Jobs on Intel, Apple Stores, iPods

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Newsweek gives (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10853916/site/newsweek/) a brief interview of Steve Jobs following the Macworld keynote last week.

It provides some interesting comments from Apple's CEO.

- Jobs states that the Mac market share has increased by a point this past year (approaching 5%)
- Apple builds about 30-40 Apple Stores per year to control growth and quality
- MacBook Pro battery life should be "about the same"
- Jobs does not feel that PowerMac sales will suffer greatly during the transition
- On the lack of iPod killer products at CES: "What's going to happen is that Microsoft is going to have to get into the hardware business of marking MP3 players."

[SiliconAddict]

- On the lack of iPod killer products at CES: "What's going to happen is that Microsoft is going to have to get into the hardware business of marking MP3 players."


Agreed. The only way to do it is to do both the back end end the front end of the device and its software. There is where Microsoft has failed. Its OEM's pretty much make crap. I'm pretty sure if Microsoft makes the whole kit it could become a fair competitor to the iPod. Beyond that when they say point I'm assuming they mean a tenths of a percentage or are they talking an actual percentage “point”. :confused:

Oh and this was interesting:

Your new iLife software has a blogging application. When will you start your own blog?
(Laughs.) After I get a few days of rest.

Wouldn't it be funny as heck if he quoted someone who was talking crap about the new PowerBooks* on Macrumors. Ah oh. Steve Jobs is gunning for you! http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/images/smiles/worried.gif

[Littleodie914]

Phew... Relieving news on the MacBooks... Definitely getting one for college now!:D

[FoxyKaye]

...Jobs states that the Mac market share has increased by a point this past year (approaching 5%)...
We're movin' on up (*movin' on up*), to the East Side. To a de-luxe apartment in the sky!

Sorry, couldn't resist.:D :p

[Seasought]

The battery question is finally resolved now. Good interview.

[jacobj]

...when they say point I'm assuming they mean a tenths of a percentage or are they talking an actual percentage “point”. :confused:


Now that's what I want to know.

[Seasought]

Oh and this was interesting:

Why? Are you referring to his previous battle with cancer? Or just because of his coughing during the expo that implied he was ill in some form or another?

[SiliconAddict]

Phew... Relieving news on the MacBooks... Definitely getting one for college now!:D


Almost. It would have been interesting to hear Steve's response to:

You downgraded the new MacBooks to single layer DVD drives. What was the reason.

[if size]

So is the hair's difference in your opinion worth the loss if the drive?


Why? Are you referring to his previous battle with cancer? Or just because of his coughing during the expo that implied he was ill in some form or another?


No that he is going to have a Blog.

[Seasought]

No that he is going to have a Blog.

Oh.

He strikes me as the type that would just write one big book after leaving Apple instead of blogging his day-to-day routines. It would be neat though.

[yoak]

5%, is it offical?
That´s good anyhow, keep up the good work

[DTphonehome]

- Jobs states that the Mac market share has increased by a point this past year (approaching 5%)


I heard a couple years ago that 1% of market share is equivalent to about $1 billion in gross revenue. Of course, as volume goes up, net profit increases as well, as R&D and marketing (both of which are high in Apple's case) becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of expenditures.

[TheMasin9]

The battery question is finally resolved now. Good interview.
nk ive been waiting to hear about that for a while now, i was hoping theyd have a lil better battery life, but if the displays are as bright as the cinemas, i cant complain too much...

[Jesus]

This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, great news. :D :D :D

[SiliconAddict]

5%, is it offical?
That´s good anyhow, keep up the good work

Yah here's to 7% at MWSF '07. I would pretty much wet myself with a 2% increase in a year though. As long as Apple can meet demand, for once!, this should be at least possible. The big question is are they going to be the first out of the gate with Merom. If they are I could see sales spike into orbit.

nk ive been waiting to hear about that for a while now, i was hoping theyd have a lil better battery life, but if the displays are as bright as the cinemas, i cant complain too much...


Keep in mind that dropping the display brightness down to 1/2 would be prob the same as last gen G4 PowerBooks and could prob extend the battery life even further. We'll just have to wait and see and first reports come out. :)

[maxterpiece]

there was a thread on this 2 days ago.... link (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=173360)

[jimN]

Almost. It would have been interesting to hear Steve's response to:

You downgraded the new MacBooks to single layer DVD drives. What was the reason.
.

get over it. I'd have asked what's coming next. But it does bring up the question. If you could ask steve one thing (and he had to answer it), what would it be?

[ibook30]

I heard a couple years ago that 1% of market share is equivalent to about $1 billion in gross revenue. Of course, as volume goes up, net profit increases as well, as R&D and marketing (both of which are high in Apple's case) becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of expenditures.

I heard the same thing about the 1 percent = 1 billion $s.
I hope the growth continues - and it's good to see the announcements are getting some press. My local paper had Steve on the cover of the business section Saturday (?) with a huge intel logo behind him .

[rockthecasbah]

Well that's all fine and dandy that it's 'about the same,' but how long is the average battery life of a Powerbook (i know it depends on what you are doing but ball-park estimation)?

[SiliconAddict]

get over it. I'd have asked what's coming next. But it does bring up the question. If you could ask steve one thing (and he had to answer it), what would it be?


If you could put anyone, who doesn't work at Apple, in the lead position of Microsoft who would it be?

And its not about getting over it. I personally am happy that I soon will HAVE a dvd burner. All I have right now is a 4x CD-R drive on my Dell Latitude 500Mhz system. So :P I just want to know what was the key reason behind it. That's all.

[ajwitte]

If you could put anyone, who doesn't work at Apple, in the lead position of Microsoft who would it be?

I'm not sure.

Jim Clark?

[Lacero]

Some O'Reilly dude mentioned he was able to predict 4 hours out of the MBP.

Apple hasn't stated battery life because they're probably still working on it for the final Feb. release. You just can't win with premature specifications... just like premature ej... well you know.

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/8984Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)

[Object-X]

Jobs says Microsft will call the x-player or something. LOL! Get it? the Ex-player. Hahaha. Dead before it even begins. :p

[Peace]

Some O'Reilly dude mentioned he was able to predict 4 hours out of the MBP.

Apple hasn't stated battery life because they're probably still working on it for the final Feb. release. You just can't win with premature specifications... just like premature ej... well you know.

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/8984Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)


God I hope thats not Bill O'Reilly from Faux News..:D

[Hattig]

Some O'Reilly dude mentioned he was able to predict 4 hours out of the MBP.


I've never got a reliable prediction of battery life on my iBook via that method however.

I read somewhere last week that it would be 5.5 hours. So about 4 hours in real use situations.

Note that unless in high load situations, the second core in the Yonah will turn itself off in any power saving state. Try running a MacBook Pro in 'Better Performance' mode from its battery and see how long the battery lasts!

[duklaprague]

They really ought to be able to shift some iMacs this year. The apple store in london is always heaving - although there are probably a lot of students in their checking their hotmail.

But good to see the intel ad - follow that up with an iMac ad, and follow that up with an OSX/iLife ad.

Here are the intel chips, here's what machine they're in, and here's all the great Apple software that comes installed on your new machine...

Shame I'm going to have to wait 18 months or so to upgrade a 2 yr old (but still going strong) PB.

Iain

[MM2270]

Agreed. The only way to do it is to do both the back end end the front end of the device and its software. There is where Microsoft has failed. Its OEM's pretty much make crap. I'm pretty sure if Microsoft makes the whole kit it could become a fair competitor to the iPod.

Ya know, I agree. Something thats been becoming more and more clear to me, which I find very interesting, is that, Microsoft (as we already know) is a lousy software maker, but is a fairly decent hardware maker. Think about it- most of MS' hardware products aren't half bad, including their keyboards and mice, the Xbox and some other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to come out with a worthy iPod competitor.
It's interesting really. I kind of see a reversal of roles happening here, ever so slowly. Apple is becoming more and more software oriented, and MS is becoming more hardware centric. That wasn't the case years ago, but each company is shifting it's focus.

Man, who knows. Maybe years down the line, Apple won't really make hardware anymore, but will make the OS and software, MS Windows will no longer be the dominant OS, but they will make some killer hardware.
I know, I know. Sounds absolutely crazy, and I wouldn't want Apple's sense of design style for the hardware to be lost, but that scenario is not entirely impossible.:o

[Epicurus]

But good to see the intel ad - follow that up with an iMac ad, and follow that up with an OSX/iLife ad.

Here are the intel chips, here's what machine they're in, and here's all the great Apple software that comes installed on your new machine...

Iain

Maybe they're waiting to kick start the Mac advertising blitz to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Apple Computer. If history is any indicator, Apple will roll out some sort of "special edition" product that will draw attention to the brand as well as the "regular" products. CNBC will probably to a few stories about the company and Jobs will be able to push the new products. There's nothing quite like free advertising...

[p0intblank]

The 5% market share is a nice number. Does it generally increase 1% each year ever since the iPod + iTunes integration became popular?

As for the Apple retail stores, I really hope we get at least one closer to where I live. :( Come on, Apple! I am dying to have a local Apple store.

[Project]

That comment about the battery life and being dual core. Does that mean a single core Yonah iBook would have crazy battery life??

[shawnce]

Does it generally increase 1% each year ever since the iPod + iTunes integration became popular?

2005 (hint of it in 2004) was the first year in several years (if not decades) that growth in Mac unit volumes out grew the growth of the market. No doubt that the iPod brand recognition mixed with foot traffic at the retail stores has had a hand in this.

[shawnce]

That comment about the battery life and being dual core. Does that mean a single core Yonah iBook would have crazy battery life??

Yes and no... likely the battery will be smaller in a iBook while the component swill generally use less power (lower end components). At this point who knows.

[fatbarstard]

The thing about market share is that a couple of years ago Apple was at 3%, so amove up to 5% is an increase of two thirds, which in anyones language is an impressive move.

Also by coming of such a low base Apple should be able to sustain that sort of growth in mkt share for a while yet.

What interested me the most was the short speech by Roz Ho from M$FT... always giving with one hand and taking away with the other

What Apple's next trick should be is to be able to claim that everything a windows user is going to get in Vista (stupid name) is available TODAY in OS X plus a while lot more....

That would be interesting.....

[edwardlanti]

The 5% market share is a nice number. Does it generally increase 1% each year ever since the iPod + iTunes integration became popular?

As for the Apple retail stores, I really hope we get at least one closer to where I live. :( Come on, Apple! I am dying to have a local Apple store.



What part of jersey are you from? Cause they are about to open a store at the Garden State Plaza. I dont know if you live around there

[supergod]

Why is Macrumors so freaking slow at getting news on the front page? This is from almost a week ago.

[runninmac]

Why is Macrumors so freaking slow at getting news on the front page? This is from almost a week ago.

How about you try running a great website like this. And try having a life on top of this. I think there doing a great job

[paulman]

I'm not sure.

Jim Clark?

Jim Clark is as cool as Steve Jobs. Although Clark would probably make something completely impractical and bankrupt Microsoft...

[macidiot]

I heard a couple years ago that 1% of market share is equivalent to about $1 billion in gross revenue. Of course, as volume goes up, net profit increases as well, as R&D and marketing (both of which are high in Apple's case) becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of expenditures.


Yes. 1% is about 1 billion in gross revenue. Oddly though, I've heard that 2% would be about 1.88 billion. At least in Apple's case. Which seems counter-intuitive. One would think that economies of scale would start to kick in. I suppose that might be reflected in profits.

Actually, though Apple spends a lot marketing the iPod, it spends almost nothing marketing the Mac. Though I did finally see a Mac ad over the weekend during the Carolina/Chicago playoff game.

I predicted Apple would pass Dell in market cap this year. I just didn't think it would happen so fast.

Now for some other predictions. Apple stock will go to 110. Apple will add another 2% marketshare in computers this year.

[brepublican]

Steve's right, MS should heed his advice. I bet they have something in the works. Or knowing them, maybe not. It would be interesting though to see them come up with an mp3 player...

[macidiot]

Ya know, I agree. Something thats been becoming more and more clear to me, which I find very interesting, is that, Microsoft (as we already know) is a lousy software maker, but is a fairly decent hardware maker. Think about it- most of MS' hardware products aren't half bad, including their keyboards and mice, the Xbox and some other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to come out with a worthy iPod competitor.
It's interesting really. I kind of see a reversal of roles happening here, ever so slowly. Apple is becoming more and more software oriented, and MS is becoming more hardware centric. That wasn't the case years ago, but each company is shifting it's focus.

Man, who knows. Maybe years down the line, Apple won't really make hardware anymore, but will make the OS and software, MS Windows will no longer be the dominant OS, but they will make some killer hardware.
I know, I know. Sounds absolutely crazy, and I wouldn't want Apple's sense of design style for the hardware to be lost, but that scenario is not entirely impossible.:o


Microsoft keyboards and mice are pretty good. But their other stuff is questionable. Remember the microsoft phone? Or their routers? And the xbox... the first one was fugly. And the 360 is a mess. Incredibly bad engineering...

Microsoft's strategy in DAP devices will be the same as with pda's, just keep plugging away until the competition wears down and/or runs out of money. And if that doesn't work, there's always intellectual property theft. ;)

[Yebot]

If you could put anyone, who doesn't work at Apple, in the lead position of Microsoft who would it be?

That's easy.

Skeletor.

http://maxtoons.com/skeletor08.jpg

[maya]

Curious, when Apple states that they have X amount of units out the door, does that mean units out of the factor and in the Apple Store, plus 3rd party vendors, plus customers or does it mean only customer purchases. :confused:

If they are also count units out of the factory then the numbers are off.

So we now have a 5% user base using the Macintosh platform running OS 8-10.4.4. :)

Microsoft is only interested in licensing they software (OS, Apps, etc..) to manufacturers, since they know they are not very good at making stable hardware. Look at the XBOX 360, the XBOX had issues, however I will let it pass as it was they first step into the gaming arena. Can you imagine the battery life, the reboots, etc... if they did release a mobile audio player. :rolleyes:

[macorama]

The 5% market share is a nice number. Does it generally increase 1% each year ever since the iPod + iTunes integration became popular?

1% increase per year doesn't get you very far very fast. But if you can go from 4% to 5% in a year, you've added 25% to your market share. You don't have to keep that up for long to get to 50%. It'll be interesting to see how it goes from here.

[Fiveos22]

- On the lack of iPod killer products at CES: "What's going to happen is that Microsoft is going to have to get into the hardware business of marking MP3 players."

What does marking MP3 players mean? Or does Microsoft plan on making MP3 players?

[iris_failsafe]

I am guessing that Gates and Ballmer's are saying after reading the interview (how come we didn't think of that!!!) Anyway I sure we will see how mediocre Microsoft design actually is when they release their x-player. Also I will bet they will run out of that business Creative, SONY and all the other companies that support their windows media my making their player and windows incompatible with third party products.

[ZorPrime]

You just can't win with premature specifications... just like premature ej... well you know.


Premature Inebriation? :confused: 38932

[nagromme]

I personally am happy that I soon will HAVE a dvd burner. All I have right now is a 4x CD-R drive on my Dell Latitude 500Mhz system. So :P I just want to know what was the key reason behind it. That's all.
From what has been said I would assume the following:

* Apple designed the MacBook from the start expecting to use an ultraslim slot-load drive. People like thinner laptops, and ultraslim drives are the future.

* But when the time came to finalize the shipping product, DL ultraslim drives were not out yet. So they went with single-layer because there was no other choice.

* And going back to re-engineer a thicker case isn't as quick and simple as it sounds. Possibly including changing the circuit board that's underneath the drive. Not worth delaying Core Duo over, and of no value at all (just wasted space) once DL drives emerge.

* DL ultraslim drives will become available to Apple at some point regardless. Maybe sooner than Apple could have re-enginnered the MacBook for thicker drives.


That comment about the battery life and being dual core. Does that mean a single core Yonah iBook would have crazy battery life??
I'll be a pessimist: I don't think so: IIRC, Yonah has the ability to shut down one core during battery use anyway--and no laptop maker would fail to take advantage of that in stating their numbers. It sounds liek Steve Jobs is NOT taking advantage of that in his statements, but he could just mean "you have two-core speed sometimes, and great battery life at other times." So I think that on battery, a MacBook Pro would ALREADY be much like a Core Solo iBook/MacBook. (Unless you opt not to shut down a core--but then your battery life would be less.)

[McScooby]

[QUOTE=maya]Curious, when Apple states that they have X amount of So we now have a 5% user base using the Macintosh platform running OS 8-10.4.4. :)

5% user base only relates to new shipments of macs vs. pc's - the installed base is different.

[iMeowbot]

If they are also count units out of the factory then the numbers are off.
When Apple give out numbers on those rare occasions, they seem to be in line with what is reported by IDC. That's not surprising, given the companies' cozy relationship. IDC do seem to be pretty good about comparing sales against what users have on their desks to keep the numbers from being too fudged.
So we now have a 5% user base using the Macintosh platform running OS 8-10.4.4. :)
Installed base has stuck around 5% for years. It's a much less volatile number than market share, tending to smooth out the quarterly and annual dips and peaks.

[Doctor Q]

Jobs does not feel that PowerMac sales will suffer greatly during the transitionWhat was his other choice about what to say? To recommend that people not buy them until further notice?

I respectfully disagree, Steve. I wouldn't buy a Power Mac in the next few months if I could delay it. If I had a deadline for needing it, like the start of a project that required it or the end of a budget cycle that would pay for it, I might not have a choice. But given a choice, I'd try to avoid buying the last of a breed being phased out.

And I'd read rumor sites to see if I could learn when new Power Macs were likely to be announced.

[Dm84]

What was his other choice about what to say? To recommend that people not buy them until further notice?

I respectfully disagree, Steve. I wouldn't buy a Power Mac in the next few months if I could delay it. If I had a deadline for needing it, like the start of a project that required it or the end of a budget cycle that would pay for it, I might not have a choice. But given a choice, I'd try to avoid buying the last of a breed being phased out.

And I'd read rumor sites to see if I could learn when new Power Macs were likely to be announced.People who need a Power Mac now and who use a lot of Adobe software would probably be better off buying a PPC Power Mac, since Adobe could take well over a year to deliver a universal binary.

[mymacluvsme]

glad to hear about the battery thingy.

[ccuilla]

Yah here's to 7% at MWSF '07. I would pretty much wet myself with a 2% increase in a year though. As long as Apple can meet demand, for once!, this should be at least possible.

Possible but unlikely. Keep in mind that while 2% sounds like a small number, it actually represents a much bigger number in this case...40%. That is how many more Macs Apple would need to sell this year to achieve that feat (assuming that overall PC sales remain relatively similar to last year).

[Sunrunner]

Possible but unlikely. Keep in mind that while 2% sounds like a small number, it actually represents a much bigger number in this case...40%. That is how many more Macs Apple would need to sell this year to achieve that feat (assuming that overall PC sales remain relatively similar to last year).


I see that as a definite possibility. It woud seem that Apples increases in marketshare have become a subject of exponential, not linear, growth. Blame the iPod, or XP-fatigue, or whatever, but it seems as though we are getting near a critical-mass point of sorts.