• January 15, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Shares of Apple (AAPL) have been hit hard over the last few days. Investors continue to worry about the company’s profit margins, demand for its popular line of smartphones and tablets, and its future endeavors. With upcoming competition from Research in Motion (RIMM) and Microsoft (MSFT), and an ongoing battle with Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, analysts fear that Apple’s mobile dominance may be a thing of the past. While we won’t officially know anything until the company reports its holiday earnings on January 23rd, a small German company has painted a calming picture for Apple shareholders. Dialog Semiconductor announced last week that it expects to report a significant increase in sales for its December quarter. The company noted that

• January 15, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

According to a new report released by ChangeWave, demand for Samsung smartphones has reach an all-time high in the first quarter of 2013. Over the first 90 days of the year, 21 percent of potential smartphone buyers want Samsung device. That’s a growth of 8 percent from the previous quarter. Of those buyers, the majority (69 [...]

• January 15, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Apple (AAPL) sold a record-breaking 5 million iPhone 5 handsets during the device’s debut weekend but despite a strong start, the sleek new smartphone has become Wall Street’s whipping boy in recent weeks. Following reports that Apple slashed iPhone 5 component orders in half due to weak demand, numerous institutions have cut their estimates on Apple’s performance in fiscal 2013 and 2014, often citing their own iPhone 5 checks when relaying the news to clients. Is this a case of stock manipulation as a number of Apple bloggers have suggested, or is there now enough smoke to assume there really is a fire? Nomura on Tuesday became the latest in a long line of firms to cut its price target on Apple

• January 15, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Investors were sent into a panic on Monday, again, as reports from Nikkei and The Wall Street Journal suggested Apple (AAPL) slashed iPhone 5 component orders in half due to weak demand. According to both reports, Apple recently trimmed its iPhone 5 display panel orders from 65 million to around half that figure. BGR pulled the report apart on Monday, and now NPD DisplaySearch analyst Paul Semenza says his sources paint a much different picture of Apple’s recent order cuts. Semenza’s checks with his supply chain sources revealed that Apple did indeed cut its display panel orders for the month of January, but not by 50% as earlier reports had stated. Speaking with The New York Times, the analyst said Apple trimmed iPhone

• January 14, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

A study released Monday by Arieso found that for the first time ever, smartphones consistently used more data than tablets in Europe. The “hungriest” mobile devices in 2011 were the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and original iPad. In 2012, however, the hungriest devices were all smartphones — iPhone 5, Galaxy S III and Sensation XL. It was discovered that iPhone 5 users consumed four times as much data as iPhone 3G users and 50% more than iPhone 4S users, while Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 users demanded 20% more data than iPad users. The firm, which specializes in mobile network optimization, notes that the study’s results can be applied to carriers around the world and not just Europe because “relative consumption between device

• January 14, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

The Sunday evening Wall Street Journal article claiming that Apple (AAPL) had cut its iPhone 5 display orders drastically for the March quarter made quite a splash. The WSJ piece seemed to support the original Nikkei claim about Apple cutting its iPhone 5 display orders in half from the originally planned order of 65 million units. This would be a massive adjustment. But Apple uses the same new display type for both iPhone 5 and the latest iPod touch. Neither WSJ nor Nikkei addressed this, however — both seem to be referring to just iPhone 5 displays. The latest estimates for iPhone sales during the Christmas quarter average around 52 million units. Let’s assume (charitably) the iPhone 5 portion of

• January 14, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Still wondering why Apple (AAPL) is reportedly developing a cheaper iPhone? A number of industry analysts have theorized for months that the high-end smartphone market will face a difficult year in 2013, and new reports from both The Wall Street Journal and Nikkei on Monday morning suggest Apple is already feeling the crunch. Nikkei first reported the rumor, claiming that Apple cut iPhone 5 display orders in half last month in anticipation of a much slower March quarter than it had previously expected. The Journal then followed with a similar claim, citing multiple unnamed sources of its own. Both reports state that Apple has also trimmed component orders beyond just display panels. Apple shares are down more than 3.75% in

• January 9, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Shortly after AT&T (T) revealed that it sold 10 million smartphones in the holiday quarter, Verizon Wireless (VZ) on Wednesday reported its own fourth quarter estimates. The nation’s largest carrier said that it activated a record 9.8 million smartphones in the quarter, driven largely by sales of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. The company said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it saw a “higher mix of Apple smartphones” sold in the quarter, likely due to the release of the 4G LTE-equipped iPhone 5. Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said in the filing that the company added an estimated 2.1 million retail postpaid subscribers during the quarter, however he expects the company’s EBITDA to be down

• January 9, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Walmart (WMT) announced this week that beginning January 11th, Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 5 is available alongside $45-per-month unlimited service from Straight Talk Wireless. Two purchasing options are available to Straight Talk subscribers and neither involves signing a service contract of any kind. The iPhone 5 can either be purchased outright for $649 (16GB) or Walmart credit card holders can finance the handset for just $25 per month. Straight Talk’s $45 monthly plan requires no contract and includes unlimited calling, messaging and data. Unlimited international calling to select destinations can be added for an additional $15 per month. Walmart’s full press release follows below. Walmart and Straight Talk to offer the iPhone on its $45 No Contract Unlimited Plan Retailer providing

• January 9, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Walmart (WMT) announced this week that beginning January 11th, Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 5 is available alongside $45-per-month unlimited service from Straight Talk Wireless. Two purchasing options are available to Straight Talk subscribers and neither involves signing a service contract of any kind. The iPhone 5 can either be purchased outright for $649 (16GB) or Walmart credit card holders can finance the handset for just $25 per month. Straight Talk’s $45 monthly plan requires no contract and includes unlimited calling, messaging and data. Unlimited international calling to select destinations can be added for an additional $15 per month. Walmart’s full press release follows below. Walmart and Straight Talk to offer the iPhone on its $45 No Contract Unlimited Plan Retailer providing