Katie MarsalIn a "Company Flash" bulletin issued to clients on Monday, analyst Rich Gardner said he expects the Cupertino-based Mac maker to introduce its fall line of notebooks "within weeks."
"Field checks confirm that shipments of new MacBooks have begun, with a sharp production ramp planned for September and an introduction planned for early October," he wrote. "The most distinctive features of the new MacBook appear to be a very thin aluminum casing, an LED-backlit display and an aggressive entry-level price point."
Gardner also used the bulletin to reiterate his Buy rating on Apple's badly-beaten shares, which tacked onto Friday's losses by falling another $6.44, or 4.32 percent, to $142.50 in afternoon trading.
Following his checks in Asia, the analyst said he remains comfortable with his above-consensus September quarter earnings estimates of $1.20 per share on sales of $8.3 billion.
Surprisingly robust iPod shipments combined with sharp declines in NAND flash memory, flat panel displays and DRAM pricing should allow the company to beat its gross margin guidance despite recent iPod price cuts and the just-ended back-to-school promotion, Gardner said.
"New products, iPhone geographic expansion and sharp declines in key component prices also bode well for upside [next quarter]," he added.
Gardner's MacBook predictions fall in line with earlier reports from AppleInsider, as well as a recent report which pinned an introduction for mid-October.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
287 Comments
Sounds promising. If this is all true, they'll sell boat loads of these.
I would expect invites to go out within the next 10 days though if they are starting to ship. This would appear to contradict the previous 14th October rumour.
I wonder how "aggressive" the entry-level price will be. I'm hoping they start these at $999.
$999 with solid state drives would be awesome. I just hope they don't skimp on the graphics again.
It is interesting to see how Apple can continue to keep a fairly tight lid on these announcements despite the many countries involved in the mfg/production of their computers. Have been awaiting this announcement since January MW.......
Damn I thought it is coming "within week" May the MacBook rumours bury me like the iPod ones! I have been waiting for this since February after reading some related news in AI and I can't wait to put my hands on it.
I believe it will be introduced on September 30 which is another Tuesday and a new entry level at something around $899 which meets the profit margin reduction Peter Oppenheimer said. Though very few of my predictions come true :s