the weakonomist

How the iPhone and Poor Management Contribute to Apple's Downfall

I might have missed something, but that announcement was back during the release of the first iPhone. AT&T was going to be paying them each month for all iPhones so it made sense to account on the subscription model.

The 3G relationship with AT&T is different. They get all their monies up front. Did the Apple CFO comment on that? If they are accounting for 3Gs up front then this whole article is bunk. 3G has outsold the 2G by some margin.

Five Apple Predictions for 2009

iCar, yeah. If Jobs is actually stupid he might do an apple edition VW or something, but he's not going to design a car. Especially with the POS Detroit makes. You're more likely to see Jobs using a Dell Netbook or tMobile G1 before you see Apple get into cars.

Apple will not enter China until they role out an actual network. WiFi? Nope. Not enough 3G coverage there either. When WiMax or LTE is rolled out you'll see Apple move in to China. They also won't enter a new market until the existing ones are saturated. Apple doesn't bite bullets. They make you bite.

Here are some actual predictions:
-New Mac Mini
-DRM Free iTunes
-Jobs Announces Retirement (keyword "announces")
-Macs lose some market share because of down consumer sales
-32 gig iPhone with upgraded battery, no design change
-Profits dip, but remain steady because of new revenue sources, app store
-Kill original iPod