Text 8829, 85 rader
Skriven 2005-12-26 16:45:20 av Mike '/m' (1:379/45)
Ärende: Apple juggernaut shows no sign of waning
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From: Mike '/m' <mike@barkto.com>


http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/biztech/12/26/apple.whats.next.ap/index.html

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SAN JOSE, California (AP) -- Five years ago, Apple Computer Inc. was barely an
afterthought in the halls of electronics companies.

Not anymore. With its best-selling iPods and landmark licensing deals with
music and television moguls propelling new ways of consuming digital media,
Apple now is the pacesetter.

"In the consumer electronics world, there's always talk now about Apple, the
way people used to talk about Sony," said analyst Richard Doherty of The
Envisioneering Group. "At the water cooler or in boardrooms, they're asking,
'What is Apple doing next?' or 'How do we stay out of their way?"'

If anything, the company's momentum accelerated in 2005.

It gave us the iPod shuffle, the Mac mini, the nano, the video-playing iPod, a
new iMac with a remote control and TV shows for sale on its iTunes online
store.

Steve Jobs, Apple's rainmaker, was even parodied in a "Saturday Night Live"
sketch, evidence of how the Cupertino-based outfit is ingrained in pop culture
like no other tech company.

In the skit, an actor impersonating the chief executive (sporting black
turtleneck and jeans, of course) introduces three iPods within minutes of each
other. Each device makes its predecessor obsolete -- from the iPod Micro to the
iPod Pequeno, and finally the iPod Invisa, which though invisible can still
hold 8 million songs and every picture ever taken.

Apple is characteristically mum on the products it has in store for 2006, but
analysts and observers say there's no question rain is on its way. The only
debate is on how strong a downpour.

Different varieties of the iPod are reported in the works by sites run by Apple
afficionados. Perhaps an iPhone, or an iPod-cell phone hybrid.

There is considerable speculation that iPods will get wireless Internet
connectivity.

Analysts also expect a bigger display at some point for better video viewing.

As Apple works to make its computers digital multimedia hubs, the book-sized
Mac mini introduced in early 2005 is predicted to get features that will make
it fit more comfortably in a living room.

Add an iPod dock or a TV tuner, for instance, and it could serve as a home's
music hub and a TiVo-like digital video recorder.

The slimmer iMac that Apple introduced in the fall -- complete with a remote
control and "Front Row" software that lets users access their music, photos and
video from across the room -- suggests Apple is readying to step deeper into
the media center arena. (Full story)

Home media servers, computers designed to control digital music, video and TV
consumption, are starting to pick up in sales, with about 5 million shipped
worldwide in 2005, according to IDC analyst David Daoud.

The nascent market is dominated by a variety of machines that run Microsoft
Corp.'s Windows Media Center Edition operating system. But there's little
consumer excitement, certainly not matching the thrill that followed the debut
of Apple's original iPod in 2001.

Apple sold 22.5 million iPods in the 2005 fiscal year that ended in September,
bringing cumulative iPod sales to more than 28 million.

The Web site ThinkSecret.com, which has correctly revealed some of Apple's
previous products before launch -- to the ire of Apple and its lawyers --
reports from unnamed sources that Apple will unveil in January an upgrade of
"Front Row," allowing users to stream content purchased from the Internet
without storing it on a computer hard disk.

If true, it could mark yet another Apple coup in digital content delivery
mode....
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 /m

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