There doesn’t seem like there was a whole lot of R&D dollars behind the announcements at MacWorld. I would imagine Intel paid the brunt R&D to get the chip smaller in the MacBook Air. Other than that there wasn’t much new tech, mostly just new software updates. Could it be that Apple is hedging their bets?
The MacBook Air is priced right between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. It allows Apple to be competitive with more Dells and Compaqs. The notebook market is also a market that Apple is comfortable competing in. Meanwhile, the AppleTV announcement was the equivalent of the 20% off signs you see plastered in front of every retailer in the mall. (US retail numbers were down in December). Time Capsule seems to be little more than a hard drive (those are very cheap) and a wireless access point (those are also cheap). I think Time Capsule might be the highest profit margin item in the Apple catalog.
We have all known for a while that the US economy was teetering. The AAPL stock price drop during the MacWorld Keynote today seems to be further indication that investors are at least skittish. Could Apple be bracing for an economic downturn with products that are “safe”?
