video playback, Video games, etc.

Mind you, if they succeed and somehow manage 10+ hours of battery life for reading I think they have a success on their hands (certainly a bigger success than Kindle so far).

 Possibly Apple could release Yet Another eBook Reader based on color eInk (which would be a commercial first), but I suspect that Jobs sees an eBook only device as a dead end, and a more general device that can play video and games as the future.
Edited by Ted Todorov - 10/28/09 at 9:15am
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post #23 of 72
10/28/09 at 6:10am
 Also: remember the billion dollar plus investment (pre-payment) Apple gave to a screen maker (LG?????) -- unless it was for the 27" iMac, they paid for exclusive access to some possibly breakthrough tech for the iTablet screen.
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post #24 of 72
1/18/11 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
The conference is still going on but lemme tell ya the highlights:

7million iPads
4 million macs
6 billion profit
27 billion in revenues

Apple now has more cash on hand than Bill Gates has net worth

Jeeeeebus!
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post #25 of 72
1/18/11 at 3:23pm

Every quarter I'm painfully reminded of my failure to buy $10k of Apple stock back in ~98 when they were about $10/share. (In my defense, I was a student and that would have been the entirety of my life savings. And Apple was really sucking it up back then and I wasn't a particular fan of them nor a real user.) If, if, if...I'd have a nice fat nest egg to cushion my life :)

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post #26 of 72
1/18/11 at 3:40pm
Thread Starter 
Excellence has become a habit:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/18/apple-q1-2011/
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post #27 of 72
1/18/11 at 6:14pm
Thread Starter 

 

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post #28 of 72
1/21/11 at 7:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Todorov View Post



If they offered the iPhone to all US cell carriers ("the entire market") subsidies per phone would be much lower (AT&T pays more because it is exclusive), thus some combination of phone price higher/Apple profit lower would occur.  In any event they haven't been able to yet meet demand for iPhone 3GS, so they wouldn't have sold more iPhones, no matter what.

It would undoubtedly be better for consumers if they could get an iPhone on the carrier of their choice (even at a higher upfront price), but it isn't clear if it is better for Apple (and Apple investors) -- certainly not in the short term.



 


Actaully, as it turns out, I am totally wrong about Apple getting more subsidy due to carrier exclusivity -- see http://www.asymco.com/2011/01/21/the-end-of-exclusivity-doesnt-change-the-price-operators-pay-for-the-iphone/

So in fact the sooner Apple goes entirely carrier neuteral (T-Mobile, Sprint) the better. The one thing I did get right is that Apple's main problem is making iPhones fast enough, as yet again emphasized by Tim Cook in the latest earnings call. So all this is academic until Apple finds a way to meet current iPhone demand.
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post #29 of 72
1/21/11 at 7:46pm

Yes and no, Ted.. Apple did get a big stipend at the beginning which probably influenced a great deal of them not only sticking with ATT, but also making it affordable for end users.   Getting something created is harder then revising it.  As time has went on and adoption of the device, the subsidy per carrier doesn't matter as big.   I completely agree on the point of going Carrier Neutral.   Introducing a phone for T-Mobile should be dead easy (it's another GSM, and people have already unlocked ATT to transfer as an option) same with mini-carriers (see: Cricket, Metro, Virgin, etc. and mini-GSM or Verizon co-providers).. the only one that would likely still be a hitch would be Sprint, but that's a different story.

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post #30 of 72
1/21/11 at 9:04pm

Why would Sprint be hard? It's CDMA and shares towers and frequencies with Verizon in some cases, no?

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