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iPhone Dev Problems: Whining or Real?

Apple cannot possibly put in writing today a list of all potential products for tomorrow that it or its selected partners may be working on to warn off developers. It's practically (and likely legally) impossible to do on a rolling basis. What happens when a developer submits an app similar to what Apple had been working on? Does Apple publicly say, "Sorry, we're about to introduce a similar app soon," thereby pre-announcing their (or their partner's) product plan to the rest of the world? You think that's realistic for a company like Apple? I explore this in:

Resolved: Apple is right to curate the App Store
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Look, same stuff was regurgitated when pundits were demanding that Apple "open" up iPod/iTunes to third parties by cross licensing WM/Real and FairPlay. Had Apple listened to that chorus, it likely wouldn't be around today. Same with Flash or Java on the iPhone. Apple has a right to protect its own platform in a very competitive market for strategic reasons.

Sep 29 05:01 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Will Google Phone Be Good for Carriers?

Its manufacturer HTC called it "The most exciting phone in the history of phones." I compiled a list of all software, hardware and service flaws of G1 and asked the question, "Would Apple have been utterly crucified and AAPL have tanked if the iPhone came out with so many shortcomings?" in:

The Big List: 30 critical issues with Google G1 phone
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Sep 25 06:14 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
9 Feature Comparisons: G1 vs. iPhone

Its manufacturer HTC called it "The most exciting phone in the history of phones." I compiled a list of all software, hardware and service flaws of G1 and asked the question, "Would Apple have been utterly crucified and AAPL have tanked if the iPhone came out with so many shortcomings?" in:

The Big List: 30 critical issues with Google G1 phone
counternotions.com/200.../

Sep 24 18:29 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Android: It's No iPhone, But It's Close

Its manufacturer HTC called it "The most exciting phone in the history of phones." I compiled a list of all software, hardware and service flaws of G1 and asked the question, "Would Apple have been utterly crucified and AAPL have tanked if the iPhone came out with so many shortcomings?" in:

The Big List: 30 critical issues with Google G1 phone
counternotions.com/200.../

Sep 24 04:18 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Apple's "Anti-Competitive" iPhone App Store Draws Developer's Ire

“Some developers demand Apple try to communicate better, lest they assume the worst of the platform vendor. While that sounds plenty reasonable at face value, given the curatorial demands on the fledgling state of the App Store platform and Apple’s overall reliance on product-plan secrecy, we shouldn’t realistically expect Apple to ‘open up’ anytime soon,” as I explain in:

Resolved: Apple is right to curate the App Store
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Sep 16 06:40 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Nokia Is the Smart(phone) Bet - Barron's

I explored the 10 factors it'll take to compete with the iPhone, and Nokia possesses very few of them:

Who can beat iPhone 2.0
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Sep 07 19:01 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Seeing an End to the iPod's Hegemony

"Microsoft has been hammering at Apple's door with Zune"

I don't know if you care, but MSFT sold 2 million Zunes compared to Apple's 150+ million. You call that "hammering at the door"?

I don't know if you remember, but Apple replaced the iPod mini, the then best-selling player in the world, with the iPod nano which quickly became best-selling player. You think Zune, one of the most spectacular CE flops of all time, is going to challenge Apple?

Do you care to cite a single instance of a digital subscription business as remotely popular and lucrative as the iTunes business?

Do you care at all that you cited Mr. Enderle as an "analyst" on Dell without disclosing the fact that he's paid by Dell as a consultant on this very project?

Finally, do you really have anything new to say?
Sep 04 04:35 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Meet Chrome - Google's Windows Killer

Google Chrome as an OS? Unfortunately we have seen that movie some years ago. Remember the web-surfing appliances of yesteryear like Sony eVilla or 3Com Audrey and Kerbango? How about Compaq iPaq or Netpliance I-opener? Didn't think so:

Why Google Chrome is not a "Windows Killer"
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Sep 02 02:16 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Apple: An Antidote to iPhone Complacency

A year and a half later, we don't see another player getting close to the iPhone. Why? It's hard. Indeed, I explored at least 10 factors that any player hoping to catch the iPhone must have even to pull even in:

Who can beat iPhone 2.0?
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Aug 25 04:55 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Why Is Dell Trying to Compete With the iPod?

Nearly a year ago I explored the absurdity of Dell's brand repositioning campaign:

Dell: “Apple has become the conformist company”
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Jul 31 05:47 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Apple Plays the Conservative Card Despite Record Quarter

When one is risk modeling AAPL for the near future, it's also informative to go back to 2005 and explore how Apple risk modeled its iPhone product despite some serious odds, as I explained in:

iPhone: The bet Steve Jobs didn’t decline
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Jul 21 23:28 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Apple Feels 'Max Pain'

Sometimes folks do not quite realize just what a huge risk Jobs & Co took in 2005 to start the iPhone project. I explored 15 bet-the-company level risk factors in:

iPhone: The bet Steve Jobs didn’t decline
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Jul 19 15:24 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Apple's 3G iPhone Appears Profitable

Apple's iPhone success and margins were certainly not a given in 2005 when the project started. I detailed the risks Apple took then in:

iPhone: The bet Steve Jobs didn’t decline
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Jul 16 04:42 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
iPhone (Apple) vs. BlackBerry (RIM): Which Do Consumers Love Most?

I examined 10 factors that put Apple in an unassailable position in the mobile platform wars and reviewed the weaknesses of iPhone competitors, including RIM, in:

Who can beat iPhone 2.0?
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May 09 06:01 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
Wanted, Dead or Alive: The iPhone Killer

I examined 10 factors that put Apple in an unassailable position in the mobile platform wars and reviewed the weaknesses of iPhone competitors in:

Who can beat iPhone 2.0?
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Apr 17 16:26 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

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Wall Street Breakfast - Sample Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News by SA Editor Rachael Granby Bank trio becomes duo. Wells Fargo (WFC) will become the largest U.S. bank by branches with its bid for Wachovia (WB), after Citigroup (C) withdrew from compromise negotiations late yesterday on concerns about the quality of some of Wachovia's assets. Wells Fargo, with a bid valued at $11.4B, expects the purchase to be completed by the end of the year, and denies it will have to absorb assets shakier than originally thought. Government considers next steps. As the financial crisis continues to worsen, the U.S. government is considering two dramatic steps to turn around, or at least slow, the damage: guaranteeing billions of dollars in bank debt and temporarily insuring all U.S. bank deposits. The moves, which would mark the government's most extensive intervention to date, are in discussion stages only. Credit stays frozen. As frozen credit markets refuse to thaw, the cost of default protection on corporate bonds reaches new global records amid investor concerns the credit crisis will trigger corporate failures as companies struggle to finance their businesses. Interbank lending remains limited, and borrowing from the Fed's expanded discount window continued its trend of setting new highs every week, as the total daily average rose to $420.2B vs. $367.8B last week. Oil demand withers. The International Energy Agency warned Friday worldwide oil demand... Email continues...
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Jim Cramer's Picks -
Sample

Better Choices - Cramer's Lightning Round (10/15/08)

by SA Editor Rachael Granby

Stocks discussed in the lightning round session of Jim Cramers Mad Money TV program,
Wednesday, October 15.

Bullish Calls:

Continental Resources (CLR) -- "This is a remarkable decline. All of the high quality ones are down so much, I can't go against it. This is where you pull the trigger.
3M (MMM) -- The moment this stock starts yielding 5%, I'm a buyer. Until then, keep your powder dry.

Bearish Calls:

Computer Sciences (CSC) -- This is a company that was going to be bought, but they passed up the chance. Now I don't want to buy it."
Annaly Mortgage (NLY) -- I think this is a business model that needs to borrow money. Definitively do not buy."
Northrop Grumman (NOC) -- You can't own the defense stocks right now. If I had to own one, I'd look at Lockheed Martin (LMT) with its good dividend.
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