 |
Search |
|
|
|
|
Classic 2 Guys |
|
10 Random Stories:
|
|
|
|
APPL and Apple - Some Thanksgiving Thoughts |
|
 Just some ruminations on the state of Apple on this lazy post-holiday Friday...
Have you seen Apple's stock price lately? It's at 64.55 at time of writing! Looking at a Yahoo! chart, it was at about $36 a share back at the start of September. It's funny too, because we Mac users have known all along what a great company Apple is, and they've been churning out profits for a long time as well - but it always takes the analysts to say some good stuff about it before people start buying it in droves.
Stupid herd-like creatures.
Ah well, good for us Mac fans and anyone who bought stock in APPL, right? On a side note, I've been giddy because I bought in at $31, and while I sold some right before the election (anticipating a dropoff no matter who was elected and besides, the stock had been going like gangbusters for a long time) I've still made a hefty profit.
The reasons for the soaring stock price most repeated among anaylsts are huge iPod sales and the "halo effect", where iPod users will start buying Macs because of the great experience they have with iPod.
And I totally buy that, and Apple thinks it'll happen too. Think Secret says that Apple has huge stocks of iPods and iMac G5's for the holiday season. They're stocking the retail stores so full that 3rd party distributors are being told "not to expect any more shipments of 20GB iPods or 20-inch iMac G5s this year". Crikey.
But then, Apple has a recent history of neglecting the 3rd party dealers in favor of it's own stores, which in the long run, probably isn't a bad idea because the of the the Apple Stores get product in the average person's face day-in and day-out. Yes, it sucks monkey balls for the 3rd party dealers, but for the platform to grow it may be an unavoidable dilemma.
Speaking of the iPod halo effect, I have some firsthand experience. There's a lady I know who got an iPod a while back after hearing all the great things about it, and no doubt seeing the silhouette ads. While being a very techie sort of person, she's Windows only and anti-Mac, despite the best attempt by me, my girlfriend Lynn, and several others of us that use Macs to tell her there are better/quicker/faster/less headachey ways of doing things.
Well, she quickly grew to love her iPod, to the extent of wanting to get one for her husband for Christmas. Luckily, she actually won an iPod in a drawing. (Why does this sort of thing always seem to happen to "newbies" and not the die-hard Mac users?)
Anyway, long story not-so-long, Lynn showed her the new iMac G5 on Apple's page. She immediately related it to her iPod - exactly what Apple had hoped for - and asked how much it was. I have no idea how serious she is, but said that she might get one for Christmas (as a gift to both her and her hubbie I think).
So Apple was able to break down all the barriers associated with buying a Mac in a heartbeat, simply with the design of their new iMac.
Wow. The genius of simplicity never ceases to amaze me.
I guess Piper Jaffray's $100 price point for APPL isn't very far off, and possibly even pessimistic. Who knows, but it probably wouldn't hurt to buy in, even at this point.
No matter what, it looks like Apple is headed in the right direction at least. In any case, that's it for now, I'm out. Have a great weekend everyone! |
|
November 26 2004, 2:12 PM EDT, by
 |
Comments:
|
| whatsinaname9000 |
11/26/04, 9:11 PM EDT |
you know what's funny? I told my parents we should buy some Apple stock in AUGUST when it was $30 a share. It's more thean DOUBLED since then.....
|
| DJ - LC |
11/26/04, 10:59 PM EDT |
Well, I really see no point in my dad selling his Apple stock, I mean the profit would just go right back to Apple anyway...
|
| ken |
11/27/04, 8:33 PM EDT |
I was on a long flight (LA to Sydney) in October and the lady next to me saw my iPod - and asked how I liked it. Let her use it (with my Bose cans) and she was so impressed with it that she said she would get 2 for her kids for Xmas. Then asked how I got the music in. Showed her my PB and how easy it was. Then showed iPhoto for digital pics and how easy it was to set another picture for the desktop. Talked about iSight and she was rapped as her daughter was away from home and the son went to college next year. Then a word on internet malware - her software clears out lots of "thingies" every week and she was tired of that.
Within 30 minutes she wanted to know where to go to get one - any Apple Store in the SoCal area - and asked for a list of everything we had talked about, from iMacs to iSight to iPods to wireless.
The simple fact is that it takes personal exposure to appreciate a Mac and to become interested in buying one. The iPods are a great way to start this exposure, as are the Apple Stores. The best avenue has always been the Mac user and it will continue to be an important factor.
Oh, I did get some shares at $14.85 and have kicked myself for not getting more!
|
| Christopher |
12/23/04, 5:14 PM EDT |
You know what's really funny? Apple stock is AAPL (not APPL)!
|
This article is archived, so you may not comment on it.
(The good news is there's always the shoutbox, the forums or the contact form if you're socially-inclined at the moment!)
|
|
|
|
Site Links |
|
|
|
|
Deep Thoughts |
|
|
Perhaps, if I am very lucky, the feeble efforts of my lifetime will someday be noticed and maybe, in some small way, they will be acknowledged as the greatest works of genius ever created by Man.
|
|
Around Da Web |
|
| iProng: |
iPhone steals show at CTIA Wireless 2007
|
DLO offers dual cover fashion case for iPod
|
AT&T received 1M inquiries on iPhone
|
| MacDailyNews: |
Ars Technica in-depth review: Apple TV ?impressed all those who touched it?
|
Inside Apple?s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Server OS
|
The chips inside Apple TV
|
| Think Secret: |
Adobe Creative Suite 3 pricing revealed
|
|
|
We Like: |
|
|
|
|
Side Projects |
|
Jonahan
- JediPoker.net
- Jonahan.com
- iProng
- MacProng
iKen
Jedbeck
J.P.
|
|
