Will the poor mans iPhone drive revenues for Apple?
Apple will release its fiscal year third-quarter earnings tomorrow, and some analysts are predicting that the poor man’s iPhone–the iPod touch–will be an important piece of the results, thanks to its compatibility with the App Store. According to AppleInsider, Caris & Company on Friday predicted that the iPod touch will grow toward 10 percent of Apple’s revenues, but of course, iPhone and Mac sales will be the primary growth engines. “No longer just a music/video player, iPod touch is increasingly a gaming device, etc., with video camera a likely addition in next (fall?) refresh,” said the firm’s report. “We believe iPod touch sales have been ramping all year, representing an estimated 18 percent of iPod units since September 2007 launch.” J.P. Morgan sees the iPod touch as a netbook of sorts. “We think the iPod touch provides the portability, Internet browsing, and email features that are the hallmark of the netbook PC experience,” the report states. “With the iPod touch, the main l
