peter02l

Apple's AT&T Deal: Setting the Record Straight

How about if the new carrier matches the current subsidy to gain sales?


On Nov 24 05:26 PM RLLH wrote:

> I'm not sure I follow your comment that the subsidy won't drop with
> multiple carriers. Isn't it worth more to have a monopoly on a product
> that being one of several carriers?

How Apple and iPhone Blew It in China

"There is also no phone number portability between China Mobile and China Unicom, and consumers don't want to change their numbers just for a new phone."

"Many buy different SIM cards for different cities, to reduce their roaming fees when they travel. Even wealthier consumers do this, because they've gotten used to switching SIM cards when traveling to Hong Kong, where different carriers control the market."

Amazing! they have number portability across different SIM cards!

As for your third point, what do you suggest, that Apple go back in time and launch the phone simultaneously? I recall there was an issue with more than one release of long lines and product shortages on launch. Further are you suggesting Apple risk release their first product in a new category globally? What if something went wrong?

Apples to Apples: Will History Repeat Itself as Android Gains on the iPhone?

I don't see how any of your arguments and analogies hold.

Your account of the rise of MSDOS is a bit off. Apple did not have anything like a virtual monopoly. They never had a 90% market share, not even 50%.

Why should we substitute MSDOS with Andriod? Why not with Windows Mobile, or even better, with Symbian? Both are available on smartphones from multiple manufacturers, and both are losing market share. Furthermore, Symbian is now open source and free just like Android. So availability on phones from many manufacturers is not necessarily a recipe for success. Not to mention that both of these existed way before the iPhone. In fact, the only smartphone manufacturer that has been able to hold it's market share even after the release of the iPhone is Research in Motion, which like Apple makes the hardware and the software. So this business model in smartphones seems to be superior.

As for the rubbish camera! You probably have not used the iPhone. It's camera produces superior quality pictures to many smartphone cameras with higher megapixel specs.

If there were a company that is a marketing company first and a technology company second, I don't know how Microsoft slipped your mind. The amount of press they buy, the pre-announcements of upcoming technologies, and the money they spend is notorious. Apple's marketing budget for a company it's size is not anything to brag about. If you mean they know how to successfully spend that money, I agree you are right. But Apple is a technology company first. Their software, hardware, and industrial design are arguably ahead of competitors in using technology to provide solutions that work better and are enjoyable to use.

The iPhone, just as with Andriod based phones is available from multiple carriers in many countries. And those who have not signed any distribution contracts are very eager to do so. So there is no barrier there.

It is amusing that you finally say:

"In terms of range of products they have left every other platform behind. However the business model employed here is easily copied."

This business model is one that ties the software, ecosystem and the hardware to the same company. The only way Google can copy this is to make their own smartphone. I am sure you have heard the rumors, but I don't think there is a chance of that happening.

As for developing for several devices simultaneously, it is not as easy as you think. It's very expensive and code maintenance is a challenge. If it were easy, developers would not have abandoned the Macintosh in the 90s. Most developers find it more cost effective to limit their efforts to the dominant platform. That is the relevant lesson from the MSDOS days.

Google Should Make Apple Beg for Maps Navigation

"Google says its navigation will come to iPhone, if Apple approves"


www.appleinsider.com/a...

So much for begging!

Google Should Make Apple Beg for Maps Navigation

"When Google announced what is clearly the best car navigation application on any mobile Wednesday, it didn’t just take a swipe at GPS navigation companies such as Garmin and TomTom. It took a swipe at Apple."

So it is just fiction that Garmin and TomTom are reporting lower earnings?

"Navigation apps are a key category for mobile phones, and the iPhone is for once at a disadvantage here."

So Symbian and Windows Mobile based phones are in no disadvantage because they have this category well covered?

"Other than the browser, Apple has little else to call its own other than the core phone, contacts and calendar features."

Are you being purposely disingenuous? What about iTunes, iPod? The iPhone

Why Isn't AT&T Using Cash to Build Out LTE?

Using internet bandwidth is not like using electricity at all. It is more like using the roads. Imagine if you were charged for registration fees based on how much you drive.


On Oct 08 06:50 PM RLLH wrote:

> The obvious solution is to charge based on data usage. Imagine if
> customers paid a flat rate for electricity. Want to imagine what
> the effect would be on tghe size of system needed?

Apple Musings: Disappointing Disappointment

"I haven't had time to have super deep thoughts yet on the conference today, ... "

And it really shows!

Why I Prefer McDonald's over Apple

BigOlDave, casey00001, and mbkelly75,

Does any of you eat at MacDonald's?

Getting Apple's New Products Right and Wrong

Thanks for recommending something that you wouldn't do.


On Sep 11 12:57 PM Peter Medved wrote:

> iPhone 30 million sold.
> Is always the same story, fudged numbers & no transparency on
> revenue share data etc. The company is run with little regard for
> shareholders & the analysts come up with increasingly more wild
> predictions as a result.
> This figure shows (imo) that iPhone sales are slowing in this quarter.
> I don't short stocks, but if I did, I think AAPL would be one for
> emd of this month.

Getting Apple's New Products Right and Wrong

"I’m not buying the new iPod Touch this week because (despite my prediction) there is no new iPod Touch."

I too refuse to buy products that I anticipated but are still not released. In fact, I refuse to buy unreleased products, period.

The Case for Shorting Apple

He is not even sure about his own analysis. Even the comments/labels on his chart have question marks next to them.


On Aug 13 07:55 AM Timeline Strategy Consulting wrote:

> So Google is going to get ahead by.....giving away free stuff. And
> Apple's going to fall by....the author doesn't say why.
>
> Then he uses technical analysis to confound the discussion. Technical
> analysis which shows, by the way, that AAPL's share price behavior
> in April and May could have been called a reversal at the time, had
> it not continued to rise.
>
> Pretty flimsy case, I would say. Please compare Apple's non-GAAP
> earnings and free cash flow to Google. Then see which stock is undervalued.

Microsoft: Whistling in the Dark

" Microsoft works fine as a monopoly and it has been skilled in maintaining its monopoly with intelligent and innovative monopolistic practices."

A great way to put it.

Back to School on the Cheap: Another Round of Mac vs. PC

"We do not, say, like Apple, believe in low volume, very high prices"

They believe in high volume, very high prices. Why is Microsoft WIndows OS so much more expensive?

Back to School on the Cheap: Another Round of Mac vs. PC

I didn’t get my free iPod Touch with the purchase of a new iMac from Apple - but we weren’t necessarily looking to buy an iPod Touch either ..., it just felt like we’d be spending money today that we really didn’t want to spend.

You just said it's free!

Blackberry’s 26 Advantages over iPhone

> 1. Blackberry can be used on almost every carrier in the world
> (over 475 of them). In the US, the iPhone is available on AT&T (T)
> only."

How many carriers offer Backberry Storm 9530 in the US?
How about Backberry Tour 9630?
How about Backberry Curve 8330?
How about Backberry Curve 8320?
Or Backberry Curve Sunset?

Thanks for offering a better perspective in comparing carriers offering a Blackberry phone in the world ((over 475 of them) to ones offering iPhone in the US only. Keep up the good work.