Rumors of the runaway success of the tiny brethren of the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPod are justified today. Apple said that it will have to delay its launch of the iPod mini overseas due to the "much stronger than expected demand" here in the States. Well, rock and roll.
Some of the questions that nagged the product launch included whether consumers would shell out for a lilliputian version of the iPod -- especially since it was only $50 cheaper than its big brother. However, so far, consumers seem to be reacting strongly to the iPod in all sizes, despite rival MP3 players from Creative Labs and even heavyweights like Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), Sony (NYSE: SNE), and Gateway (NYSE: GTW).
Despite Apple's history of being a stylish and quality but niche player in computers, it looks like this time, style's winning out with the masses. We had already caught some indications of mini success, when retail outlets like Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) sold out of the mini earlier this month, and armchair entrepreneurs auctioned the gadgets on eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY).
Meanwhile, any Apple investors who felt a twinge of dismay yesterday over Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) launch of its Internet tunes service to compete with iTunes are probably relieved to hear that the mini is such a smashing success.
Apple said today that it will move its global launch to July, as opposed to the original April date. With competitors nipping at its heels, Apple may have some challenge in meeting demand before potential buyers get antsy. For now, though, it seems Apple's got a firm grip on the consumer consciousness.
Shares of Apple rose 3% today on this news, though they were running out of steam as the morning went on. The stock's been rising steadily over recent months and is currently trading at about 56 times forward earnings. So, Apple had better be crankin' out the minis to meet that worldwide demand, which is now, admittedly, probably reaching a fevered pitch.
That's good, because lots of investors are counting on bushels and bushels of iPod sales.
Is the iPod -- or the iPod mini -- the Apple of your eye? Or do you think Apple's a little too ripe right now? Talk about the stock on the Fool's Apple discussion board, or talk about Mac products on the Apple Users Group board.
Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
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