Around The Web: Pre-WWDC Hype Machine

April 1 ’76 sees three guys including Steves Jobs and Wozniak launching a tin-pot back-room computer company, Apple Computer.

Now Apple Inc., the Steves remain involved and there’s a big party coming up, and all the world’s media’s watching in heightened anticipation, fervently hoping for news which will help them boost newspaper/magazine sales, and website traffic. It’s hard to hold reader attention in the current age.

Fact is, Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) isn’t just a cutting-edge technology company, but also a world-class hype machine.

So as the sun comes down on June 7, here’s a few of the major media headlines that are reporting Apple’s rise.

Rise in a recession? Oh, c’mon, that’s what these people do, just take a look at Saudi billionaire Prince AlWaleed bin Talal’s 23 per cent climb in investment value last month through his company, Kingdom Holding Co. Kingdom’s foreign holdings rose to 5.28 billion riyals ($1.4 billion) in May versus 4.29 billion riyals in April, Forbes says. AAPL, right now at c. $144.67 per share, is part of that wealth rise. Has been a while. Hence the interest and the hype machine. World loves a good story…

Anyway – here’s what big media are saying tonight:

Reuters: Steve Jobs may spark Apple share move.

Analysts expect Apple stock to click higher by 1-5 per cent should Steve Jobs make an appearance at WWDC opening event, but warn of big stock sale off should he fail to show.

According to Kotaku, the firm is targeting a July 17 release for the new handset, which will come with a 3D graphics chip to enhance visuals.

Financial Times: Cites "people familiar with the initiative" as source for a report claiming Apple may introduce a low-capacity iPhone for under $100, "in a move that could dramatically increase the company’s share of the market for web-surfing devices".

Economic Times: "My gut tells me we are going to see a next-generation iPhone and Snow Leopard be the two stars of the announcements," Gartner analyst Van Baker said. "Steve (Jobs) may do a cameo, maybe, because there is strong evidence from multiple sources he is getting back to good health," he said. 

This report includes comment from everybody’s favourite Apple analyst, Rob Enderle, who said "Steve Jobs is coming back, but he is not coming back for long."  

The Age: Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster "expects new iPhones to ship in July, regardless of whether or not Apple announces them at the conference or a later date, while he has forecast a 2010 release date for an Apple tablet PC." He thinks a Jobs appearance is "unlikely", but expects him back by month’s end.

USA Today (Via Indy Star): "’They had to come out with a new iPhone now, to one-up the Pre,’ says Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster (the Pre? Really? That one’s not gonna deliver on the hype in this one’s opinion).  Munster predicts pricing as follows: $149 (down from the current $199) and a premium phone with a video camera and higher capacity storage for $299. 

The Telegraph: "The new iPhone is so important to Apple that Steve Jobs, the chief executive, is expected to return from sick leave to attend the launch at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco.

"Gene Munster, analyst at US investment bank Piper Jaffrey and the most highly-respected "Apple-watcher", said there could be wide-spread disappointment as he believes Apple will release a new operating system but no new phones. He said a new "family of iPhones" will probably not be released until July."

New York Post: Predicts faster higher capacity device, with multi-tasking and a better camera, also anticipates better 3G support and a 4GB budget model. And a compass – in other words, they’re checking the rumour machine to feed the hype machine.

"Starting June 27 — the second anniversary of its debut — 86,000 phones a week will be coming…"

Associated Press: "Just two years after entering the fray, Apple enjoys a 19.5 percent share of the smart phone market, according to IDC, and investors are betting on a continued run of success.

"Apple, from a practical standpoint, has consistently tried to stay one to two years ahead of the competition on both the hardware and software levels," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies and longtime Apple analyst."

The Guardian: "On Friday Carphone’s chief executive, Charles Dunstone, refused to comment on talk of a new iPhone. "It is more than my life’s worth to ever say anything," he said. "They keep us terrified.""

Adds: "Sources suggest… the prospect of price cuts remain – largely funded by the mobile phone operators, not Apple."