Apple Inc (AAPL)

[fmikehugo]

07:59 AAPL Apple Computer: Checks with retail stores show little Zune awareness - Piper (89.54 ) -Update-

Piper Jaffray says that retail checks show that salespeople are not consistently recommending MSFT's Zune, and they note that Zune's rank has fallen on Amazon's Top-Selling MP3 Players list. Due to the less than favorable reception, firm believes that the Zune will not materially impact AAPL iPod sales in the Dec qtr.

While it is way too early to make a call on Dec iPod results, firm's analysis of the first month of NPD data (Oct) for the qtr suggests that iPod units of 14-15 mln. And since the data did not reflect the early Nov launch of the new iPod shuffle, firm says their current est could prove to be low.