[Chinney]

Every second day there is a story in the newspapers about Apple selling 3 bazillion iPods and taking over the music business. Occasionally these stories mention that Apple still sells computers too, although often this is entirely omitted, and if it is included, the story often mentions Apple as a marginal player in the computer industry.

Meanwhile, the G5 iMac created a fair bit of excitement in the Apple community on its release…and I think that Apple’s other offerings are really quite good right now (albeit with a need to update the PB and maybe the eMac too). With OS X, together with Apple’s software offerings, Apple computers are a great package right now. We’ve talked about this before around here, and about Apple’s need to capitalize on the situation, including taking advantage of the iPod ‘buzz’.

But is it working? Is the Apple computer buzz being noticed outside of the Apple community? How well are Apple computers selling in the pre-Christmas rush? In particular how well is the new iMac doing? Some very preliminary reports I saw online (in October, I think) actually indicated that things were not too rosy, but I am hoping that these were not reflective of the actual situation.

[BuonRotto]

I've read here and there that the iMac is selling well, though I'm sure it looks like small beans compared to iPod sales volumes. I can't turn the corner these days without seeing an absolutely glowing reviews of the G5 iMac though. I'm really quite amazed about that. Still, I don't have any hard numbers on how this great press is reflecting on sales. I keep reading that it should help Apple's market share numbers, but no strong evidence other than anecdotal tales. The Apple Store here is bursting at the seams at lunchtime with people buying stuff, so add that to the pile of anecdotes I guess.

[thegelding]

give me the ability to BTO upgrade to 128 MB graphics card and apple will have one more sale here in new mexico...

would love a 20 inch iMac G5

then i would have two things in the house that are 20 inches

g

[Chinney]

Originally Posted by thegelding give me the ability to BTO upgrade to 128 MB graphics card and apple will have one more sale here in new mexico... would love a 20 inch iMac G5 then i would have two things in the house that are 20 inches g

My wife also appreciates the larger model.

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by Chinney My wife also appreciates the larger model.

so many comments

so little time



must resist

must remind myself that chinney is my friend


uuuurrrrrrggghhh

brain hurts, self control (especially verbal self control) is clearly not thegelding's strong point


g

[ast3r3x]

20"?

I think we all know the ladies prefer 17" and wide over just 20".

[psmith2.0]

Any talk of screen size (or anything involving inches) here that DOESN'T devolve into wang talk?

At least it's not a mini! Or Express.

[ast3r3x]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Any talk of screen size (or anything involving inches) here that DOESN'T devolve into wang talk? At least it's not a mini! Or Express.

What about Extreme!

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Any talk of screen size (or anything involving inches) here that DOESN'T devolve into wang talk?

at least you will be well prepared for your jail time...i'm sure they talk about "wangs" just as much as internet geek boys....and probably use them much much more

g

[Chinney]

Enough of the wang talk then! Clearly I was only talking about my wife’s appreciation of the refined power behind the iMac 20-inch model. If my comment caused any misunderstanding, then I heartily apologize.* In any case, aside from BuonoRotto, anyone else have any perspective on recent iMac sales? I suppose that no official figures are in yet. I agree that it has had plenty of good reviews, but has that translated into positive sales figures?


* I do feel obliged to point out that while she does like the new 20 inch model, she was somewhat disappointed to learn that it does not move up and down like the generation 2 iMac. She was pleased, however, when I pointed out that the new iMac is, in effect, always up and still moves back and forth.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Well, I bought one.

As far as October sales not being rosy, how could they be? I mean, I had to do a bit of cajoling to get a 20" one mid-September because they were rare as men in a dike bar. The Apple store by my house was getting about 5 a week. They did have plenty of 17" models though so maybe people are willing to pony up a few extra Benjamins to get the (admittedly huge) 20" display.

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend Well, I bought one. As far as October sales not being rosy, how could they be? I mean, I had to do a bit of cajoling to get a 20" one mid-September because they were rare as men in a dike bar. The Apple store by my house was getting about 5 a week. They did have plenty of 17" models though so maybe people are willing to pony up a few extra Benjamins to get the (admittedly huge) 20" display.

ummmmmm, let me play analyst....

rosy
cajoling
dike
pony
huge

somebody has been playing with more than his bass lately

g

[Tuttle]

I don't know where these no one talks about Macs anymore laments are coming from. I see absolutely glowing and fawning reviews of the new iMac all over the mainstream and peecee media. I would assume just from personal experience that the new iMac is the single most talked about and press covered computer model from both Apple and x86 land by a wide margin.

Pretty amazing for a computer maker with such a tiny marketshare and a price tag greater than $1000.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by thegelding ummmmmm, let me play analyst.... rosy

Borrowed from the previous post.

Originally Posted by thegelding cajoling

We had carolers in our office this morning. Caroling, cajoling, probably just came out from that.

Originally Posted by thegelding dike

Figured I'd come up with something other than "rare as hen's teeth".

Originally Posted by thegelding pony

??? You got me there, maybe I listened to Mustang Sally this morning or something.

Originally Posted by thegelding huge

There is no other word for the 20" iMac's display. It takes up my complete field of vision when I'm using it.

Originally Posted by thegelding somebody has been playing with more than his bass lately g

Well, I don't know about lately, but I am 3 weeks away from becoming a dad. Bbs are my one true weakness.

[SonOfSylvanus]

One thing I always think is that ppl saying that a product is selling well/badly, makes the product sell well/badly—up to a point anyway. One huge part of the success of the iPod IMO is that the whole world is telling you that the iPod is great and that you must buy one. And so you do.

It's why financial markets, or more specifically, market analysts confuse the fuck out of me. If an analyst "upgrades" a stock, or whatever, well duh, people are gonna "buy", whether or not they should.

We are pack animals.

[Costique]

Originally Posted by SonOfSylvanus One thing I always think is that ppl saying that a product is selling well/badly, makes the product sell well/badly—up to a point anyway. One huge part of the success of the iPod IMO is that the whole world is telling you that the iPod is great and that you must buy one. And so you do.

It does seem so. Even though iPods cost considerably more than a pocket music player should, IMHO.

We are pack animals.

Exactly. And it's the engine driving most of our money.

Could there be some lag because a speed bump could be in the offing? Plus, it is rumored at AI that a 23" model could be on the horizon soon as well. Anyone heard/know anything?

Nat

[MCQ]

Personally, I wouldn't expect a speed bump until the PM gets updated.
A 23" doesn't make sense to me, as it'd have to be priced at ~$2600+, which isn't really in the price range of a typical home PC.

[bborofka]

I'm curious how the iMac is selling, especially with zero marketing. It seems Apple has just given up on advertising their computers. It's disappointing, because it's their computers that aren't selling well, not their iPods, which you see an ad for everywhere you look.

People keep talking about this halo effect the iPod will bring, but I'm not too hopeful because I think it should have happened by now. Think about it, we've had Apple stores open for years now, decently spec'd Macs, and a whole (failing) Switch Ad campaign and nothing happened. Apple's quarter Mac sales continue to idle below 1 million.

If Apple fails to make significant gains in unit sales next year, I suspect they need to really re-evaluate their computer business, because virtually every investor right now is saying they expect Apple to see much growth. They should be well over 1 million/quarter and growing, like the rest of the industry.

Apple needs to inform consumers why the Mac is better. Most people think Macs have to put up with viruses, adware, spyware, when in reality we don't. Apple should push this heavily, starting with the iMac. Instead, I had an Apple rep practically begging me to buy Virex when I bought my PowerBook. I don't freaking need Virex. Apple, let the Mac superiority and security echo over TV ads, highway billboards, and magazine inserts. Please!

[BuonRotto]

This article quotes a guy who thinks that Apple is gaining market share this season. We shall see... Aren't their quarterly results posted just before or after MacWorld? Seems too soon though. Dunno.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by bborofka I'm curious how the iMac is selling, especially with zero marketing. Rest of post was just as damn good and insightful... - Paul

AppleNova Post of the Year nominee!!!

Damn near brought tear to my eye...and was SO nice to hear such sentiments from someone other than myself. bborofka and I were apparently separated at birth.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 AppleNova Post of the Year nominee!!! Damn near brought tear to my eye...and was SO nice to hear such sentiments from someone other than myself. bborofka and I were apparently separated at birth.

Come on, scates. You know that you created bborofka to post under a different name (getting a little self-conscious about your posting??? ).

[bborofka]

Originally Posted by torifile Come on, scates. You know that you created bborofka to post under a different name (getting a little self-conscious about your posting??? ).

LOL, me != pscates

guaranteed.

[psmith2.0]

Nah, the higher-ups can check the various logs and whatnot.

I'm not one to create two user accounts. One of me in the world is plenty, trust me.

Seriously, it's good to hear someone thinking what I'm thinking.

Apple calls their stuff "revolutionary" and praise it to the rafters at various Mac-themed events, getting everyone watching all excited, stirred up and passionate...but they never seem that interested in letting the REST of the world know what's what. And now, with all these virus/spyware concerns plaguing the PC world (and with more and more people getting into the "digital lifestyle" with cameras, camcorders, etc.), the Mac and OS X are totally in a unique position to make some serious inroads. What a beautiful, meaningful opportunity...routinely ignored and pissed away. That irks me greatly, and I'm right to feel that way.



You guys can settle for 2% or whatever. I, however, refuse!

iMac Drove the Upside Surprise. In its first full quarter out of
the box, iMac G5 shipments of 337,000 easily surpassed our
estimate of 180,000. We believe the combination of good
timing, competitive pricing, and solid supply of CPUs from
IBM ($95, O, target $100) enabled the company to exceed our expectations.

Apple delivered a blowout first quarter as sales of both Mac and music based
products were strong across all geographies. Revenue of $3.5 billion (+74% y/y)
beat the consensus estimate of $3.2 billion while EPS of $0.70 came in ahead of
the Street’s $0.48 estimate. As has been the case for the past year, iPod led the
way with 525% y/y unit growth, but Apple also benefited from robust sales of its
new iMac G5. iMac shipments increased 101% y/y as a product category as the
well-timed release of the competitively priced product drove strong consumer
adoption. More importantly, Apple’s Mac shipments increased 26% y/y – its
fastest recorded growth in several years and the first time the company gained
share in the PC market since late 2000. Apple also managed to generate almost
$1 billion in cash during the quarter while its cash cycle remained relatively
unchanged (up 1 day). In summary, in a quarter where expectations had arguably
gotten out of hand, Apple managed to exceed those aggressive expectations with very few holes.

[Chinney]

Originally Posted by shuffle iMac Drove the Upside Surprise. In its first full quarter out of the box, iMac G5 shipments of 337,000 easily surpassed our estimate of 180,000. We believe the combination of good timing, competitive pricing, and solid supply of CPUs from IBM ($95, O, target $100) enabled the company to exceed our expectations. Apple delivered a blowout first quarter as sales of both Mac and music based products were strong across all geographies. Revenue of $3.5 billion (+74% y/y) beat the consensus estimate of $3.2 billion while EPS of $0.70 came in ahead of the Street’s $0.48 estimate. As has been the case for the past year, iPod led the way with 525% y/y unit growth, but Apple also benefited from robust sales of its new iMac G5. iMac shipments increased 101% y/y as a product category as the well-timed release of the competitively priced product drove strong consumer adoption. More importantly, Apple’s Mac shipments increased 26% y/y – its fastest recorded growth in several years and the first time the company gained share in the PC market since late 2000. Apple also managed to generate almost $1 billion in cash during the quarter while its cash cycle remained relatively unchanged (up 1 day). In summary, in a quarter where expectations had arguably gotten out of hand, Apple managed to exceed those aggressive expectations with very few holes.

Thanks for posting this. I had not taken the time to delve into the iMac figures in the overall Apple results released earlier this week.

Very good news for Apple as the iMac will likely remain the flagship product – despite the Mini Mac. It was also a relief, given that the iMac G4 sales figures were, overall, a disappointment.

[MCQ]

On a sidenote - Oppenheimer did say that historically, the first quarter a product is introduced is typicpally it's highest selling quarter. So, I wouldn't expect much higher than 300,000-350,000/quarter onwards (this would still be a solid number)... especially since the Mini mac should catch most of the switcher sales IMO.

[Chinney]

Yes, sales will stabilize at a lower level. But I hope that this will be at a considerably higher level than the G4 iMac. Also, some potential switchers will look at the Mini Mac, then take another look at the iMac, and then make their choice. Quite a few of these will opt for the G5 iMac, IMO. As I posted elsewhere, toting everything up, the G5 remains pretty attractive, despite the Mini.

[BuonRotto]

It's not unreasonable to think that the mini will actually attract more iMac buyers. People who otherwise might not have looked at a Mac may walk in for a mini but walk out with an iMac as soon as they add up some stuff like the keyboard, mouse and especially if they see the iMac monitor. Obviously, this is only a portion of the people, but I think the mini is carefully placed in the product lineup so that this might happen.

[ZogDog]

Originally Posted by Chinney * I do feel obliged to point out that while she does like the new 20 inch model, she was somewhat disappointed to learn that it does not move up and down like the generation 2 iMac. She was pleased, however, when I pointed out that the new iMac is, in effect, always up and still moves back and forth.

LMFAO that is too much, too much...