Some PC makers may have taken comfort in a few analyst comments following Apple’s fourth-quarter financial report that left some on Wall Street wondering if the laptop was truly dead. However, look a bit closer and it becomes a case of Apple sales being lost to, um, Apple.
In another sign consumers were waiting for the new iPhone 4S, AT&T Thursday said iPhone activations dropped in the third quarter. However, since Tuesday, the carrier announced 1M iPhone 4S units were activated, making it the company’s best-selling Apple handset.
A Samsung executive and Apple CEO Tim Cook used weekend memorial for the late Steve Jobs to talk about extending a supply deal set to end next year through 2014. The South Korean company is also considering whether to continue its legal fight with the tech giant, considering at $7.8 billion, Apple is Samsung’s largest customer.
China has always been important for Apple manufacturing, with marque products such as the iPhone and iPad originating in the Asian giant. However, now China is also becoming an important source for sales revenue. China’s 1.33 billion people are now Apple’s second-best revenue-generating market. Little wonder Apple CEO Tim Cook Tuesday calls China “an enormous opportunity” for the tech giant.
The day after Apple wows Wall Street with over-the-top quarterly revenue numbers is often followed by reports bloggers beat the pants off professional prognosticators. Not this time. The usually-bullish bloggers took a dive, missing Apple’s fourth quarter financials by an average of 23 percent.
A day after Apple failed to beat Wall Street revenue expectations for the first time since 2002, analysts are trying to explain what happened. The potential culprits range from iPhone 5 rumors to the tech giant just needed a breather.
Here’s a new exercise workout tip courtesy of Motorola: next time you’re considering buying that 8,000 calorie heart attack on a bun, instead layout your cash on an iPod Nano clone that costs $100 more than the real thing. You’ll surely work up a sweat kicking yourself for buying that new MotoACTV watch.
Despite past protests against a smaller iPad, Apple appears to be moving ahead with plans to introduce a smaller iPad possibly as early as 2012. Two iPad display firms reportedly have sent samples to Apple for approval. If true, today’s report would lend credence to an earlier Wall Street report that the tech giant is setting its sights on Amazon’s $199 7-inch Kindle Fire.
How do you sell a security product to owners of devices that have no real security problem? You get into hand-holding business. That’s what it’s like for Lookout Mobile Security, a San Francisco, Calif. firm unveiling Tuesday the free Lookout for iPhone app. Kevin Mahaffey, co-Founder and CTO, Lookout Mobile Security, says his new app is all about positive reinforcement.
Despite now competing against two other carriers for iPhone subscribers, AT&T seems to have an unlikely ace up its sleeve: speed. Some AT&T users are reporting a boost in 3G speed after upgrading to the iPhone 4S.
The cloud is getting crowded. Although just one week old, Apple’s iCloud has 20 million users, the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant announced Monday. iCloud, allowing users to sync all of their Apple devices, becomes the latest example of the company’s vaunted ‘halo effect’ keeping consumers close to the brand.
Just in time for consumers looking for an early Christmas present: Apple has cut $100 off the price of the original iPad. This means you can grab a refurbished 64GB Wi-Fi or 32GB Wi-Fi+3G tablet for just $399.
Psst. Wanna buy Apple’s design for the iPhone 5? In the shadowy world of case manufacturing, leaks and rumors fuel a market worth more than $436 million annually. After one company lost a bet worth thousands of dollars on a supposed iPhone 4S design, competitors say guessing Apple’s next move can be an expensive gamble.
Cloud computing appears to be the future. But can every company afford their own version of Apple’s iCloud? Although Apple paid $1 billion in 2009 to acquire land for its North Carolina datacenter, that figure is only the ‘downpayment’ required for the tech giant to bring the cloud to millions of customers, according to a Friday report.
In the tech world, there is not much time to rest on your laurels. With the iPhone 4S flying off shelves, it’s time to turn our attention to the next big thing on the horizon: the iPad 3. The third-generation Apple tablet could appear early next year, according to a Friday report.
Ahead of next week’s fourth quarter earnings report, Apple is expected to announce earning $30 billion, driven by iPhone sales, one analyst told investors Friday. Although Wall Street consensus is for $29.2 billion, the iPhone 4’s release at the end of Apple’s fourth quarter should result in a brighter financial outlook.
It appears Apple’s vaunted supply chain may have some kinks in it — at least for Australian users. After pre-ordering the iPhone 4S on Oct. 7, Apple fans in that country may have to wait two weeks for delivery, reports said Friday. Seems Apple gave U.S. and European iPhone 4S pre-orders delivery priority.
After a record-breaking first day of advanced sales, the iPhone 4S is expected to sell 4 million units during its first weekend, four times greater than the iPhone 4’s initial sales, according to a Friday report.
Australia may soon become an Android-free zone. That’s the opinion of patent experts after an Australian court hit Samsung with a temporary sales ban. Although the sales halt mentions only the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the patents involved could touch every tablet and smartphone based on Google’s mobile software.
The iPhone has been good to Pegatron Technologies. The Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer, along with Foxconn, supplies Apple with iPhones and iPads. The company recently announced received orders from the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant for 15 million iPhone 4S handsets, up from 10M orders previously expected. More than 2 million of the new iPhones will ship during the fourth quarter
Only a marketing genius could take an also-ran technology company selling little-known products to few customers and turn it into the coolest underdog with a cultish following spending billions of dollars on products they did just had to have in order to exist. In short, that was Steve Jobs, the “greatest marketer of the ages,” according to AdWeek.
If you shopping for an iPhone 4S and looking to trade-in an earlier Apple handset, you could get up to $200 off from one electronics retailer. The policy is just the latest appearing as stores ready for Friday’s rush of iPhone customers.
Apple has been destroying PC sales, that’s not counting the red-hot iPad. Depending on which analyst you listen to, the Cupertino, Calif. company for the past 22 quarters has seen growth either 20 times or 80 times faster than the PC industry.
Chalk up another courtroom win for Apple against Android. Tuesday, an Australian federal judge ordered Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales halted, a move that dooms lucrative Christmas sales for the South Korean company and could threaten other Android-based devices.
Electronics retail giant Best Buy is throwing its weight behind the iPhone 4S, offering the entire family of Apple handsets, along with deals on previous versions, starting Friday, Oct. 14. All three memory configurations: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB along with black and white models will be available.
