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Post by rob_london on Apr 14, 2013 4:50:32 GMT -8
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Post by artman1033 on Apr 14, 2013 5:35:46 GMT -8
MATT DRUDGE has a gift for graphics! One Apple Genius once told me they could not handle an iPhone if a customer said they dropped it into a toilet. The iPhone was now hazardous waste.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 6:30:11 GMT -8
For 4K TVs to be "The Next Big Thing," the prices have to come down on much bigger sets. A 4k 55" TV isn't going to dazzle anyone sitting 9-10' from it. The 4k sets that wowed CES earlier this year were from dumb attendees standing 2-3 feet from them.
Plus, 4k sets have the disadvantage of lacking content and will be bandwidth hogs.
Unless viewing distances change, a 4k TV will confer only tech bragging rights if we're speaking of 50 - 60" sets. On the other hand, if the 4k TVs go to 72" - 96" big, then they'll shame a 1080p TV of equivalent size.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 6:47:06 GMT -8
I'll be willing to bet you that the oil and gas industry is being served by a dominant software developer writing for the Windows platform only. Or perhaps, a legacy Windows application was ported to mobile and old habits die hard. It would be interesting to verify why this industry is the outlier.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 6:55:02 GMT -8
Jeff Bezos is a new-age Gorden Gekko flipped over, where "Greed is Good" is now "Losses are Good." WTH Wall Street? The description of Amazon as a "charitable organization run by a group of hedge funds" seems very apt. And where is CNBC on this story??? Can you imagine the outcry if Tim Cook uttered this nonsense? www.theverge.com/2013/4/12/4217794/jeff-bezos-letter-amazon-investors-2012
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Post by artman1033 on Apr 14, 2013 6:55:11 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 7:14:10 GMT -8
Good article about Jeff Bezos hooking up with fraudster Henry Blodget. This is my take on why AMZN floats above the atmosphere: The hedge funds let the music play because the 15 of them know there are only 2 seats should the music stop (and they start selling this overinflated balloon).
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Post by rob_london on Apr 14, 2013 7:25:03 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 7:29:25 GMT -8
Here's actually a good analysis from Forbes are why Microsoft and Intel are ruining the PC business. The irony is that Microsoft HAD TO KNOW BETTER than to frustrate its customer base with a revolutionary OS. When Microsoft thought it was a great idea to change up Excel with the ribbon, powers users screamed bloody murder. Microsoft knew that incremental improvements to Excel wouldn't move the sales needle, so they pissed off customers (like myself) by making unnecessary changes to the software in order to sell the "new and improved." Microsoft has probably travelled too far down this current path to reverse the mistake of Windows 8, giving Apple more chances to penetrate enterprise. Now where is that iWork upgrade? www.forbes.com/sites/rogerkay/2013/04/12/the-pc-industry-is-digging-its-own-grave/?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed
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Post by nwjade on Apr 14, 2013 7:34:41 GMT -8
Woh, slow down! $229 iPad Mini? I presume that's a typo and you mean $299?Interesting they said it is a Apple generated discount - anyone else got confirmation on this? Don't be a meanie sponge! Buy your daughter the iPod touch! (Isn't apple on a 2 year cycle for this anyway? There was a 2 year gap between the 4th and 5th generations). Yes that was a typo on my iPhone $299 sale is from 4/7-4/13. She got the 4th generation last June. It is all cracked, but she plays with it all the time. She needs to be patient. I need to save money for a Mini with Retina Display for the wife, iPhone 5S for me, and maybe a new iPad for me as well when it comes out. ;D FYI: In addition to Target both Walmart and Samsclub have the IPad mini on sale for $299
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Post by artman1033 on Apr 14, 2013 9:23:00 GMT -8
I am very impressed by the "new" iPhone6 commercial (from April 2012)
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Post by sponge on Apr 14, 2013 10:08:32 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 11:50:03 GMT -8
Q2 Mac numbers are perhaps the hardest item to predict this quarter, I wasn't surprised to find my own 4.5 million units estimate near the top of analyst expectations. On the one hand there was a huge backlog of iMacs pulled from last quarter that were guaranteed bonus sales this quarter, but then we had the just released figures confirming the massive slowdown in PC sales (I perhaps would have lowered my estimate to 4.3 million units). And then what to make of the mid February MacBook price cuts? The retina MacBooks saw cuts of $200-300 in price, and the 15" models got spec bumped. The top end MacBook Air 13" also saw a $100 price drop. What to make of that? Undoubtedly the retina displays must have gotten cheaper to build enabling price reductions, but demand mustn't have been overwhelming if Apple dropped the price. On the other hand, out of my 6 closest friends - 3 of them bought Macs last quarter (2 x 13" Airs, 1 x iMac) - only anecdotal of course, but maybe widespread. Burgess, you are going to make yourself ill second guessing the minutiae. That's one of the reasons I put little effort (anymore) into estimating units sold, as a way to determine (guess) revenue. I have come a believer in management's guidance, and adjust units sold to fit their revenue guidance. All variables are accounted for in management's guidance. THEY know much better than anyone on the planet what results will be.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 13:03:11 GMT -8
Its a big range, but AAPL has been $420-$460 range bound since January earnings. The up and down gyrations I attribute to a tug o' war between the Bulls and Bears. There has been no clear winner, in my estimation, which is a definite improvement over the September - early January period.
Earnings/guidance permitting, I can see the scales tipped to the Bull's favor, with a run up to the $480s before February expiry.
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Post by rob_london on Apr 14, 2013 13:06:13 GMT -8
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Post by sponge on Apr 14, 2013 15:12:00 GMT -8
Futures are slightly red. I think we could move in opposite direction from the market tomorrow.
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Post by Red Shirted Ensign on Apr 14, 2013 15:12:36 GMT -8
Its a big range, but AAPL has been $420-$460 range bound since January earnings. The up and down gyrations I attribute to a tug o' war between the Bulls and Bears. There has been no clear winner, in my estimation, which is a definite improvement over the September - early January period. Earnings/guidance permitting, I can see the scales tipped to the Bull's favor, with a run up to the $480s before February expiry. Surely not February? Or February 2014. .
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Post by Red Shirted Ensign on Apr 14, 2013 15:16:40 GMT -8
Futures are slightly red. I think we could move in opposite direction from the market tomorrow. Be careful what you wish for....futures will be green by tomorrow's open...IMHO
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Post by sponge on Apr 14, 2013 15:42:50 GMT -8
Futures are slightly red. I think we could move in opposite direction from the market tomorrow. Be careful what you wish for....futures will be green by tomorrow's open...IMHO It started green and suddenly went red. Now it recovered a bit. I wish we would get some official numbers on TMobile tomorrow morning. That should get our gravy train moving up regardless of market direction.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 16:44:20 GMT -8
Be careful what you wish for....futures will be green by tomorrow's open...IMHO It started green and suddenly went red. Now it recovered a bit. I wish we would get some official numbers on TMobile tomorrow morning. That should get our gravy train moving up regardless of market direction. Intel reports on Tuesday. This should help clarify last week's Foxconn report on the 19% decline that pressured AAPL. I think the PC industry is really suffering at the hands of Windows 8 first and Apple second.
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Apr 14, 2013 17:19:10 GMT -8
OTOH, Apple is helping Intel's upper-end consumer/prosumer CPU businesses, though somewhat modestly. Interesting dynamic as the tablet megatrend looks to be be a real thing. And real scary for Dell and HP.
Turns out the shift away from PCs wasn't so bad for IBM, granddaddy of the PC, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 17:40:07 GMT -8
Why are you paying attention to futures on a Sunday afternoon?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 17:47:44 GMT -8
This is today's update with an experienced ATT rep who has no obvious agenda: It IS a 2 horse race between Apple and Samsung on the retail floor. Surprisingly, despite all the glowing reviews over HTC’s One, there’s not that much interest in it (it's on display but still on presale status). He said there IS anticipation with the S4, but he questioned the “legs” with the degree of interest because it’s a minor revision to the S3. For customers shopping for the best “all things considered” smartphone, iPhone 5 is still the one to beat. He said people have already started asking for the new iPhone 5s. Windows Mobile is failing -- in Mr. Softie's backyard no less. I don’t see Nokia having the resources to make the hardware much better and MSFT is well, MSFT (too little, much too late). Blackberry is D.E.A.D. No interest aside from old hands to the platform. He could not vouch for reports of returns exceeding current sales, however. LG smartphones are not doing well. The hardware is rather pedestrian to my eyes. He also said if Apple released a 5” handset, it would DESTROY Samsung. And this guy plays no favorites with platforms (in fact, he’s an Android user at the moment). There's a report running today on Giz that Sammy is now worried how the S4 competes with the HTC One and iPhone 5 on the basis of build quality. They should be, but again, the jury is out that HTC takes significant share from Sammy's plastic flagship.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 18:06:31 GMT -8
OTOH, Apple is helping Intel's upper-end consumer/prosumer CPU businesses, though somewhat modestly. Interesting dynamic as the tablet megatrend looks to be be a real thing. And real scary for Dell and HP. Turns out the shift away from PCs wasn't so bad for IBM, granddaddy of the PC, after all. Went to the movies this afternoon, saw "42" (highly recommended). Then went to Starbucks across the street. They were fairly busy/full. I noted 2 HP laptops and about a dozen MacBooks (of some flavor), and a lot of iPads. The MSFT/Windows hegemony has been broken. Its Humpty Dumpty all over again.
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Apr 14, 2013 18:10:45 GMT -8
It doesn't worry me much at all that a new flagship Android smartphone is running neck-and-neck mindshare-wise with an iPhone launched almost 7 months ago, aka "middle age". If Samsung can't even put the same basic SoCs in a single line of smartphones for two straight years now (Samsung Galaxy S4 US Edition: Powered by Qualcomm, Slower than International Version! ;D), I don't see any way they can ever catch up to Apple on the "finer" details - and really, build quality differences between Apple and most everyone else just aren't all that subtle, to put it mildly. Will Apple do an iPad retina display-"derived" iPhone My Poor Eyes edition? IMHO, probably by iPhone 6, but not sure about this year. Maybe they're waiting on the S4 to see if a 1080p display at that size actually makes a difference, there being that 260ish vs. 440ish ppi deal. Personally, I couldn't care less if Apple NEVER increases the ppi for iPhone. Well OK, I might care a tiny bit in 2-3 years.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 18:19:12 GMT -8
It doesn't worry me much at all that a new flagship Android smartphone is running neck-and-neck with an iPhone launched almost 7 months ago, aka "middle age". If Samsung can't even put the same basic SoCs in a single line of smartphones, I don't see any way they can ever catch up to Apple on the "finer" details - and really, build quality differences between Apple and most everyone else just aren't all that subtle, to put it mildly. Will Apple do an iPad retina display-"derived" iPhone My Poor Eyes edition? IMHO, probably by iPhone 6, but not sure about this year. I think people should be aware that there is competition out there, but at the same time, not let the FEAR of competition cloud their assessment of the quality of that competition. I have yet to see a single report that Samsung has something people want more than the iPhone 4S or 5.
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Apr 14, 2013 18:22:59 GMT -8
I love competition. It helped drive Apple to make the iPhone 5 as good as it is, after all.
Apple loves competition too, obviously. Nothing is for certain in business and the best companies never lose sight of that. Respect the good efforts of the competition, and then see how Apple's latest offerings compare and sell over time.
It's more sensible and objective than worrying about pre-sale hype and blowout "initial shipments" numbers, and/or the continuing megatrend of Every Other Handset OEM on the Planet Which Collectively Far Outsold Apple From Day One aggressively mix-shifting to smartphones to stay relevant.
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Ted
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Post by Ted on Apr 14, 2013 18:45:40 GMT -8
Mercel, Mav, Gregg, you boys are on fire tonight! Thanks for the good reading. I'll have pleasant dreams.
Also, I'm in DC with the family for a week and have seen mostly iPhones - and of those, mostly 4s. What's bizarre is seeing so many people using their iPads for snapping pictures (of Lincoln's hat)...
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Post by Red Shirted Ensign on Apr 14, 2013 19:38:03 GMT -8
@marketcurrents: Chinese Q1 GDP growth disappoints, rising 7.7% Y/Y vs. 8% expected, and slowing from 7.9%
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 20:01:29 GMT -8
It doesn't worry me much at all that a new flagship Android smartphone is running neck-and-neck with an iPhone launched almost 7 months ago, aka "middle age". If Samsung can't even put the same basic SoCs in a single line of smartphones, I don't see any way they can ever catch up to Apple on the "finer" details - and really, build quality differences between Apple and most everyone else just aren't all that subtle, to put it mildly. Will Apple do an iPad retina display-"derived" iPhone My Poor Eyes edition? IMHO, probably by iPhone 6, but not sure about this year. I think people should be aware that there is competition out there, but at the same time, not let the FEAR of competition cloud their assessment of the quality of that competition. I have yet to see a single report that Samsung has something people want more than the iPhone 4S or 5. I would say a significant number of people want larger displays
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