Apple Drops on iPod Delay Rumor

Shares of Apple fell Wednesday to their lowest levels in eight months after a financial analyst said Apple would not debut new versions of its players until the fourth quarter at the earliest. Shaw Wu, analyst with American Technology Research, said that a switch of suppliers was his reasoning for suspecting a delay. Wu had believed Apple would refresh its product line starting in the summer quarter with the Nano, and later the video iPod during the holiday quarter.

The delay would push each launch a quarter behind, Wu said. If true, it could mean a wait of as much as a year for new iPods. The iPod nano was released in October, and some analysts have warned sales have begun to slow. Wu said there could be an upside to the delay, as it could mean a better spacing of iPod launches during 2007.