Commentary Topic

06
Jun

At today's WWDC Keynote, Apple's SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller provided a brief overview of the Mac as he led up to the unveiling of Mac OS X Lion 10.7.  Several key metrics were provided that demonstrate the inroads the Mac has made against the PC.

06
Jun

The tech world has their sights focused on WWDC 2011, Apple's annual developer conference.  Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be joined by several Apple executives to deliver the Keynote address to take the wraps off of Mac OS X Lion 10.7, iOS 5, and a new could service termed iCloud.

25
Jun

A June 12, 2009 CNNMoney.com article titled 'Can Windows 7 save PCs?", David Goldman writes about Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 operating system.    The article discusses the PC slump and highlights a March survey conducted by Dimension Research that indicates that 50% of respondents are likely to dump Windows in favor of Apple's Mac OS X operating system.

10
Jun

As more details emerge about the upcoming Snow Leopard operating system (Mac OS X 10.6), Apple has posted information on the security page for Mac OS X Snow Leopard that potentially recognizes the threat of viruses and malware to the Mac OS X operating system and the applications that run on Mac OS X.  Have Apple's most recent statements indicate they they are once again recommending the use of antivirus software?

07
Jun

This is the fourth part in the series that analyzes the Apple product strategy with a specific emphasis on the Macintosh.  You can view part one, part two, and part three by clicking on the associated links.  In this post I argue that Apple's differentiation approach enhances the company's competitive advantage in the market and that Apple will not license Mac OS X.

06
Jun

This is the third part in the series that analyzes the Apple product strategy with a specific emphasis on the Macintosh.  In part one I analyze Apple's positioning as a premium brand.  In part two I describe how Apple has conducted a trade-off in order to protect the position.  In this post I describe the entry barriers that competitors must address in order to compete with Apple.

05
Jun

With WWDC kicking off on Monday June 8, I wanted to post my expectation that Apple will release Mac updates in either September or October.  In the May 13, 2009 WWDC Press Release Apple stated it would be issuing a Mac OS X Snow Leopard 'final Developer Preview'.  Prior to this press release, I expressed my expectations of what Apple would likely do with respect to Snow Leopard at WWDC in a May 5, 2009 reply at the MacRumors Forums eight days prior to the Apple Press Release.  Here's what I stated:

05
Jun

This is the second part in the series that analyzes the Apple product strategy with a specific emphasis on the Macintosh.  In the first part, I put forth the arguments that Apple is a premium brand that targets less price sensitive customers and that Apple's needs-based positioning is a byproduct of company's internal activities.  In this post I argue that Apple has conducted a trade-off in order to protect the brand's premium position.

04
Jun

It's widely understood in strategy that a firm that is known for delivering a certain value may end up confusing customers (or perhaps undermining its own credibility and reputation) if it attempts to deliver alternate value.  The attempt to simultaneously deliver inconsistent offerings will not serve a firm's strategic position.  Many continue to criticize Apple's premium positioning and pricing.

13
Mar

An Associated Press report released on March 13, 2009 indicated that the U.S. state of Maine is expanding its program to provide Apple laptop computers to students.  The program will seek to provide a laptop to every public school student enrolled in graded 7-12 by this fall.

04
Mar

Kindle is Amazon's Wireless Reading Device that works in conjunction with the Kindle Store to provide more than 240,000 books, top newspapers, magazines, and blogs.  The new 'Kindle for iPhone application' from Amazon allows iPhone and iPod touch owners the ability to read Kindle books using a simple, easy-to-use interface.

23
Jan

Although Apple set a new Mac shipment record in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008 (Q4 2008), Mac shipment growth on a year-over-year basis has shown shows signs of slowing growth (deceleration) for two consecutive quarters.  This trend continued into the first fiscal quarter of 2009 (Q1 2009) as evidenced by the January 21, 2009 earnings release.  Mac growth deceleration last occurred more than two years ago.

24
Sep

Enterprise software vendor Oracle has developed two key applications for the Apple iPhone that have been unveiled at the company's annual Oracle World conference.  Oracle will be delivering these as well as future iPhone applications via Apple's iTunes App Store.

09
Sep

If you haven't heard by now, Apple will be holding their "Let's Rock" media event today which kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern).  For the past several years, Apple has held media events in early September to unveil new iPods and iTunes versions to prepare customers for the end-of-year shopping season.  This year, we also expect significant price cuts across the iPod lineup.

08
Sep

Time is running out folks, Apple's Back to School offer will end on September 15th!  So here's the deal.  You're a college student, teacher, or staff member so Apple wants to offer you an amazing deal on a new Mac and iPod.

05
Sep

News on Wall Street today hints that Dell Inc. the second largest PC manufacturer is planning to sell its worldwide manufacturing plants within the next 18 months in an effort to cut costs.

25
Aug

In a report cited by eWeek, analyst Benjamin Gray of Forrester Research calls attention to an incremental gain in Mac use in the enterprise.  The research is based on surveys from more than 50,000 enterprise end users from 2,500 organizations.

13
Aug

U.S. retail chain Best Buy Co. has announced that it will start selling the Apple iPhone 3G on Sunday September 7.  Best Buy is the first U.S. retail chain authorized to sell the device outside of Apple retail and AT&T stores.  Best Buy operates as a specialty retailer of consumer electronics and related merchandise.

10
Jun

It's time to bury the OS X licensing speculation.  Prior to this year's WWDC people speculated that Apple may begin to license Mac OS X due to banners failing to mention 'Mac'.  The omission of 'Mac' from the banners generated a slew of buzz as many people began to speculate that Apple was thinking about licensing their operating system.

24
Apr

We published a report earlier today that sheds light on a rumor that Apple may release new iMac models next week.  To understand why it makes sense, we need to look at Apple's current fiscal quarter.  Apple is participating in Q3 2008 - or in other words, the third fiscal quarter of 2008.  Apple's fiscal year runs from October to September.

20
Feb

In a February 17, 2008 article posted at InfoWorld, Galen Gruman discusses if it's time to leave Windows for Mac OS X or Linux.

15
Jan

It's now 2008 and the latest installment of the annual Macworld Expo is upon us.  As we look back on the prior year, it's clear that 2007 was the year of the iPhone.  Apple shook the core of the wireless handset industry when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone at last year's Macworld keynote.  Macworld 2008 will give us the first insight into Apple's strategy for the upcoming year and beyond.  Rest assured that Apple will place a major emphasis on the Mac.  It's my view that 2008 will be the Year of the Mac.

30
Oct

Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro portables are fast approaching their historical "days between revisions" averages.  We are also approaching the 2007 holiday season so rest assured that Apple will release new models very soon.  Many buyers have held out from purchasing a new MacBook or MacBook Pro for two key reasons.  The first was to wait for for Mac OS X Leopard to be released; the second for systems with Leopard pre-installed.  We expect new MacBooks to be released on November 6, 2007 followed by new MacBook Pros on November 13, 2007.  We provide our analysis below.

17
Oct

Finally - the sentiment from many switchers who have held back from purchasing a Mac waiting for Apple to officially announce the release date for Mac OS X Leopard.  Now that Leopard is out of the cage (ok so I'm jumping ahead of myself - Leopard officially goes on sale October 26) the most powerful wave of Mac purchases is about to commence.

21
Aug

In his August 21, 2007 article Jonny Evans of InfoWorld details how a ChangeWave survey describes how Apple laptop sales have surged since the release of the iPhone.  The loser is Dell.

09
Aug

Embedded in Apple's Press Release announcing the release of iLife '08 was a quote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs that gives insight into what may be his vision for the award winning suite of digital lifestyle products.  Getting PC users to switch.

08
May

In a May 8, 2007 article titled "Mac share of surfers doubles in 8 months" with a subtitle "Apple is eroding Microsoft's online market share, says analyst", Computerworld demonstrates that the number of people surfing the Web with Macs has grown substantially in the past eight months.  Furthermore, the article states that the Mac audience should not be ignored by Web application developers.

15
Mar

As a followup to yesterday's post about the Mac OS X 10.4.9 update, we indicated that we would put forth our prediction of when Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard would likely be released by Apple.  This post provides a prediction

02
Mar

In a March 1, 2007 post titled "Opinion: Mac OS X 'an ideal platform' for SMBs", Computerworld states that Apple's upcoming Mac OS X Leopard Server operating system "could be a boon for smaller firms"

26
Feb

An article at Internet Retailer details statistics from a January 2007 Nielsen/NetRatings report that demonstrates that Apple.com led all computer hardware manufacturers in average time per visit and number of unique visitors.

12
Dec

In a December 8, 2006 article at ZDNet Australia, Munir Kotadia writes about a recent Gartner research report titled "Enterprise Mac Clients Remain Limited, but Apple's Appeal is Growing".

10
Nov

When Apple introduced the Core 2 Duo based iMac on September 6, 2006, the Mac faithful were excited to get their hands on the first Intel based Mac revisions.  It was only back in January 2006 when Apple's CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first Intel powered Macs at MacWorld.  The first Macs to get those chips were the iMac and the newly introduced MacBook Pro.

17
Oct

Apple Computer will report the earning on Wednesday October 18, 2006 following the close of the US Stock Market.  The company will provide guidance for 2007 fiscal first quarter (Q1 2007) that runs from October 2006 to the end of December 2006.

13
Oct

Apple and its Macintosh computers have been the subject of increasing attention, especially over the past few years.  In fact, during that period many Windows and Linux users have purchased their first Mac.  The trend has gained momentum over the past few years and Apple earlier this indicated that their tracking data shows that 50 percent of new Macs sold in Apple retail locations are sold to those who are New to Mac Why have Macintosh computer sales risen over the past few years?

17
Sep

A September 15, 2006 article at CRN provides some analysis into Apple's recent iMac revisions.  The article starts out by describing the prices and features of the new iMacs, powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo processors.  It then goes into a discussion by highlighting Intel-based Mac sales in different parts of the United States.  The article is capped off with a description of how Apple has been able to lower the price the iMac since 2004.

15
Sep

Apple's announcements at the "It's Showtime" event on September 12, 2006 provide further insight into the company's evolving product strategy.  Apple is clearly moving towards becoming a broad spectrum vendor, it will no longer be classified as a niche personal computer and software company.   The addition of movies to the iTunes Store and a peek into the upcoming iTV set top box (media hub) position the company to expand it's appeal and establish a footing in the living room.

07
Jul

Wouldn't it be grand if Apple included a Windows Migration Assistant in Leopard that could intelligently facilitate the switch and make it so easy that Windows users wouldn't have difficulty moving their files over to a Mac?

21
Jun

A short but sweet read at Yahoo news.  David Morrish, Best Buy's Senior Vice President for Merchandising is quoted as stating the following at the Best Buy annual meeting on Wednesday June 21, 2006:

05
Jun

When comparing a Mac against a PC, cost is the most often cited metric used to make the comparison.  In my view, cost is only one variable of the computing equation.  Failure to analyze other variables will lead one down an incomplete analysis.  At a minimum, the comparison should also look at the following:

  • Features, security, and stability of the operating systems
  • Included and/or bundled software
  • Maintenance and repair histories
  • Realibility and performance of customer service

02
Jun

This post is segmented into two parts; the first is a description and analysis of the May 19, 2006 Steve Jobs interview on CNBC.  The second is a discussion of Apple's revitalized Switch campaign.  At first glance, these topics may appear as disparate topics.  I take the position that the interview provided some hints into Apple's strategy.  I'll combine Steve Jobs' comments with events that have transpired pre and post interview.  You're welcome to post your comments, views, and positions.

07
Apr

Earlier this week, the buzz was centered around Apple's new beta Boot Camp software for OS X Tiger 10.4.6 that allows owners of new Intel Macs to extend the funcionality of the systems to boot into Mac OS X or Windows XP.  Apple also released firmware updates for the entire line of the Intel Macs that provide EFI and BIOS support that should allow the new Intel Macs to boot into adiitional operating systems such as Windows XP, the upcoming Windows Vista, and Linux.  The Intel Macs use a modern booting technology called EFI, Extensible Firmware Interface.  In order to boot Windows XP and Windows Vista, the computer needs to support BIOS, a technology over 20 years old.  Boot Camp bridges the EFI and BIOS gap.