Apple on its cash, netbooks, Apple TV, iPhone nano and the Palm Pre
Apple’s quarterly earnings call was full of new information about the company. Below are five areas in particular that caught my ear, based on comments from executives. Chief operating officer Tim Cook (Apple’s acting leader with chief executive Steve Jobs out on medical leave) answered many analyst questions himself, while chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer also fields some of the questions.
Cash On Hand
One question asked what Apple might do with its $26 billion in cash. Oppenheimer noted that after last quarter’s strong sales, Apple now actually has over $28 billion dollars in cash - and still no debt. In terms of what it may use this money for, Oppenheimer wouldn’t say, but we still have some fun ideas.
Netbooks
One particularly hot topic in recent months has been the sale of netbook, very small, less powerful laptops that usually sell below the $500 mark. Cook said that Apple was indeed watching the space but noted that Apple felt that such products were underpowered for most customers needs, and that they could not get a good experience out of the smaller keyboard and display. "But we’ll see," Cook ended with, leaving the door open to Apple potentially moving into the space in the future.
