Santa stocking up on TiVo's and Mac's

It’s only March and already the retail landscape for this years Christmas shopping is being defined.  Computer manufacturers were hoping Windows Vista would be available and be the reason for new computers to be on everyone list to Santa.

When Microsoft announced Vista would slip until January Wall Street immediately punished computer manufacturers with lower expectations.  One potential winner may actually be TiVo. Some analysts saw Windows Vista, with CableCard™ support for HDTV, as a competitor to TiVo’s Series 3 system. The new HDTV TiVo is rumored to be available in September.  It may also give Apple an opportunity to capture a little larger sliver of the desktop market.  Both stocks have gained in early trading today.

Apparently, some of the eight versions of Vista will be available as early as November but the more consumer oriented systems including  Media Center machines won’t be available until January.  As someone who remembers the nightmare called Windows 98 Media Edition, I hope they wait as long as possible to be sure they get it right.

Meanwhile, computer manufacturers should starting looking at what holidays might encourage sales in China, India and other growing international markets.

Disclaimer: BillP Studios holds some investment in TiVo Inc.