Munster: Steve Jobs will host next week's Apple special event
Steve Jobs, Oct. 2008. Photo: Apple Inc.
Apple hasn't confirmed it — and not every analyst agrees — but Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster seems pretty certain that Steve Jobs himself will introduce a new line of iPods next week.
In a note to clients Tuesday morning, Munster describes the substance of Apple's (AAPL) special music event — scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9 — as a "non-event" from Wall Street's point of view.
Investors, Munster says, are not likely to be impressed with new iPod nanos, iPod classic and iPod touches re-designed with cameras because "as iPod growth slows … the segment becomes less of an investable theme." (That may be true of the classic and the nanos, but sales of iPod touches grew 130% last quarter year over year.)
Jobs' return, however, is likely to be greeted by the Street as "a slight positive" for Apple's shares — "the first public confirmation of Jobs' health since his return to the company," according to Munster.
Jobs last appearance at an Apple event was on Oct. 14, 2008, when he introduced the unibody MacBooks. In January he took a medical leave to replace his failing liver.
Other possible announcements next Wednesday, according to Munster:
- A new version of iTunes with integrated social networking features.
- Changes to the iTunes Store, including new music features with richer album artwork.
- Expanded TV and movie options on iTunes with more available content and/or better viewing rights for multiple devices.
Munster expects Apple will eventually launch a monthly subscription for TV shows and a tablet computer, but not next week.
UPDATE: Kaufman Bros.' Shaw Wu weighed in later Tuesday morning with a different take on who will be presenting next week:
"The keynote speaker(s) were not announced but we believe it will most likely be Phil Schiller, SVP of worldwide product marketing, who mostly recently handled both MacWorld and WWDC events. It is not clear that Steve Jobs will present but most would welcome his appearance as a positive surprise."
Itunes used to load slow for me until i found "Mjtek". A nice little piece of software that allows me to sync my ipod using windows media player. No more slow loading itunes
The reason iTunes is so damn slow on Windows is because Apple had to use their own browser, data base and media playing apps along with the iTunes app. So, in reality you are starting 3 or 4 apps not just one, with everything else needed, already loaded when the OS loaded.
Why doesn't Apple use the parts it needs that are already loaded as part of Windows? Because Microsoft has been know to screw with competing software to the point that it doesn't even run on Windows.
They would have stamped out iTunes for Windows in no time if Apple didn't have full control.
So, if you want to have iTunes start quickly on Windows, use Apple's Quicktime and Safari as your default media player and browser. That way, iTunes will start quickly because Quicktime and Safari will already be opened.
Just the fact Steve Jobs is hosting this event (if true) makes it a big event.
The return of a CEO who was reported as dying just months ago is no "non-event".
The questions are: Will he really be the host? Is he in shape? Is he as thin as before?
If some surprising iPod/iTunes updates come out of this event, then we'll take them as a bonus.
…and thus it starts all over again. Will Jobs show up? Will he look ill? Will he juggle while doing a one-armed handstand?
WHO CARES!
Look at the facts: Apple is firing on all eight cylinders, and it's been doing so while Steve has been seriously ill. So while it might be good to have Steve back, it's no longer critical.
And yet, that's the undercurrent here. One can almost sense the short-seller sharks circling, hoping to get even the smallest scent of blood, so they can pull Apple back down once more and make a killing.
Steve, if you're reading this, a word of advice: Show up, accept some well-earned accolades, then step back out of the limelight. Let others take center stage.
In short, disappoint the sharks. And help Apple grow.
*sigh*
No, you're not Macs or PCs. You're Mac or PC users. The point of the Apple commercials — which Microsoft clearly misunderstood — was that Justin Long and John Hodgmen are representatives of the computers themselves, not the users.
Does anyone know exactly what these so-called investors are looking for? They're not excited about the iPhone in China (too uncertain). They don't seem very excited about Apple opening more retail stores (not packed enough). Not happy about extra-featured iPods (iPods are falling out of favor). They're not happy about a future tablet (an unknown they judge likely to fail). They're not happy about the iPhone getting into the enterprise (too much competition from RIM). I guess they're not happy with the App Store (doesn't bring in enough revenue).
I honestly can't imagine what will please Apple investors with a company that is doing far better than most computer companies and cellphone companies combined. Yet there were investors that were willing to pour money into Palm on a whim that it might prove to be serious competition to the iPhone.
So the iPod event is a non-event to Wall Street. They feel it's meaningless as a boost to iPod sales for the Christmas season. They're full of it. It's exactly what Apple needs to start boosting iPod sales for the remainder of the year.
o unless Apple can redesign iTunes so that it starts in less than 15 seconds on my computer, I will not be upgrading
Time to load iTunes is proportional to the number of files you have loaded into it. So is your qualification test for an empty library, or for a library fully loaded?
I hope he is feeling up to it. For all our jabbing at each other, I still consider Stevo to be a good friend.
To JAy in Houston…
I'm a Mac…and just the opposite is true for MS Office on the Mac. Even running an Intel Mac, starting up Word or Excel on my computer can be painfully slow. Do I vilify MS? No, I've just come to expect that MS Office, despite upgrades and new versions, will always load slowly on a Mac, and I just accept that fact that both platforms have written software designed to enhance the experience for their primary audience. Would I switch from a Mac? No way.
In fact, I just gave a friend of mine an old G4 that can only run Mac OS X 10.4.11. She used to run a PC, but it died. She was apprehensive to switch to a Mac, but it was a free replacement. She's now sold on using a Mac. She loves it and finds it so much easier to navigate (despite how old it is), and the fact that she has to open MS Word on it…she did tell me that loading Word took a long, long time.
However, running iTunes on my Intel Mac is a snap. Probably loads in less than 6 or 7 seconds. And with the new Snow Leopard, my guess is that it will be just a bit faster.
Lesson to be learned: You can't have it all.
Office for Mac 2008 is a very poor upgrade. No macros. No print preview on the toolbar. iTunes loads slow on a PC? What about startup time for enterprise software on a PC! I get a cup of coffee during the wait.
I'm a PC, so unless Apple can redesign iTunes so that it starts in less than 15 seconds on my computer, I will not be upgrading. I won't even put iTunes on my new laptop for this very reason, and I will be upgrading to Windows 7 to be able to ditch Quicktime. I understand that Apple writes software for Mac first, but MS would be vilified if Office for Mac performed as poorly as iTunes for Windows.
I'll cover the whole thing!
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com