Must read blogs: Apple product strategy and AAPL stock

I rely on blogs to set the record straight on a wide variety of topics. For serious discussion of Apple's product strategy and issues affecting the stock price, the Blackfriars' Marketing blog is a must read.

Today is a great example. Carl Howe posts a News flash to reporters and analysts: Apple doesn't do loss leader products:

First, I read TheStreet.com claiming that because of the upcoming recession, Apple should slash prices on iPhones to guarantee it makes its sales goal of 10 million phones by the end of 2008. The second bit of fiction I read was from Silicon Valley Insider claiming that at current prices, Apple is subsidizing Apple TV purchases through movie rentals, because iSupply claims the parts cost of the 40 GByte device is $237 and the device now sells for $229.

Based upon these articles, an uninformed reader might conclude that Apple has a new strategy of selling loss-leading devices and relying on revenue from services to keep its profits aloft. That uninformed reader would also be horribly wrong.

Read the whole thing for details. (I agree with his analysis, though don't have any specific information one way or another. We both could be wrong.)

Howe recently joined Yankee Group as Director for Enterprise Software Research, though I'm glad he's still posting.

Disclosure: I own Apple stock.