The Galaxy S IV shows the contrast between Apple's (AAPL) minimalist approach to smartphones and Samsung's (SSNLF.PK) "maximalist" approach, writes Forbes' Anthony Wing Kosner. Whereas Apple carefully weighs the impact of product changes and lets the iPhone speak for itself, Samsung is constantly making big upgrades while promising its phones will change your life. Kosner thinks Apple's low-key approach resonates better in the U.S., but TechCrunch's John Biggs argues Samsung's approach has its strengths. "[Samsung] figured out that people didn’t care about specs. Instead, they care about use cases." [View news story]
People worry about future Apple innovation, but Samsung have never innovated. They have always been copycats, not leaders. I do agree with the other writers who say that there is something sinister about having google monitor your eye movements.
11 analysts have lowered their Apple (AAPL -0.4%) targets in recent weeks, Fortune observes. Many of them attributed their cuts (I, II) to reports of iPhone order reductions, but the recent drop in Apple shares is probably playing a role as well. Topeka's Brian White maintains the highest target ($1,111), and ACI Research's Ed Zabisky the lowest ($270). The average target is still at $740, 44% above current levels. [View news story]
Could it be that Apple have ordered components from some new suppliers in order to have a more diversified & robust supply chain?
That would explain reduced orders for some of the current suppliers.
When Apple (AAPL -2.2%) last traded at its current level of $514, MLB spring training hadn't started and the 3rd-gen iPad was still a mystery. Outside of the poor sales figures for Dell's PC business, which Mac/iPad sales are partly responsible for, there doesn't seem to be any major news to trigger today's sharp decline. Shares now trade at just a little over 7x FY13E EPS exc. cash - the Street seems to be pricing in expectations of limited growth and ongoing margin pressure. [View news story]
The only real bear argument seems to be that smartphones are now commoditised and that people will therefore buy the cheaper alternative ie samsung.
Do they forget that cars are a commodity too? People with money still buy bmw's rather than fords. This is despite the fact that bmw do not completely reinvent the car every year. BMW customers seem to have been kept happy with incremental improvements for decades.
The quality and prestige of BMW products mean that people are happy to pay a higher price for them.
Samsung are still regarded as clone makers and as a British High Court judge declared ' their products cannot be mistaken for apple, because they are not cool'.
People will always be prepared to pay a premium for a more prestigious product, whether its a car, handbag, or a smartphone.
If anything, Apple products and its brand value are only getting stronger.
Though analysts have come to its defense this morning, Apple (AAPL -1.9%) can't catch a break - shares now trade at 8.2x FY13E EPS (exc. cash). The decline comes as signs emerge Apple is taking new steps to vertically integrate: Digitimes reports Apple is now directly placing orders with material suppliers, who traditionally interact with manufacturers, and Horace Dediu theorizes Apple may have invested ~$2B in Sharp's display production. He also notes Apple's off-balance-sheet manufacturing/component purchase commitments have risen to $21.1B. [View news story]
Good that apple is sourcing components directly from manufacturers. This means that the assembly companies cannot pass on the benefit of apple size purchasing power to apples competitors. This will push competitors costs up.
More on Apple: Cash balance stood at $121.3B at end of FQ4. 4.9M Macs shipped (+1% Y/Y). iPhone (main profit engine) units +58% Y/Y and revenue +56% (up from +28% and +22% in FQ3). iPad units +26% and revenue +9%, a major slowdown partly caused by inventory changes. Mac desktop units -24%, notebooks +9%. iPod units -19% and revenue -26%. Implied iPhone ASP of $636 ($625 in FQ3), iPad ASP of $536 ($538 in FQ3). Apple has resumed trading and is down 0.9% AH - some bad news was clearly priced in. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). [View news story]
If you saw the demo of the surface on bloomberg today, it was very slow. They gave up waiting for word to load!
More on the iPad Mini: The cheapest model (16GB Wi-Fi) goes for $329. Amazon and Google, sellers of the $199 Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7, are probably breathing sighs of relief. As expected, there's no retina display inside the Mini, but there is an HD front camera and 5MP back camera, and 3G/4G models are offered (they start at $459). Like the iPad 2, the Mini is powered by an A5 processor. Apple (AAPL -2.2%) is selling off. (live blog). [View news story]
The 329 price point is very generous to Apple's competitors. It allows them to continue to lose money on low price tablets as they compete amongst themselves in the subprime tablet market.
Did Foxconn Bring Down Apple Stock? [View article]
This Foxconn incidents have a repetitive nature and as younpoint out, result in singnificant down swings in the Apple price. At the risk of sounding cynical, has anyone looked to see if there have been any unusual share dealings in advance of these stories breaking?
The Galaxy S IV shows the contrast between Apple's (AAPL) minimalist approach to smartphones and Samsung's (SSNLF.PK) "maximalist" approach, writes Forbes' Anthony Wing Kosner. Whereas Apple carefully weighs the impact of product changes and lets the iPhone speak for itself, Samsung is constantly making big upgrades while promising its phones will change your life. Kosner thinks Apple's low-key approach resonates better in the U.S., but TechCrunch's John Biggs argues Samsung's approach has its strengths. "[Samsung] figured out that people didn’t care about specs. Instead, they care about use cases." [View news story]
I do agree with the other writers who say that there is something sinister about having google monitor your eye movements.
11 analysts have lowered their Apple (AAPL -0.4%) targets in recent weeks, Fortune observes. Many of them attributed their cuts (I, II) to reports of iPhone order reductions, but the recent drop in Apple shares is probably playing a role as well. Topeka's Brian White maintains the highest target ($1,111), and ACI Research's Ed Zabisky the lowest ($270). The average target is still at $740, 44% above current levels. [View news story]
That would explain reduced orders for some of the current suppliers.
When Apple (AAPL -2.2%) last traded at its current level of $514, MLB spring training hadn't started and the 3rd-gen iPad was still a mystery. Outside of the poor sales figures for Dell's PC business, which Mac/iPad sales are partly responsible for, there doesn't seem to be any major news to trigger today's sharp decline. Shares now trade at just a little over 7x FY13E EPS exc. cash - the Street seems to be pricing in expectations of limited growth and ongoing margin pressure. [View news story]
Do they forget that cars are a commodity too? People with money still buy bmw's rather than fords. This is despite the fact that bmw do not completely reinvent the car every year. BMW customers seem to have been kept happy with incremental improvements for decades.
The quality and prestige of BMW products mean that people are happy to pay a higher price for them.
Samsung are still regarded as clone makers and as a British High Court judge declared ' their products cannot be mistaken for apple, because they are not cool'.
People will always be prepared to pay a premium for a more prestigious product, whether its a car, handbag, or a smartphone.
If anything, Apple products and its brand value are only getting stronger.
Though analysts have come to its defense this morning, Apple (AAPL -1.9%) can't catch a break - shares now trade at 8.2x FY13E EPS (exc. cash). The decline comes as signs emerge Apple is taking new steps to vertically integrate: Digitimes reports Apple is now directly placing orders with material suppliers, who traditionally interact with manufacturers, and Horace Dediu theorizes Apple may have invested ~$2B in Sharp's display production. He also notes Apple's off-balance-sheet manufacturing/component purchase commitments have risen to $21.1B. [View news story]
More on Apple: Cash balance stood at $121.3B at end of FQ4. 4.9M Macs shipped (+1% Y/Y). iPhone (main profit engine) units +58% Y/Y and revenue +56% (up from +28% and +22% in FQ3). iPad units +26% and revenue +9%, a major slowdown partly caused by inventory changes. Mac desktop units -24%, notebooks +9%. iPod units -19% and revenue -26%. Implied iPhone ASP of $636 ($625 in FQ3), iPad ASP of $536 ($538 in FQ3). Apple has resumed trading and is down 0.9% AH - some bad news was clearly priced in. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). [View news story]
What's All The Hubbub About Over The iPad Mini Pricing? [View article]
More on the iPad Mini: The cheapest model (16GB Wi-Fi) goes for $329. Amazon and Google, sellers of the $199 Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7, are probably breathing sighs of relief. As expected, there's no retina display inside the Mini, but there is an HD front camera and 5MP back camera, and 3G/4G models are offered (they start at $459). Like the iPad 2, the Mini is powered by an A5 processor. Apple (AAPL -2.2%) is selling off. (live blog). [View news story]
Did Foxconn Bring Down Apple Stock? [View article]