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Apple Building Cash Reserves for 'Big, Bold' Moves
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Again, what? First of all, Netflix is a competing platform to iTunes not the Apple TV.
And we have no idea how many of Netflix’s subscribers actually watch Netflix streaming movies. All we know from their earnings call is roughly 48 percent of their 12 million customers have “used” Netflix streaming with the vast majority of those subscribers accessing streaming via their PC.
In comparison, Apple has roughly 125 million iTunes customers worldwide with an iTunes catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 movies.
As for iTunes sales, all we know is that as of:
02/25/10: 10 billion songs have been sold
01/05/10: 3 billion Apps have been downloaded
10/16/08: 200 million TV shows have been sold
08/14/08: iTunes customers are renting or purchasing over 50,000 movies per day
I couldn’t find up to date statistics on TV shows or movies. Maybe someone else can. Needless to say, if they maintained their pace from 2008 — it’s a lot.
You don’t see actual iTunes Store competitors like Amazon Unbox, PSN or Zune Marketplace coming out with numbers like that.
We don’t know because Apple doesn’t officially release numbers for unit sales other than the iPhone and the iPod touch (whenever they feel like it).
Unit sales are never broken down by product (not for Macs, not for iPods and not for accessories).
The 6.6 million number came from Piper-Jeffrey analyst Gene Munster and has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, CNBC and New York Times.
You would think if Munster was way off Apple would have came out and said something.
"Munster expects Apple to sell 6.6 million Apple TVs in calendar 2009, up from an estimated 2.1 million in 2008 — an estimate of 3X growth that he believes may be conservative. By his calculation, every addition 1 million units Apple sells adds $.03 to Apple's EPS.”
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/08/20/munster-an-apple-television-set-by-2011/
As far as cable and satellite providers, I think they’re in a league of their own. These new generation of devices aren’t looking to compete directly with them or the DVR market for that matter.
As for TiVo, sure they’re an Apple TV competitor. TiVo now does YouTube and movie rentals and purchases via Unbox and Netflix. TiVo has sort of positioned themselves as a hybrid between the two (although if you look at their subscription base — they’re hurting badly).
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/11/25/sad-eyed-tivo-of-the-low-subscriber-rate/
The Apple TV, Boxee Box, Roku box, Vudu box and other set-top Internet boxes for consuming media content are a new product category.
The 360 and PS3 (which I both mentioned in my earlier post by the way) are harder to judge. I’m not sure if people just purchase those products as set-top boxes, and there’s no way Sony or Microsoft is going to break that out — it’s more of a value add to them.
For the record, Jobs pretty much lined out who they were competing against with the Apple TV at Macworld ’08.
Attachments
1. Buy Adobe
2. Make the mainstream Adobe applications available preinstalled on OSX.
3. Make iWork preinstalled on OSX.
4. OSX will become the mainstream development operating system. No need to buy MS office or the Adobe suite.
5. Profit!
6. Find a way to put ??? in between 4 and 5.
EDIT: I mean, what is going to be cheaper... A cheap $500 computer, plus $1,000+ for CS apps, and $150 for MS office? Or a Mac...
2. Make the mainstream Adobe applications available preinstalled on OSX.
3. Make iWork preinstalled on OSX.
4. OSX will become the mainstream development operating system. No need to buy MS office or the Adobe suite.
5. Profit!
6. Find a way to put ??? in between 4 and 5.
EDIT: I mean, what is going to be cheaper... A cheap $500 computer, plus $1,000+ for CS apps, and $150 for MS office? Or a Mac...
Not to mention having to completely redo their service and support model. Can you imagine big businesses having to walk every computer to the GeniusBar? Something goes wrong with our Dells and Dell comes to us to fix it the next day (and no that does not happen to often before I hear all the Dell sucks stuff). My MacBook Pro breaks and I have to take it in for service and wait 2 weeks for it to get fixed (twice now - and that is with AppleCare thank you).
I'm not even saying I have a problem with how Apple does things - but that model will NOT fly for big business.
Only companies I see them buying are either Nvidia or AMD.
Could get AMD for $12 billion after adding in their 2+ billion of debt or could get Nvidia for $17 billion after adding in their 1.8 billion cash.
Either one would be considered a huge acquisition and each could be bought with all cash and still leave Apple with a nice sum.
Could get AMD for $12 billion after adding in their 2+ billion of debt or could get Nvidia for $17 billion after adding in their 1.8 billion cash.
Either one would be considered a huge acquisition and each could be bought with all cash and still leave Apple with a nice sum.
Buying Hulu does not get them the content that goes with it. That's still owned by the respective owners.
Does Nvidia manufacture their own chips? I know they design them. Anyhow, I am not sure what this would give Apple except reason for a lot of their copmpetitors to start doing business with Intel. I will be the first to admit that I am not completely up to speed on this stuff, but apple seems to be as far into chip making as they are going to get.
Do you realize that you just described how IBM does things in their mainframe market? That's worked out pretty well for IBM and their customers. Have you seen their recent profit margin percentages? It makes Apple seem generous to their customers.
Does anyone even buy the Apple TV? I've always thought that was the result of some bet Jobs made while drunk or high (probably high). It's kind of the red headed step child of the Apple family
I guess that would make the MacPros the child that Apple sends off to some expensive boarding school - only to be seen once every 14 months or so.
Speculation not fact. And you don't need a home theater for a 48 in TV. Show your source for demographics vs screen size, yearly income etc.
And while your at it go here and study for about 6 months.
Speculation? Wrong.
There was a very specific assertion: average screen size will be 62" in two years. If you believe this, you must have evidence and sources, which makes me think you can find the sources for my facts as well...
Hint: Even Sharp, with an obvious vested interest in drumming up the expectations, has only predicted 60", not 62", by 2015, not 2012.
The rate of growth of televisions is slowing, for many reasons.
This is just silliness.
Again your statement:
By who? I guarantee that less than 15% of the country would buy (buy, not amorphous polling "want") a TV of even 48
You guarantee? How? How do you know what 15% of the population is doing concerning consumer purchases? That's silly
" unless they had a dedicated theater room in the house,
A dedicated theater for a 48 inch screen?
48 screen makes no sense for a home theather. Obviously you don't have one. That's silly
which, of course, is an extremely distinct minority of the general population
First thing you said that's may not be silly
(the majority of whom have fewer bedrooms than household members...
OK, so we know how you're living
some of the people here need to get acquainted with demographics and stop thinking you are "average"... you might start with 2000 census demo maps).
Again, you read a census demo and think you know how that relates to TV sizes in peoples homes or what they would buy? That again is silly
Absurd. Thoroughly, embarrassingly absurd.
Yes your speculations are
In regard to what I believe, I made no assertation as to what screens sizes will be, you did. I could care less what Sharp has to say, it still speculation.
Here is what they should do...
Buy Sony. They make pretty nice computer's and would run Mac OSX great.
The PS3 now Apple would have a game system.
Sony Camera's, Apple would have HQ iSight's.
Sony would be a smart buy. Sony is trying to catch up with the packaging. Sony has had argument's with Microsoft. SONY SONY SONY SONY!!!
Buy Sony. They make pretty nice computer's and would run Mac OSX great.
The PS3 now Apple would have a game system.
Sony Camera's, Apple would have HQ iSight's.
Sony would be a smart buy. Sony is trying to catch up with the packaging. Sony has had argument's with Microsoft. SONY SONY SONY SONY!!!
Sony is a MASSIVE company that makes hundreds of different products, apple wouldn't want to buy that.
And piss off all the other studios who would pull their content?
The current setup is perfect - SJ controls Disney without owning any of the headaches.
I agree, it's better to invest money.
But the question is, what is the cost of bold moves? How much did the iphone cost? The switch to intel? If those are, say, 1 BN, then apple has a legitimate problem: what the heck to do with the money? As a matter of focus and a matter of good, profitable, big ideas in apple's skill set, there just might not be good things to do with 25 billion dollars.
I suspect this is why the cash pile has grown so huge, in part. They keep making big, bold moves, but instead of losing sometimes, they have had massive hit after massive hit. So massive that the next big move only uses a fraction of the other hit's profits.
Or, it costs 12 billion to do these projects, and all my speculation is irrelevant (for now)
But the question is, what is the cost of bold moves? How much did the iphone cost? The switch to intel? If those are, say, 1 BN, then apple has a legitimate problem: what the heck to do with the money? As a matter of focus and a matter of good, profitable, big ideas in apple's skill set, there just might not be good things to do with 25 billion dollars.
I suspect this is why the cash pile has grown so huge, in part. They keep making big, bold moves, but instead of losing sometimes, they have had massive hit after massive hit. So massive that the next big move only uses a fraction of the other hit's profits.
Or, it costs 12 billion to do these projects, and all my speculation is irrelevant (for now)
Sony is a MASSIVE company that makes hundreds of different products, apple wouldn't want to buy that.
Think about all the thing's they would gain...
Sony is a stable company, like you said they do make lot's of thing's, BLURAY FOR MAC!!!! Sony Display's... Think about it there computer's could be all made with there part's instead of a Matisha DVD drive and LG display???
Sony also is a somewhat midrange to upper end Computer it would fit in AMAZINGLY!!! Sony also has a good customer service and make's some fairly good Quality Product's...They have a pretty good track record.
You can not say Sony is not a Smart Buy. Think of all the rumor's you heard about the gaming system's and all that. Sony has experience with that. They battle with Microsoft. PS3 vs. Xbox 360 is just as big as Mac vs. PC
Release *all* music as lossless (using a multi-platform
multi-vendor codec and file format, not an Apple or MS only
proprietary format).
Have all movies/shows on Itunes available in original bandwidth
(DVD/BD). Provide the original discs as "ISO" images so that
all menus and bonus tracks work perfectly.
(The "Big, Bold Move" would be to get that 1 Gbps fibre to my
house so that the other items are possible...
)Release *all* music as lossless (using a multi-platform
multi-vendor codec, not an Apple or MS only proprietary
format).
Have all movies/shows on Itunes available in original bandwidth
(DVD/BD). Stream the original discs as "ISO" images so that
all menus and bonus tracks work perfectly.
(The "Big, Bold Move" would be to get that 1 Gbps fibre to my
house...
Keep in mind- if they release it as lossless, they're finished with rereleasing music in different formats.
Starbucks + Apple users: how original. You're running out of material.
Newsflash: $1500 computers were "affordable" 20 years ago. And they still are today.
Just because you've lowered your standards to the $500 plastic fantastic bargain bin doesn't change the point of affordable computing.