Analyst: WWDC keynote a "non-event"
updated 01:55 pm EDT, Mon June 11, 2007
Munster on WWDC
PiperJaffray analyst Gene Munster is calling Steve Jobs' keynote at this week's WWDC (Worldwide developer conference) a "non-event." Saying that Leopard will be a catalyst for Mac market share gains starting in the December 2007 quarter, a new research note from Munster said that the keynote was "relatively light" on announcements beyond Leopard features -- apparently regarding the announcement that Safari will now be a Windows product as insignificant. Munster said expectations for WWDC were low, but Wall Street was hoping for an unexpected new product to be introduced.
Instead of focusing on the Safari announcement, Munster pays significant attention to the Windows integration afforded by Boot Camp in Leopard -- particularly the point that a download will no longer be required to use the function, which will instead ship as part of Mac OS X 10.5.
Regarding Safari Windows, Munster says Apple will use the iTunes as Trojan horse for spreading the Safari Web browser in an effort to gain market-share from Internet Explorer.
Finally, Munster comments on Steve Jobs' claim that 500 million copies of iTunes for Windows have been downloaded so far, suggesting a larger installed base for the software than previously. The firm now estimates that there are 200 million Windows iTunes users, compared with a previous estimate of 130 million.
PiperJaffray maintains an outperform rating on shares of Apple Inc.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2007
Steve is tired
Perhaps we expect too much from Stevie Wonder but this "effort" is feeble. And Safari for Windows is just shooting yourself in the foot. It has never worked properly even in OSX. They must be sniggering over at Microsoft.