Apple Inc.

[CityFarmer]

Will the new iPhone helps Apple in the competition?

‘iPhone 5S to launch in July’: Report

TAIPEI — According to Analyst Kuo Ming Chi of Financial Services Group KGI, who has had a notable record in predicting Apple hardware launches, the successor to the iPhone 5 will be announced in June and launched in July.

Citing Mr Kuo, Apple blog Appleinsider said Monday the Cupertino-based company will launch the flagship iPhone 5S and a less expensive version made out of fibreglass and plastic.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...uly-report

[hongonn]

Warren Buffett appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box"

When asked what he would do if he were running Apple, he said he would ignore David Einhorn's preferred shares proposal and instead focus on building long-term value. He suggested buying back stock. He recalled a conversation with Steve Jobs a few years ago: "When Steve called me, I said, 'Is your stock cheap?' He said, 'yes.' I said, 'Do you have more cash than you need?' He said, 'a little.' [laughs] I said, 'then buy back your stock.' He didn't ... But if you could buy dollar bills for 80 cents, it's a very good thing to do." He also added: "Berkshire has gone down 50 percent four times in its history. When that happens, if you've got money you buy it. You just keep working on building the value."

[CityFarmer]

Apple mulls new music service

SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES — Apple Inc has held talks with Beats Electronics LLC, the audio technology firm co-founded by influential hip-hop producer Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, on a potential partnership involving Beats’ planned music-streaming service, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine during a visit to Los Angeles in late February to find out more about Beats’ Project Daisy, a music subscription service the company announced in January but with scant detail, the sources said.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-mu...ic-service

[CityFarmer]

The competitor of a competitor = ally ? A double negative = positive

Nokia joins forces with Apple in bid to ban Samsung products

LONDON — Nokia is supporting Apple in its bid to ban Samsung products that infringe the iPhone maker’s patents.

Last August, a court in the United States ordered Samsung to pay Apple US$1.05 billion (S$1.3 billion) in damages after it ruled that the Korean company had infringed six design patents involving the iPhone and iPad.

Despite this ruling, in December a court rejected Apple’s request for a US sales ban on 26 Samsung devices.

Apple failed to establish that consumer demand for the Korean tech giant’s products was driven by the intellectual property that it had stolen taken.

Apple is now appealing that verdict, arguing that the court set the bar too high to prove how much benefit was derived from the patent infringements.

The Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has filed a legal brief supporting Apple’s appeal case, according to the Daily Telegraph

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/nokia-jo...g-products

[CityFarmer]

Apple's China venture is losing out from its main competitor.

Samsung is top smartphone in China: Report

BEIJING — Samsung tripled sales of its smartphones in China to beat out rivals Lenovo, Apple to the top spot in the increasingly important market.

Yonhap news agency, citing market researcher Strategy Analytics, said on Sunday that the South Korean company had sold 30 million smartphones in China last year, nearly three times the 10.9 million units moved in 2011. That gave Samsung a lead with 17.7 per cent of the Chinese market.

By comparison, China-based technology company Lenovo held 13.2 per cent of the market while Apple was third with 11 per cent. Nokia, which had a top ranking in 2011 with 29.9 per cent, dropped to seventh place with a market share of 3.7 per cent.

Chinese makers Huawei and Coolpad was in fourth and fifth with 9.9 percent and 9.7 per cent respectively, reported Apple blog Apple Insider

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/samsung-...ina-report

[CityFarmer]

Finally a solid plan will be outlined, not necessary as dividend, but a win-win solution between investor and the company.

(not vested)

Apple to outline plans for S$171b cash pile: Investor

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple will outline what it plans to do with a growing pile of cash by next month, according to Mr Howard Ward, Chief Investment Officer at Gamco Investors.

Apple, which has been grappling with investor criticism over the handling of its US$137.1 billion (S$171 billion) in cash and investments, will add US$42 billion in earnings to that sum this year, Mr Ward said.

http://www.todayonline.com/business/appl...e-investor

[CityFarmer]

It seems Apple is losing till its new product launch...

Apple’s iPad to fall behind Android as tablet war grows

SAN FRANCISCO— Shipments of tablets running Google’s Android will overtake the iPad this year for the first time, research house IDC predicted today, as Apple cedes more mobile market share to hard-charging rivals around the globe.

A growing variety of smaller and cheaper Android tablets from Google to Amazon.com Inc will catch on this year with more consumers and chip away at Apple’s dominance since the first iPad launched in 2010, International Data Corp said.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apples-i...-war-grows

[viruskbs]

Finally a solid plan will be outlined, not necessary as dividend, but a win-win solution between investor and the company.

(not vested)

Apple to outline plans for S$171b cash pile: Investor

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple will outline what it plans to do with a growing pile of cash by next month, according to Mr Howard Ward, Chief Investment Officer at Gamco Investors.

Apple, which has been grappling with investor criticism over the handling of its US$137.1 billion (S$171 billion) in cash and investments, will add US$42 billion in earnings to that sum this year, Mr Ward said.

http://www.todayonline.com/business/appl...e-investor

Apple need to change the way they do there business.

Alternatively they need a product bigger than iphone.

None of the options seem possible at the moment. So the chances of a big uptrend are very slim at the most. It may become like microsoft just dragging along in a narrow channel for a long time.

[specuvestor]

Seldom do I say anyone is indispensable. But Steve Jobs is one and Buffett is probably another one.

Jobs make the impossible possible, and the weirdest thing is that he made others join in his impossible dream I have followed Apple for almost 25 years already and I can say that their business model is extremely difficult to execute. Only a perfectionist with unlimited passion AND charisma can do that.

Now the case for Apple bounce is the dividend declaration. I would think the bounce is an invitation to sell rather than buy. I can imagine google or IBM being around in next 25 years but I cannot honestly say that for Apple. Appointing an operational guy as CEO is a major mistake. Their cash pile will last them some time but it will be a value trap until a major shakeout.

The apple model is a difficult model. Essentially it focused on design and usability. Problem is that these 2 often conflict, and hardware integration with software also is difficult. From the first day of iPhone it has been mocked as just another smartphone by Motorola to Nokia.

Today there are still many who still doesn't understand why the iPhone is like a mini miracle in design yet addresses a blatantly obvious problem then: full HTTP access with ease of use

Today I doubt Tim Cook who was a great Ops guy who contributed to the mini miracle, is however able to deliver the original unique driver of the iPhone or even the iPad. BTW the iPad blue print came out before iPhone and the idea of iPad is 30 years old

Due to nature of work, i was exploring Apple's product back in "Newton" (old PDA) era. I have to admit that Apple product is always superior over its competitors, in term of simplicity and ease-of-use.

IMO, What make iPhone and iPad popular are total integration of software, hardware and "ecosystem" around it, on top of its superior design and usability. It is not an easy task due to its volume. Steve Jobs did it within Apple and with its partners.

Few people realize that at the core Apple is a software company. Design and style is to integrate with the software. See Jobs interviews in Everthing Digital.

The first hurdle was not mass volume in terms of 100m. It was more like 5m. Apple was the first to use capacitors touch with TPK and people thought they were crazy as it was low yield and very expensive. They also used colored resistors and capacitors in the original iMac which was also difficult as colors fade from heat.

And much more stories on design and usabilities but suffice to say not many people can pull this kind of dream together. He was also "lucky" enough that his nemesis Gates was no longer running Microsoft. Gates may look nerdy but he is ruthless and wouldn't have allowed Apple's dominance in mobile devices. As an example of how clueless Balmer is, when apple changed their software name to iOS for mobile devices, Balmer introduced Windows PHONE OS. He still thought the future is in phones Balmer is totally outclassed

[CityFarmer]

I agree with your view. Apple's business model is non-executable without Steve Jobs. The feasible way ahead is to find a new and sustainable business model that Timothy Cook can execute successfully, or find another Steve Jobs

Seldom do I say anyone is indispensable. But Steve Jobs is one and Buffett is probably another one.

Jobs make the impossible possible, and the weirdest thing is that he made others join in his impossible dream I have followed Apple for almost 25 years already and I can say that their business model is extremely difficult to execute. Only a perfectionist with unlimited passion AND charisma can do that.

Now the case for Apple bounce is the dividend declaration. I would think the bounce is an invitation to sell rather than buy. I can imagine google or IBM being around in next 25 years but I cannot honestly say that for Apple. Appointing an operational guy as CEO is a major mistake. Their cash pile will last them some time but it will be a value trap until a major shakeout.