Apple as Mass Market Company

[MacRumors]

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

Recent analyst comments are speculating that Apple is poised to become a true "mass market company" building off the success of the popular iPod music product and branching into other mass market consumer products.

Apple has previously noted that the iPod is simply a vehicle to sell more Macs... but with the overwhelming success of the iPod is difficult to ignore.

Merrill Lynch analysts suggest that Apple may also move into the video market in the home with an emphasis on High Definition.

[schatten]

...but this is certainly good news. Apple's here to stay, and continues to build on its reputation for design & quality.

[aricher]

I've switched 3 people to Mac Minis in the last month - all love them and have expressed their desires to have Apple products more tightly integrated into their living rooms. Apple needs to move on this - Apple set-top media boxes, universal remotes, tablets - whatever - bring it on and dominate the living room... NOW.

[Doctor Q]

The author of those comments, Steven Milunovich at Merrill Lynch, is an Apple optimist. He routinely sees and expects great things from Apple, and I hope he's right. For examples, see these stories from macminute.com and macobserver.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I don't know. I just cannot see Apple as another Sony...

[Yebot]

^ How 'bout this?


Apple: Way better than Sony.

[michaelrjohnson]

Well...

One thing that Steve Jobs is known for are his efforts to streamline...everything. When he rejoined Apple in 1996 (IIRC) they hade a very diverse product line that included digital cameras, printers, scanners, computers, monitors, PDAs, etc.. Within 2 years they had PowerMacs, iMacs and a few stragglers. Granted, this is a different Apple than it was back then, but it's the same Steve.

I don't want to see Apple get too diversified like they did in the mid-90's. It nearly killed them. I have no doubt that they would make a beautiful product, but so far Apple 2.0 has been doing a great job of staying out of markets they can't do well in. Let's keep it that way. But if they can rock it, I'm all for it!

[Jesus]

i hope apple does move into the video media market, it would be super sweet


Jesus

[camomac]

this is suppost to be the year for video, right? i mean didn't steve say that earlier this year. then the whole final cut studio came out. it only makes sense!

come on video ipods.

[wdlove]

Originally Posted by Doctor Q

The author of those comments, Steven Milunovich at Merrill Lynch, is an Apple optimist. He routinely sees and expects great things from Apple, and I hope he's right. For examples, see these stories from macminute.com and macobserver.

Apple can use all the writers they can get to write positive stories about. The 3rd quarter results is certainly a reason for optimism. Now Apple must follow through. It would seem that the 4th quarter results would be critical to show the direct that Apple is going.

[iJaz]

Originally Posted by wdlove

Apple can use all the writers they can get to write positive stories about. The 3rd quarter results is certainly a reason for optimism. Now Apple must follow through. It would seem that the 4th quarter results would be critical to show the direct that Apple is going.

Funny that it is always the next quarter that is the important one...

[nsjoker]

meryll lynch doesn't know sheet about fook
these guys are wrong on a routine basis. apple isn't hard to predict at all. here's my shot at being an analyst...

1- apple will release a video ipod in january and open up iTunes 5 w/ video store, thus creating a demand for the now useless music video.

2- intel macs will be announced in january as well, ahead of schedule by many months... remember jobs said intel macs would be shipping by the middle of year.. but that could mean that they would be introduced well before that period. it's a vague statement, and trust me he would love to churn them out asap.

3- more intel macs, new mac mini, new ibook, new imac ... (the great PPC products down the pipeline jobs was talking about are probably a rev b mac mini and revised ibooks before the year's end)

4- apple reveals 2 button mouse with touch sensitive scroll wheel functionality in jan. along w/ ilife '06 woohoo, and a spreadsheet in iWork..

5- etc. etc. etc...

[ariechel]

The signs definitely seem to indicate that Apple is trying to become a consumer electronics company. As John "Hannibal" Stokes and other sources have pointed out, Apple seems to have had the potential applications of Intel products (including hardware DRM) in consumer electronics in mind when they made the switch to Intel.

Though, as Sony has demonstrated, Apple's increasing emphasis on consumer electronics does not mean that they will exit the computer market, I am afraid that they will allocate much of their resources to this area. Since their resources are, of course, limited, this will likely cause longer development times for Macs, at least for a while.

[Porchland]

Originally Posted by wdlove

It would seem that the 4th quarter results would be critical to show the direct that Apple is going.

That's crazy talk.

Apple is making a major change to its entire Mac line a full year from now. Apple made the announcement for the benefit of the developer community and to have a functional product when the MacTel Macs start rolling off the line. You think MAYBE Apple anticipated there might be some ambivalence about buying essentially EOLed machines during the next year?

The next quarter is as important as any, but I applaud Apple for looking beyond the next three months and making a bold decision they the company hopes will be good for the long term and not just for the next quarter.

[quigleybc]

Why wouldn't Apple want to branch out even more and invade the living rooms of the world?

They've already changed the way I think about music and how I listen to music, I think Apple would be doing the world a favor by entering the home entertainment field full on.

One big entertainment center revolving around your apple pc all streaming to your tv, speakers, you name it.

Apple remote controls, tablets, cup holders...why not.

[FoxyKaye]

Well, the 35% boost in desktop/laptop sales in Q3 is encouraging, but seeing the 616% growth in iPod sales it seems as if Apple knows on which side its bread is buttered.

I'm all for Apple diversifying, though it will be a sad day when the company's R&D emphasis switches from its computers to its "products". The upside for all of this would seemingly be better brand identity across several markets, contributing to a "halo" effect that also bolsters computer sales.

It feels like people are getting more pissed with Windows every day, or at least the people in my life are... I calmly stand on the sidelines explaining the cross-platform compatibilities and benefits of Macs, and have even gotten two co-workers to switch to iBooks. Although, the other day I used Expose in front of my boss (devout Windows user) and he actually let out a startled scream at what happened on my screen - so there's still a long way to go.

Anything that puts "Apple=Good" in people's minds can't be bad, even if it means the company is releasing non-computer products as an end-run around selling its computers directly.

Though it still wouldn't kill Apple to actually advertise its computers in a cogent manner...

[Edit]:

Originally Posted by mainstreetmark

I'm not sure I'd be happy in a Apple-rules-the-world world. As shown almost everywhere, once you get on top, you get fat and lazy.

Unless you're Lance Armstrong!

[Applespider]

Mass market is good - spreads those R&D costs over more units allowing better margins with lower prices.

There have been several people in the past few months who have come and asked me about Macs as a potential purchase and what the benefits would be. They'd heard the 'no virus' stuff and couldn't quite believe it so wanted it from a Mac user's mouth.

Selfishly, I don't really care about how high Apple's market share or share price gets so long as I can continue computing on my preferred system. Public awareness that there is another option - and the iPod has done that since there were many who didn't even know Apple still existed a few years back for consumers...

[Lynxpro]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

Merrill Lynch analysts suggest that Apple may also move into the video market in the home with an emphasis on High Definition.

Apple should. Look at HP, Dell, and Gateway. All of them are selling plasmas and LCDs. And of course, the same goes for Sony. Now who would you rather buy an HDTV from?

Apple branded HDTVs would sell well not only in the Apple Stores, but also through Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA.

Not to mention how great an Apple-branded TiVo would do...

[1macker1]

consumer electronics? Hitting big with 1 product doesn't mean you're read to play in the same playground as sony. I wish apple would just focus on Computer and iPods.

[andiwm2003]

it's really amazing with what little work analyst earn big money.

apple is building on its ipod success? what a surprise!
apple will go into the mass market? after the mac mini and the ipod shuffle and the itunes store i would never have guessed that!
apple may go into the video segment? well, i thought imovie, h.264, blue ray, pixar, idvd, job offers for video people, FCP are all just short term!

reading this board and the mostly well educated discussions here give me about a 100 times better view of apples future technological opportunities.
and for the business part of it? well, $51 as a target sounds like a clear number. but looking at past predictions shows me that those numbers are usually wild guesses anyway.

seems i don't think too high of analysts..........

[puuukeey]

So I congradulate apple. But I am very skeptical that they can pull off being a nimble catalyst for innovation at the same time as being a bloated corporation set on expansion.

I could try to get over my leftist tendancies here but I just cant. I think the best thing apple could do for its customers is be happy with its current market share. Of course they shouldn't get stomped into obscurity but it clearly is more focused on utilizing its brand to its advantage than innovating or pleasing its customers. when apple adopted its "mac is the platform for multimedia" rep, the industry almost simultaniously became cross platform (unless apple bought them)

questions have turned from "how can we create the next stable operating system?" to "how many ipods can we put out in a single year?" and "how many different software markets can we monopolize on our platform?" getting bigger will only increase this behavior. if apple continues ignoring its quality and morals for the sake of getting more people into that 3d billboard in the mall I'll be very disappointed.

[macidiot]

Originally Posted by Lynxpro

Apple should. Look at HP, Dell, and Gateway. All of them are selling plasmas and LCDs. And of course, the same goes for Sony. Now who would you rather buy an HDTV from?

Apple branded HDTVs would sell well not only in the Apple Stores, but also through Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA.

Not to mention how great an Apple-branded TiVo would do...

I really want to buy another Apple display to use as a tv in my office. It would be perfect. All Apple needs to do is add a little more funtionality to that dvi connector. As in allow it to recognize my hd tuner. Unfortunately, right now the only other somewhat decent solution is from Dell. Same display panel as Apple, but with a full complement of connectors and for less money. Too bad its so ugly compared to Apple's display. i think it would look awful next to my acd. Not to mention that I'd have to explain why I have a Dell display...

[Lynxpro]

Originally Posted by macidiot

Not to mention that I'd have to explain why I have a Dell display...

You could explain that you wanted to take that extra savings you "made" by going the Dell route and bought two iPods for your friends or family. Hell, that would still be better for Apple too, because the analysts aren't concerned about Apple's LCD attachment rate to their Macs sales as opposed to the sheer number of iPods sold. Plus, with each iPod sold, it makes Bill Gates cry. Because "Plays for Sure" means "does not play on iPod."

[Multimedia]

Originally Posted by Lynxpro

Apple should. Look at HP, Dell, and Gateway. All of them are selling plasmas and LCDs. And of course, the same goes for Sony. Now who would you rather buy an HDTV from?

Apple branded HDTVs would sell well not only in the Apple Stores, but also through Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA.

Not to mention how great an Apple-branded TiVo would do...

I already have my HDTV. It's a Dell 24" Samsung 1920 x 1200 Flat Panel $999 (same one Apple sells for $1499) + an EyeTV 500 Digital TV Tuner $299 hooked to a dual 2.5 G5 $1999. Total cost only $3297. But you could hook the EyeTV tuner to any old 500 MHz G4 or better on any old CRT all for less than $1000. Once you start watching HDTV you will be hooked. It's in the air everywhere and the cheapest way to get into it is with an EyeTV 500 tuner for $299.

Take a look at the EyeTV 500 here. You won't regret buying one.

[Lynxpro]

Originally Posted by Multimedia

I already have my HDTV. It's a Dell 24" Samsung 1920 x 1200 Flat Panel $999 (same one Apple sells for $1499) + an EyeTV 500 Digital TV Tuner $299 hooked to a dual 2.5 G5 $1999. Total cost only $3297. But you could hook the EyeTV tuner to any old 500 MHz G4 or better on any old CRT all for less than $1000. Once you start watching HDTV you will be hooked. It's in the air everywhere and the cheapest way to get into it is with an EyeTV 500 tuner for $299.
Take a look at the EyeTV 500 here. You won't regret buying one.

Personally, I'm not really happy with those units. I don't like a computer/DVR/PVR set up that taxes the computer's processor too much. I would prefer the card ATi makes on the PC side...even more so if they'd release Linux drivers for it, which they won't. But even still, a set-top box has its own merits and fits in with the rest of the entertainment center's A/V equipment. Having a Mac tied to a do-hickey like that does not improve the aesthetics. Plus, my solution, with its CableCard option negates having to have yet another set-top box rented from the cableco. The Elgato does not. OTA HDTV is nice because they have the lowest compression of all signals so far, but that ain't gonna get me the Universal HD Channel, Discovery HD, or any of the other speciality HD channels from cable and satellite. Plus, with Apple marketing a device, it would make a larger splash than telling Joe Sixpack to buy a Mac and then another accessory.