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By Suzanna Kerridge, 23 March 2001 17:30

NEWS Mac OS X has been trailed as the shrink-wrapped software capable of turning users into Steven Spielberg, with its movie making and music manipulation features. Unfortunately, these will be missing from the first release. Mark Simmons, analyst at Bloor Research, claimed the Apple marketing campaign has worked in whetting consumers' appetites, but that the product lacks substance. "It's a shame that Apple did so many televised adverts saying users can cut their own CDs or make their own DVD movies when they can't do these things using this release. Apple has been very subdued over this launch and it is probably because they are embarrassed," he said. He accused Apple of "taking the Microsoft route" by releasing unfinished products that are followed up by service packs. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, said he wouldn't be surprised if the operating system helped the company gain market share in the future. But Clive Longbottom, analyst at quocirca, was not as optimistic. He said: "The operating system is important for existing Apple users but it is of peripheral interest to anyone in Europe. It will be of massive interest to those who are Apple bigots but it won't attract anyone who is using a PC." After a short-lived resurgence, which has seen Apple achieve six to seven per cent market share in the US, the company's prospects are slipping away, he warned. Apple posted a loss in January for the first time in three years as it fell victim to slowing sales and a falling economy. "It seems to have been resting on its laurels and now need to find a niche in Europe where everyone works on PCs, not the iMac. The company has strength in the media market but not in academia nor a consumer base, unlike in the US." Corporates have lost faith in Apple, he added, as the company offers little more than bright coloured hardware. Apple was unavailable to comment. A full analysis of Mac OS X will be available on silicon.com at the beginning of next week.