Talk about the coming iPhone and AppleTV device dominated discussion with the chief financial officer of Apple at an investment conference here this week. Peter Oppenheimer, appearing at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, declined to give specific unit sales forecasts for the new products but anticipated they will be strong.
"AppleTV will change the way people gather and purchase their digital content," said Oppenheimer of the $299 AppleTV, due in March. It is a set-top box that delivers digital content stored on a computer, including video purchased from Apple"s iTunes online store, to a TV. However, the usefulness of the AppleTV may be tied to the amount of video content available on iTunes. Today, he said, 400 movies and 350 TV programs are available for downloads, with more added all the time. He said Apple recently reached agreements with film distributors Paramount Pictures and Lion"s Gate Entertainment to sell downloads of their movies on iTunes.