by , 10:00 AM EDT, May 21st, 2003
BusinessWeek's Alex Salkever has penned a new Byte of the Apple column that suggests things are looking up for Apple. Though titled "Will This Be the Summer of Mac?," Mr. Salkever answers his own question with a strong "Yes." Mr. Salkever says that with Quark for OS X coming, a move to IBM's PowerPC 970, a successful new online music store (the iTunes Music Store), and an uptick in online advertising that will help drive purchases from the creative markets, Apple should see an uptick in sales. From the column:
While Motorola has struggled in chips, IBM has soared. Under CEO Sam Palmisano, Big Blue has poured money into chip research and upgraded its factories. IBM says the new Apple chip will be of the 64-bit variety, which means it can process twice as much information per cycle as existing 32-bit chips. That's not even counting an anticipated initial speed boost in the new chip's clock cycle to well over 1.8 Ghz per second -- and likely well beyond that over the course of the year. The new chip could also prove extremely valuable for specialized IBM workstations -- and a possible means for Big Blue to compete with archrival Sun Microsystems ( SUNW ) and its 64-bit architecture. For Apple, it means a quick injection of speed and power.
[...]
Quark is signaling that it might soon release an OS X version. No guarantees and no dates, to be sure. But there's talk of an announcement timed around MacWorld in July. A new Quark release will mean new customers for an improved PowerMac line. And the twin incentives of Quark and faster chips are far stronger than either single offering alone and could boost revenues for Jobs & Co.
[...]
The nascent, Net-driven recovery in the graphics and advertising business is another important factor. While advertising in traditional media remains lackluster, online advertising is growing at a double-digit clip. Apple owns the graphics and advertising sector. And any uptick there will likely pour cash into Apple's coffers, since many graphics companies running three-year-old hardware are itching to upgrade as soon as revenues start trending back upward.
Read the full article for more information; we recommend it as a good read.
Aww, but what's the fun in that?
It has long been our opinion that Apple has been putting all the pieces in place for the last 5-6 years, but that the company has been held back of late by the twin demons of no Quark for OS X, and processors that have lagged way behind Intel's offerings. It would seem that those last two pieces will soon be falling into place, as well, so that definitely bodes well for Apple's market share. Note the additional burden of a downward economy, but Apple could really see an uptick if Quark comes through and the company can beat the processor problem.
Time will tell, of course, and as we wait the doomsayers will proclaim Apple's imminent death, while Apple apologists will say that there's nothing wrong with the G4 in the first place. It is our opinion that the former will be proven wrong yet again, while the latter will embrace the PowerPC 970 as Apple's savior. Fortunately, it very much seems as if we don't have very much longer to wait and see if Apple can pull it all together. Summer of Mac or not, this will definitely be an interesting summer.