thoughton:digitallife One self-employed analyst, idiotic statement of the year

One self-employed analyst, idiotic statement of the year

"The expectation on the iPod is that HP's version will probably outsell Apple's version relatively quickly ... due to HP's broad distribution at electronics retailers", said Rob Enderle. Mr Enderle runs an outfit with the grandiose-title of The Enderle Group. Some kind of umbrella company controlling a multitude of lesser corporations? Nah, it's him, his wife, and two buddies.

This guy is either smoking crack or is operating on the principle that there is no such thing as bad publicity. I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I even saw an HP product other than a printer at an "electronics retailer", but I usually see a prominent iPod display of some sort.

Secondly, I've lost count of the number of times I've been to shops that do not sell any Apple products of any sort, except for the iPod. Let me emphasize this - shops that sell only Wintel-based PCs and wouldn't touch an Apple Macintosh with a bargepole will have iPods on display. So much for his theory that HP's "broad distribution" will make a difference.

Finally there is the 'cool factor'. Go and grab an average young person (for simplicity's sake let's say someone between 15 and 29) and ask them who is cooler, Apple or Hewlett Packard. Dollars to doughnuts the answer won't be HP.

Posted on 29 August 2004, to Apple | Bereft of Reason | Mac Audio | Technology