Apple Testing Smaller iPad: WSJ

Apple is beginning to test a smaller iPad, with a screen around the size of 8-inches, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The iPad maker is reportedly working with its component parts suppliers in Asia to test the smaller iPad, although that is no guarantee that Apple would market the device.

Apple founder Steve Jobs had stated late in 2010 that smaller iPads were near useless unless you could “use sandpaper” to file down your fingers. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.  And the new iPad 3, expected to be unveiled at an Apple event March 7, should have the larger, 9.7-inch screen, and will include a 4G version, said the WSJ recently.

We’ve long stated here that the impact of a 7-inch iPad on the car AV market would be significant.

Analysts said a smaller iPad would help Apple compete against devices such as the 7-inch Kindle Fire.

Source:  The Wall Street Journal

Apple iPad 3 Due Next Month: Report

Apple will announce in early March a new iPad that will ship shortly after, reported the AllThingsD blog affiliated with the Wall Street Journal Thursday.

The next gen iPad will debut at a special event in San Francisco and should be similar in form to the iPad 2 but faster and with a better display and graphics processor.

Source: AllThingsD

Almost 100 Million Own Smartphone in U.S.

Since the smartphone is now a part of the car radio sale  (as consumers want their phone to work with their head unit), here’s some new figures you should know:

About 40 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers own a smartphone or 97.9 million people, according to comScore’s latest findings.

Android has a 47.3 percent market share, and Apple has a 29.6 percent share.  Both platforms have gained market share since September last year.

BlackBerry phones ranked third with 16 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.7 percent) and Symbian (1.4 percent).

You can see the full report here http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2012/2/comScore_Reports_December_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share

Source: comScore 

Amazon Looking At Physical Retail Stores

Amazon plans to open a brick and mortar retail store in Seattle to sell its own gadgets including the Kindle Fire, reported Reuters citing the blog Good E-Reader.

The store might also sell books, particularly the books for which it acts as publisher.

It’s purpose is to test whether a chain of Amazon retail stores would be a money winning venture.

The strategy may be inspired by the success of Apple Stores, said analysts.  And the goal is also to learn if the store would improve sales of the Kindle, as consumers might want to try it out before buying.

And if Amazon launches other devices, such as a smartphone, the store may serve as a showcase.

The store might open before Christmas this year,  said Good E-Reader.

There was no mention of Amazon selling devices other than its own at this point in the report.

Amazon would be required to collect sales taxes in any state where it has a physical location (but in Seattle it already has a physical presence via its headquarters).

The online giant already has some brick and mortar experience.  It owns Quidsi, which opened its first store– a BeautyBar–n Manhasset, Long Island (NY).

Source: Good E-Reader via Reuters

 

 

Best Buy SuperBowl Ad Celebrates Technology

Best Buy’s SuperBowl commercial Sunday showed some of the smartphone technology wizards of the past decade along with their inventions.

The ad is called Phone Innovators and ZDNet ranked it as one of the top technology ads of SuperBowl XLVI along with ads from Acura and Fiat.

Here’s the Best Buy ad:

Source: ZDNet

 

 

 

 

Samsung’s Latest Phone: Galaxy Note

One of the more “notable” new smartphones shown at CES this month was the Samsung Galaxy Note, sporting a very large 5.3 HD Super AMOLED screen.

(Think about that in terms of use for GPS in the car or perhaps, even back seat video).

The phone, which is unique in several ways, will be available through AT&T starting February 19 at $299 on contract, Samsung and AT&T announced this week.

The Note may be considered a cross between a tablet and phone. It comes with a pen stylus and a built-in mode for digital drawing. Or you can use the stylus to actually write email or jot down notes and texts.

The video below shows the stylus in action.

The Note gives you 4G LTE speed and ships with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread, but it will be updatable to the newer Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android.

The Galaxy Note has a rear-facing 8 megapixel camera and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera, 32GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. AT&T pre-orders begin on February 5.

Source: Samsung, Huffington Post

Droid Razr Maxx Now Available: Still Skinny

If you thought the ultra-thin Motorola Razr was cool but a little light on the battery life, then the Razr Maxx, available as of Thursday through Verizon Wireless may be the next phone for you.

It’s only slightly thicker than the Droid Razr by .07 inches, but the battery now lasts a full day and night (21 hours).  Motorola claims the phone is the thinnest long lasting smartphone batterywise on the market.

In all other aspects, the phone is the same as the Droid Razr which has been available for a few months now.

The 4G LTE phone gives you an impressive 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and 32GB of memory for $299.99 on contract. The phone will be updatable to Android Ice Cream Sandwich in the future.

Sources:

CNET Reviews

CNET

Geek.com

 

 

Apple Reports Astounding iPhone Sales

Updated. Not long ago, it was a big deal if Apple sold 15 million iPhones over the holiday quarter. On Monday night, Apple announced it sold 37 million iPhones during its recent quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Its  stunning iPhone performance helped Apple sail past Wall Street expectations of $39 billion in revenue.  Instead, the company reported a record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion (up 73 percent from a year ago) and record net profits of $13.06 billion (more than double the profits from the quarter last year).

Apple sold 128 percent more iPhones than a year ago and 111 percent more iPads, reaching 15.4 million tablets.  It also sold 15.4 million iPods, marking a 21 percent decline.  Mac sales rose 26 percent to 5.2 million units.

The news generated a spike in Apple’s share price of 8 percent in late trading, bringing its share price to over $450 and bringing its evaluation (at least temporarily) to $426 billion,  higher than Exxon Mobil, the most highly valued company.  As of Wednesday morning, however, shares were back to about $420.

Source: Apple, MarketWatch

Target Stores Act to Stop “Showrooming”

For the specialist, and for any brick and mortar store, a concern is that consumers are using your shop as a showroom, only to leave empty-handed and price shop online.

Target is doing something about it.  According to the AP and other reports,  Target sent a letter to its suppliers, asking them to help stop “showrooming.”  The chain wants suppliers to create special versions of products for the retailer that can not be found online.   It may also launch a subscription plan, so if a person regularly shops for certain merchandise (such as diapers or coffee), he gets a discount.

Vendors are expected to comply with Target’s requests because of the 1,800-store chain’s massive purchasing power. And other retailers including Best Buy may follow suit, analysts told The Wall Street Journal.

Estimates place online sales at Walmart and Target at only 1-2 percent of sales.

Also, last week Target announced that it is collaborating with a small number of boutique shops that will offer merchandise in its stores on a rotating basis, to create a constantly changing shopping experience at its stores.   All Target locations will carry the merchandise as well as Target online.  Target is also expanding Apple displays at its stores.

 

Source: AP via CBS Money Watch, The Wall Street Journal

Photo via Business Insider

Best Buy Ripe for Take Over: Bloomberg

In the latest of negative reports for Best Buy, analysts say the company is ripe for a buy out.

The big box retailer lost almost a third of its market value last year, but it still has a high cash flow.

“…the world’s largest seller of consumer electronics is now valued at just 3.6 times its free cash flow (BBY), the cheapest of any retailer worth more than $1 billion,” said Bloomberg.

Best Buy still produces more free cash flow than any comparable store and it has more cash than debt, which makes it an attractive LBO target,  analysts told Bloomberg.

Best Buy has been reeling from a one-two punch.  There’s no longer a hit, high margin product like TVs to fuel sales.  And competition has grown fierce  from Amazon and Walmart.  Same store sales have fallen in 5 of the 6 past quarters.

Source: Bloomberg

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