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Jobs Super Thin, IBM Super Win

According to Sweden's E24.se.



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STOCKHOLM (E24.se) -- Apple are expected to introduce a new super thin laptop that promises to shake up the industry. Simultaneously IBM boom NASDAQ with news of their coming quarterly report.

Steve Jobs seems to have succeeded with yet another coup. Tonight at 18:00 EST Apple's CEO will hold his keynote at the Macworld expo in San Francisco. Last year he introduced the slam dunk iPhone and now the rumour mill is talking about a new computer.

The rumour is that Jobs will introduce an ultra thin laptop weighing less than one kilogram and only slightly more than two centimetres thick. It's been suggested the notes for his presentation have been leaked onto the net but either way analysts believe the time has come for a new Apple laptop.

Several factors make this plausible. It's been more than ten years since Apple introduced the PowerBook 2400c which weighed about two kilograms. The laptop sector grows by leaps and bounds and especially in the world of finance it's a matter of status to have the smallest laptop possible. Apple are working to expand all they can in this sector; and today they're in the third slot after Dell and HP with a 6.3% share. That share increased last year and Steve Jobs wants to exploit it.

That a portable Apple is seen as a status symbol means Apple can ask high prices for their goods. The new computer is rumoured to bear the name 'MacBook mini' or 'MacBook slim' and will cost about $1500 - which can be compared with the cheapest PC models that cost only $500 or a third.

Another plausible scenario is that Steve Jobs introduces an updated iPhone with greater memory capacity. Pundits are talking about an iPhone with a 16 GB drive. It's also feasible the new mini laptop will borrow some of the more successful features of the iPhone such as touch sensitive rolling menus.

No matter the news announced Apple's marketing have yet again succeeded in maximising public interest in their CEO's keynote. Apple stock more than doubled its value last year and now they need a never ending stream of novelties to keep up the tempo. These rumours lifted Apple stock 3.4% yesterday on NASDAQ.

Big Blue Big Winner

Regardless of the interest in Apple it was IBM who won the race yesterday on Wall Street. News of a 24% increase in quarterly revenues pushed IBM stock up 5.4%. Even Intel and HP had good days with 5.0% and 2.5% increases respectively.

See Also
E24.se: Teknikrally i New York
E24.se: Apple lanserar ny supertunn laptop

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