Beware, huge time-waster alert:
New to iTunes are the notable television commercials (iTunes Link) from the Duke University libraries. These ads were digitized from the original 16mm preservation film prints in 2009, as part of the AdViews collection. More info.
Silicon Alley Insider has another interesting chart illustrating what many probably have suspected. iPod sales aren’t really tapering off, they are just being distributed to iPod touch and iPhones.
If you look at the iPhone as an iPod (which it is – remember Jobs said it was the best iPod Apple has ever made), Apple’s "Pocket Products" are on a steady upward trajectory. People are just opting for iPods with higher capabilities and Apple is artificially classifying these products differently.
Additionally, the new iPhone/Touch iPods are higher priced, higher margin devices that have further revenue potential with not only music like other iPods but also Apps. That is good for Apple.
As Engadget notes, Navigon has released North American (1.12 GB iTunes link) to go with its European version of its Turn-By-Turn GPS navigation software. The software is one of the first of its kind (with G-Maps and Sygic Mobile maps – thanks commenters) to have a one-time charge ($70) rather than a monthly fee levied by AT&T’s software, and others.
Readers should note that TomTom’s hardware/software solution should be available on the iPhone (and iPod touch?) by the end of summer. Interestingly, you can also get a full, stand-alone TomTom One for $48 which makes these software only versions seem more than a little pricey (hint: wait a few months for price wars to begin). We have to admit, however, that this one looks great. Video below.
According to some Redmond Seattle News Station, iPods get hot and sometimes catch on fire. In S. Korea that led to a recall…(dirty secret – they sold those exact same iPods in the US). Apparently the news station was bitter at Apple’s lawyers for keeping the information from them for seven months. It’s almost like they don’t know what lawyers are paid to do…
Also, Apple’s lawyers continue to get their backsides handed to them by the EFF. This time it was over a failed DMCA claim over conversations on BlueWiki concerning the iTunes DB.
Apple sent another letter on July 8, 2009 withdrawing its cease and desist demands. “Apple no longer has, nor will it have in the future, any objection to the publication of the iTunesDB Pages,” Apple’s letter said.
“While we are glad that Apple retracted its baseless legal threats, we are disappointed that it only came after 7 months of censorship and a lawsuit,” said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. “Because Apple continues to use technical measures to lock iPod Touch and iPhone owners into — and Palm Pre owners out of — using Apple’s iTunes software, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more discussions among frustrated customers about reverse engineering Apple products. We hope Apple has learned its lesson here and will give those online discussions a wide berth in the future.”
So this might or might not be a good way to deliver your message. Gizmodo points us to an amusing stunt by a guy worried about his privacy…and ours apparently.
Anyone know where (Antwaan) Randall L. Stephenson lives and where the nearest cell tower to that location is…just out of curiosity?
I
n case you missed the audio version, Seeking Alpha has gone through the trouble of transcribing yesterday’s earnings call. Highlights:
– revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion or $1.35 per diluted share
– Gross margin was 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in the year-ago quarter
– Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a four percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter
– Apple sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
– Quarterly iPhones sold were 5.2 million, representing 626%(!!!) unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
We know LTE is coming in the next few years and should be fully operational in 2012 or so (AT&T are very speedy with their rollouts) but we want some 4G wireless speed ASAP. Fortunately, if you live in the right part of the country, you can have it now.
What’s the technology? Well, effectively it brings wireless internet access to a wide area, making it a hugely viable solution for those parts of the world which don’t yet have a mobile or fixed line communication infrastructure. Originally developed by Intel and partners, the technology is called WiMax, and is coming to the Mac next month.
US WiMax provider Clearwire will next month finally introduce client software designed to get Macs onto its WiMax service. Clearwire’s modems, which offer built in WiFi (which helps you get onto the WiMax network when indoors) but have until now only shipped with Windows drivers.
This changes on August 17, when Clearwire will begin offering a Mac driver as a free download for customers, according to Mike Sievert, chief commercial officer. He announced the news as the company opened up its WiMax service in Las Vegas. That network covers 638 square miles of the city’s metropolitan area and reaches 1.7 million potential customers.
Clearwire also offers WiMax services in Baltimore, Atlanta and Portland, Oregon, widening this to also include Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas by the end of the year.
The Clear WiMax service delivers 3Mb per second (Mbps) to 6Mbps, with bursts as high as 10Mbps, according to Clearwire. It starts at $20 per month for home and $30 per month for mobile service, and combined plans are also available. A day pass costs $10.
What makes this potentially interesting for a wider church of Mac users is detailed within an FCC filing which emerged last year. Intel’s 5350 WiFi/WiMAX combo card fits into Mini PCI Express card slots – meaning Mac users could consider swapping out their WiFi card (as used in MacBooks and so on) for one of Intel’s new cards, new cards which combine WiFi and WiMax support.
If Mac drivers for WiMax debut next month, how soon will Apple users be tuning into WIMax? After all, in comparison with AT&T’s pretty punitive 3G iPhone to Mac tethering charges, where it’s available, WiMax offers better bandwidth at a competitive price.
Foreign travellers should benefit too, with deep and wide WiMax deployments emerging in Russia and many Eastern nations, including Taiwan. And India. And one day anywhere else were mature fixed line or mobile solutions aren’t yet fully set-up.
Apple has agreed a half-billion dollar deal with Toshiba Corp for the supply of flash memory chips, as used in iPhones, most iPods and many of its laptops.
The computer company has made a $500 million prepayment to Toshiba in order to secure supplies. Toshiba is the world’s second largest supplier of flash memory, with Apple also sourcing same from the world’s largest supplier, Samsung.
The $500 million deal is “equivalent to about one quarter’s worth of Apple’s demand for flash memory”, Reuters explains.
Apple chief operating officer, Tim Cook, stressed the importance of the deal, saying, “We view flash as a very important component for us, because we use it in so many of our products.” He noted that Apple uses 3% of the world’s Flash storage.
It’s not the first time Apple’s clinched a deal to secure flash memory supplies. Apple paid $1.25 billion in advance to Hynix, Intel, Micron, Samsung Electronics and Toshiba to secure supplies of the component in 2005. That deal extends through until 2010.
Speaking during its financial results call last night, Apple admitted that supplies of the iPhone 3GS are constrained, with the company unable to meet current demand. “We are working to address this,” said chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer.
Supplies of some MacBook models are also constrained, but supplies of these should improve in the coming weeks, company executives said.
Apple will still introduce the iPhone into China by the end of its fiscal year (September), the company said.
The company also saw a slight fall in iPod sales, which fell 7 per cent from the year ago quarter to reach 10.2 million units. “We expect tradition MP3 sales to continue to decline over time as we cannibalize ourselves with sales of the iPod touch and iPhone,” Oppenheimer said. “But we still have a great business which we believe last many, many years, and we will continue to manage well.”
Apple admitted its own research which indicates that half of those buying an iPod are new customers. In addition, iPod touch sales rose 130 per cent year-over-year.
Two of our favorites (not fart apps). The Daily Show and App store.
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:239138
Foxconn owner the Hon Hai Group has suspended a security official following the tragic suicide of a young Chinese engineer who lost a fourth-generation iPhone prototype.
As reported yesterday, Sun Danyong, (25) jumped from the roof of his factory dormitory to his death following his loss of one of 16 iPhone prototypes. There’s a Google image of the factory illustrated.
He had taken a job looking after product communications for long-time Apple manufacturer, Foxconn. Based in Shenzen, his job involved transporting iPhone prototypes from Foxconn to Apple.
Hon Hai says it is “unaware of the reasons behind Sun’s suicide”, but it followed an investigation by the firm’s security operatives following the loss of the iPhone. Foxconn didn’t authorize any person or department to violate the law, according to Hon Hai, which offered its condolences to Sun’s family.
Apple was also saddened at the young engineer’s tragic suicide, company spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET:
"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death. We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."
UPDATE: It seems Foxconn has now asked the Chinese police to investigate the case. The company observed Sun’s death revealed "management shortcomings at Foxconn and that the company would work to provide better psychological support to employees".
Highlights:
– revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion or $1.35 per diluted share
– Gross margin was 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in the year-ago quarter
– Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a four percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter
– Apple sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
– Quarterly iPhones sold were 5.2 million, representing 626%(!!!) unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
Release posted below:
CUPERTINO, California—July 21, 2009—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 third quarter ended June 27, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone™ and Apple TV® over their estimated economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $9.74 billion of “Adjusted Sales” and $1.94 billion of “Adjusted Net Income.”
Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a four percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhones sold were 5.2 million, representing 626 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
“We’re making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re thrilled to have sold over 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter and users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications from our App Store in its first year.”
“We’re extremely pleased to report record non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings and quarterly cash flow from operations of $2.3 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $1.18 to $1.23.”
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2009 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime®, Apple’s standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on July 21, 2009 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq309/ and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.
*Non-GAAP Financial Measures
During fiscal 2007, the Company began selling iPhone and Apple TV. Because the Company may provide unspecified features and additional software products to iPhone and Apple TV customers in the future free of charge, in accordance with GAAP the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for these products on a straight-line basis over their economic lives, with any loss recognized at the time of sale. Currently, the economic lives of these products are estimated to be 24 months. This accounting treatment, referred to as subscription accounting, results in the deferral of almost all of the revenue and cost of goods sold during the quarter in which the products are sold to the customer. Other costs related to these products, including costs for engineering, sales, marketing and warranty, are expensed as incurred. Further, the costs to develop any future unspecified features and additional software products that may eventually be provided to customers also are expensed as incurred. In contrast, the Company generally recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for its other products, such as Macs and iPods, at the time of sale, as the Company does not provide future unspecified features or additional software products to those customers free of charge.
In July 2008, the Company began selling iPhone 3G, the second-generation iPhone, and at that time significantly expanded distribution by establishing carrier relationships in over 70 countries. Unit sales of iPhone 3G have been significantly greater than sales of the first-generation iPhone. During the first quarter of iPhone 3G availability ended September 27, 2008, 6.9 million units were sold, exceeding the 6.1 million first-generation iPhone units sold in the prior five quarters combined.
In June 2009, the Company began selling iPhone 3GS, the third-generation iPhone. Unit sales of iPhones continued to be significant in the quarter ended June 27, 2009, with 5.2 million iPhones sold. As a result, the amount of revenue and product cost related to those iPhone sales that the Company deferred for recognition in future periods under subscription accounting was substantial. While the GAAP results provide significant insight into the Company’s operations and financial position, management continues to supplement its analysis of the business using financial measures that look at the total sales, related product costs and resulting income for iPhones and Apple TVs sold to customers during the period. The presentation at the end of this press release includes the following non-GAAP measures: “Adjusted Sales,” “Adjusted Cost of Sales,” “Adjusted Gross Margin,” “Adjusted Operating Margin,” “Adjusted Net Income” and “Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share.” These financial measures are not consistent with GAAP because they do not reflect the deferral of revenue and product costs for recognition in later periods. The above-mentioned non-GAAP measures are generated by adjusting the related GAAP measures solely to reverse the effect of subscription accounting. The Company uses these financial measures, along with other measures discussed below, to provide additional insight into current operating and business trends not readily apparent from the GAAP results.
Management uses Adjusted Sales to evaluate the Company’s growth rate, revenue mix and performance relative to competitors. Given the impact of iPhone unit sales during the quarter ended June 27, 2009, Adjusted Sales provides a meaningful measurement of the Company’s growth by reflecting amounts generally due to Apple at the time of sale related to products sold within the period. Further, eliminating the effects of deferred revenue (current sales deferred to future periods and prior sales being recognized currently) provides more transparency into the Company’s underlying sales trends. Management uses the non-GAAP measures of “Adjusted Cost of Sales,” “Adjusted Gross Margin” and “Adjusted Operating Margin” to measure the Company’s operating performance based on current period iPhone and Apple TV sales and to facilitate ongoing operating decisions. Additionally, because the Company recognizes engineering, sales, and marketing expenses as incurred, including expenses related to iPhone and Apple TV, management uses Adjusted Sales to evaluate returns on those costs, to manage year-over-year operating expense growth, and to budget future expenses. Furthermore, because they are considered meaningful indicators of current business performance, the non-GAAP measures “Adjusted Sales” and “Adjusted Operating Margin” are metrics that factor into the determination of management compensation beginning in fiscal year 2009. Finally, management uses the non-GAAP measures of “Adjusted Net Income” and “Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share” to measure the Company’s operating performance based on current period iPhone and Apple TV sales, to facilitate ongoing operating decisions, and compare performance relative to competitors.
Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding consolidated GAAP measures and related segment information, provide incremental insight into the underlying factors and trends affecting both the Company’s performance and its cash generating potential. Management believes these non-GAAP measures increase the transparency of the Company’s current results and enable investors to more fully understand trends in its current and future performance.
Cautions on Use of Non-GAAP Measures
As noted previously, these non-GAAP financial measures are not consistent with GAAP because they do not reflect the deferral of revenue and product costs for recognition in later periods. These non-GAAP financial measures do not adjust for the costs associated with the Company’s intention to provide unspecified new features and software to purchasers of iPhone and Apple TV products. These costs are expensed as incurred under GAAP’s subscription accounting model, and are not adjusted in these non-GAAP financial measures. As such, these non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to reflect in a given period all of the costs of sales made in that period. Rather, the non-GAAP financial measures presented below are intended for the limited purpose of presenting performance measures that include the total sales, related product costs, and resulting income for iPhones and Apple TVs in the period those products are sold to customers.
Management believes investors will benefit from greater transparency in referring to these non-GAAP financial measures when assessing the Company’s operating results, as well as when forecasting and analyzing future periods. However, management recognizes that:
Further, these non-GAAP financial measures may be unique to the Company, as they may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. As such, this presentation of non-GAAP financial measures may not enhance the comparability of the Company’s results to the results of other companies.
A reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure or measures appears at the end of this press release.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue and earnings per share. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s products; potential litigation from the matters investigated by the special committee of the board of directors and the restatement of the Company’s consolidated financial statements; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company’s dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; the Company’s reliance on the availability of third-party digital content and applications; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company’s sales and operating profits; the Company’s reliance on sole service providers for iPhone in certain countries; war, terrorism, public health issues, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; unfavorable results of other legal proceedings; and the Company’s dependency on the performance of distributors and other resellers of the Company’s products. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2008, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 27, 2008, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 28, 2009, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 27, 2009 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
<!–
BULLET LIST HEADER (as needed)
–>
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
Press Contacts:
Steve Dowling
Apple
dowling@apple.com
(408) 974-1896
Investor Relations Contacts:
Nancy Paxton
Apple
paxton1@apple.com
(408) 974-5420
Joan Hoover
Apple
hoover1@apple.com
(408) 974-4570
NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone, Apple TV and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Earlier today, reports out of China claimed factory worker Sun Danyong had jumped to his death following a Foxconn search of his apartment. He had been carrying 4th generation iPhone prototypes and had lost one of the 16 he was carrying. While this event is a tragedy, there no doubt will be many questions surrounding his death. Apple has been steadily moving its MacBook manufacturing away from Foxconn and to Quanta of late.
Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET:
"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death. We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."
Foxconn, for its part, also issued a statement of apology to the employee’s family. In so doing, they’ve laid out some additional details. According to the rough translation, the employee mailled the 16 iPhones to Apple, but Apple only recieved 15 of them. There is also some investigations into the employee interrogations, detentions and "beatings". Machine translated:
It is reported that Foxconn pay-Yong Sun Dan mailed to Apple’s 16 short of a prototype iphone, Foxconn doubt that Apple have let the possibility of leaks. Yong Sun Dan Foxconn in suicide during the investigation, sources said Yong Sun Dan was in an unlawful search of the investigation, detention and beatings.
Before anyone goes conspiracy theorist, let’s wait for the results of the investigations…then go conspiracy theorist.
Below is Motorola’s new Android phone. But, it kinda looks like everyone’s favorite Apple phone – one you’d mistakingly buy on the streets of Shenzen. Although, it does have a slide out keyboard which (has to be said) we’ve wished for on a few occasions.
It is strange that 4-5 years ago, Motorola was helping Apple enter the mobile phone business with the ROKR. How things have changed.
Update: Disregard. This is from 2003 and is pen-based. Shame on us. Though Apple may have been granted this patent, a product like this has probably already been scrapped 5 years ago.
MacNN grabbed the screenshots from a patent application today. It looks like another tablet but much different than other Tablet drawings from Apple patents. More pics below.
A young Foxconn employee in China has committed suicide after a prototype model of a fourth-generation iPhone he was looking after went missing.
Digital Beat explains 25 year-old Sun Danyong had taken a job looking after product communications for long-time Apple manufacturer, Foxconn. Based in Shenzen, his job involved transporting iPhone prototypes from Foxconn to Apple.
Based on numerous Chinese reports, Digital Beat claims Sun was looking after 16 prototypes, hot off the Foxconn assembly line. He found one of these prototype fourth-gen iPhones was missing, and reported it as such on July 13.
Two days later three Foxconn employees searched his flat (apparently illegally), with some reports claiming Sun was detained and potentially bullied during the investigation.
The poor engineer then threw himself off his balcony a little after 3am on Thursday July 16.
Apple is well-known for maintaining tight secrecy when it comes to new product announcements, playing a close game with bloggers and mainstream press alike.
Sun’s tragic suicide underlines the extreme secrecy Apple’s Far East manufacturers also adopt when it comes to unreleased or in development Apple products.
Before the earnings call, the talk on Apple briefly shifts from technology to finance. CNBC’s analysts project tomorrow’s picks on Assume the Position:
http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1189173260/code/cnbcplayershare
You notice Tavis Smiley threw in the iPod camera thing? In other news, Andy Rooney is calling the iPod Camera from his sources in the Far East.
In case you hadn’t already been convinced that the new iPod Touches will have a camera, Wired is throwing their hat into the ring. The information was reported initially by HardMac (MacBidouille) and again by iLounge with a mockup. Then we saw some new iPod touch cases with camera holes in them.
Digitimes also reported that new Apple devices would have cameras of 3 and 5 megapixel varieties along the way.
Wired today reports the same cameras but also reports the iPod will have a built in mic:
A well-connected source tells us those rumors are on the money, and that Apple’s factories in China are already manufacturing iPod Touch models with integrated cameras and microphones. An Apple spokesman declined to comment when reached by phone.
If iPod Touches with cameras and microphones go on sale “in two to three months,” as our source expects them to (and which corresponds with our expected timeframe), they will transform the entertainment-oriented iPod Touch line into a voice communications tool wherever WiFi is available.
Of course, you know my thoughts on Apple re-entering the camera space. I’m also a big fan of using the iPod touch as a mobile phone and dumping AT&T which doesn’t work in my town anyway. Is there anyone out there that doesn’t believe there will be an iPhone with a camera come September?
Somehow we don’t think this is going to get a lot of use. However, there are those Macintosh users who work where there can only be Blackberries or who love physical keyboards. To those people (it is plural right?), Blackberry will have some new software for you this summer. Sign up to get notified when you can start downloading.
Here are some key features the initial release will include:
)And it will support Mac® OS 10.5.5 and above.
Today Skype went public with its 2.8 software for Mac. While many of us have been using 2.8Beta for months now, this is the first chance mainstream users will be able to use Skype 2.8. The feature list is fairly impressive:
Hint: Don’t enable Mood messages! Download it here
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The NYTimes today asks a pretty interesting question. If Japanese mobile devices, which are years ahead of their overseas counterparts, are so advanced why aren’t they a success in Europe, the US or even in China and Korea?
Japanese developers are jealous of the runaway global popularity of the Apple iPhone and App Store, which have pushed the American and European cellphone industry away from its obsession with hardware specifications to software. “This is the kind of phone I wanted to make,” Mr. Natsuno [developer of the i-Mode network] said, playing with his own iPhone 3G.
The forum Mr. Natsuno convened to address Galápagos syndrome has come up with a series of recommendations: Japan’s handset makers must focus more on software and must be more aggressive in hiring foreign talent, and the country’s cellphone carriers must also set their sights overseas.
The real issue seems to be making great, universal software.
Following last week’s revelation that Microsoft plans to call Apple out on the high street with its own chain of retail shops near Apple’s own comes yet more news claiming Redmond’s hired in a little former-Cupertino talent to help it make its pitch.
Those revered Apple-watchers at IFO AppleStore have the skinny, claiming, “A key figure in achieving Apple’s ground-breaking retail store concept is now consulting with Microsoft on that company’s retail stores.”
As the story goes, twenty-year veteran ex-Gap VP of real estate strategy George W. Blankenship has jumped ship from Apple, where he has been since 2000, in order to help the Windows maker open high street doors.
At Apple, Blankenship helped Apple’s senior VP retail, Ron Johnson, in placing stores at those really good high-traffic locations thought partially responsible for Apple’s success.
He joined another firm, Vectiv Corporation, a provider of store lifecycle management enterprise software, as Senior Advisor in 2002. At that time he said, "I personally witnessed the benefits of using technology to maximize store procurement at Gap.Vectiv has developed a solution that is more flexible, more robust, and provides a much lower total cost of ownership than the one we built.
"Due to overall costs and implementation time, outsourcing the management of this technology is a better decision than building it in-house.Make no mistake, retailers must leverage technology and have a clearly defined strategy with an efficient opening process in order to succeed in today’s retail market." Erm, OK…
Let’s not mention the other part of Apple’s success, the products. That would be too much. Microsoft has products, too – if you like music it even has the Zune.
What Microsoft’s new “consultant” has of course is deep knowledge of how Apple’s Johnson ticks. “Blankenship was among the earliest of Apple’s retail store employees, arriving shortly after Johnson. He was there when Johnson began to clarify his vision of how the stores would operate and what they would look like, and where they should be located,” IFO AppleStore explains.
Johnson has previously said for the stores to work they need to be placed where customers “live their life”. In other words, where they worlk, shop, live and play, the report observes.
One key element to this high street test – Laptop Hunter ad or no Laptop Hunter ad – is success. And we have a hunch that while Microsoft’s investors allow the company to throw money at problems, it’s the Apple investors who’ll come out tops, as the company continues to make strategic, well-aimed investments in products, software development and store locations.
Will Microsoft’s stores end up being another of its heavily subsidised marketing ploys? And can even that company sustain the cost of only partially successful shops on some of the world’s most expensive shopping streets?
Microsoft, in its attempt to hold off Google Apps, is issuing an update to its Office 2008 Macintosh productivity software which has new features for connecting to SharePoint servers and to Microsoft’s Office Live Workspaces. The update, which should be ready at 7PM Eastern US time (download link), also should have the requisite speed, stability and compatibility improvements as well.
Microsoft’s senior product manager Mike Tedesco said in a statement:
"With SP2 we are not only delivering on top customer requests midcycle, but also taking a first step in bringing Microsoft software plus services to Mac users. This connection unlocks the door for Mac users to Microsoft services for easier collaboration and file sharing with colleagues, customers and classmates."
Interestingly, Microsoft’s Office Live site is also expanding its Mac browser support to include Safari 4, in addition to Firefox (which obviously had to happen before Mac usage was possible). We hadn’t checked before if it worked with Mac, because…you know…it’s Microsoft.
The Wall Steet Journal (paywall) notes that Apple and RIM are making disporportionately high profits on their smartphones while the rest of the industry is in a race to the bottom (sound like NetBook vs. Laptop market?). Interestingly, Nokia is having significant issues with Smartphone marketshare but is still ahead on the profit curve.
Apple and RIM accounted for only 3% of all cellphones sold in the world last year but 35% of operating profits, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff. The disparity will become even starker this year when, he estimates, the two will take 5% of the market in unit terms but 58% of total operating profits.
The iPhone, which is exclusive to AT&T and whose users are the heaviest Web surfers, draws the fattest subsidy, at about $400 a phone, Mr. Modoff calculates. BlackBerries draw subsidies averaging $200 from U.S. operators. Basic cellphones get a $100 subsidy.
