Portugal perde 400 milhões em investimento direto estrangeiro no primeiro semestre

[atomez]

First iPad estimates: 4 million units in year one, 8 million in 2011

With Apple introducing its iPad tablet on Wednesday at entry-level pricing much lower than anticipated, one prominent research and investment firm was quick to increase its first year unit sales estimates by as much as two-fold, while predicting that 2011 will see the device break out even further.

In a research report to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said the iPad's $499 entry-level pricing now leads him to believe Apple will sell between 3 and 4 million of the devices in its first 12 months on the market. That's up from his earlier prediction of just shy of 1.9 million units made at the end of last year under the assumption that the product would average a $600 price tag.

"We have measured enthusiasm for the device's first year (2010), but we expect 2011 to be a breakout year for the iPad adding $4.6b (7.5%) to revenue in 2011," Munster said. "The iPad business may take one year to solidify, but we see it as an investable theme for shareholders given its impact on 2011."

Still, Munster believes his first-year figures may come in at the lower end of Wall Street's consensus estimates, which are expected in the 4 to 5 million unit range. However, his belief that the iPad is poised to generate Apple an incremental $4.6 billion in sales the following year would equate to a doubling of unit sales to 8 million in 2011.

The analyst, who was in attendance for Apple's hands-on session with the iPad shortly after its announcement, also took pause to assess the iPad's potential to eat into sales of it's much smaller cousin, the iPod touch. While he doesn't see the tablet affecting sales of Macs, he trimmed his 2010 iPod touch unit sales estimate by roughly 1.8 million units to 20.6 million.

"After using the iPad, we believe it will cannibalize iPod touch sales, but not Mac sales," Munster said. "The gadget is a premium mobile device, not a computer; as such, we see some iPod touch buyers stepping up to the iPad, but consumers looking for an affordable portable computer will likely stick with the MacBook lineup."

The analyst maintained his "Overweight" rating and $280 price target on shares of Apple.

[cannot]

(...)

Devido ao seu tamanho e custo, penso que vai se mais um gadget para ricos terem na sala de estar, ou para certos nichos de mercado, não me parece que vá haver uma adesão do público em geral tal como houve no ipod ou iphone.

Como dizia o ceguinho "a ver vamos" ...

Concordo contigo, essa foi a primeira coisa que me passou pela cabeça quando vi o produto. No final acabei por mudar e opinião somente pelo preço. Acho que a cartada pode estar aí, pois se aquilo tiver um preço apetecível parece-me que o pessoal já não pensará assim.

Sinceramente pensei que fosse custar uma pipa de massa, daí ter achado o mesmo que tu. "Lá está a apple a meter os pés pelas mãos, queres ver que voltaram às asneiras do passado?"; foi isso que me veio à cabeça, o passado... Mas pensando bem, se calhar eles conseguem um preço bombástico para isto por já terem a experiência do iPod/Phone e se calhar de alguma forma fazem uma produção mais barata. Não sei, mas se custar uns 500eur com boas specs, parece-me que o pessoal vai pensar 4 vezes antes de tirar a ideia de compra um da cabeça.

Aquilo pode ser o melhor pad que existe. É certo que esse é um nicho de mercado que parece não ter futuro dado que o pessoal nunca aderiu. Na minha opinião o pessoal não aderiu porque as ofertas não eram boas. E isto pode ser uma vantagem para a apple pois aquilo funcionando bem converte o pessoal dos pads e ganha outros que têm dinheiro para ter um em conjunto com o seu portátil de trabalho.

Não sei não. Acho que preço e funcionalidades será o possível trunfo deles. Eu tenho um iTouch e gostaria certamente de ter um destes. Claro que não devo ter pois não estou para dar o guito mas a ver vamos... A questão é mesmo o que podemos nós fazer com aquela coisa?

Ou é a apple a meter os "pés pelas mãos" ou é "uma jogada de mestre". Dizes bem: "A ver vamos..."

Abraço

[carf2007]

iPad parece um "iPhone gigante".
Não sei se o tamanho não irá ser um obstáculo.
Segundo o Utilnet:

O iPad é uma "prancheta digital" com écrã (tela) sensível ao toque (touchscreen) de cerca de 24,6 cm (9,7 polegadas).
O iPad tem uma espessura total de 1,2 centímetros e pesa cerca de 700 gramas.

Para mim, uma coisa positiva é ser possível usar aplicações já compradas ou gratuitas na App Store.
Citação - Utilnet:

Uma boa notícia para quem comprou aplicativos, na App Store, para o iPhone ou iPod é que todos os aplicativos serão compatíveis com o iPad.

Fonte:
http://utilnet.blogspot.com/2010/01/lan ... -ipad.html

Devido ao seu tamanho e custo, penso que vai se mais um gadget para ricos terem na sala de estar, ou para certos nichos de mercado, não me parece que vá haver uma adesão do público em geral tal como houve no ipod ou iphone.

Como dizia o ceguinho "a ver vamos" ...

[Vencer na Bolsa]

iPad parece um "iPhone gigante".
Não sei se o tamanho não irá ser um obstáculo.
Segundo o Utilnet:

O iPad é uma "prancheta digital" com écrã (tela) sensível ao toque (touchscreen) de cerca de 24,6 cm (9,7 polegadas).
O iPad tem uma espessura total de 1,2 centímetros e pesa cerca de 700 gramas.

Para mim, uma coisa positiva é ser possível usar aplicações já compradas ou gratuitas na App Store.
Citação - Utilnet:

Uma boa notícia para quem comprou aplicativos, na App Store, para o iPhone ou iPod é que todos os aplicativos serão compatíveis com o iPad.

Fonte:
http://utilnet.blogspot.com/2010/01/lan ... -ipad.html

[atomez]

Boa. Corresponde às expectativas e uma novidade inesperada -- a loja iBooks.

Com um preço a partir de $499 têm mais um winner em mãos. E o mercado está a concordar.

Analistas previam um incremento de $1 de lucro por acção, com um PE de 20 isso dá uma subida de $20 por acção

[atomez]

iPad

[atomez]

Apple vs. Obama

Which is more important: politics or technology?

When the White House announced that President Obama would deliver his State of the Union message on Jan. 27—the same day Apple was planning to unveil its new tablet computer—many of us at Slate cringed. "What is Obama thinking?" one of my colleagues joked. "He's going to be totally overshadowed."

The idea of a product rollout trumping the president's annual speech to Congress does seem funny. Maybe the tablet will be a bust. Maybe Obama will rock the world. But the opposite is at least as likely. This isn't Obama's fault. It's just the way the world is going: Technology, as a driver of social change, is overtaking politics.
...

[atomez]

Um dia em cheio para os day traders ... e para nós outros também

Amanhã há mais.

[atomez]

Isto é que é marketing à séria:

«Not since biblical times has the arrival of a tablet been greeted with such anticipation.»

Apple's rumored tablet may write next chapter in publishing

The tech giant hasn't announced that it will offer such a device, but the anticipation that it will do so this week has already caused a stir in the newspaper, book and magazine world.

Not since biblical times has the arrival of a tablet been greeted with such anticipation.

Apple Inc. won't reveal the details of what is widely expected to be a new tablet computer until Wednesday, but it has already shaken up the publishing world, whose executives wonder whether the device will revolutionize the distribution of newspapers, magazines and books in the same way that the iPod transformed the music industry.

Fueling widespread speculation, Apple last week invited reporters to "come see our latest creation" but provided no other information. Pundits and analysts have guessed the gadget will feature a 10-inch touch-screen color display that's designed for reading, watching video, browsing the Web and playing games.

How the device connects to the Internet, whether through wireless hot spots or already congested high-speed mobile networks, remains a question. Analysts believe the device would sell for as much as $1,000 and reach stores in March.

Apple has been slowly amassing digital reading material for the forthcoming device. A team from the New York Times has been working in Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters in recent weeks, developing a large-screen version of the newspaper's iPhone application that incorporates video for the yet-to-be-unveiled device, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. A Times spokeswoman declined to comment.

Condé Nast Publications, publisher of 18 magazines, and HarperCollins Publishers have been approached about developing content for Apple's tablet, according to the Wall Street Journal. HarperCollins declined to comment, but Condé Nast issued a news release last week, touting sales of a digital version of its men's magazine, GQ, for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and acknowledging it was developing content for "the anticipated tablet from Apple."

"We have seen the door opened to a different pool of readers through these new distribution channels," Robert Sauerberg, Condé Nast president of consumer marketing, said in a statement.

Apple's tablet is among a class of new devices set to hit stores this year. Hewlett-Packard Co. showed a prototype of its Slate touch-screen tablet this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Dell Inc. also unveiled its Streak tablet device.

Tablets are envisioned as a novel way for users to check e-mail, catch up on their social networks, read books or browse the Web, without the added bulk of keyboards and wires. But they will inevitably vie for market share with electronic readers designed primarily for reading, such as Amazon's Kindle and Sony Corp.'s Reader, that sold an estimated 3 million to 4 million units in 2009. This year, consumers are expected to snap up 6 million devices, generating $1.3 billion in retail sales, according to the Yankee Group, a Boston research firm.

Dozens of such devices were unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and more are destined to crowd store shelves in the coming months, creating a potential source of competition for tablets such as Apple's.

Analyst A.M. Sacconaghi Jr. of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. wrote this month that it's hard to gauge demand for a product that has yet to be introduced. But based on the first-year sales of other successful products, such as the iPod, the Kindle and the Palm Pilot, he estimates sales of less than 5 million tablets. Another analyst, Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros., offered similar projections.

First-generation tablet PCs generated lots of enthusiasm when they were introduced in 2001, promising to replace the finger-slamming trauma of typing on a keyboard with the ease of using a stylus. But Sacconaghi wrote that sales never matched the initial euphoria because "input mechanisms proved somewhat clumsy" and the premium prices put tablets out of reach for one of the target groups: students who were interested in using them to take notes in class.

E-readers have fared better. Amazon said that the Kindle is its bestselling product ever and that on Christmas Day, digital book downloads exceeded physical book sales. As of January, Sacconaghi said the Sony Reader, the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Amazon Kindle were sold out, "another strong indicator of burgeoning demand."

For the book-publishing world, Apple's device could entail radical changes to the way it does business. Cover design, pricing, marketing, payments made to authors -- the digital transformation of the printed word is bound to touch every aspect of the $25-billion industry the same way it has rippled through music and movies.

Although digital book sales still account for less than 5% of the industry's revenue, it's growing fast, while traditional print book sales have stagnated.

"It's a big new world, and publishers are all scrambling," said Jane Friedman, former president of HarperCollins and chief executive of digital publishing start-up Open Road Integrated Media. "The whole business model is being turned on its ear."

With Amazon.com Inc. charging $9.99 for electronic Kindle copies of the same new releases selling for $25 in hardcover, publishers recognize that they won't be able to maintain the pricing they've enjoyed for decades.

Apple's device could also present a new opportunity for publishers to counteract Amazon's mammoth influence over the book market and a new avenue for publishers to explore other ways to make money, such as selling individual chapters of a travel book or charging extra for videos that illustrate step-by-step guides in how-to books.

By going through Apple's iTunes store, publishers can take advantage of the millions of consumers who already use iTunes to buy an assortment of digital media such as music and movies. Publishers also like the ability to set their own retail prices; they have only to give Apple a 30% cut of the sale.

With Amazon, publishers receive 50% of a book's retail cover price, but the Seattle-based online merchant is free to charge whatever it wants -- a fact that has frustrated many publishers who fear the same price erosion that occurred in the music industry when albums began to be sold digitally.

Some analysts say the publishing industry's hopes that Apple will usher in a renaissance are overly optimistic.

Although Apple has proved its deftness at creating trendy devices and a digital store in which publishers could sell their wares, Gartner Inc. analyst Allen Weiner said there will be plenty of trial and error before newspaper, magazine and book publishers figure out the "fine art" of creating digital editions that take advantage of the device's graphics and video.

"Nobody's buying a tablet to read e-books. The lowest-end Sony Reader, which costs $199, does a fantastic job on reading books," Weiner said.

"Where's the opportunity? It's creating book experiences. It's taking a cookbook and adding video and author updates. That's an opportunity, because you can charge extra for that."

[Ulisses Pereira]

É importante este aspecto das alterações contabilísticas. Alguns analistas estimam que isso faz com que estes resultados sejam de 13 meses e não de 12.

[Pata-Hari]

Fonte: Publico

Apple anuncia lucros recorde nas vésperas de anunciar um "novo grande produto"
26.01.2010 - 10:38 Por PÚBLICO


A Apple - criadora dos Mac, iPod e iPhone - bateu recordes de vendas e de lucros. A empresa apresentou receitas de 15,68 mil milhões de dólares e um lucro líquido de 3,38 mil milhões de dólares no primeiro trimestre do seu ano fiscal de 2010, findo a 26 de Dezembro de 2009. Tudo isto nas vésperas de apresentar o seu “novo grande produto” que, apesar de todo o secretismo, deverá ser um revolucionário “tablet”, uma espécie de iPhone com um ecrã significativamente maior.
Tecnologia: Apple anuncia lucros recorde nas vésperas de anunciar um "novo grande produto" (Kimberly White/Reuters)

“A Apple agora é uma empresa com mais de 50 mil milhões de dólares”, assegurou, feliz, Steve Jobs - presidente da Apple - na apresentação dos números referentes ao primeiro trimestre da sua empresa. “Os novos produtos que planeamos lançar este ano são muito, muito potentes, e começaremos esta semana [amanhã] com um novo grande produto com o qual estamos entusiasmados”, rematou Jobs.

Os resultados ontem apresentados são superiores aos apurados no mesmo período do ano passado: receitas de 11,88 mil milhões de dólares e lucros líquidos de 2,26 mil milhões de dólares. A margem bruta foi de 40,9 por cento, comparado com os 37,9 por cento conseguidos há um ano.

As vendas internacionais foram também responsáveis por 58 por cento dos resultados do trimestre.

A empresa tem motivos para estar satisfeita: no trimestre em questão, a Apple vendeu 3,36 milhões de computadores Macintosh, o que representa um aumento unitário de 33 por cento face ao ano passado. A companhia vendeu igualmente 8,7 milhões de iPhones no trimestre, o que representa um crescimento de cem por cento face às unidades vendidas no mesmo trimestre de há um ano. A Apple vendeu ainda 21 milhões de iPods no decorrer do trimestre, representando uma quebra de oito por cento do conseguido há um ano.

De frisar, porém, que no decorrer do trimestre a Apple fez uma adopção retrospectiva dos standards contabilísticos da Financial Accounting Standards Board relativamente ao reconhecimento de certas receitas. A adopção dos novos standards muda significativamente a forma como a companhia contabiliza certos itens, particularmente vendas do iPhone, o que fez com que alguns analistas tivessem duvidado das comparações feitas com o ano anterior.

Ainda assim, a campanha de Natal da empresa foi extraordinária para a empresa de Cupertino (Califórnia), tendo gerado 5.800 milhões de dólares.

Amanhã deverá ser apresentado um “tablet PC”

Este anúncio dos resultados é muito oportuno, já que não param de se amontoar toda a espécie de rumores sobre o novo grande produto que a Apple irá apresentar já amanhã, em São Francisco.

O evento tem vindo a ser alvo de imensa especulação nos blogues e nas publicações de tecnologia, que classificam a aguardada apresentação como o lançamento do produto da Apple mais ansiosamente esperado desde o lançamento do iPhone, há três anos.

Tudo indica que se trata de um “tablet PC”, ou seja, um dispositivo plano, com ecrã táctil, que poderá revolucionar o mercado dos “netbooks”.

Os analistas dizem que este aparelho tentaria cobrir a falha entre os “smartphones” e os computadores portáteis, permitindo aos utilizadores ver vídeos, navegar na Internet e jogar videojogos a partir de qualquer lugar.

[knightbrg]

Junto anexo outro gráfico para confirmar o anterior

[knightbrg]

Junto coloco outro gráfico a confirmar o anterior.

[US Trader]

Esse spike foram com 500 acções, não acho que seja isso que tenha significado...

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/Exten ... type=after

Continuo a acreditar que a AAPL possa ir a valores mais baixos do que os registados na 6ª feira na sessão de amanhã.

Abraço.

[atomez]

Calma!
Embora subindo um pouco, depois continuou na mesma linha do que tinha feito durante a sessão.
Cumps.

Esse gráfico tem algo de errado, em todas as fontes que vi o spike after-hours deu-se mesmo em cima das 8pm com a cotação final de 204.78


Mas sobre a AAPL há optimistas e ... super-optimistas!

Yes, Apple Can Go To $1,000 A Share

<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?embedCode=pncWU1MTpI2UH68DmaxZl4Xpcr3DJMuU&width=560&height=314"></script>

A chat with Gene Munster, Senior Research Analyst, Piper Jaffray

Blodget: Yes, Apple Can Go To $1,000 A Share (6 min)

• This is now "the decade of mobile," and Apple can become the global smartphone leader
• Yes, Apple can maintain its incredible growth rate, even though it's huge
• There's an explosive growth opportunity for Apple as products reach lower price points
• The app development platform is definitely favoring Apple
• Apple won't crack corporate America, but that's not where the huge mobile money is

Gene cannot put a specific long-term price target on Apple, but it's better positioned than any other hardware company to grow over the next 5 years

[knightbrg]

Calma!
Embora subindo um pouco, depois continuou na mesma linha do que tinha feito durante a sessão.
Cumps.

[atomez]

Ontem foi um dia de loucos.

Foi caindo em linha com o mercado, mas a meia hora do fecho desatou a afundar com vendas de mais de 2 milhões de acções e acabou por fechar a perder 5% no dia !

Isto na véspera da apresentação de resultados trimestrais que toda a gente sabe que vão ser espectaculares.

E logo a seguir mesmo no fim do after-hours disparou por aí acima que nem um foguete!

Que se passa?

Aqui vai vai una boa explicação -- hedge funds voltaram a fazer cair a cotação puxando o elástico para baixo para depois o largarem e fazer disparar a cotação por aí a cima.

Na 2ª feira logo na abertura se o valor ainda estiver em baixo é de entrar com tudo o que se tenha, mas o mais provável é abrir com um gigantesco up gap ...

Why AAPL dropped 10.32 points Friday

Apple got whacked for no good reason in advance of Monday's earnings report

I don't pretend to understand much about how derivatives work or what hedge fund managers do, but I've been watching the ups and downs of Apple's (AAPL) stock price long enough to recognize a pattern when I see it.

This one was a classic slingshot, described succinctly by Jason Schwarz in his seminal Apple: Seven Reasons Shorts Love It:

"If you can keep a good stock down," he wrote, "then you are able to load up for the ride back up. It's like a slingshot — the harder you pull, the more propulsion you generate."


This slingshot was timed to bring Apple's shares down in advance of the company's first quarter earnings report on Monday. The action started at 9:12 a.m. Friday when theflyonthewall.com reported, without explanation, that Deutsche Bank had removed Apple from its short-term buy list — a report that was immediately picked up by the talking heads at CNBC, who mischaracterized it as a "downgrade."

What actually happened, as the folks at Deutsche surely knew but didn't bother to report, was that Apple's six months on their short-term list had expired that morning, triggering a computer instruction that removed it from the buy list automatically.

No matter. The boys were looking for a reason to take a whack at Apple, and this news fit the bill. They set the wheels in motion, and by the close of trading the stock had fallen 10.32 points (3.55%), shaving $9.3 billion off the company's market cap.

The share price having hit bottom, somebody started loading up on AAPL. More than 1.65 million shares traded hands at 3:59 p.m.

Adding insult to injury, a settlement trade at 8.01 p.m. appeared to bring the stock back up to $204.78 — a 3.55% pop in the dark of night. (See chart above, courtesy of AAPL Sanity's sepod.) [UPDATE: I am told this last one was a "late cross" of 500 shares from earlier in the day -- a fairly common occurrence on busy trading days -- and will be gone by Monday morning.]

Nobody really thinks that Apple is going to deliver a bad report on Monday. Quite the contrary. The consensus among the analysts we polled is that Cupertino had an amazing Christmas quarter, with earning up 30% or more year over year. (See Apple's earning: What the analysts say.)

And I'm inclined to agree with iPhonAsia's Dan Butterfield, who suggested in a bitter post written Friday evening "that the majority of trading desks understood precisely what happened at Deutsche Bank, but held tight to the truth and may have intentionally misled the financial press (by omission)." (See Don't get punked II.)

To his credit, CNBC's Jim Goldman issued a correction an hour and a half before the market closed, explaining that his "downgrade" report was a mistake. But by then there was too much momentum against Apple — and indeed the entire market — for the tide to turn.

It's days like this that make President Obama's so-called Volker Rule — his proposal to ban bank holding companies from owning, investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds — sound like maybe it's not so crazy after all.

I have no idea what the market's going to do Monday morning, but people much smarter than I have some pretty good ideas about what Apple is going to report that afternoon. See here.

Tune in at 4:30 p.m. ET Monday for our coverage of Apple's Q1 2010 earnings report and its 5:00 p.m. conference call. And come back Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. ET for our live blog of Apple's "latest creation" event in San Francisco.

[atomez]

Depois de redefinir o mercado da música (iPods e loja iTunes) e dos telemóveis (iPhone e loja AppStore), a Apple prepara-se para redefinir o mercado da imprensa escrita -- livros, jornais, revistas.

O modelo de negócio é claro -- para além de vender os gadgets terminais (Macs, iPods, iPhones) é também o intermediário dos conteúdos.

É arriscado mas potencialmente mais um sector altamente lucrativo.

Apple Sees New Money in Old Media

Steve Jobs's Tablet Device Looks to Repackage TV, Magazines, Just as iPod Changed Music Sales

With the new tablet device that is debuting next week, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs is betting he can reshape businesses like textbooks, newspapers and television much the way his iPod revamped the music industry—and expand Apple's influence and revenue as a content middleman.

In developing the device, Apple focused on the role the gadget could play in homes and in classrooms, say people familiar with the situation. The company envisions that the tablet can be shared by multiple family members to read news and check email in homes, these people say.

For classrooms, Apple has been exploring electronic-textbook technology, these people add. The people familiar with the matter say Apple has also been looking at how content from newspapers and magazines can be presented differently on the tablet. Other people briefed on the device say the tablet will come with a virtual keyboard.

Apple has recently been in discussions with book, magazine and newspaper publishers about how they can work together. The company has talked with New York Times Co., Condé Nast Publications Inc. and HarperCollins Publishers and its owner News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal, over content for the tablet, say people familiar with the talks.

New York Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger declined to comment in an interview Wednesday on its involvement in the new device except to say, "stay tuned."

Apple is also negotiating with television networks such as CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, for a monthly TV subscription service, the Journal has reported. Apple is also working with videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. to show off the tablet's game capabilities, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Apple's strategy contrasts with how other technology companies are approaching media. Notably, Google Inc. offers content to consumers largely free on properties like its video-sharing site YouTube, making relatively little distinction between clips from users and that of professional media companies. Web sites like Twitter and Facebook also provide outlets for user-generated content.

Mr. Jobs has a longstanding strategy of devising new ways to access and pay for quality content, instead of reinventing the content. Apple's iTunes Store, for instance, became the world's largest music retailer partly by making it easy for people to buy music, most of it from major record labels, by the song instead of by the album. Its digital media receiver Apple TV was also designed so people can buy and rent movies and television shows.

Mr. Jobs is "supportive of the old guard and [he] looks to help them by giving them new forms of distribution," says a person who has worked with the CEO. "What drives all of these changes is technology, and Apple has an ability to influence that."



Apple's divide with Google over how it views media content also drives the wedge deeper between the two companies. Apple's iPhone, for example, currently closely integrates Google's mapping and search technology, but a person familiar with the matter said Apple was in serious discussions with Microsoft Corp. to incorporate its Bing search engine into the iPhone as the default search and map technologies. Microsoft declined to comment.

Details of how Apple charges for the content on its tablet couldn't be learned, but people familiar with the company's thinking say Apple could change conventional payment structures. One person familiar with the matter said the company was discussing with the New York Times how it could charge for news through iTunes. It's unclear how people will access content wirelessly off the tablet.

An Apple spokesman said the company "doesn't comment on rumors and speculation." Mr. Jobs didn't respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Jobs's effort to repackage and resell more media content is not without obstacles. He has already faced resistance from television companies and cable network providers over Apple's desire to license just their best content rather than all of it.

Many music executives complain that it has become a powerful gatekeeper between the labels and customers. What's more, the iTunes Store's music downloads haven't grown fast enough to offset the decline in CD sales for music companies.

On Monday, Apple sent out an invitation to a media event on Jan. 27 "to see our latest creation." The tablet, which Apple currently plans to ship in March, will have about a 10- to 11-inch touch screen, people familiar with the situation say.

Apple's tablet foray faces several obstacles. Analysts say demand will depend on its price, which some believe will be about $1,000. Apple must also convince consumers the product is worth buying in addition to an iPhone and a laptop computer. And Apple faces competition from cheaper netbooks and other devices such as Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-book reader.

The tablet's success will depend "on how this product can fit into the user's daily life... and whether you have enough content to make it important enough to use it," said Henry Lu, senior vice president of Taiwanese computer company Micro-Star International Co., which failed at selling a tablet computer a few years ago.

In the academic arena, Apple could face hurdles wooing universities if the tablet doesn't meet their needs or isn't compatible with other computing devices that students are using.

Amazon had been hoping to target the market with its 9.7-inch screen Kindle DX e-book reader, for example, but schools said the device wasn't sufficiently interactive and lacked basics such as page numbers and color graphics.

One person familiar with the matter said Apple has put significant resources into designing and programming the device so that it is intuitive to share. This person said Apple has experimented with the ability to leave virtual sticky notes on the device and for the gadget to automatically recognize individuals via a built-in camera. It's unclear whether these features will be included at launch.

Apple's content-related efforts heated up in the fall. In October, Apple sent representatives to the Frankfurt Book Fair, the industry's largest trade fair, according to one person familiar with the matter.

At the same time, Apple pitched media companies on a "best of TV" subscription service to television networks under which customers would pay a monthly fee for on-demand access to programs from a bundle of participating TV networks, giving consumers another way to readily access TV content.

At a meeting in New York with one network in October, an Apple executive said the company was specifically looking to access four to six shows per channel, said one person familiar with the meeting.

Apple has also been planning a revamp of its iTunes music service by creating a Web-based version of it that could launch as soon as June, say people familiar with the matter. Tentatively called iTunes.com, the service would allow customers to buy music without going through the specialized iTunes program on computers and iPhones.

People familiar with Apple's plans say a central part of the new strategy is to populate as many Web sites as possible with 'buy' buttons, integrating iTunes transactions into activities like listening to Internet radio and surfing review Web sites.

[atomez]

Hoje subiu 4.4% e está outra vez em zona de máximo histórico. Se todos os dias fossem assim já podia entrar em férias vitalícias

2ª feira é apresentação de resultados trimestrais, 4ª feira a apresentação de novos produtos e serviços.

The only way is up!

Record 3.1 million Mac sales expected to kickoff 'Year of the Mac'

A strong holiday quarter, higher than expected Mac sales, and hype leading up to Apple's expected tablet unveiling next week are all expected to drive the company's stock to new heights, one Wall Street analyst said Monday.

Calling 2010 "The Year of the Mac," Gene Munster, senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, said domestic Mac retail data from the NPD group for the December quarter shows 26 percent year-over-year growth. Wall Street expects Apple to see about 19 percent growth over the three-month frame.

Mac unit growth in 2009 was consistently above 20 percent. Wall Street still expects Apple to see growth at about 14 percent in the 2010 calendar year, but Munster believes those estimates will rise once Apple reports its first financial quarter of 2010 next Monday.

"Keep in mind, before the economic slowdown began Mac units were up 30-40% (year over year) on a quarterly basis," he wrote in a note to investors Tuesday. "While hype surrounding the expected tablet will be focus of Apple long-term strategy, we believe we will see meaningful near-term upside from the Mac business."

While Munster had previously forecast sales of 2.9 million Macs in the December quarter, Monday he raised that estimate to 3.1 million. If that holds accurate, it would be Apple's best quarter ever. In the previous three-month frame, the Cupertino, Calif., company sold a record 3.05 million Macs.

He also continues to expect Apple to have sold 9.3 million iPhones in the December quarter, a total bolstered by new debuts in important international markets, including China, Canada and the U.K. Wall Street consensus forecasts 9.1 million iPhone sales for the holiday quarter.

On Monday, Apple formally announced its anticipated media event on Jan. 27. It is expected that the company will introduce its long-rumored touchscreen tablet device next week. With buzz around the device remaining high, Munster said all of the attention should move Apple shares higher.

"We believe Apple will show a 10-inch tablet device and possibly a new version of iPhone software," he said. "We continue to believe Apple will ship a tablet by the end of March, and will likely sell about 2M units in the first calendar year of sales. The tablet is not included in our model."



Through the end of 2010, Munster has forecast 1.4 million tablet sales at an average selling price of $600.

Piper Jaffray has slightly increased its price target for AAPL stock, from $277 to $279. Since the tablet is not in the firm's current models, that total could change depending on the outcome of next week's product announcement.

[atomez]

"Comprar no rumor, vender na notícia" ...

Tablet, iPhone OS 4.0, iLife 2010 'confirmed' for Apple event

[Fenicio]

Atenção que isso pode dar para o torto!! Se no final do mês a tio Jobs não aparecer com um tablet debaixo do braço ou se esse tablet for um dispositivo da treta (não faz o estilo da Apple anunciar dispositivos da treta, mas nunca se sabe!!), há grandes chances da cotação cair abruptamente.

[atomez]

Depois de ter fechado a posição para realizar mais valias (precisava de liquidez no fim do ano...), agora está num novo bom ponto de entrada.

Isto porque daqui a dias vão ser apresentados os resultados do ano, que como de costume devem superar as expectativas, e porque lá para o fim do mês deve ser anunciada a nova iTablet ou iSlate ou whatever.

Estava à espera que os hedge funds dessem umas puxadas mais para baixo, o que costuma acontecer logo no ínício da sessão, mas os 210 estão a revelar-se um forte suporte.

Hoje foi um dia muito binário - 110110 ...

[atomez]

Isto hoje foi um autêntico Milagre de Natal !!!

Novo máximo histórico e tudo.

How the Apple Tablet Is Already Making People Rich

It's understandable that Apple stock is doing well—they've had a very, very good year. But after a huge rally this morning, their stock it at its highest price ever. See, yesterday, something magical happened.

A few minutes before the NYSE's 4:00 EST closing, at 8:18 PM GMT (3:18 EST), the Financial Times published a rumor: Apple will make a major product announcement on January 26th in San Francisco. That was it! But in the context of the increasingly frenzied rumors about an Apple tablet, this could only mean one thing to tech followers. And, apparently, to investors. I'll spare you the strained metaphysics of a full Santa/tablet analogy, but trust me, it's there, somewhere.

E agora bom jantar de Natal, muitas prendinhas e até pró ano, agora vou para o frio.

[atomez]

Isto explica muita coisa, como despejo de milhões de acções em poucos minutos como aconteceram recentemente...

Seven Reasons the Shorts Love Apple

"If you can keep a good stock down," writes Jason Schwarz, "then you are able to load up for the ride back up. It's like a slingshot — the harder you pull, the more propulsion you generate."

Schwarz, an investment analyst with a knack for self promotion — through a newsletter, an e-book, and a new hardcover — has written an easy-to-follow primer on why Apple (AAPL) has become the hedge funds' favorite punching bag. It was published as a gallery last week in TheStreet by Jim Cramer, a guy who knows a thing or two about manipulating Apple's stock price. (See here.)

For investors who wonder why Apple goes down just when common sense suggests it should go up, it's a must-read.

Below fold, the highlights:

1. Apple is the market leader. This one stock has become so important to the market that its action is contagious. This influence makes Apple a prized possession for both the longs and the shorts. Knocking down an easier target like Research In Motion (RIMM) or Citigroup (C) doesn't generate the same snowball effect.

2. Apple always bounces back. Over the long run, Apple fundamentals will certainly take the stock higher, but hedge funds want to maximize the ride. Keeping a great stock down allows them to profit from quick predetermined trades rather than being fully invested all the time.

3. The predictability of Apple reduces a short's risk. Everyone knows when the next iPod, iPhone,and iMac refreshes will hit. This has turned into a calendar-driven catalyst stock. During the quiet time, the stock is vulnerable.

4. New media have changed the game. Anybody can say anything and the masses will believe it. The topic of Apple currently dominates this new media. There is no accountability or verification of sources like the old days. In such an environment, hidden agendas can be pushed endlessly without disclosure.

5. Apple secrecy. As the unparalleled leader in tech innovation, Apple feels that it is necessary to keep future products veiled to all competitors, consumers and investors … Apple has yet to sell a single Tablet, yet hedge funds already have made millions from rumors surrounding the product. The lack of transparency from Apple creates a perfect storm for short-term traders.

6. Apple innovation. This company is so good that it causes imaginations to run wild. A hedge fund could float a story that Apple is thinking of buying Saturn in order to develop a new brand of Apple cars and people would go nuts … The constant innovation coming out of Apple provides traders with endless material for believable speculation.

7. Steve Jobs is the visionary of the century. This one man is the single greatest asset in corporate America, which causes Apple stock to trade with a Steve Jobs premium, a variable that the shorts can use as well. Apple's stock is always vulnerable to losing Jobs.

[Elias]

Apple passou a ser a empresa de telemóveis mais rentável
12.11.2009 - 09h39
Por Agências
Pedro Cunha

A Nokia e a Samsung têm sofrido o abalo da entrada no mercado de dispositivos multifuncionais como o iPhone, o BlackBerry e os HTC
Dois anos depois de ter entrado no negócio dos telemóveis pela porta grande, com o popular iPhone, a Apple é hoje a empresa mais rentável de telefones móveis, destronando pela primeira vez os gigantes Nokia e Samsung.

Na realidade, o fabricante finlandês e sul-coreano controlam 60 por cento do mercado global de telemóveis em termos de vendas. Só a Nokia vendeu no terceiro trimestre deste ano 108,5 milhões de aparelhos, ao passo que a Apple só vendeu 7,4 milhões.

Mas uma coisa são as vendas e outra são os lucros. A Apple facturou 4500 milhões de dólares (pouco mais de três mil milhões de euros), o que lhe deu lucros na ordem dos 1600 milhões de dólares só com a venda de iPhones, segundo a Strategy Analytics. Por seu lado, a Nokia encaixou 10.400 milhões de dólares, que geraram lucros na ordem dos 1100 milhões de dólares.

De acordo com os analistas do sector, a Apple consegue controlar melhor os custos que os seus rivais, obtendo assim maiores lucros. O iPhone, que se comercializa em 80 países, foi posto à venda na China no mês passado, um mercado muito competitivo. A companhia finlandesa (que vende em 150 países) denunciou no mês passado a Apple por violar dez patentes.

A Nokia e a Samsung têm sofrido o abalo da entrada no mercado de dispositivos multifuncionais como o iPhone e o BlackBerry (da Research in Motion).

A Nokia deposita agora as suas esperanças no N900, que funciona com o Linux Maemo, ao passo que a Samsung conta ganhar mercado com o Bada, o seu novo sistema operativo com o qual a empresa sul-coreana pretende oferecer aos seus clientes aplicações até agora apenas disponíveis nos chamados smartphones.

A Motorola, que atravessa sérias dificuldades, tenta ganhar algum terreno com o Droid, que se apoia no sistema operativo da Google para dispositivos móveis.

Os smartphones são o novo campo de batalha na guerra tecnológica, onde se espera que as vendas cresçam 25 por cento durante este ano.

in publico.pt