January 28, 2008, and I've got to think that Apple is in a bit of trouble. No, not because their stock has fallen from $200/share to $130, but because of their product line.
While they have released the iPhone, iPod Touch, Leopard, the new AppleTV, and MacBook Air in the last 12 months, Leopard is the only product from that group that seems to have any momentum right now. (Okay, maybe the iPod Touch has something going too, but that doesn't interest me.)
The iPhone seems to have stalled past the original early adopters. I think the AppleTV is a plain old mistake. IMHO the MacBook Air is another mistake. (Since when was "thin" a desired feature in a laptop, especially when you can't easily change the friggin' battery? And who wants to work on a 13" screen all the time? Not me, I already tried that, and I'm not going back.) I think this is backed up by a survey taken just after MacWorld showing almost 80% of the respondents (presumably Apple fans) have no plans on buying an Air, or are undecided.
There may be a little hope in their new Time Capsule product, but I haven't taken the time yet to evaluate it, and I can't imagine it having a huge revenue impact.
I could rant for quite some time -- and maybe that's one of the good things about Apple -- but I think their current product lineup is a little on the poopy side, and when I say "poopy", I mean "I think their revenue is going to suffer".
The only hope for increased revenue seems to be continuing increases in Mac sales, iPhone price cuts, a new iPhone model with better capabilities, iPhone sales in more countries, and a refresh of the MacBook Pro line.
books by alvin
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