When Rumor Becomes Fact: The Pressure Is On for Apple

Sometimes, rumors get repeated so many times from so many sources, and built upon, that they lose their rumor status. When that happens they are no longer rumors or gossip and start being taken as facts. This is what is happening at the moment with the MacWorld Expo. Everybody is expecting Apple to unveil the new Intel-based iBooks, and Mini, as well as the new Shuffle/1BG Nano or something along those lines. The rumors surrounding this supposed unveiling have come from so many directions and so many people have retold them that many people have come to take it as fact.

The problem arises if Apple does not meet all these high expectations. Apple did not make any official statement, they have never said they will be unveiling any of those products, but if they don't, to the public it will feel like they failed somehow.

The phenomenon is strange for, although a great many are expecting the new Macs, Apple's Mac sales are on the rise. The two might not seem to be connected at first, but they are. If you were looking to buy a new Apple laptop, would you buy one now, or wait until after MacWorld and maybe buy a new Mactel iBook? Everybody that can afford to is putting off purchase until after the new models come out. In this light, Mac sales should be pretty weak, but they are not.

"Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that checks of Apple Computer specialist stores show that most are experiencing stronger holiday sales this year than last year," Ed Lin reports for Forbes. "In a research report, Munster said that some specialist stores 'are seeing evidence' that customers are holding off on buying new computers until the launch of Macintosh based on Intel chips, 'but resellers that are seeing this trend say that it is limited to only a handful of customers.' iMac sales 'appear to be very strong in the quarter' and 75% of Apple specialist stores surveyed 'said that the iMac is selling better than they would have expected.'"

One could argue that what we are witnessing is "depressed demand" from people who are tired of waiting for the new Intel-based machines, but seeing as how initially they were expected in June 2006, one cannot see how customers would succumb to depressed demand half a year before the initially expected release date.

If all those buyers are PC Switchers, things are looking very good for Apple, but at the moment there is no way to tell. One thing is certain, Apple has to make a big bang at the MacWorld if they are to come out of it still big in the public eye.