iPod orders trimmed, part deux
February 7th 2008
AppleInsider, quoting FBR Research chip industry data, states that Apple has again cut iPod and iPhone orders. New in this round is a reduction in MacBook orders.
"For both iPods and iPhones, we believe Apple was previously targeting a roughly 50 percent quarter-over-quarter decline for first quarter units, whereas, we now think the firm is targeting a 60 percent quarter-over-quarter unit decline for first quarter units," said Craig Berger, FBR Research.
"With Broadcom selling the touchscreen controller into the iPhones and iPod touches, and with Marvell selling WiFi chips into the iPhone, both of these chip firms should see slight negative revenue impacts in their March quarter, though we believe the magnitude of this bad news is relatively small," he continued.
The FBR analyst also said his checks indicate that Apple has cut its first quarter MacBook build forecast by about 50 percent compared to the prior quarter, down from 35 percent upon his last check.
On Feb 1, Insanely-Great reported that Apple had cut iPod production and raised Mac output.
Editor's note: So (large grain o' salt), iPod orders have been significantly cut and iPhone / touch orders simply reduced, according to Berger. Just a (large) seasonal variation plus sickening economy, or is the iPod gravy train seriously slowing down?
Also, I wonder if what we're seeing (large grain o' salt), at least in the case of the MacBook, is both a reduction related to demand and preparations to introduce new models.
Yet another case where Apple's opacity and our insatiable desire to know can't be reconciled...
What's your take?
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