bryanz

Palm: Hot or Hype?

Don't know if you read the Boy Genius Report but he's cited other PALM handsets running WebOS that will be available for other carriers in the future.

I agree that Pre on Sprint doesn't necessarily inspire confidence since it's a long-shot company on a shrinking carrier. Hearing they have devices planned for other networks put a pause to some of my negativity about PALM's prospects.

I want to short the heck out of this stock because the run-up has just been nuts, but fighting the tape and calling a top just leads to most people cashing out in the red.

If the June 7th release date is true, come early June I think would be a good time to buy some puts on the stock. I have a feeling it may end up being a buy the rumor, sell the news type of event.

Palm's Pre Goes a Step Further Than the iPhone

RK makes a good point... Look at the desktop OS mix. There's Windows, OS X, and Linux... much beyond that and you're not just niche, you're uber-niche. And the other OS's are all pretty well established.

Another point I saw brought up was whether or not the WebOS would be backwards compatible with Palm's previous apps. A lot of people who are hanging onto their Palm Pilots would probably love to upgrade to a 21st century device, but if they don't take that into consideration they'll probably upset some of their most loyal customers.


On Jan 09 09:22 AM RK wrote:

> The world already has Symbian, OS X, Android, RIM, Win mobile. That
> is 5. The new Palm OS makes it 6. This cannot last. I see only 3-4
> standing at the end. OS X, Win mobile, and Android would be my bet
> due to they are funded by deep deep pocket companies.

Large Screen iPod Touch May Launch in Fall '09

I'd love to see it, especially at a compelling price point. Of course since it's AAPL the compelling price point may be out of the question.

My immediate concern with the 7" or 9" screen is where it would fit in the device continuum, especially sans keyboard. It's not a netbook, it's a tablet. And it sounds like you'd still be typing on the screen, which might be awkward given the larger form factor.

I dunno, all speculation at this point.

Apple: Trading on the Cheap

Aren't MacWorld and the WWDC are typically buy the rumor, sell the news events though? The idea of underpromise, overdeliver that Peter Oppenheimer subscribes plays havoc with the hearts and minds of analysts who gush over the numbers that are reported then - pardon me - crap their pants on the guidance. Until recently when AAPL actually started reporting the non-conforming revenue numbers that bundle in deferred revenues from iPhone sales, people had trouble figuring those numbers out.

I'm curious as to AAPL selling an iPhone in WMT and what that would do to the image of exclusivity and chic appeal that belongs to the AAPL brand. I understand that you can buy iPods anywhere. Can you buy a Mac at WMT though? It's an incredible distribution channel but the coffee shop set might be a little turned off by seeing their baby sold at the big boxers.

I like that the market dropped 240pts (ok I don't like "that") while AAPL managed to stay positive and actually break $100 again. Hopefully it can develop support at that level and push higher.

Apple: Analysts Adjust Estimates While Remaining Bullish

Why are analysts still wetting themselves over declines in iPod sales? iPod sales drop while iPhone sales have risen... macbook sales have risen... app store is taking off... but people aren't buying as many iPod shuffles as they used to.

Is Jim Cramer Right? Is Apple Really a Market Barometer?

Couldn't you just look at beta to make the determination of correlation to the market's returns? Isn't that what beta is? Beta for AAPL is 1.93 so on average AAPL moves 1.93x whatever the market moves.

RIM Faces a Critical Month As Apple Gets Tough

"I read a detailed review of the soon to be released Blackberry Storm (on crackberry.com) and am still shaking my head over that one. Why would anyone buy an iPhone knock-off that's over a year late, has no WiFi, is bulky, has limited applications available, and costs more?"

Maybe because they don't want to be tied to AT&T? I think the iPhone-knockoff comment is a little fanboyish, no? Just b/c something has a touchscreen now it's a knockoff? Nevermind the touchscreen actually provides haptic feedback and the ability to select without clicking...

I've also read detailed reviews and people who used the Storm were very excited and really enjoyed the experience.

And when you talk about software, the main apps I see people use on the iPhone are Google Maps, Facebook, the web browser, and rss readers... Blackberrys do have those. And to be honest, I could care less if my phone plays Super Monkey Ball. RIMM is working on its own App Store as well...

I think the innovation Apple has introduced into the market is beneficial for both companies because it will force them to compete with each other and eventually the consumer will win because of the much improved experience. That's why I own both companies.

I'm just sick and tired of all these people who have never actually held the device in their hands or had any experience with it and they're already bashing or dismissing it.

But me, I'll wait for the Javelin... BB 8900. I love my Curve and can't wait to see if the Javelin will be another winner from RIM

Apple Could Crush Competitors With a $99 iPhone

I get the idea of increasing total revenues by decreasing price and increasing volume but like one of the other posters said, the iPhone is an aspirational product. The $99 price point is dominated by phones like the Moto Q and BlackJack. AAPL's traditional marketing plan has always been higher quality at premium and the consumers have gobbled it up.

Didn't they just sell 6.7M iPhones last quarter? Why cut the price now when the market doesn't seem to have been fully saturated with $199 iPhones? Wait for sales to slow, then consider cutting cost to $175 or maybe $149. No real need to even think about going lower than that yet.

Apple Rallies Early as Bernstein Upgrades

"In smartphones, he thinks Apple can convert most of the iPod installed base of 120 million to 130 million to iPhones, as consumer move to converged devices."

I don't think any serious shift like this will actually happen in the US until the iPhone is available on multiple networks. I understand there's an exclusivity contract, but it will hold AAPL back in terms of units sold no matter how much money AT&T gave them.

I personally didn't like the customer service I got when I was with AT&T (they were Cingular at the time) and no matter how cool their phones are I won't go back to them. The iPhone is already compatible with T-Mobile's EDGE network, and an iPhone that would work on Verizon would be huge for their numbers. Verizon customers already like paying too much for their plans, what's another $35/month in iPhone data fees to them?

I also take issue with the numbers this analyst uses. How many Shuffles and Nanos are included in that 120-130 million number? You're going to have a hard time convincing someone who just spent $69 on a shuffle to switch to a $199 phone that adds $30+ per month onto their phone bill.

Regardless the selloff was extremely excessive all around (as evidenced by the turnaround today) and AAPL was one of the one's that would be least affected yet was punished the most.

Does Apple Need an Enterprise Strategy After All?

@Hayweed
Look, I'm an AAPL shareholder but the things you're saying are so fanyboyish that bias is dripping off your sentences.

The Bold not being released on AT&T yet, from what I've heard from several sources, is because of AT&T not being able to handle the saturation of the 3G network of the iPhone and so T is hesitant to put another data intensive phone on their network. The Bold is in several other markets already so it's not like the phone is still in RIMM's R&D.

The Storm has obviously been more of a hassle and I'm curious myself to see how it will perform (I'm a RIMM shareholder too).

You talk about RIMM having multiple radios like that's some kind of detriment. It's actually what allows them to serve multiple networks and introduce phones and multiple price points. Both iPhones (with their different radios) exist only on AT&T w/i this country. RIMM is on every single major network in the US and hundreds across the world... it's what allowed them to get into China and other huge markets before AAPL did.

I know RIMM has been hammered lately, AAPL has too, but to think that both these companies can't still grow in the smartphone space is crazy.

And don't talk like the $199 is what the iPhone costs... you're leaving out the $35/month service plan that iPhone buyers are on the hook for 24 months for.

Research In Motion vs. Apple: The Smartphone Showdown

@Apple Heavy... if you're referring to the guy that said "ass," grow up. In reverence to George Carlin, I do need to point out that ass isn't one of the 7 words. =)

And using words like "RIMM fanatics" in the same breath when your username is Apple Heavy just goes to show what side you're clearly on. Both AAPL and RIMM have made me a good amount of money so badmouthing either one of them is just pointless to me. Both the iPhone and the BB are great platforms with the potential to expand without cannibalizing each others sales. People with "dumbphones" are going to upgrade to smart phones and they want choice. But why are you even throwing HTC into the mix, honestly? They run WinMo software which I have yet to see very many people like all that much.

Research In Motion vs. Apple: The Smartphone Showdown

RIMMs touchscreen model isn't a "rumor". It's the Blackberry Thunder and it's a CDMA phone that will be available on Verizon in Q3.

The Blackberry Bold is the first 9000 series phone from RIMM and will support HSDPA on AT&Ts network. It will be available sometime this month if I remember right. The Blackberry Javelin is similar in form and function to the Bold but is not 3G and has an upgraded camera. This phone is supposed to for T-Mo. The Bold "may" come to T-Mo considering they're talking about finally rolling out their 3G network to a wider audience.

Also the Blackberry Kickstart (I think that's the name) is the first Blackberry flip phone and will be released sometime in Q3 I believe.

Websites like BGR, BBCool, Crackberry, etc have covered these details for a while now.

Research In Motion: Expectations Running High

I think one of the major issues with the iPhone is that you're tied to AT&T. Lots of people don't like the idea of being tied a carrier no matter how cool their phones are. Back when they were Cingular I had some pretty crappy customer service experiences with them and promised myself I wouldn't give them my money anymore. I switched to T-Mo, their customer service is great, coverage is pretty good, and even with my Blackberry plan my minutes are still cheaper than a standard plan from AT&T. A phone that loads the national geographic website in 19 seconds, no matter how slick, isn't enough to convince me to go back to them.

Will Apple Be Dragged Kicking and Screaming to the Business Market?

@jimmx - What exactly is that? The review of a satisfied customer from 10 months in the future?

@ Tom B
The "straw man" comment is laughable. I worked in IT for 5 years and you obviously don't understand how intertwined the systems are within a business. The network touches every aspect of the modern business. No matter how simple OSX is to use, you can't just get rid of the Windows stuff and replace it with Mac stuff and tell your employees to get back to work. Unless all your employees do is email each other and play solitaire in their downtime...

I think one of the HUGE points that people are missing here is that switching from a PC environment to a Mac environment, a large business would incur big costs upfront that it probably doesn't want to incur. You're replacing software and hardware, no matter how easy to use the OS is there would have to be training for both the end user and the IT staff that supports the end users, legacy software (especially the kind that interfaces with legacy hardware) often has issues in virtual environments so you cannot simply dismiss that...

The VAST majority of businesses will probably never be Apple firms simply because they've invested too much time and money in buying the hardware and software, training support staff and end users, designing and deploying custom solutions, etc on their current environments to just completely overhaul everything and start from scratch.

And before you flame me for being a Windows-lover or something, I'm long AAPL and its made me money. I just consider myself a realist. Sure AAPL could have success in small firms, but I just don't see how they're going to win over the enterprise.

Apple: Taking Some Chips Off the Table at Current Prices

I took some off the table at $185... I might sell the rest June 6th just b/c the keynote always seems to be one of those buy the rumor, sell the news events.