Mystery Apple iTunes Announcement Won't Be Music to Investors' Ears
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Nov 15th 2010 9:15PM
Updated Nov 16th 2010 6:53AM
As Apple (AAPL) gears up to make an iTunes announcement, the front of its Web site bragged that it would be a day that "you'll never forget." But at least one analyst predicts that the news won't be so memorable for investors. "It'll be a big yawn for investors. They're trained to expect big things from Apple like an iPad, or an iPhone or some kind of gadget," says Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research. "It'll likely be an iTunes enhancement and that's a nonevent for investors."
He expects enhancements such as an iTunes video service or usability improvements. "I don't think investors will be excited by usability and service enhancements, but customers should be," Chowdhry says.
More Speculation
Other analysts are predicting more radical changes. Some say they wouldn't be surprised to see Apple's iTunes service move up into the cloud, meaning it would be an Internet application instead of an offering that gets downloaded to a device or computer. Others speculate that iTunes could become a subscription service.
Chowdhry notes that Apple's software sales, which includes iTunes and transactions from its App Store, usually generate a mere $400 million to $500 million out of its billions of dollars of quarterly revenue. In the third quarter, for example, Apple posted a whopping $20.3 billion in sales.
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