LiVe LiFe To The FuLLThe world is moving ! Don’t stay behind…

Apple will disclose its earnings for Q1 FY2009 tomorrow and as is always the case, analysts are in full swing with revised predictions. If Apple’s announcement can live up to the bulk of these new estimates however, shareholders are in for some good news come Wednesday. According to a report issued today by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, Apple’s rebound performance in December looks to have saved the quarter - possibly propelling earnings beyond Wall Street projections. From the report:

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• 19-20 million iPods shipped during the December quarter, beating the Street’s 18.6 million expectation, based on analyzing retail data from research firm NPD Group.
• 2.5-2.6 million Macs shipped, in line with the Street’s ~2.5 million expectation.

Munster anticipates Q1 revenues in the neighborhood of $10 billion, a substantial $300 million north of initial predictions. Earnings Per Share (EPS) however, are expected to come in at $1.32, $0.07 below the $1.39 prediction. Apple’s earnings call will be broadcast online tomorrow at 2:00pm PST / 5:00pm EST.

So Macenstein received an image from an anonymous tipster that supposedly depicts Apple’s upcoming Mac mini refresh. Presumably, the image is of an on-screen ad or a slide that would, in theory, be displayed during the Mac mini announcement many still expect to come next month. Macenstein posted it with skepticism, the blogosphere immediately dismissed it as fake and it probably is. That being said however, the reasoning most blogs are using to dismiss it isn’t exactly firm - at all. Firstly, the marketing blurb, “The world’s smallest desktop computer.” Many dismissed the phrase as missing Apple’s common word play but in reality, Apple uses simple bold statements quite often in its marcom. In fact, this slide lines up pretty well with early MacBook Air slides. The second item of contention is the groove around the perimeter of the mini, above the CD slot. While many jump to the conclusion that this is a fold up display, that’s not what we’re getting. To us, it looks like a venting system. Anyone who has used a new MacBook or MacBook Pro knows that these things can get hot - fast. As the new Mac mini will be made of aluminum, whether or not the image above is real, it stands to reason that Apple would need to cool a device that stuffs all of its guts into a package so small. Sure the image above could be fake, but if you think it’s because of the blurb or the groove you might want to think again. On the other hand, if you think it’s because some anonymous guy sent it to Macenstein, well, you’re probably right. If it is fake however, don’t expect it to be far off from the real deal.