Economic Stimulus Checks -- A Bonanza for Apple?

As many as 116 million American families (and individuals) will be receiving an economic stimulus check within the next few weeks. (CNN) How many of those checks will end up at Apple, as people decide to get their next iPod, their next MacBook, their next iPhone? I'm reckoning that more than a few checks will end up in Apple's coffers. Possibly in the range of 115 million checks.

Probably not that high, but it's interesting to consider people's overall spending habits as this unexpected cash falls into their laps. Suppose you bought a Vista laptop a few months ago and you've had your fill of Vista for now. An economic stimulus check makes that MacBook or MacBook Pro less of a dream and more of an impulse buy.

If you've had a chance to try out the Eee PC laptop, that's where you might send your money. I bought an Eee PC back in November and while I like it in general, I'll be selling mine to buy the newer larger screen version coming out in June. Asus made a mistake in designing the keyboard of the Eee PC too small. It's a great little laptop, but you can have too much of a good thing when you start reducing the size of electronic devices.

Back to Apple, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Apple rolls out a marketing campaign to coincide with the economic stimulus check deliveries. Showing an Apple product with the phrase, "Your economic stimulus check has arrived," is enough to break the willpower of roughly 116 million people.

Let's check back with Apple's quarterly sales figures for the next quarter. How large a spike do you expect to see?

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