Stock Puppy,
It is not a bad news for Apple as a whole because the clone's sales
will eventually get into the wintel's territory. The more Apple/clones
are distributed, the better for Apple's future new OS, as well as its
software sales. I think Apple has placed market share (Apple+clones)
as the highest priority, which is the correct direction. If the market
share can be increased from 7.2% of 96 to double digits in 97, and
clones have substantial net incomes, then it will stimulate the other
pc clones, such as Acer, Compaq or Dell to join the production, and Apple
will be stronger in terms of its users.
As I have said before, Apple will gradually retreat from 90% of hardware
sales to 70-75% in a couple of years. Meanwhile, its new OS will increase
sales in Apple and other platforms. By that time, Apple could concentrate
more in software development and leave more hardware sales to clones. The
strategy seems to be all right.
The MacWorld Tokyo Expo will be held from Feb. 19-22 in Japan. I believe
Apple is going to have a great year overseas, especially in Japan, which
has estimates of 2.2-2.5 billions of sales in 97. |
