Benny G

Jim Cramer's Stop Trading!, 2/28/08: iPods, iPhones and Ivan

Apple is not a one trick pony and the iPod cannot reasonably be compared to the Sony Walkman.

Apple is a much more innovative company and are certainly not tied exclusively to the iPod or even the iPhone. Their business model has a much longer range in terms of its scope as it includes a hardware and software component across different classes of products including business and consumer. Furthermore, their new and unique (not to mention very usable products) are an exciting preview of what is to come while also at the same time continuing to demonstrate the ingenuity of this company.

The iPod business, I think, is maturing for the company. However, it has apparently played a part in winning people over to the much more meaningful mac computers, where the real magic of Apple's products lie. I myself have talked to a host of people who, after buying the iPod, have purchased either a mac notebook or desktop computer because they were so impressed by how simple and easy to use their iPod was. Furthermore, I believe the iPhone is part of the aforementioned business plan of Apple to transition the iPod devices to higher-end mini-computers/interne... browsers.

Clearly, then, I do not think that the iPod or iPhone are the sole long-term components of Apple. Because the company is far more diverse in their offerings, their business plan is far more stable than one that relies mainly on one individual product.