Stunning news from Microsoft today. This is unbelievable. Headline: "A lot is at stake..." Another innovation from the most original hi tech company in the universe. I'm truly speechless at this announcement. I hesitate to give the link because it is still under wraps. This is sure to get Apple fans in a frenzy.
Whether your a bull or a bear, best not to eat of this forbidden fruit....or, lets just say it is an over valued short seller's roach motel....it is going to take some sort of a market crash and redemptions hitting the funds owning AAPL to make it nose dive....these funds may be getting more cash from wary European and Chinese investors, plus we have QE3 coming.
Another aspect of this is cultural. I have been watching how Asians interact with the phones in a group setting, such as in bars and restaurants. I think the photo sharing in particular is driving the market use in surprising ways. It might seem corny to Westerners, but there is definitely an Asian style group dynamic going on with the phones.
If you are looking at Apple as a stock, you have to factor in an analysis of the behavioral traits of the hedgies and institutions. You can't just say they are a herd of sheep waiting to be slaughtered. You have to look at it and decide how it will behave and how to be positioned to react.
Obviously, bad things can happen as a result of factors that have nothing to do with Apples performance.
someone's blowing hyper-bubbles out his trumpet regards Goofball but i fail to see how shareholders can share his epic enthusiasm for gaining a 70% market share in phone software by dropping your knickers and dumping your copy-cat software onto the market covered in barrels of red ink
not sure what Reg' finds so attractive about the 'Dump & Lose' GOO strategy when Apples path clearly demonstrates how to re-define and lead a market whilst making healthy profits (ie. a commercial strategy rather than GOO's cheap trash your way to the top)
I suspect the next big thing will be in the nature of desktop displays and interaction. That holographic stuff we have been seeing in the movies and on TV. You have to admit the Internet is visually monotonous as it is. Everything is basically laid out the same way and the display And browser mentality drives it.
TVs are just big monitors now. 3D TV is a survival gimmick. If Apple is going to do something radical with display interaction, the livingroom is a good place to start.
All the Netflix cable streaming, cable box, TIVO, yadda yadda, is hopelessly confusing for most mortals when it is seen in one place.
I think we are coming to a saturation point were no new great product will move enough consumers to justify expensive investment in the next few years. Expensive niche markets will always survive but the masses will be left alone for a while.
I was in a local phone store earlier this week to enjoy the air conditioning for a few minutes. Here is what I noticed. Basically there were three categories on display iPhones in black and white, an assortment of different Android phones at different price points and some Nokias. No Rimms.
What is amazing is how the field has been reduced in the last five years. People are wondering if Nokia will fold, Rimm is a zombie and today I read that Sony is reducing its mobile head count by 1000 and moving its mobile
HQ from Sweden to Japan.
As much as Google would like to take credit for this, Apple started the design revolution in mobile.
Apparently version 5 of the iPhone is going to be a complete redesign. The rumors from Shenzen are on the street and I know there is going to be a feeding frenzy for it all around Asia.
They own the premium end of the market, which is where you usually want to be.
I don't have to tell you what iPads are doing. In addition to netbooks, etc., they seem to have displaced the portable gaming market and they are now penetrating institutions like schools and hospitals. Desktops are increasingly seen as heavy lifting devices. Since there is no need to buy lots of desktops, there is now a tendency to splurge on those that are bought, which is why Apple computers are selling well.
I don't know what to make of the chatter about Apple TV. All I know is the cable spaghetti pile under my TV set reminds me of the state of MP3 devices and mobile phones before Apple shifted the design paradigm.
Apple is now very focused on the Greater China and Asia Pacific market. As a user of Apple products I can confirm that this is a recent development. They seem to be doing very well here.
In conclusion, I can still see many reasons why Apple is still a very strong fundamental business model, notwithstanding it's status as the hedge fund prom queen, a development that is distasteful but certainly not surprising given the intellectual laziness and herd mentality involved. I don't know how long it will take for Job's DNA to expire, but I suspect there is plenty of shelf life left. Where would Apple employees want to go...Facebook?
PS: With all the comparisons to Google, there is one thing I know for certain, Apple has the credit card details of its customers. Many people absolutely detest Google and would never trust it with their credit card details. Would you?
Steve's DNA may expire as the feeding frenzy over iPhone 5 subsides - he spent his last months on it. As Asia experiences a "hard" landing and Steve's magic fades into the ethers, Reggie's puts on the fruit company may ripen.
But you have to ask yourself, who is going to eclipse them. Not Google. I dont consider cluttering the device market with cheaper hardware a viable strategy for displacing Apples current position. Microsoft is a has been and Balmer is an idiot. Facebook is a has been as well. Who does that leave.
I thought Amazon could cut in, but I am not impressed with their creativity. They seem to have squandered their initial advantage, which was a readymade content pool.
Tech has a way of cannibalising itself. Success often means a pile of legacy you need to support, and code that just gets old, and competitors coming out of the garages. Yes yes AAPL is different, it's about the ecosystem, usability, I get all that. Tell it to Wang and DEC and AOL and Netscape and MySpace. AAPL market cap equal to MSFT, HP, Dell, GOOG and FB combined? Um I'm not sure. I'm not long, or short. Just staying away.
I think it's more about the tapped out consumer than which gang (pardon me, corporation) will lead. Food on the plate will trump Apples or Amazons? Will commodity prices become the center around which everything revolves? For the folks in my 'hood lining up for SNAP, that's reality now - no iPhone 5 for them.
The new ipad mini might be an indicator of the tapped outedness of the consumer. Seems like you'd need to get mostly new consumers that would've gotten a competing reader, rather than consumers running out and buying one of every variety ipad, the reasons for getting one just aren't that compelling. It'll be interesting to see how the mini shakes out.
I don't know. I'm sitting here with my HTC One-X (android), which is easily a high-end phone. And far more powerful than any other phone on the market right now.
Apple has a niche, no doubt, but it will have to fight an ever more difficult battle to keep that niche.
Stunning news from Microsoft today. This is unbelievable. Headline: "A lot is at stake..." Another innovation from the most original hi tech company in the universe. I'm truly speechless at this announcement. I hesitate to give the link because it is still under wraps. This is sure to get Apple fans in a frenzy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2018972097_microsoftlogo23.html
There is a phenomena called earnings and they have not been very good the past 2 quarters.
Whether your a bull or a bear, best not to eat of this forbidden fruit....or, lets just say it is an over valued short seller's roach motel....it is going to take some sort of a market crash and redemptions hitting the funds owning AAPL to make it nose dive....these funds may be getting more cash from wary European and Chinese investors, plus we have QE3 coming.
Another aspect of this is cultural. I have been watching how Asians interact with the phones in a group setting, such as in bars and restaurants. I think the photo sharing in particular is driving the market use in surprising ways. It might seem corny to Westerners, but there is definitely an Asian style group dynamic going on with the phones.
If you are looking at Apple as a stock, you have to factor in an analysis of the behavioral traits of the hedgies and institutions. You can't just say they are a herd of sheep waiting to be slaughtered. You have to look at it and decide how it will behave and how to be positioned to react.
Obviously, bad things can happen as a result of factors that have nothing to do with Apples performance.
True Banzai
someone's blowing hyper-bubbles out his trumpet regards Goofball but i fail to see how shareholders can share his epic enthusiasm for gaining a 70% market share in phone software by dropping your knickers and dumping your copy-cat software onto the market covered in barrels of red ink
not sure what Reg' finds so attractive about the 'Dump & Lose' GOO strategy when Apples path clearly demonstrates how to re-define and lead a market whilst making healthy profits (ie. a commercial strategy rather than GOO's cheap trash your way to the top)
Eat those Reggies Pac-Mac ..it's alot of bull, hysteria and spin to swallow but Apple are renowned for chumping chumps
what's the share price, sorry score, between APPL and GOO Reggie??
I don't think there is company that can replace Apple right now WB7.
What will effectively replace them though is the fact that the market will dry up.
I suspect the next big thing will be in the nature of desktop displays and interaction. That holographic stuff we have been seeing in the movies and on TV. You have to admit the Internet is visually monotonous as it is. Everything is basically laid out the same way and the display And browser mentality drives it.
TVs are just big monitors now. 3D TV is a survival gimmick. If Apple is going to do something radical with display interaction, the livingroom is a good place to start.
All the Netflix cable streaming, cable box, TIVO, yadda yadda, is hopelessly confusing for most mortals when it is seen in one place.
AAPL vs GLD, one decade.
http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/advchart/frames/frames.asp?show=&instty...
I think we are coming to a saturation point were no new great product will move enough consumers to justify expensive investment in the next few years. Expensive niche markets will always survive but the masses will be left alone for a while.
The dummies on Wall Street are hungry for a new gimmick every five minutes.
lol
Half-naked Reggies with a spear would make good ghosts, too!
[face_applause]
how's there marketing doing in syria and iran? I think it will benefit greatly , along with the entire stock market, from world war III.
lets' get moving!
That's funny because I read there is a huge grey market in Tehran.
I was in a local phone store earlier this week to enjoy the air conditioning for a few minutes. Here is what I noticed. Basically there were three categories on display iPhones in black and white, an assortment of different Android phones at different price points and some Nokias. No Rimms.
What is amazing is how the field has been reduced in the last five years. People are wondering if Nokia will fold, Rimm is a zombie and today I read that Sony is reducing its mobile head count by 1000 and moving its mobile
HQ from Sweden to Japan.
As much as Google would like to take credit for this, Apple started the design revolution in mobile.
Apparently version 5 of the iPhone is going to be a complete redesign. The rumors from Shenzen are on the street and I know there is going to be a feeding frenzy for it all around Asia.
They own the premium end of the market, which is where you usually want to be.
I don't have to tell you what iPads are doing. In addition to netbooks, etc., they seem to have displaced the portable gaming market and they are now penetrating institutions like schools and hospitals. Desktops are increasingly seen as heavy lifting devices. Since there is no need to buy lots of desktops, there is now a tendency to splurge on those that are bought, which is why Apple computers are selling well.
I don't know what to make of the chatter about Apple TV. All I know is the cable spaghetti pile under my TV set reminds me of the state of MP3 devices and mobile phones before Apple shifted the design paradigm.
Apple is now very focused on the Greater China and Asia Pacific market. As a user of Apple products I can confirm that this is a recent development. They seem to be doing very well here.
In conclusion, I can still see many reasons why Apple is still a very strong fundamental business model, notwithstanding it's status as the hedge fund prom queen, a development that is distasteful but certainly not surprising given the intellectual laziness and herd mentality involved. I don't know how long it will take for Job's DNA to expire, but I suspect there is plenty of shelf life left. Where would Apple employees want to go...Facebook?
PS: With all the comparisons to Google, there is one thing I know for certain, Apple has the credit card details of its customers. Many people absolutely detest Google and would never trust it with their credit card details. Would you?
When Google fiber gets installed in our neighborhood here in KC, MO, they will have my cc info.
Fair trade, I would say...
The choice between Google or a cable company having your card is yet another Morton's fork. ;-)
Steve's DNA may expire as the feeding frenzy over iPhone 5 subsides - he spent his last months on it. As Asia experiences a "hard" landing and Steve's magic fades into the ethers, Reggie's puts on the fruit company may ripen.
There is no such thing as forever.
But you have to ask yourself, who is going to eclipse them. Not Google. I dont consider cluttering the device market with cheaper hardware a viable strategy for displacing Apples current position. Microsoft is a has been and Balmer is an idiot. Facebook is a has been as well. Who does that leave.
I thought Amazon could cut in, but I am not impressed with their creativity. They seem to have squandered their initial advantage, which was a readymade content pool.
Who does that leave?
Tech has a way of cannibalising itself. Success often means a pile of legacy you need to support, and code that just gets old, and competitors coming out of the garages. Yes yes AAPL is different, it's about the ecosystem, usability, I get all that. Tell it to Wang and DEC and AOL and Netscape and MySpace. AAPL market cap equal to MSFT, HP, Dell, GOOG and FB combined? Um I'm not sure. I'm not long, or short. Just staying away.
I think it's more about the tapped out consumer than which gang (pardon me, corporation) will lead. Food on the plate will trump Apples or Amazons? Will commodity prices become the center around which everything revolves? For the folks in my 'hood lining up for SNAP, that's reality now - no iPhone 5 for them.
The new ipad mini might be an indicator of the tapped outedness of the consumer. Seems like you'd need to get mostly new consumers that would've gotten a competing reader, rather than consumers running out and buying one of every variety ipad, the reasons for getting one just aren't that compelling. It'll be interesting to see how the mini shakes out.
I think that is a defensive move to close a size niche from being exploited by competitors.
That is why Asia is such a critical market. Wealth is still accumulating here.
I don't know. I'm sitting here with my HTC One-X (android), which is easily a high-end phone. And far more powerful than any other phone on the market right now.
Apple has a niche, no doubt, but it will have to fight an ever more difficult battle to keep that niche.
Where is the squid doing God's work...? Did Reggie eat them...? :)
They are in the middle of a PR makeover. Did you know squids are apparently our friends on Wall Street?
I guess no one gets 'em all right all the time!
I bow to you, great wizard of the Photoshop. WB7- you are da bomb!
Love at first bite?
waka waka...
Doo dut da doo dut. Doo dut da doo dut. Doo dut da doo dut. Doooo Daaaa Doooo. waka waka waka waka waka waka.....
U need to add an edible "GOOG" in the center
Still a lot of Reggies to go. Game not over yet.
Yes brilliant - ha!
in soviet russia apple eat you.
insert dark meat joke here.
the reggie maze is as good as Hampton court's.
that instantly made my morning, thank you.
you sir, you.
Unfortunately, Apple is running out of Power Pellets. Expect Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde to catch-up with them pretty soon...