Apple will belike profit nicely from the launch later this spring of Adobe System ’s first design suite build from the ground up for Intel - based Macs , a financial analyst said Tuesday .
Adobe confirmed that it will introduce its CS3 sheaf — which includes PhotoShop , InDesign , Illustrator and other pecker — on March 27 . The company called it “ the largest software package release in Adobe ’s 25 - year account . ”
The current CS2 version of the suite bank on Apple ’s Rosetta emulation technology to run on Intel - based machines . CS3 , however , will course on Intel Macs in native mode , offer a comparable boost in carrying into action .
CS3 also has a major halo effect for Apple , suppose Gene Munster , a senior research psychoanalyst at Piper Jaffray . “ Since CS3 will be optimized for Intel Macs for the first meter , many pro user have been waiting for this launch to upgrade from their PowerPC - base systems , ” he write in a note to clients .
Munster said that a 2006 sketch of Mac users in the creative fields put the estimated market for Adobe ’s top - of - the - bank line puppet at 3 million user . Assuming a 15 pct upgrade charge per unit by those users to a novel Intel - establish Mac Pro or MacBook Pro machine , Apple will likely sell an additional 450,000 systems based on CS3 alone .
“ These extra units would also encourage margin , as the high - end Mac Pro and MacBook Pro modelling convey higher margins than the rest of Apple ’s computer line , ” Munster said . The Mac Pro startle at $ 2,499 , while the MacBook Pro notebook sells for $ 1,999 and up . At the bottom closing of the scale , 450,000 more MacBook Pros sold would translate into a $ 900 million in tax revenue for Apple .
Although Adobe said Monday only that it would embark CS3 “ later in spring 2007 , ” Munster peg the actual release around April 21 , three week after the March 27 launching . Three weeks is Adobe ’s typical launching - to - ship time anatomy , he say .
In an atomic number 99 - mail , Munster also pooh - poohed the lecture by other analysts that Apple will debut the next Macintosh operating system — Mac OS go 10.5 “ Leopard ” — this calendar month . “ We think Leopard will be [ in the ] May time frame , ” Munster enjoin . “ I do n’t know where this March public lecture is number from . ”
Leopard was touted last August by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the caller ’s world developers conference , but the operating system was a no - show during Jobs ’ presentation at the more recent MacWorld in January . At that event , all attending was focused on the approaching iPhone , which is slated for a June release .
