Hype damages Profits?

[yorkslad]

Hi,

Ive been a apple/mac/ipod convert for a couple of years now, and loving it, but wondered if all the constant hype about future 'dream' products ie widescreen ipod, ultra portable macbook pro etc actually damages apples profits.

Take me, Ive got a 5G ipod 30Gb need more space but dont want to buy an 80Gb because its 'old' news so consequently I keep my money until my dream flash based, widescreen, 10 hours battery ipod media dream arrives??

Also have 12 powerbook, would love more disk space, faster processor, intel based but dont want bigger, bulker etc as such keep my money again until apple catches up with say Sony, ie thin, light, long battery life.

I wonder how many people out there are like me, I wonder how many potential apple convertees get sick of waiting an invest in Sony etc?

 

[Sun Baked]

Postpone maybe ... as people wait for a quarter to get Leopard free with their Santa Rosa-based notebooks.

But if you are waiting for one of these machines, I doubt you'll buy shelf stock Sony products right now.

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But the hype does tend to knock the stock price around a bit, which is why Apple tried to get away from making new machine announcement at the shows -- at least until the Intel hype appeared.

 

[iW00t]

Sony machines are so ugly, their loss our gain.

Less l0sers ordering Macs = faster fulfilment times for us.

 

[nateDEEZY]

Why Sony?

And I'm sure it's safe to assume most of apples profits come from the average consumers and schools. Not so much the ones that follow release dates, rumors, etc...

 

[neyoung]

Typically most purchases come from your average joe consumer. I'd venture to say that only a small percentage of sales are to people who religiously read rumors and follow release dates. Sure they provide a great initial surge when a new product is first released. But over time your average consumer likely surpasses them in sales.

 

[Jarcrew]

Yeah, the hardcore Mac nerds account for very little of Apple's profits. Very few switchers know that places like this exist, and a quick walk into an Apple Store can be very persuasive.

And while I'm currently one of the ones playing the waiting game for Leopard, they're going to receive my business eventually. It's not as if I'll be tempted by a Vista machine in the meantime.

P.S. Hiyar, I'm new.