No New Hardware At Mac Expo Paris


ThinkSecret is reporting that Apple will not introduce any new hardware at the Mac Expo in Paris, due to start tomorrow.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is scheduled to deliver his keynote September 10, but he is not expected to announce any major upgrades to hardware, the article says. The reason is that market conditions do not warrant new hardware, and that Apple is carefully assessing the soft PC market in scheduling and timing new hardware releases.

The Seybold publishing conference, which takes place at the same time as the Paris Expo where Apple Marketing VP Phil Schiller is presenting the keynote, will also produce no major announcements, according to ThinkSecret.

It was widely anticipated that Apple might refresh its PowerBook line with new features. However, the article also says that Apple is currently selling fewer than 125 portables per day, compared with 180-200 before May 2002.

Analysis: The portable sales figures are perhaps the most interesting, given that Apple - and everyone else - keeps sales figures a closely-guarded secret until the quarterly earnings are announced. Given that most of these sales will be iBooks, it not only suggests that the market is extremely soft (which is obvious), but also that the iBook, a bulwark of sales and revenue since its May 2002 introduction, is experiencing a significant sales downturn. Clearly, this applies, to a lesser extent, to PowerBook. Nevertheless, should a refresh occur tomorrow, it would give sales a boost. But it looks like the PC industry is in for a grim Xmas quarter.