Ed Sutherland - page 70

Analysts appear to be in love with the iPad’s low price, a figure falling below most expectations. The morning after Apple unveiled the device, many experts raised sales forecasts for 2010 and 2011.

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray nearly doubled his sales expectations to 3 to 4 million iPads this year and 8 million of the devices in 2011. Earlier this week Munster warned if the tablet were price between $800 and $1,000 “adoption is going to be much lower than the hype would lead you to believe.” At the time, the analyst said 1.4 million iPads would likely sell in 2010.

“Yes, we were surprised by the $499 price point,” Piper Jaffray’s Andrew Murphy tells Cult of Mac. “We were originally expecting $600-$800 and 2 million units in its first calendar year of sales,” he said.

A Chinese website published, then withdrew photos purporting to be the exterior of Apple’s much-awaited tablet device. The photos seem to show the rear, screen and some software involved.

According to reports, the photos from the Weiphone website “look like leaks from a component manufacturer” taken at a testing facility.

Although the App Store recently passed the 3 billion mark and iTunes has expanded vastly beyond its music-only roots, Apple said both or not generating great profit. “We are running those a bit over break even,” Apple’s finance chief, Peter Oppenheimer, told reporters Monday.

Apple said its App Store “dwarfs anybody we are competing against” – Google’s Android Market with 20,000 apps as of December still is far behind the company’s 100,000 apps as of November. Although he didn’t mention any hard numbers, Oppenheimer said iTunes experienced a “record” quarter.

The Cupertino, Calif. company appears to view two of its most well-known properties as loss-leaders. Indeed, with a company that has $30 billion in the bank, it seems more about getting new developers into the iPhone tent than scrounging around for the 30 percent cut of every sale.

While all that seems left in the tablet controversy is for CEO Steve Jobs to unveil the wunder gadget, there are many threads left untied for this present to the technology world, namely pricing. To that end, Apple has conducted “11th hour negotiations” with publishers, the goal being to hammer out new pricing for e-books. The Cupertino, Calif. company believes a $15 price tag for books could become a best-selling idea for publishers seeking a way to cash-in on the flood of e-books.

Apple is talking about pricing e-books between $12.99 and $14.99 for its upcoming tablet device. The arrangement would give Apple a 30 percent cut, leaving publishers with $10.49, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night. The plan would give publishers less than the $14.50 book producers receive when sold on Amazon, but throwing their lot in with Apple could rebalance a power shift many in the industry thought tilted too far in the direction of the giant online book-seller. Although publishers received more money from Amazon, the company insisted on a $9.99 price tag for e-books, which many book firms felt could make readers hesitate paying more for a printed book.

Although unlikely to dampen the spirits surrounding Apple’s widely-expected launch of a Tablet device Wednesday, the International Trade Commission has formally launched an investigation into a rival’s allegations. Nokia, which has sued the Cupertino, Calif. company, alleging multiple patent infringements, said it was “pleased” by the news.

The ITC’s move comes after the Finnish cell phone giant in December requested the trade investigation, claiming Apple products infringed patents involving power management, antenna, user interface and camera technologies. The investigation could result in a ban on iPhones, Macs, iPods and other Apple products.

We start the day off with a trio of Mac deals, including Apple’s 24-inch Cinema HD Widescreen LED LCD for just $849. If you are more in the mood for mobile, there is the stylish MiLi Power Pack Extender battery for your iPhone. The device clips on to your iPhone, providing a 2000mAh boost for 6.5 hours of talking, 9 hours of video or an impressive 31 hours of tunes. Finally, if you are fidgeting over what Apple could announce Wednesday, put that nervous energy to use with an Air Hockey game. What’s even better, it is a free app for your iPhone or iPod touch.

As always, details on these and many more items is available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

In a move seen as benefitting Apple’s goal of expanded markets for an upcoming tablet, music distributors reportedly have cleared the way for the Cupertino, Calif. based company to offer its iTunes service across Europe.

The agreement with PRS for Music should provide performing rights for all PRS members, as well as performing rights for content managed by Peer Music and Chrysalis Music. In October, Apple met with European regulators who had expressed concern. At the time, European officials said they hoped the meeting would improve online music sales. In 2009, Apple announced plans to extend the iTunes service into more European countries.

On the eve of Apple’s suspected unveiling of a tablet computer comes word the Cupertino, Calif. firm may team up with Barnes & Noble. An unconfirmed report suggests Apple’s new device could include an ebook store from the Nook-maker.

The New York Times is working at Apple headqaurters to tailor a version of its iPhone app for the much-expected tablet, according to a Monday report. The new version would highlight the product’s larger screen and video capabilities.

“A team from the New York Times has been working in Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters in recent weeks, developing a large-screen version of the newspaper’s iPhone application that incorporates video for the yet-to-be-unveiled device, according to one person with knowledge of the matter,” The Los Angeles Times reports.

Analysts are predicting another record quarter from Apple, amid a week jammed with expectations about the Cupertino, Calif. company’s next move. In notes to investors, analysts believe Apple could announce record profit, followed by record sales, all buoyed by talk of a tablet device.

Analyst Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros., expects Apple will report later today $12.4 billion in revenue for the three-month period ended in late December. Additionally, Wu believes the company has sold 9.5 million iPhones, 2.9 million Macs and 22 million iPods.

Taking a page from the old fairy tale, an analyst said Apple’s tablet could hit it out of the park if it picks a price that is just right – say $600. If Apple comes up with a price neither too high nor a niche product, Apple could sell 5 million tablets, bringing in $2.8 billion its first year.

“Pricing is key,” according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky. The analyst told investors the best case scenario is the tablet threads the middle, avoiding both the crunch of record demand (like the iPhone), and being labeled a niche product (like the MacBook Air).

We end the week with a motley group of Mac products, including software, hardware and iPhone bling. First up is an offer on Apple’s iLife ’09 productivity suite for $38. For those owners of older Mac min desktops wanting the latest SuperDrive, OWC has an upgrade, starting at $69. Finally, if you need a cover for your iPhone, there is a 30 percent off deal.

Along the way, we also look at storage options, cameras and HD televisions. As always, for details on these or many other items, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

If visions of 3G networks tied in a knot by a deluge of frenzied tablet owners keeps you awake at night, fear not – at least not immediately after Apple’s rumored device makes its first appearance. Why so much calm? Experts predict a high price coupled with low initial adoption could give networks breathing space to prepare for the eventual onslaught.

Although Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said earlier this week he expects a 3G cellular connection not be included to prevent further clogging “already strained” high-speed networks, others don’t agree. “I can’t imagine it not having it,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told All Thing Digital.

Although there is a frenzy of hype and curiosity surrounding Apple’s as-yet unseen tablet, it appears many consumers have a limit on how much they’ll pay to own the near-mythical device: $700. Seven in 10 people surveyed said they would not spend more than that amount for a tablet, according to a consumer research firm.

The amount seems to fall midway between $600 to $800, a figure that Piper Jaffray predicts could be the tablet’s selling point. Wall Street wisdom appears to peg the device at below $1,000. The eventual price tag could be lower if carriers agree to subsidize the cost. Reportedly, Apple is in discussions with AT&T and Verizon on a deal to offer the tablet.

Apple’s iPhone is gaining strides in both North America and Western Europe, quickly turning Nokia into a marginalized player leading only in Africa and Asia, a new survey of smartphone usage indicates.

The iPhone, with 40 percent of the market, represented 54 percent of smart phone usage in North America during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to AdMob, the mobile advertising firm Google acquired in last year. In Western Europe, the iPhone and the iPod touch comprised more than half of smart phone usage, the company said Thursday. The gains were at the expense of Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, the researchers said.

We start off with a new batch of App Store freebies from Apple, including the game Brain Balance Pro. You can never have too much spare juice when your iPhone’s battery is on its last legs. For such an occasion is Cable Unlimited’s Battery Boost. Finally, Apple’s iLife ’09 productivity suite on sale.

For details on these and many other items, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

When is the last time you paid $80 for a book? When it held your MacBook, of course. Mac lovers have gone through countless attempts to disguise and protect your Apple laptop, from high-end leather briefcases we saw at CES to a faux newspaper. Now comes Mac developer Twelve South with the BookBook, a case that looks exactly like a vintage hardbound book.

The leather-bound “book”, along with two rigid book covers, also includes a padded leather spine to keep your 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook safe and secure. “When it comes to safeguarding your Mac, there is no comparison between BookBook and the typical, floppy neoprene zipper bag,” claims the company.

Apple’s highly-expected tablet device, although still underwraps, was built with roots in many other popular products sold by the Cupertino, Calif. company. Along with the iPhone’s OS, the tablet could borrow batteries from Apple’s MacBook laptop computer, according to a Taiwan report Thursday.

Two companies – Simplo Technology and Dynapack International Technology – have received orders for the rumored tablet, said Digitimes, quoting China’s Commercial Times.

Until now, Amazon has stood largely unchallenged in the e-publishing arena – some put its dominance at 80 percent of e-book sales and 70 percent of e-book readers. Now, in a bid to counteract a hurricane of hype surrounding Apple’s as-yet unseen tablet device, the giant online bookseller is making some last-minute changes to the Kindle, it’s e-book reader. Amazon Thursday announced it will open its device to software developers, a concession to Apple’s popular App Store.

However, Amazon isn’t uttering the word “app” in describing its move to open the doors to software programming. Instead, “active content” is the label the company uses to define anything from calculators to video games for its e-book platform.

Apple is in talks with the music industry about the advantages of a streaming music service that lets people listen to their tunes from anywhere an Internet connection is available. The report appears to jibe with another suggesting Apple could launch the ‘cloud’ service by June.

The Cupertino, Calif. company is telling publishers such streaming would reinvigorate sluggish sales from music downloads, according to CNET. The service reportedly will be called iTunes.com and is integral to Apple’s new strategy of boosting iTunes sales via numerous linked Web sites, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As the days tick off before Apple’s “latest creation” announcement Jan. 27, its much-rumored tablet is taking shape in a steady stream of leaked interviews. The over-arching theme seems to be that Apple sees its tablet reshaping publishing the way the iPod was a game-changer for how we buy and listen to music. However, unlike previous media gadgets, Apple could be hoping to attract families – even entire classrooms – with its tablet.

The family was Apple’s focus when developing the tablet, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. “The company envisions that the tablet can be shared by multiple family members to read news and check email in home,” the paper wrote, citing ‘people familiar with the situation.’

We reach mid-week with a variety of deals for Mac fans, including 6 bargains on Apple iMacs, starting at $849 for a 20-inch desktop with a 2.66GHz processor. A few steps up the food chain, Apple also offers several Mac Pro Xeon workstations, including a 3.2GHz unit for $3,299. Finally, if you liked the Grammy’s and want to relive the great music, lala.com has an MP3 album of this year’s nominees.

Along the way, we look at a new batch of App Store price drops, new games for your iPhone and various hardware bargains. As always, details on these items and many others are available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

‘Minor issues’ with Apple’s tablet could force the Cupertino, Calif. company to delay shipping the highly-expected device until June, suggests an analyst. If correct, the three-month lag would dispute previous claims a tablet would ship by March.

Issues with battery life and durability are suspected culprits of any delay, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors Tuesday. The holdup would put the tablet, which Wu calls the “iSlate” into a more traditional pattern for Apple. When the company introduced its first iPhone in 2007, it announced the iconic handset in January and began shipping in June.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It’s an ancient proverb being revived amid reports Apple is turning to its old foe Microsoft to blunt the growth of Cupertino’s newest rival, Google. Apple is mulling making Microsoft’s Bing the iPhone’s default search engine as it increasingly competes with the Mountain View, Calif. Internet giant.

The BusinessWeek report cites two people “allegedly familiar” with the discussions between Apple and Microsoft. The publication says the Redmond, Wash. software giant “is now a pawn” in the struggle between Apple and Google over handsets, browsers, operating systems and advertising.

Today we look at some very practical Apple deals, including a way to keep your iPod safe; always be prepared for a quick road trip with your iPhone; and a cookbook with recipes to make meals from whatever (or whomever) is on hand. The iPod mobile security lock from Targus encases your music collection in a three-digit combination lock. The traveling kit includes an FM transmitter, screen protector and skin for your iPhone 3G. Lastly, the Zombie Cookbook is an iPhone or iPod touch app that teaches you to make delicious meals from ingredients such as brains, hearts, eyballs and guts.

For details on these and many other bargains, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.