Mac channel inventory is below target level; Sacconaghi says that suggests a return to targeted level could add 500 basis points to Mac unit growth in the quarter. The trio was “most bullish about the iPhone business,” seeing a chance to gain share, with its software as the principal differentiator. In PCs, the company still sees “huge” market share headroom. In iPods, Apple is pushing the iTouch, which benefits from its ties to the App Store. Apple TV has “lots of barriers” to work through, and is not as big an opportunity as the other three primary Apple businesses. Sacconaghi says the company gave no details on new products. A netbook offering “does not appear imminent,” but he says that the company is clearly thinking about the possibilities. He reports that Cook said Apple has “ideas here,” and that it could eventually offer an opportunity for the company. Sacconaghi sees new iMacs in March and new iPhones in mid-year. Sacconaghi says the company does not appear to be pursuing his idea of an “iPhone Nano,” and that any new phones will likely include both a browser and ties to the App Store. He says that “somewhat disappointingly,” the company does not have any imminent plans to address lower price points in the PC space; he says that in the U.S. the company has 80% market share in the U.S. desktop market above $1,200. “We worry that saturation is increasingly a risk for Apple in the U.S.,” he writes. Sacconaghi says the company was unequivocal that it is focused on consumers and that it can’t be a consumer and corporate company at the same time. “Corporate sales appear to be be an opportunistic afterthought,” he says. Sacconaghi reports that Apple says sales of its $999 plastic MacBooks are selling reasonably well, but that the strongest selling notebooks were its new aluminum case models. The company said currency is likely to have a greater impact on FY Q2 results than in Q1. On its cash position, the company said that $15 billion of its $28 billion is in the U.S. Oppenheimer “acknowledged that the company had more cash than it needed to run the company,” but declined to say what Apple might do with it. Apple said “emphatically” that it did not believe in fixed keypads for phones, since the touch screen provided more flexibility for alternative keypads and for various App Store offerings, and that it is portable across geographies and languages, providing significant scale economics.
Apple today is off 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $96.63. Is it us or is Apple kinda in hibernation mode lately?
