Apple Inc.

[quantcall]

It's like what I said earlier; 5c was never meant as a low cost phone. I think they are prepared to sacrifice lower sales volume in return for maintaining their revenue because the margin per phone is higher.

Kinda of a short term strategy. Can they keep this up?

i can only see less people around are using iphone. people like sth new

[specuvestor]

If we follow Apple through the years, their products are always premium to others. That's not the "low cost" I was talking about.

I was talking about market segmentation, just as iPod Touch to iPod nano. Or MacBook and MacBook Pro. They are not exactly "low cost" per se. I cannot see a differentiation of 5S and 5C, especially in terms of pricing for particular target market.

Maybe I'm just biased but I think this is an oxymoron or contradiction:
“We never had an objective to sell a low-cost phone,” says Cook. “Our primary objective is to sell a great phone and provide a great experience, and we figured out a way to do it at a lower cost.”

Hard-coated polycarbonate is not the same as plastic

Let's see how the market receive the 5C and if margin recovers from their downward trend.

It's like what I said earlier; 5c was never meant as a low cost phone. I think they are prepared to sacrifice lower sales volume in return for maintaining their revenue because the margin per phone is higher.

Kinda of a short term strategy. Can they keep this up?

[LionFlyer]

If we follow Apple through the years, their products are always premium to others. That's not the "low cost" I was talking about.

It is premium to other products, but it is cheap relative to their own. E.g low cost should be viewed relative to Apple's product line.

I agree with you, whether they can pull this off and how the market reacts remains to be seen.

[CityFarmer]

It seems China people accepted the new iPhone pretty well...

Apple polishes forecast after selling 9 million new iPhones

MANHATTAN — Apple sold 9 million new iPhones during their first three days in stores after China joined the list of launch countries for the first time, prompting the company to issue a rosier financial forecast.

Shares in the company closed up 5 per cent at US$490.64 (S$613) yesterday (Sept 23) after the company said revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter would gravitate towards the high end of its previous forecast for US$34 billion to US$37 billion.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-po...ew-iphones

[specuvestor]

makes sense since China is launching on first day for the first time

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2...nits-sold/

[CityFarmer]

Apple's brand still very valuable, and remain relevant among the trendies and youths. In other words, very sticky...

Apple replaces Coca-Cola as the most valuable brand this year

NEW YORK — Apple has surpassed Coca-Cola to be world’s most valuable brand this year, according to the Best Global Brands report released today (Sept 30).

The report values the Apple brand at US$98.3 billion (S$123.5 billion), up 28 per cent from the previous year, inching past Google with US$93.2 billion and Coca-Cola with US$79.2 billion. Apple’s rise to the top is attributed to its ability to revolutionise the way consumers work, play, and communicate.

Mr Jez Frampton, global chief executive at Interbrand — the company that issues the report — said Apple’s arrival in the top spot was perhaps “a matter of time”. Apple was eighth in the 2011 report, before making the giant leap to as the number one brand, ending Coca-Cola’s 13-year run.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/appl...brand-year

[CityFarmer]

Carl Icahn might get what he wants...

Dinner with billionaire investor boosts Apple shares

NEW YORK — Shares of Apple rose about 2 per cent yesterday (Oct 1) on news that billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn had dinner with Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Monday and “pushed hard” for a buyback.

“Had a cordial dinner with Tim last night. We pushed hard for a 150 billion buyback. We decided to continue dialogue in about three weeks,” Mr Icahn tweeted yesterday.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/dinner-b...ple-shares

[CityFarmer]

Apple to introduce new iPads on October 22: Report

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple intends to introduce its latest line-up of iPads on Oct 22, tech blog AllThingsD cited sources familiar with the company’s plans as saying, meaning Apple would be updating its tablets in time for holiday shopping.

New versions of the iPad, which will go up against Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire tablets and other gadgets made by Samsung, are expected to feature lighter, thinner designs and more powerful processors.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...-22-report

[specuvestor]

As posted previously, the iPhone was a "mini" miracle and the iPad was actually 20 years in thinking... consumers don't realise that when they hold the original iPhone in their hands... but techies knew

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on.../?page=all
"Mike Lazaridis was at home on his treadmill and watching television when he first saw the Apple iPhone in early 2007. There were a few things he didn’t understand about the product. So, that summer, he pried one open to look inside and was shocked. It was like Apple had stuffed a Mac computer into a cellphone, he thought.

To Mr. Lazaridis, a life-long tinkerer who had built an oscilloscope and computer while in high school, the iPhone was a device that broke all the rules. The operating system alone took up 700 megabytes of memory, and the device used two processors. The entire BlackBerry ran on one processor and used 32 MB. Unlike the BlackBerry, the iPhone had a fully Internet-capable browser. That meant it would strain the networks of wireless companies like AT&T Inc., something those carriers hadn’t previously allowed. RIM by contrast used a rudimentary browser that limited data usage.

“I said, ‘How did they get AT&T to allow [that]?’ Mr. Lazaridis recalled in the interview at his Waterloo office. “ ‘It’s going to collapse the network.’ And in fact, some time later it did.”

Publicly, Mr. Lazaridis and Mr. Balsillie belittled the iPhone and its shortcomings, including its short battery life, weaker security and initial lack of e-mail. That earned them a reputation for being cocky and, eventually, out of touch. “That’s marketing,” Mr. Lazaridis explained. “You position your strengths against their weaknesses.”

Internally, he had a very different message. “If that thing catches on, we’re competing with a Mac, not a Nokia,” he recalled telling his staff."

[CityFarmer]

Not commented by Apple yet on this report. If it is true, the pricing should be the main culprit for lower than expected sales in China, IMO

Apple halves production of iPhone 5c: Reports

BEIJING — Apple has halved daily production of the iPhone 5c from 300,000 to 150,000 just weeks after launching, according to reports.

The smartphone’s brightly coloured backs and relatively low price tag was seen as an attempt to make inroads into emerging markets.

Chinese website C Technology reported the drop in production and claimed that inside sources said sales of the handset had been disappointing.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...5c-reports