Stellar 2010

Apple had a stellar 2010, in particular sharking up the PC world with the launch of the iPad, during continuing to see huge demand for the iPhone, and providing impressive new versions of the MacBook Air and Apple TV.

Innovation note this morning

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster took up that question in a innovation note this morning. He sees a lot of interesting thing to come in 2011, nevertheless with a continued focus on the Mac, iPad, iPhone and iPod. Apple, he says, will not enter any new product categories in 2011, though he sees some new things in the works, in the end including Apple-branded televisions.

Looking ahead, Munster maintains his long-held view that Apple will in the end enter the TV market, “as an all-in-one  Apple television could move the needle when connected TVs proliferate.” He as well expects the company to offer a variety of new cloud-based computing services.

More from the Street: Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner this morning repeated his Buy rating on the shares, upping his target price to $385 form $345. His basic thesis: the arrival of the iPhone on Verizon Wireless will tip the balance of power in the struggle with Android back in Apple’s favor.

The market dislike Apple?

“Why does the market dislike Apple?” Reiner asks in a technology note, pointing out that the stock is trading at a market multiple once you back out the cash, giving them little credit for their rapid growth. Why not a higher multiple? His theory is that “with Android gaining momentum, investors are secretly worried about the sustainability of the iPhone’s all-important price premium.” However Reiner contends that “the more lasting consequence of an Apple-Verizon deal won’t be the number of incremental iPhones sold, yet that the scale of competition between iPhone and Android could tip sharply in Apple’s favor. If so, Apple’s revenues won’t just rise from the additional Verizon units-they’ll after all get some respect.”

[...] What's At once For Apple?ForbesLooking ahead, Munster maintains his long-held view that Apple will in the end enter the TV market, "as an all-in-one Apple television could move the needle …Apple Is Due For A Boring 2011San Francisco Chronicle2011 Predictions: Macworld's annual forecast of the year aheadMacworldGene Munster: What's on tap for 2011 at Apple?9 to 5 MacMobile Marketing Watch -Compelling Mind -CBS Newsall 32 news articles » [...]

New Apple TV Pro

Apple can create a new Apple TV Pro. This will be a game console. It will have enough storage capacity to allow downloads of games through its own App Store. Current iPhone, iPad, developers can create apps and games for it.

We – as consumers – can only gain from such research wars. This is the basis for healthy competition. Competition speeds up innovations and creates competitive pricing that we all benefit from in the end.

Long career at Barron's

After a long career at Barron's, I joined Forbes as San Francisco bureau chief in December 2010. I've been writing about innovation and investing for more than 25 years. With Tech Musings, I'll pick up where I left off when I was writing the Tech Trader Daily blog at Barrons.com. When I'm not working, you can find me riding my road bike around the Bay Area hills, managing my fantasy baseball team, rooting for my beloved Phillies and Eagles and hanging out in the Valley with my family.