Today AAPL hit a 1-year low of $79.14 intraday, the first time in a very long time that the stock has been below $80. (On Thursday AAPL fell to $80, but never went below it.) However, at the end of the day the stock rallied with the rest of the market, and closed up 2.6% to $82.58 from yesterday's close of $80.49.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Author of Fake Jobs Heart Attack Story Found
The author of the fake report of Jobs having a heart attack has been located, and it was an 18 year-old. We still don't know why he faked the story however.
What a world we live in. All it takes is just one random fake post for a stock to drop $5 billion.
What a world we live in. All it takes is just one random fake post for a stock to drop $5 billion.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
iPhone outsells Blackberry
Yesterday was Apple's financial conference call, and it didn't disappoint. Apple blew past analysts' expectations, announcing that 6.89 million iPhones were sold last quarter, 50% higher than consensus analysts' estimates.
That was more than what RIM sold in the same quarter. For good reason too. The iPhone is a triumph of interface design and feature integration (including the iPod). The Blackberries, not so much. Research In Motion is releasing its much hyped Blackberry Storm this quarter to compete with the iPhone, but I'm not convinced it will rise above the mediocrity that has characterized RIM hardware and software up until now. Perhaps Jim Balsillie should focus more on RIM's products than on acquiring a hockey team.
Steve Jobs went on to brag that in terms of revenue, Apple is now third behind Nokia and Samsung. Apple has already bested the ailing Sony Ericsson.
Apple still has no debt, and has about $25 billion in cash. That means that for every single share of AAPL out there, Apple has $28 sitting in the bank. To put it another way, about 30% of Apple's market capitalization at yesterday's close of $91.49 was in cash. And to put it yet another way, Apple could buy Dell in cash today, as Dell's market capitalization is under $25 billion. Maybe it's time to shut down Dell?
Guidance for the following quarter was unusually vague, as Apple provided a very wide range of possible outcomes, all conservative. The after hours market didn't seem to mind though, as AAPL was up to over $103 at one point, before settling back to a little over $97 at market open today.
That was more than what RIM sold in the same quarter. For good reason too. The iPhone is a triumph of interface design and feature integration (including the iPod). The Blackberries, not so much. Research In Motion is releasing its much hyped Blackberry Storm this quarter to compete with the iPhone, but I'm not convinced it will rise above the mediocrity that has characterized RIM hardware and software up until now. Perhaps Jim Balsillie should focus more on RIM's products than on acquiring a hockey team.
Steve Jobs went on to brag that in terms of revenue, Apple is now third behind Nokia and Samsung. Apple has already bested the ailing Sony Ericsson.
Apple still has no debt, and has about $25 billion in cash. That means that for every single share of AAPL out there, Apple has $28 sitting in the bank. To put it another way, about 30% of Apple's market capitalization at yesterday's close of $91.49 was in cash. And to put it yet another way, Apple could buy Dell in cash today, as Dell's market capitalization is under $25 billion. Maybe it's time to shut down Dell?
Guidance for the following quarter was unusually vague, as Apple provided a very wide range of possible outcomes, all conservative. The after hours market didn't seem to mind though, as AAPL was up to over $103 at one point, before settling back to a little over $97 at market open today.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Steve Jobs disses the Blu-ray Disc Association
As usual, Teh Steve does not mince words. He said:
This is perhaps not surprising. The Blu-ray licencing requirements for an OS are said to be draconian, and I'm sure Apple doesn't want to mess too much with the underpinnings of OS X just to support a costly format that is still languishing in the market.
What makes this criticism especially biting is the fact that Apple sits on the Blu-ray Disc Association's Board of Directors.
“Blu-ray is a bag of hurt."
"The licensing is so complex, we're waiting until things settle down before we burden our customers with the cost of the licensing and the cost of the drives."
This is perhaps not surprising. The Blu-ray licencing requirements for an OS are said to be draconian, and I'm sure Apple doesn't want to mess too much with the underpinnings of OS X just to support a costly format that is still languishing in the market.
What makes this criticism especially biting is the fact that Apple sits on the Blu-ray Disc Association's Board of Directors.
No backlit keyboard in lower end aluminum MacBook
Just a word of warning for those interested in the new aluminum MacBook: The lower end model does not include a backlit keyboard.
This is a disappointment. Besides the new trackpad, the one very enticing feature of the new design is the backlit keyboard. Hopefully the next iteration of the AluMacBook will include the illuminated keyboard.
Who knows... Maybe by that time Apple will also add FireWire-over-Ethernet support to the MacBooks. That's unlikely though.
The Apple Store is very misleading. Although Apple's website confirms in multiple places that the low end 2.0 GHz aluminum MacBook does not include a backlit keyboard, the Apple Store order page says it does.
This is a disappointment. Besides the new trackpad, the one very enticing feature of the new design is the backlit keyboard. Hopefully the next iteration of the AluMacBook will include the illuminated keyboard.
Who knows... Maybe by that time Apple will also add FireWire-over-Ethernet support to the MacBooks. That's unlikely though.
The Apple Store is very misleading. Although Apple's website confirms in multiple places that the low end 2.0 GHz aluminum MacBook does not include a backlit keyboard, the Apple Store order page says it does.
No new laptop for Everything Apple [Update: New laptop after all!]
Apple released new MacBooks and MacBook Pros today to great fanfare, and my read of the press is that they were underwhelmed. The new clickable trackpad is nice, as is the new (laser cut) form factor, but it seems rather odd to exclude the 17" MacBook Pro from the party. Hopefully we'll see an update to the 17 incher sooner rather than later.
The loss of Firewire on the MacBook is a big loss for us old-timer Mac types, although I can understand it from Apple's business perspective. I betcha the vast majority of MacBook owners have never used a Firewire device. However, in my case, I've grown very fond of Firewire target mode, and I own a lot of Firewire devices, too.
I was just about to purchase a Firewire-endowed refurbished white MacBook for CAD$899 today, but was too slow on the trigger. They're all gone now. I'll have to just stick with my slow G4 800 iBook for now. I actually prefer its footprint over the MacBook anyway.
[Update 2008-10-14]
They're back! I just ordered one of the refurbished white MacBook units:
2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo
3 MB shared L2 cache
800 MHz bus
1 GB 667 MHz PC-5300 DDR2 memory
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
Intel GMA X3100 GPU with 144 MB shared RAM
120GB hard drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Gigabit Ethernet
802.11n wireless
Firewire and USB 2
5.0 lbs
Not bad for CAD$899. At today's exchange rate, that's only US$770. With 4 GB of RAM, I'm all set. Fortunately, 4 GB RAM is much cheaper for the white MacBook too, as compared to the newer MacBooks. I should be able to pick up 4 GB for under $60.
Maybe in 2009, I'll get a new AluMacBook to add to the collection after Apple drops its pricing.
The loss of Firewire on the MacBook is a big loss for us old-timer Mac types, although I can understand it from Apple's business perspective. I betcha the vast majority of MacBook owners have never used a Firewire device. However, in my case, I've grown very fond of Firewire target mode, and I own a lot of Firewire devices, too.
I was just about to purchase a Firewire-endowed refurbished white MacBook for CAD$899 today, but was too slow on the trigger. They're all gone now. I'll have to just stick with my slow G4 800 iBook for now. I actually prefer its footprint over the MacBook anyway.
[Update 2008-10-14]
They're back! I just ordered one of the refurbished white MacBook units:
2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo
3 MB shared L2 cache
800 MHz bus
1 GB 667 MHz PC-5300 DDR2 memory
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
Intel GMA X3100 GPU with 144 MB shared RAM
120GB hard drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Gigabit Ethernet
802.11n wireless
Firewire and USB 2
5.0 lbs
Not bad for CAD$899. At today's exchange rate, that's only US$770. With 4 GB of RAM, I'm all set. Fortunately, 4 GB RAM is much cheaper for the white MacBook too, as compared to the newer MacBooks. I should be able to pick up 4 GB for under $60.
Maybe in 2009, I'll get a new AluMacBook to add to the collection after Apple drops its pricing.
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