Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
Amid all the iPad hype and iPhone fever comes a lone voice from Wall Street, cautioning that even with Apple, the rules of gravity still apply. Revenue and growth by the Cupertino, Calif. maker of consumer electronics will start to slow, an analyst warned investors Tuesday.
Despite projections of $75 billion in revenue in fiscal 2011 and $85 billion for fiscal 2012, “the law of large numbers should cause revenue and earnings per share growth to slow meaningfully during the next two years,” Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner writes.
AT&T began selling the iPhone 4 on a first come, first served basis Tuesday after suspending pre-orders for the eagerly-desired handset. When pre-orders began June 15, the exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier announced they experienced their busiest online sales day.
Although the carrier provided iPhone 4s June 24 to customers who had initially pre-ordered the device, today is the first day AT&T will sell the handset to those who were not able to place a pre-order. Once inventory is depleted, buyers will be given the option to have the iPhone 4 delivered to their home, business or an AT&T store.
Will some song and dance put smiles on Foxconn Workers?
Despite Apple’s earlier statements that it was “all over” the issue of a recent spate of suicides at a Chinese plant manufacturing iPhones, that interest apparently has limits. The Cupertino, Calif. company is “reluctant” to go along with a plan to pay some Foxconn workers $300 per month to build the iPods and iPhones, according to a Monday report.
Apple was hesitant about the plan, which included building a plant for up to 300,000 new workers outside the main Foxconn site in Shenzen, because it might affect production, the Financial Times reports. However, Apple now seems to be onboard. Although Foxconn makes devices for other electronics companies, Apple is the plant’s largest customer, giving it a large say in decisions.
We start off another week with Apple’s annual back-to-school sale. This time, you can get a free 8GB iPod touch whenever you purchase an iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air computer. Other highlighted deals include an 8GB iPod nano for $99 and a clear acrylic case for the iPhone 4 – perhaps to solve any problems you’re experiencing with the external antenna.
We’ll also check out the latest batch of App Store freebies, including the fishing simulator game “Paper Fish,” and several cases for your iPhone 3G or 3GS. As usual, details on these and many others items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
In an intriguing move, Amazon has updated its Kindle software application for the iPhone and iPad with features not available on the company’s e-reader hardware. Users of Apple’s iOS-based devices can now read Kindle e-books with audio and video.
Examples of Kindle editions already available with audio and video feature a cake-making video and audio clips of bird songs. Other expanded editions available on Amazon include “Les Miserables”, “Rick Steves’ London” and “Knitting for Dummies.”
The iPhone 4 was selling like the proverbial hotcakes during the first days the iconic handset was available to consumers, one analyst told investors Monday. Indeed, on June 24, when the new phone went on sale, 60 percent of Apple Stores and all participating retailers had no stock left by the end of the day.
“We believe initial weekend volumes were 1 million plus,” Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore wrote Monday. “But shipments could have been dramatically higher if there was more supply,” he added. Apple announced Monday it sold more than 1.7 million iPhone 3 units between Thursday and the end of Saturday, June 26.
More than 1.7 million iPhone 4s were sold from Thursday, June 24 through Saturday, June 26, Apple announced Monday. CEO Steve Jobs called the new iPhone “the most successful product launch in Apple’s history.”
Jobs also apologized for the long lines some people encountered while waiting to purchase the device. “We apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply,” he said by statement.
We end the week with another batch of App Store freebies, including “PocketFish,” a fish simulator for the iPhone or iPod touch. Also in today’s spotlight: a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook for $500. Finally, we all know the iPad is pretty sweet, so why not let everyone know it, as well, with a hard case that appears like a jumbo candy bar?
Along the way, we’ll check out new iPhone and iPad software, along with other gear. As always, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
As consumers worldwide flock to purchase the iPhone 4, China Unicom is still talking with Apple about bringing the latest iPhone and the already-released iPad tablet to the giant Asian marketplace, according to a Friday report. As happened with the China launch of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, the carrier could start out already behind the flood of gray market competitors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, China Unicom faces a repeat of previous iPhone launches, when it introduced the handsets without Wi-Fi and priced higher than those bought in other nearby countries. Although the government has officially lifted the ban on outside Wi-Fi versions, it’s unknown whether the carrier can cut its $730 price tag on the iPhone to a level that would spur massive sales.
As iPhone fans soak up the latest information about the handset’s features and abilities, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and other leaders of the Cupertino, Calif. company likely are more mindful of something else: the high rate of iPhone owners who are upgrading to the latest model. While only 38 percent of purchasers of the original iPhone upgraded to the iPhone 3G in 2008, more than three out of four iPhone 4 purchases Thursday were from current iPhone owners.
“Apple is effectively building a recurring revenue stream from a growing base of iPhone users that upgrade to the newest version every year or two,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told investors Friday. Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner found a similar response in his survey of first-day iPhone 4 buyers. He found 76 percent of purchases were upgrades which took place 14.7 months after buying the previous Apple handset. Buyers “were inspired by desire rather than need,” Yair noted Friday.
Although we won’t know exactly how many iPhone 4s were sold on the first day they hit shelves until Apple releases the official figures, one analyst pegged first-day demand at 1.5 million handsets. That is 1.5 times as many handsets the Cupertino, Calif. firm sold during the first three days in 2008 and 2009.
Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner understands these first-day prognostications are somewhat futile. Such announcements have “become something of a national sport, a bit like guessing whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow,” he admitted to investors Friday. Still, that doesn’t keep analysts — or the press – from playing along.
We are being told of a problem using your iCal application after upgrading to iOS 4.0: you travel back in time. Seems users are reporting that old events reappear as new in the iPhone 4.0 version of iCal.
“And it seems to be able to loop, reminding you of the same event numerous times (I’ve seen as many as 4 reminders for one event. In the past.)” one blogger wrote. Another problem: syncing. One user who emailed Cult of Mac said he was unable to sync his MacBook iCal items with his iPhone 4.
Others report problems retrieving items from their Google Calendar.
“After new iPhone 4.0 update, my iPhone calendar will not pull in all of my calendars created in google calendar. The only thing pulling in is my main (primary) email account calendar–but all of the other ones are missing.” A user identified as a Google employee suggested using a gmail account to gather email.
The apparent iCal troubles aren’t the only complaints being aired following Apple’s release of the iPhone 4. Talk arose about a yellow screen and dropped calls due to “wrong” hand placement. That last report, which pointed to the iPhone’s antenna, prompted Apple CEO Steve Jobs to speak out. “Avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases,” Jobs suggested.
We start off the deals with “RedLaser,” a barcode scanning application for the iPhone. We also check out a flexible bluetooth keyboard for the iPad and a replacement dock for your iPhone 3G. Along the way, we check out a number of applications for your iPhone and iPad.
As always, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
Remember the days when Apple was considered a company with its majority of sales within the United States? Well, that was before the iPhone burst onto the scene. In 2010, international sales will account for 80 percent of iPhones purchased, an analyst told clients Wednesday.
Internationally, Apple has six times as many iPhone owners than in the U.S., according to Gleacher & Company (formerly Broadpoint AmTech) analyst Brian Marshall. Combined, Apple’s 150 international carrier partners have 460.7 million subscribers. AT&T, which has the exclusive U.S. iPhone market, offers just 65.1 million postpaid subscribers.
Although the iPhone 4 has stolen some of the spotlight, demand for the iPad remains strong, suggesting Apple will have trouble into November building enough units, one analyst said Thursday. Apple is building 7.5-9 million iPods for the September quarter.
“Our checks in the supply chain indicate Apple iPad demand continues to outstrip supply,” Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh told investors Thursday morning. This indicates “solid preorder/order trends on the iPad given build visibility now extending into November,” he adds.
We have two deals on iPod shuffles from MidnightBox.com: grab a 2GB iPod shuffle for $35 or a 4GB model for $45. Also, we have the latest crop of App Store freebies, including “ShapeMind,” a geometry puzzle game.
Along the way, we’ll also check out a number of other Mac-related items, including MP3 albums, silicon laptop keyboard covers for your MacBook Pro and software for your iPhone or iPod touch.
As always, details on these any many more products are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
About one-in-five (or 20 percent) of third-party Android apps available through its marketplace can steal and share private user data, researchers said Tuesday. Akin to spyware, the apps can place calls and send text messages without the owners’ knowledge.
As a result of the growth of smartphones and associated stores, “applications are currently available that have the potential to cause serious harm to devices, customers and to the broader cellular network,” Daniel V. Hoffman, technology chief for SMobile Systems, an Android security vendor.
On the heels of Apple’s recent announcement it has sold three million iPads in the first 80 days, comes a survey of developer interest showing the tablet device is the second most popular device, behind the iPhone. The survey, by the maker of a development tool, found 84 percent of developers asked named the iPad as holding their interest, a 26 point jump from April.
Developers expressed declining interest in other smartphone platforms, prompting Appcelerator to comment: “Apple and Google are now playing chess while everyone else plays catch-up.” Between March and June, RIM’s BlackBerry lost 9 percent of developer interest, with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 (announced in February) had 7 percent fewer developers interest.
Although Apple had said it runs its App Store and iTunes at near break-even, we now know the App Store, while wildly popular with users, contributes just 1 percent of the Cupertino, Calif. company’s gross profits. That, and many other interesting insights into the App Store’s balance sheet come from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
In a research note to investors Wednesday, Munster wrote the App Store brought in $429 million since it was launched in July 2008. Apple has earned $33.7 billion in gross profit over the same period, meaning the App Store equates to just one percent of profits.
We start the day off with another deal on MacBook Pros. This time, the Apple Store has about 43 units in stock, beginning with a Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz machine with 13.3-inch screen for $929. Also up is “Chop Chop Tennis” for the iPhone from the App Store – it’s free. As Apple prepares to begin sales of the iPhone 4, Walmart has a deal on the new handset – $197 plus activation.
As always, details on these and many other items (such as a 6x telephoto lens for your iPhone) are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
A price war of sorts has broken out among e-reader makers Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Although we won’t take credit for it, a short while after we highlighted the Internet retailer’s reluctance to lower it’s Kindle’s price, the Seattle-based company dropped the e-reader’s price to $189, from $259.
Actually, the move likely was more in response to an earlier action by Barnes & Noble, which dropped its 3G Nook to $199 from $259. The bookseller also introduced a Wi-Fi only version of its e-reader for $149. As one onlooker commented, the price of an e-reader dropped $100 in a single day, putting the price of a single-purpose e-reader on par with an MP3 player.
Will (or when) Verizon get the iPhone? Stories speculating on the answers to those questions have taken on a near myth-like quality; although disproven, the conversations continue. The chatter has been given new life by some analyst comments released Tuesday.
Analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital told investors he believes we could see Verizon selling an iPhone 4 in the first quarter of 2011. Reitzes points to “checks” seeming to show a CDMA iPhone could be produced late 2010.
In a break with past product launches, Apple has announced it will begin shipping the iPhone 4 on June 23, a day earlier than planned. Monday, customers who had pre-ordered the new handset were told by email to expect a Wednesday delivery.
“This email is to confirm that your delivery will occur on June 23rd,” reads the note addressed to Apple Store customers. “Although Apple and FedEx tracking information may currently indicate a later date, you can check the FedEx website the morning of the June 23rd to track your package to your doorstep.”
We start the week off with a different sort of speaker deal. This time we bring you the iOctopus speaker system by Pixxo. It includes an iPod dock and 3.5mm jack for $13. Also available, an 8GB iPod touch for $139 and some screen protectors for the soon-to-be shipping iPhone 4.
Details on these and many other bargains are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
Although Apple is not set to launch its iAds platform until July 1, placeholder tests are already being spotted at the App Store. The placeholders appear with the iAd logo in apps for developers OneTap Movies and the Yellow Pages, according to Monday reports.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a Worldwide Developers conference that 17 advertisers had already signed onto the platform, committing up to $60 million for iAds. Jobs said 60 percent of that money will return to developers. “Apple sells and serves the ads, and you recieve 60 percent of the advertising revenue,” he explained.
