TMO Reports - Piper Jaffray Sees Bigger iPod mini, Flash iPod, Moto Phone for Mac Expo

by , 3:45 PM EST, December 27th, 2004

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has told investors to expect bigger iPod minis, a new iTunes phone from Motorola, and a flash-based iPod during January's Mac Expo.

Listing a higher-capacity iPod mini, a flash-based iPod, and an iTunes-capable cellular phone from Motorola as "likely" products to be announced, Mr. Munster wrote a G5 PowerBook and 80GB iPod are "unlikely." Today's mentions of these product are in line with Mr. Munster's frequent comments about Apple through the Fall and early Winter of 2004.

"(Expo) will be held January 10-14 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco," Mr. Munster wrote in a client report obtained by The Mac Observer. "Historically, Apple has used such venues to announce new products. We expect that Steve Jobs will likely have some announcements related to new products during his keynote presentation that is currently scheduled for Tuesday, January 11 at 12pm - 1:30pm EST."

The most recent comments came on December 17th, when Mr. Munster also upped his estimates for iTunes Music Store downloads to 68.5 million for the December quarter.

Mr. Munster also cited Apple's history of innovation as positive factor for the company's stock moving forward.

"Many companies have failed due to an inability to consistently create unique products," Mr. Munster said in his report. "While difficult to continuously surprise and impress a customer base, Apple has achieved this objective throughout its history, but at a more rapid pace over the last several years. While visibility on Apple's future initiatives is clearly low, we see a number of areas in which products could be upgraded or introduced."

The report maintained Piper Jaffray's Outperform rating on Apple, as well as its US$100 target for Apple's stock.

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