LongAAPL

How Much Are Apple's 45 Million Users Worth?

I guess Prudent Man doesn't think that creating new markets, expanding new markets, lots of cash on hand, highest margins in the industry, and increasing revenue, all during a recession counts for anything.

Go figure.

If Apple Does Correct, It Will Do So Soon

I think you spend too much time on charts and such. I take a much more simplistic view...

Apple is the strongest Tech company today with the largest cash reserve and most wildly talented people in the industry. Stock price and short term earnings estimates and speculation about Steve jobs health are nothing more than distractions for fools. Only the best companies will come out swinging from this recession and Apple will be hitting home runs in the other guy's park.

Buy some now and reserve a good seat, you'll be glad you did.

Apple and Google: Changing My Mind

To those that bought into Apple in the $180 range... Years ago, I bought in at $69, it soon went up to around $165 and split. I was on cloud nine for only a short time because it dropped during the telecom bust all the way down to around $13. I felt lucky at the time and tried to lower my basis per share by buying on the way down. I never did buy at the bottom, but now am sitting on about 1200% gain. The lesson learned -- don't try to time Apple stock. Either buy in for the long term based on fundamentals or leave it alone. Set a sell point that you will be happy with and stick with it. I made a lot of money simply by selling half my shares every time it went up by 210%.

Apple Remains Overvalued, Despite Its Gadget Glory

Jason owns MOT so Jason doesn't like AAPL. You wasted a lot of time and effort to show your bias by trying to influence the uninformed.

Microsoft: Can the Zune HD Take Down the King?

It's ironic that the best thing Microsoft has produced in a long time is a dinosaur before it hits the market. If the video is accurate it looks like they have done a much better job of emulating the ipod with the new Zune than they have done emulating OSX with Vista. However, you hit on the essential point... the app store. The addition of e-mail, iCal, Addressbook, and all the thousands of apps on the iPod Touch put it on a different level from the mobile multimedia devices like the Zune. The Zune and the non-touch iPods days are numbered. Things of the past with shrinking margins.

Garmin's Future Is Just Too Cloudy

Garmin makes great products and has tried very hard to provide the best databases to go with it. However, their map updates are the weak point in a market where consumers expect current accurate information. How many times will a consumer follow Garmin instructions to a closed business, different business or empty lot before they no longer rely on them. The answer is once or maybe twice but not three times. As a long time Garmin user, I no longer rely on it to find where I want to go, but still use it for navigation. I don't know of any way to tell Garmin when I find an error in their database.

Garmin would be better off working with Apple and Google to:

1. Bring Garmin to the iPhone.
2. Bring Google to the Garmin products.
3. Form a new paradigm in GPS positioning products that provides accurate and current information via live search and updates with ratings from other users.

Consumers have gotten over the amazing idea of navigating by GPS and now expect more from mobil devices. Can Garmin deliver?

Microsoft vs. Apple: Monopolist vs. Innovator

Your assertion that a comparable Apple computer will cost twice as much as a windows computer is incorrect.

This is a well documented fact proven by many over the past few years.

Other than that, I agree with what you say about the Apple creative environment, but you left out the most influential element - leadership.

Bill Gates is a great person and I admire his success and philanthropic endeavors, however he never was and never will be a charismatic creative leader. He is a genius that had good advice on business strategy, but he was never able to foster an atmosphere of unity or creativity at Microsoft. No one believes that Steve Ballmer is any better.

Steve Jobs on the other hand has always had personal vision and creativity. Sometimes, no one else agrees with him and his often narrow focus may have led to lost business opportunities for him and his companies over the years. I think that with age, this has been tempered with a common business sense. He sets the bar high at Apple and gives the employees a common goal to work toward. That type of creative atmosphere will last well beyond the day when he is no longer involved daily at Apple. The top management people at Apple share his vision and creativity even if they are not as charismatic or visible. They wouldn't be there otherwise.

Apple's Advantage over the Blackberry: Way More Memory

Good point. However, hardware limitations are somewhat simple to overcome with new models. What RIMM really is going to have trouble competing against is the current culture of iPhone app developers. Apple has done a fantastic job creating the opportunity for development, advertising and distribution of iPhone applications. With only a very few complaints it appears that the qpp store is by far the greatest feature of the iPhone platform. Let's put it this way, could a room full of microsoft or rimm software engineers ever conceive of an application that would find the nearest public restroom and rate it for you? (Sit or Squat) If they did, would they ever think to bring it up at a business meeting and dare suggest it could make money? This is a whole new paradigm (to use a board-room cliche') in software development that will be very very hard to beat.

Apple Has a Genuine Green Shoot

In a nutshell, Apple has the world creating software for them, millions of App developers with the highest motivation.

On the other hand, Microsoft is laying off employees.

Guess who will create the best product.

A Crippled iPhone: Very Bad Idea

Right on, felix. I don't think Apple will go for restricted bandwidth since it would essentially put the brakes on it's own App Store. Anybody with a brain has learned that the App Store and the platform development are what makes the iPhone unique and far ahead of the competition. I just don't see Apple ever putting a customer in the situation of having to choose between e-mail or updating an app or buying an application or buying an iTunes music/Video.

Olga Kharif doesn't understand Apple.

More Thumbs Up for RIM and Smart Phones

Rimm = One Great Product!

But definitely a one trick pony in a very competitive market. Can they keep there device competitive with a legacy operating system? When is the last time that a new software update to the phone made headlines? How about leaving the ARM processor behind and designing a new chip? No, I don't see Rimm as the mobile platform of the future.

Steve Jobs' Shrinking Billions

Wow!

Not cool man, really really not cool!

BlackBerry vs. iPhone:The Smart Phone Battle Rages On

Fortunately most consumers see the big picture that you have failed to mention.

The iPhone is a platform with the power of thousands of developers writing applications and games easily installed at reasonable prices. An iPhone owner can reasonably expect that there is an application available for just about any need, and there are more and more apps popping up every day.

Rimm just can't compete with that.

Apple May Hear Verizon Now

Any deal Verizon makes with Apple for an iPhone will require a huge change at Verizon.

Verizon cripples most of the features on it's phones and then charges extra to activate them, this is the exact opposite of the iPhone/App store philosophy.

Verizon decides for you what services and capabilities that your phone has, Apple will even let you create your own.

Verizon charges extra for all the basic functions that make the iphone so great - Syncing addressbooks and calendars, photos, videos, notes, documents, e-mail, ringtones etc.

Finally, Verizon's advantage now is it's extensive CDMA network in the US. Apple has stated that they are not going to make a phone with CDMA, especially since it will not work in most places outside the US.

For all the above reasons Verizon will have to go a long way and spend a lot of cash to get there. Will Verizon change the way it does things so dramatically?

Apple Analysts Reality Check: Bear Rally Is Over

Myopic at best.
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Anybody really think AAPL will do a 180 and stop innovating, give up their margins, stop selling music, stop selling iPhone applications, fritter away their cash reserve, and start imitating MSFT? Can you really imagine Steve Jobs acting and thinking like Steve Ballmer?
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Not me.
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If you are thinking about making money in this recession by day trading stocks like AAPL, then you really need to think again. However, if you want to make a move now that will be a home run five years from now, opportunity is knocking - stop whining and answer the door.
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