Iowa

5 Comments

    • ON: Fri Sep 5th 12:58 PM
      Commented on:
      McCainomics: What Can He Do?
      You say that "He'd keep the Bush tax cuts, the ones he voted against. I don't think he'll bend on the Bush tax cuts, ..." but it's not a matter of whether McCain will "bend." The tax cuts expire after 2010 unless both the House and Senate pass either an extension, or vote to make them permanent. That won't happen unless the Republicans gain control of both bodies, which would be a major political shock. So it's a promise McCain can make to the Republican base without having to worry about keeping it.
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    • ON: Mon Jul 14th 12:36 PM
      Commented on:
      Apple Sells One Million iPhones in Three Days
      doriso3, I agree with you that Verizon has generally superior coverage in most places. I do know people who have left Verizon because of poor coverage where they live. I have been long Verizon before, and hope to be again, largely because of its FIOS expansion and good dividends. And the iPhone is not a good platform for people who live to send text messages.
      Having said all that, most if not all AT&T plans have been nationwide for the last two years. (Before that, your comment about high roaming charges was correct.) And, according to Google, iPhone users do massively more online searches than owners of any other cell type. Why? Because it's so easy and fast on an iPhone. But I also think the iPhone benefits Verizon mobile customers. Verizon used to be know for having a poor selection of phones. Since the iPhone, Verizon is pushing to offer much more up-to-date models, and that benefits its customers.
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    • ON: Mon Mar 3rd 14:13 PM
      Commented on:
      iPhone to Create Earnings Bonanza for Apple
      I am also long Apple, but I think your numbers are a little rosy. Apple did not say it would sell 10 mil iPhones in CY2008--it said it would have sold a TOTAL of 10 mil iPhones by the end of 2008. That's 10 mil (conservatively) over an 18-month period, not a 12-month period. And some of the information indicates that almost half are unlocked, which means no continuing monthly revenue, just the profit from the sale. The numbers are still good; just not quite as good as the article indicates.

      Obviously, expansion to more countries, especially China, would be great for sales revenue. But I expect three other things to boost the iPhone in the next 18 months (purely my conjecture): first, enterprise server support; then the SDK toolkit, with support for things like third-party games and business apps; and then (this is the biggie), a high-end model that will include a hidden keyboard for all the current RIM Blackberry users. If the iPhone had these things now, we'd be talking about 50 mil in sales by the end of 2008.
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    • ON: Thu Feb 14th 14:14 PM
      Commented on:
      Cisco and Apple About to Enter Your Living Room?
      I would not get very excited about this idea from any company but Apple. (Disclosure: I'm long Apple.) I agree with Abe that people have a natural affinity for face-to-face, and the telephone or teleconference is the acceptable, easy, affordable alternative to face-to-face. I thus believe that videoconferencing is only promising when it is as easy and almost as affordable as teleconferencing. I think only Apple can truly make it easy. The question is: can they make it affordable? An easy-to-use vid as part of an enhanced Apple TV, especially an Apple TV that delivers features like a hard drive/DVR and/or direct purchasing from iTunes (without a computer middleman) could become a must-have item. This will not be easy. But, if Apple could deliver on it, it might give Apple another in-road into business IT departments.
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    • ON: Thu Jan 3rd 16:51 PM
      Commented on:
      Does Apple's Market Share Gain Really Matter?
      I think you're right about Apple's likely growth in 2008, unless the economy suffers a significant contraction. Even then, I believe Apple will do much better than its rivals, since I think a much higher percentage of Apple's customer base will be able to spend on consumer goods.
      However, market share is important. I have several programs that will not work on an Apple, because the programmers don't see enough potential sales. My nephew designs websites for companies, and he doesn't consider whether the Safari browser will have problems with his code. He considers it an insignificant share of the market. I'm ecstatic that Apple's market share of MP3 players is sky-high, and its shares of computers and smart phones are growing. I am happily long AAPL, but wish I had more.
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