Steve Jobs

Analyst: Apple will launch netbook competitor in response to slowdown

Paul Mah — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:06:32 -0500

Despite the launch of a new line of MacBooks just last month, the current economic climate will force Apple to roll out a lower-priced laptop to compete with netbook offerings currently flooding the market, according to an analyst. Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research noted that, "Apple is facing the possibility that as the economic news gets worse, that they're increasingly pricing themselves out of an important market. Economic conditions are accelerating this."

If anything, Apple's concern about how the economic climate is impacting sales is also shared by some of the world's largest manufacturers. Samsung Electronics issued a warning earlier this week about cellphone market growth over the next two years. James Chung, a spokesman for Samsung, said, "As for next year, it is possible that the market could post a single-digit or even negative growth."

The opinion is that Apple will not directly compete in terms of price or size. Gottheil asserts, though, that the company will respond with an entry-level notebook that can compete with the $300-$500 price tags of most netbooks on the market today. Any attempts to predict the features of such a laptop will be nothing more than guesswork, at this point; though, it is safe to say the final product will be able to differentiate itself from the current netbook market. The price is unlikely to be less than $500, based on remarks by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who said, "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that."

Indeed, Jobs himself opened the door to a possible shift in strategy. During a conference call with Wall Street analysts in late October, Jobs reportedly said, "We'll wait and see how that nascent category evolves. And we've got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve."

To read more:
- check out this article from ComputerWorld
- check out this article from redOrbit

Apple in the process of reinventing the iPod

Paul Mah — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:35:43 -0500

Remember the story we ran about Apple hiring away chip-guru Mark Papermaster from IBM? Well, it appears that he will be taking over as the head of Apple's iPod group, replacing longtime Apple executive Tony Fadell, the inventor of the iPod. Now, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made it clear that he believes the future of the mobile computer is based on the quality of its software. For that to happen, top-notch hardware will be the order of the day for the next generation of iPods. It is clear that Apple intends to leverage Papermaster's experience in designing cutting-edge, energy-efficient chips. Looking forward, and noting its P.A. Semi acquisition, Apple could manufacture its own custom chips for a lineup that others will be hard-pressed to copy.

To read more on the article:
- check out this article from CNET News.com

New iPhone feature takes a page from RIM

Paul Mah — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:37:50 -0400

After months of intense speculation, the announcement of the technical specifications for the new iPhone comes more like a confirmation than any real surprise. The software side of things is another matter, however.

One new feature that Apple is touting is termed as its "push notification service." Using it, developers can automatically relay information to Apple, which in turn forwards to the application on the iPhone. The official explanation is that even applications that are not currently running will still be able to receive data. This is important because the iPhone will only allow one user application to run at a time.

For more on Apple's push notification service:
- check out this AppleInsider article