Apple

Let the guessing begin.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer's decision to warn financial analysts Monday that Apple's fourth-quarter gross margins will be negatively impacted by a "product transition" should be enough to get the rumor wheels turning: of course, it doesn't take all that much. The remark came within yet another Apple's earnings report that produced stellar numbers for the previous quarter but an outlook below what Wall Street had been expecting.

Oppenheimer deftly avoided several questions from analysts who tried to get a little more information on just what that "product … Read more

If you've ever wondered what a corporate earnings call is like, but can't get away with listening to one for an hour at work, come back here for live coverage of Apple's third-quarter earnings call starting at 2 p.m. PDT. Here's a post with the basic numbers--they were good--and here's a link to Apple's Webcast if you want to listen along.

1:57 p.m. - The pre-call music on an earnings call is not as much fun as at Macworld or WWDC. The financial analysts must need soothing classical music to … Read more

Updated 2pm PT with more details from the release.

Apple reported record Mac sales and one of its best third quarters ever, but its usual conservative guidance should set off the usual Wall Street craziness.

For the company's third fiscal quarter, which ended June 28, Apple reported $7.46 billion in revenue and net profit of $1.07 billion, equal to $1.19 per share. That far exceeds the company's own guidance for the quarter and also handily beats Wall Street's expectations of $7.37 billion and $1.08 per share.

Mac sales were about in line … Read more

Apple continued to have problems with its new MobileMe service over the weekend and into Monday, with several users unable to access their e-mail.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog has a summary of complaints from its readers up on its site, and I've been hearing from some CNET readers as well about problems accessing e-mail accounts that were once known as .Mac, and now fall into the MobileMe service. Apple's discussion boards are filled with angry MobileMe customers who haven't been able to access their e-mail all weekend.

Apple's MobileMe status page has a note up at … Read more

The Mac will reclaim its rightful place as the most important story inside the Apple universe when the company reports its third-quarter earnings later on Monday.

One could be forgiven for overlooking the Mac coming off a month of iPhone 3G madness, but the iPhone will have played a tiny role in determining the strength of Apple's quarter, which came to a close in June. Analysts expect another strong quarter from the company's Mac division to lead Apple to revenue of $7.4 billion and earnings per share of $1.08.

But, as always seems to be the … Read more

With the iPhone 3G launch out of the way, it's time to turn to what appears to be the next big thing on Apple's road map for the year: new notebooks.

The Commercial Times reported (in Chinese, but translated by Digitimes) that Apple has increased its orders of printed-circuit boards for notebooks by 20 percent, compared to last quarter.

Macs are selling pretty well lately, but that's a stronger boost than would be expected from the usual seasonal patterns, and it's unlikely that Apple would be planning for that kind of boost unless it planned to … Read more

Still waiting for your iPhone 3G? Wondering if you should buy a Mac?

Come over to CNET's Forums for an Ask the Editors session with me at 11 a.m. PDT for an open discussion on anything and everything Apple. With the iPhone 3G launch last week, and Apple's earnings on tap for Monday, there should be plenty to talk about.

I'll try to get to as many questions as possible, but I can only take questions for an hour. Bear with my fingers as I shake off the effects of a three-day vacation and re-learn how … Read more

People were still willing to wait in line for hours Friday afternoon outside the downtown San Francisco Apple store, as employees assured them sufficient supply of the iPhone 3G lay inside.

The line for the iPhone 3G at 4 p.m. in San Francisco was almost as long as it was earlier in the day: stretched down Stockton Street and around the corner onto O'Farrell.

Orange-shirted Apple store employees were moving up and down the line, answering questions and promising customers that there would still be an iPhone 3G for them once they got to the head of the … Read more

Apple's singular ability to whip up consumer frenzy might be in trouble after the debacle that was Friday's iPhone 3G launch.

Server problems turned this year's iPhone 3G launch into an exercise in patience for Apple fans and employees, as eager buyers faced waits of up to two hours to get their iPhone 3Gs activated in Apple stores, and many left with iPhone 3Gs in hand but the activation process incomplete. The same problems affected original iPhone owners trying to install the iPhone 2.0 software, turning their handsets into "iBricks."

The company had promised … Read more