Apple CFO hints at possibly big "product transitions" before September

Apple is notorious for providing extremely conservative guidance to investors. Still, with Mac sales on the rise, iPods doing their thing, and the ability to begin posting revenue from an expected 1 million iPhones in the new quarter don't you think that a guidance of just 65 cents per share (after a record 92) is just a tad, say, absurd? That point was certainly not lost on UBS analyst, Benjamin Reitzes, who kicked off Apple's Q&A yesterday with the following: "You just guided 66 cents and came up with 92. Why should we believe that this 65 cents this time when you've been so conservative? Are you really that worried about component costs or is there something else going on with regard to an upcoming price cut for a product?" Apple's CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, cited the following three factors as the reason: Apple's "expensive" back to school promotion which will run most of the quarter, higher component costs, and most intriguingly, "some product transitions." As Forbes opines, that could translate into the operating costs required to cover a pretty significant product shake-up this fiscal quarter. So don't be surprised when new iMacs, iLife and a touchscreen video iPod are announced in the next few months. And perhaps, if you're really good, you'll see a flash-based 12-inch MacBook Pro and new iPhone version(s) make their way to retail in the quarter ending September 30th -- ok, probably not but you can hope now can't you fanboy?

[nycstern @ Jul 26th 2007 10:05AM]

Here is my wish:

I have been playing with a Tablet PC recently (running the tablet version of windows XP), and I have to say, I love it. If Apple were to introduce a 10" tablet Mac with a form factor like the Fujitsu Stylistic, I'd buy one.

[Nick @ Jul 26th 2007 10:55AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/10/apples-patented-the-tablet-mac/

oh look and in the picture the guy is using his finger not a stylus!

[Nick @ Jul 26th 2007 10:57AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/10/apples-patented-the-tablet-mac/

and the guy in the picture is using his finger not a stylus.. imagine that! multi-touch anyone?!?!?!/

[paloooz @ Jul 26th 2007 11:16AM]

Tablet Mac? I'm still waiting on my G5 PowerBook!

[Will @ Jul 26th 2007 12:04PM]

paloooz: I have inside information (from a reliable source). It comes out next Tuesday.

:)

[cromas @ Jul 26th 2007 12:54PM]

I have an X41 Tablet, the first "good tablet." It was really cool for the first year. Now I hardly use the tablet functionality. Unless you have a really compelling reason to need pen input, you probably don't need a tablet. I thought I had a lot of good reasons -- including studying Japanese kanji and working with interactive music notation -- but in the end, it's mostly a gimmick.

Now combine a pen for handwriting and multitouch for everything else...then you might have something.

[Tom @ Jul 26th 2007 6:37PM]

I want a tablet iMac, touch screen...
no hard drive, in its space room
to "plug-in" my iPhone...
so the tablet is an extension of the iPhone
with speaker phone and much larger screen
running leopard/vista and my hotel rez admin package...so I can take calls and reservations
anywhere on my 9 acre property over my wi-fi.
I's love this to have an intercom thingie too;
but then I maybe may be asking too much.

So, no macBook, rez-book, and a cordless phone to carry about no more!

[Tyk @ Jul 26th 2007 10:19AM]

Meh, Ive got an ssd equipped VAIO TZ on the way. Macs are more about marketing and snob appeal than actual substance.

[Señor Swanky @ Jul 26th 2007 10:24AM]

Good one. Hear that from someone, didya'?

[Al @ Jul 26th 2007 10:27AM]

Here we go again...

[Fatima @ Jul 26th 2007 10:31AM]

you shouldn't be talking, you own a Sony Vaio...
an overpriced PoS.

[johnzilla @ Jul 26th 2007 12:04PM]

1994 called, they want their cut down back.

[Ian @ Jul 26th 2007 10:26AM]

I'd really like to see the alleged disappointing iPhone activiations lead to Apple breaking its exclusive deal with AT&T, and opening up the iPhone to other cellular providers, particularly Verizon.

[Al @ Jul 26th 2007 10:29AM]

Perhaps when Verizon gets its ducks in a row and allows for SIM cards... and doesn't charge you for every single little service... and cripple their phones with their crap software.

Yeah, that'll happen!

[shirizaki @ Jul 26th 2007 10:48AM]

@ Al.


Crippled phones.....that's a good one. Which phone has crippled bluetooth that only allows for a headset, locked firmware that has to be hacked, and an expensive price tag for less features?

2 things: Verizon phones and the iPhone.

CDMA also doesn't use SIM cards, instead opting for ESN numbers held on their computers. It's as simple as logging on the VZW account website, switch an ESN, and bam you can use a new phone. Not as glorious as switching a SIM card, but I can hot swap phones in a single day. Downloading a free application syncs all my contacts for FREE.

[Al @ Jul 26th 2007 10:59AM]

@ shirizaki

re: Crippled phones

I never said the iPhone wasn't crippled. It's definitely LESS crippled than the crap Verizon does to perfectly good phones, and it could definitely be better - but I never made any reference to the iPhone.

And everyone knows CDMA is a load of rubbish, come on.

[shirizaki @ Jul 26th 2007 1:53PM]

@ Al

My env can do more than just sync with a headset. It can transfer pics and videos with the OBEX profile and tether my Ev-Do 3G connection.

And there are Verizon phones with SIM cards. And CDMA isn't rubbish. Maybe if you count qualcomm's monopoly on it, but it's just been toppled by broadcom.

And the use of the iPhone was simply for reference of a recent non-verizon (and non-cdma) phone that was released crippled.

[Doogs @ Jul 26th 2007 10:44AM]

iMac? Really? For Back to School?

My money (and my wife's hopes) are on variously colored MacBooks, a la the Nano, Shuffle, etc.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jul 26th 2007 12:25PM]

I think that is a great idea and falls into Apple's typical balancing act of keeping things simple for the consumer while maintaining their renowned marketing engine going.

[Todd @ Jul 26th 2007 10:54AM]

I CAN HAS $199 iPhone MINI?

[Davin Peterson @ Jul 26th 2007 10:54AM]

Everything is always Apple, but what about Creative, the inventor of the MP3 Player GUI Technology that Apple stole for the iPod?

Creative is working on new ZEN players, which should come out this fall. So, stop looking at the Apple & the iPod and take a look at Creative

[Bart Lee @ Jul 26th 2007 11:00AM]

Don't you mean "the first patent filer for a hierarchal menu system on an mp3 player"? I mean c'mon, do you really count that as an invention?

[Kevlar @ Jul 26th 2007 11:06AM]

I have a friend who ownes a Zen, and they're actually quite nice. The UI is a bit clunky, so I still prefer an iPod, but she swears by her Zen like you wouldn't believe.

Also, Apple didn't steal Creative's user-interface design. Apple based theirs on their scrolling column view in finder, Creative came up with a similar idea at the same time, and got the patent in on it first.

[wizzle @ Jul 26th 2007 11:49AM]

@Davin Peterson:

I am so calling you out - I think you work for Creative. That, or you are the biggest, most dedicated fanboy on the planet. With all the time and effort you've put into your pro-Creative campaign, I hope to God they are paying you.

@Everyone:

Run a Google search for: "Davin Peterson" Creative - there are over 20 Google pages of hits of this one guy, spouting Creative PR all over the Interwebs! I don't know whether to laugh or cry. See for yourself:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Davin+Peterson%22+creative&hl=en&start=20&sa=N

hey - at least he's going for the underdog. And iPods aren't for everyone; some people are like Sir Mix-a-Lot: they like...big...MP3 players. And they cannot lie.

@fanboys:

(I own neither, btw)

[Nate @ Jul 26th 2007 1:00PM]

You big Creative ass-wipe. You probably can sniff what Sim Wong Hoo had for dinner last night.

[Dan @ Jul 26th 2007 1:34PM]

Product transition= Leopard

[dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 11:07AM]

"product transitions" that sounds like more than simply going to flash if they're seeing a huge cost,.. I might be way off, but to me, that soudns like they might possibly be thinkign of releasing the mac os onto pc. which would result in alot of support headache but really, really help apple in the long run. I've been runing 10.4.8 on a p4 1.7ghz with 8mb integrated video for a few months now with no problems, so I really don't think it would be difficult to release it, just a driver and support headache for them for a short period...

[Mike Cohen @ Jul 26th 2007 1:49PM]

How? I really want to be able to run another instance of OS X under VMware on my MacBook Pro for software testing.

[dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 1:55PM]

don't ask me how, just google it, there's lots of info about doing.

[AlexP @ Jul 26th 2007 11:11AM]

I just want a new iMac, I already ordered my Inspiron 1520 and I'm waiting for the new ones to come out. :|

[Uncle Red @ Jul 26th 2007 11:22AM]

16 Gig Nano. New iMac. New Xserver RAID with Raid6 and SAS drives. Rumors...let them fly...like to sh-t.

[Jim In Holland @ Jul 26th 2007 11:27AM]

Um - you're reading too much into this. OS X 10.5 comes soon, and thats a product too, don't forget. If they do a proper roll-out, it will cost something...

[Labrador26 @ Jul 26th 2007 11:32AM]

What we're seeing here is Apple returning to its zenith. It is quite possible that it will achieve a market share in PCs of 10% by the end of 2008, something it hasn't enjoyed since the early 1990s. Two things will do this. One is that Apple will crack the education market, because the shelf life of its systems is so good. Secondly, and more important, corporations are starting to come back to the Mac platform. When you have 100 or so major businesses buying an average of 500 machines each, revenues will start to make quantum leaps. The new 12" ultra portable could also be amazing. While the iPod and iPhone will continue to be sources of solid revenue, A 3G iPhone that syncs seamlessly with Leopard-based Macs would be a killer app for many road warriors. This combo alone could drive corporate take-up. I'm not blown away by Leopard, although Time Machine, Stacks and Finder upgrades make it worthwhile. It simply builds on what is already an outstandingly intuitive, robust and powerful OS.

[Dragod @ Jul 26th 2007 11:34AM]

Hey! Maybe they'll finally have 2 mouse buttons...

[paloooz @ Jul 26th 2007 11:43AM]

You mean like that one they've been selling since August 2, 2005?

[hobbes @ Jul 26th 2007 12:09PM]

And yet they still don't have them on the laptops.

I am a Apple fanatic, but even I can see that multi-button mouses are, for most uses, far superior. Come on Apple, drop the freakin' one-button mouse!

[eveljkov @ Jul 26th 2007 12:11PM]

Or any usb mice since a while ago?

[Dragod @ Jul 26th 2007 12:13PM]

What about on the laptops, hmm? The point is mobility, not to carry around a usb mouse.

Also, you shouldn't have to buy a new one after paying that price for a computer. But I guess Nickle-n-Diming people is what Apple does best.

[steve-o @ Jul 26th 2007 12:27PM]

You use two fingers instead of one to simulate a right click on a laptop. Just FYI...

[paloooz @ Jul 26th 2007 1:01PM]

Yeah ...

1 finger drag = move mouse
1 finger tap = left click
1 finger tap drag = left click and drag
2 finger drag = scroll in 360 directions
2 finger tap = right click

I don't even use the button, I wish it weren't even there. I prefer stealth.

[Ireland @ Jul 26th 2007 1:04PM]

I think what he meant was a good two button mouse.

[Silver @ Jul 26th 2007 1:50PM]

"I am a Apple fanatic, but even I can see that multi-button mouses are, for most uses, far superior."

The single button and wide trackpad on my MacBook with its two-finger clicking and scrolling > the four buttons, scroll-zone edge, and pencil-eraser finger pointer on my HP laptop. Period.

I hope Apple sticks to its guns with the single-button trackpad.

Multiple buttons on mice, on the other hand, are much appreciated.

[almostinfamous @ Jul 26th 2007 12:13PM]

no no no no no, all u f4nb0iz have it wrong.

it's going to tap into Steve Jobs' moxie for power.

and use the collective latent storage of all of us lozers who froth over things that are largely insignificant as RAM and HDD space.

and have freakin lazers built into it so you can vapourize anyone who disagrees with you. PEWPEWPEW, bitchez!!

but seriously, WTF does it matter, in 2 years the shit they release this year is going to seem obsolete, and those ranting and raving over it are too.

[Daniel @ Jul 26th 2007 12:23PM]

G5 Powerbook anyone?

[Drew Baron @ Jul 26th 2007 12:53PM]

My guess is the OS. The OS should become available for PC's.

[paloooz @ Jul 26th 2007 1:02PM]

So that they can start supporting thousands of strange substandard pieces of hardware and have their OS become as unstable, unreliable, and insecure as Windows?

I think not.

[Drew Baron @ Jul 26th 2007 1:18PM]

The OS is what Apple does best, meanwhile, Windows seems to be on a downturn. There is a wide open gap and also a human need to get a better OS out there.

I was one of the bloggers sent a free Fararri Acer computer with Vista from Microsoft and while the OS is dizzying, the computer is so nice, it really is a pleasure, moreso than my MacBook Pro (the only option). If I had OSX on an Acer, it would be super. But right now, its needs a different operating system on it.

I cant help but think, on a global level, Apple's OS would become the OS of choice because its better. :D

[dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 3:26PM]

I agree dude, and I got low ranked for saying the same :( oh well, whether or not officially releases for pc, I still have my hacked copy happily and stably running away in the other room.

[ug @ Jul 26th 2007 12:48PM]

Still no official word on the fate of the Mac Mini. I think it's toast.

[timmy @ Jul 26th 2007 1:07PM]

I think they're going to launch a Ham-of-the-Month club. Which I'd be all over, of course.