Projecting Apple's future

Industry watchers are likely to shift their focus to potential new product announcements at Macworld during the final stretch of the busy holiday shopping season. Senior analyst Gene Munster of research firm Piper Jaffray believes these new announcements could include Apple's pre-announced iTV, a new iPod, and the iPhone. "With growing expectations for new and upgraded products at the Macworld Expo on January 9th 2007, there is an upward bias to our valuation," Munster said. "The iTV and iPhone represent significant additional potential drivers to Apple's growth engine in 1H07. And these new offerings could be strengthened by the release of a widescreen iPod at Macworld." Apple is entering the music-enabled mobile phone market at the correct time as well, according to the analyst, by waiting for early music-enabled handsets to test the waters. "Apple will differentiate itself by offering iTunes integration on Macs and PCs, and by leveraging its expertise in software engineering for media playing devices," the analyst said.

Addressing rumors surrounding the forthcoming Macworld Conference & Expo (MWSF) in San Francisco, Munster ranks each rumor on a scale from 1 to 10. A 10 signifies near certainty, while 1 alludes to a very unlikely possibility. Launches of the iTV and iPhone are almost certain for Macworld 2007, according to the analyst, with likely possibilities for the next 6-12 months including the launch of an iPhone with a candy bar form-factor, a widescreen iPod with touch-sensitivity as well as wireless features, a second smartphone iPhone model with an integrated keyboard, and multiple carriers as iPhone providers.

Less likely rumors include an ultra-portable 12-inch MacBook Pro, a radio-transparent material used for the iPhone casing, an iPhone that will feature 'iChat Mobile' video as well as instant messaging, and the release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard at Macworld in January.

by MacNN Staff