By: Tim Parker
Put Gene Munster, MG Siegler and Victor Agreda together in one room and ask them about Apple and that’s what investors would call a must-watch event.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is the guy investors listen to for all things Apple. MG Siegler is venture capitalist and tech blogger among other credits, and Victor Agreda is Editor-in-Chief at TUAW, one of the better-known Apple blogs.
AppleInsider reported that the three spoke on a panel and all agreed that the, “Apple’s glory days are behind it” hype is just that—hype.
Siegler said of the current investor sentiment, "I'd say it's mostly a media-driven anomaly right now.”
Munster said. "I think it's a cycle. They had an abnormally large amount of products that were released at the end of the year. So I do think that that, mixed with the executive shakeup, is changing [the] way that their products are released."
What about the much rumored Apple TV? All signs point to yes, according to Munster. The analyst said that his checks make an Apple TV a certainty. As far as when, that’s unknown and based on another event.
"We think it's six months after the App Store comes to Apple TV. Our best guess is that it's late this year. We don't have it in our model right now, but we think it will be announced by the end of this year."
For nearly one year, rumors of Apple finally giving developers the power to create apps for the current Apple TV have led to widespread speculation. BGR reported in February that Apple would hold an event in March that would finally give developers the capability but that rumor was later debunked.
The panel thinks the iWatch represents a massive opportunity for Apple and possibly a longer term replacement for the iPhone but battery life will be a problem to overcome.
What is Apple’s largest income stream with its current products? International markets.
Munster stated, "I think the international markets, the lower-cost markets are the biggest reason to be excited about Apple over the next few years. They can't continue to expand like this with their current prices. Two hundred dollars in a lot of markets is a ton of money, and I think Apple historically hasn't been very sensitive to that, but they're waking up to that fact."
