Apple Profits Up, But Rocky Road Ahead

The author of this article is either 1) an idiot who doesn't know anything about Apple or the industry he professes to be an expert in or 2) purposefully and knowingly writing an idiotic article to draw in readers and page views for PC World.

I'm guessing #2.

Still, the article is pretty bad.

Anyone who sees today's announcement -- Apple's best quarter ever, in an economic downturn -- as anything other than a huge indication of success is, quite simply, trying too hard to rain on that parade.

(Authors of junk like this love to write it and then fall back on complaining of fanboyism when people point out the lunacy of what they've published, but don't be fooled: They want the responses, no matter how over-zealous they get. It pays the bills.)

First, he mentions iPods. Yes, they're down. What he fails to mention is that it took *Apple* cannibalizing their own product (not to mention that economic downturn) for them to slip a little. He also fails to mention, because he's not a real journalist, that sales of devices in the iPod's category are down, in general. The question isn't, did the iPod slip, the question should be: Did any other companies gain market share as a result of that slip?

I'd bet not.

Second, and more importantly, today's conference call was nothing but great news for Apple, especially on the iPhone tip. The author of this article brings up a "share of criticism" relating to the App store, but fails to mention that said criticism is coming from a handful of developers and tech blogs and has failed to spark interest amongst consumers, who don't realize there's a controversy to actually *be* interested in, and who aren't stopping buying/downloading apps even if they *are* aware. (Nor are developers, even those who have valid complaints, leaving to develop for other platforms, in any even *remotely* significant number.) The fact is, Apple has seen billions of apps downloaded, and that number is only accelerating as iPhone's and iPod Touches continue to sell like crazy. During an economic downturn.

iDon't think the Droid is going to hurt them, short - or long - term. It'll be another in a long line of viable options which will sell pretty well. That's about it.

This guy is peddling grade-A Enderle style FUD, and hopefully people will remind him that he wrote this worthless article, right before a holiday shopping season - a quarter which is historically golden for Apple.