Macbook Discounts So Soon After Christmas, Wonder Why: Bad Sales, New Models

Source:  Appleinsider.

Over the Holidays, you could have gotten a good deal on Macbooks.  After that, prices go back up to where it's high Apple usually likes it.  But according to Appleinsider, you can get a $200 discount off the most basic Macbook Pro with Retina Display.  That would put the Retina Display model at about a $300 premium over a regular Macbook Pro on the low end - much better than the $500 premium we were looking at.

There is no word on how long this will last.  But what's the reason behind the price cuts?  Apple's regular Macbook Pro and Air models have not been discounted much to such an extent but where were still inline with the Christmas discounts.

So, I'll just the basis here for you.  And depending on the reasons for the cuts, it could be a good time to buy.

One theory is that Apple's Mac sales have fallen on hard times.  First quarter sales were off by 1 million units.  Much of that could be attributed to the  inability page for making the iMacs for the quarter.  In fact, you for the iMacs has not improved.  Test, this could be Apple's way of trying to improve Masson's in terms of units.  If this is the reason, no you're good scientific new MacBook if you like.

Another theory, is that Apple has found a way improve yields on the Retina Display.  All along, Apple has been working to lower the cost of Macs for years now. We always knew Retina Display prices would drop.  The $500 premium for the retina display shocked everyone when first released.  Honestly, I thought it would add almost $200 premium.  Of course, I totally discounted how Apple would redesign the Macbooks.

Thirdly, it could be that Apple is on the verge of releasing new Macbook models.  The 15 inch MacBook Pro retina display was released in June 2012. The 13 inch MacBook Pro with retina display was released in October 2012.  It's been about seven months since Apple has updated the 15 inch model. So it is possible Apple is looking to refresh at least a 15 inch MacBook Pro model.  It is unlikely, no let me correct that, it is IMPOSSIBLE Apple will update the 13 inch MacBook Pro only after three months on the market.

Other three series that I laid out for the price discount, I believe the first one is the most likely scenario: Apples MacBook sales have slowed. Discount now will help Apple to meet financial obligations.

Here will be a good place for me to end this post I suggest to my readers what they should do.  But, I am going to offer my "one more thing".

That is, Apple is looking to put another nail in the PC market's coffin. Well PC sales has been dropping, tablet sales have been skyrocketed. As we know, the iPad models is dominating the tablet market. At the same time, people are looking to cabinets as laptop replacement. That would mean more sales for Apple, less sales of laptops, and it will put Microsoft is a very difficult position.

It is not as if Microsoft own hardware plans is doing all that well. The Surface tablet have not been generating the kind of buzz and sales that Redmond had hope.

On top of that Apple has been on the offense lately.  Just last week Apple released the 128 GB iPad models.  This was a direct challenge Microsoft Surface Pro.  Furthermore, by reducing the price of Macs at a critical juncture for Microsoft's Windows 8 sales, Apple is putting more pressure on it's own PC follow.

For instance, with the discount on the 11" MacBook Air, Apple has position it's low-end MacBook Air as another direct alternative, along with the 128 GB iPad, to the Surface Pro.  Both models offer strength for mobile warriors that the Surface Pro is unable to provide.

Apple's offerings has better battery life, larger selection of apps, and first-class designs its competitors cannot offer.

Maybe the Macbook price cuts are about Apple looking to beef up sales, lowering prices due to better yields,  about to release new models, or it is looking to challenge Microsoft.  For potential Macbook buyers, there is no time to buy a Mac than when you need it right away.

Plus, my Spidey sense isn't tingling at all.  I don't think Apple about to release new models.

Plug-Gate: Senator Marco Rubio Hates America Because of iPhone Plugs

Let me be clear.  I'm a fiscal conservative as in I think I should live within my means.  So should the government.  While I think charity and helping neighbors should be the innate duty of every American and there are some things that governments can do that is good for the people, it's not the government's role to legislate many things and overspending.

So, my political views are probably closer to the dumbass gentleman from Florida, Senator Marco Rubio. So, I don't want this to seem like a Democrat bashing a Republican.   Why dumbass, you ask?

As an US senator, he's suggesting that he would migrate over to a phone made by a foreign company from an American one.  An iconic company no less.

In this case, it's Apple and Samsung. Why migrate from Apple over to Samsung?  The reason is stupid to say the least.  It's not even an iOS versus Android issue.  It's because he thinks he has too many Apple plugs!

I have Android devices. I’m considering getting a Galaxy Note 2. My issue isn't him migrating to an Android device.  More power to him.  It's that Rubio is an US senator to tweet about it, it just seem kinda stupid.

Why do I have to get so many different chargers for #apple? I am edging closer to #samsung with each passing day.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 7, 2013

Again, my issue isn't related at all to the mobile platform war.  It's his reason and who he stands for. And you know what?  Personally, I don't think you can have enough plugs.

And this is the guy the GOP wants to run for President of the United States in 2016.  Let's spread this around.  Let's call this "Plug-gate".

Note:  I think Romney should have picked him for VP.

Greed: Fund Manager Sues Apple So He Can Create Illusion of Creating Value For Shareholder

Source:  9to5Mac.

Back when Apple was still struggle, Michael Dell was asked what he would do if he was in charge of Apple.  Well, he said he would do what exactly is happening to Dell right now:  give the money back to the investors.  Irony aside, maybe today’s Apple executives probably don’t think that is such a bad idea after all given what happened today.

Apple is being sued by a greedy fund manager to use financial trickery to “unlock” shareholder value.  Believe me when I tell you that all this is about greedy and getting Apple to do what it won’t.  Of course, by nature, fund managers are greedy people.  They have to be so you can’t really blame them.

So, no extra value is being created for Apple shareholders if this fund manager gets what he wants.  It’s all about Apple’s cash.  Cash that Apple can use to do what tech pundits and Wall Street analysts want Apple to do more often:  come out with revolutionary products the consumers did not know they want or need.

This is a simple case of Wall Street wanting everything.  Just like they want Apple to sell cheap iPhones while magically maintaining profit margin.

Asleep Baby Wakes Up Instantly And Dances To Gangnam Song

This is too funny. You have to watch this baby named Amaya.  Apparently, she can sleep through anything but once a particular song comes on, she wakes and dances to it.  Even in the car seat.

And yes, it's the Gangnam song.  I'm sick of the song but it's worth it to watch the video below.

As if that was not cute enough, check out her older sister laughing so hard she started to cry.  Both very adorable.

Enjoy!

  

Apple TV: Square Enix Loss Shows Why Apple Is Being Careful About Apps

Source:  Destructoid.

You and I both want an app store for our Apple TV.  Games galore and whatever fancies you.  However, it's a no-go yet even as others experiment with it.  I think I know partly why that is so.

Square Enix, despite having awesome titles still have not managed to make a buck last year on the consoles. That's Playstation, Xbox, and the Wii.  It seems to be doing a better on mobile like on the iPhones and iPads.  I'm sure developers will be pleased when Apple TV gets an app store.

Of course, it's anyone's guess.  Apple has always been very careful about these sort of things.  Until they figure out a perfect way for users to access apps, it won't happen.

In the post, SE blamed the mess that the console market is in.  They blame the cost of doing business which inflates the prices of the games which users shied away from.  Apple is very likely looking to avoid the console makers' mistakes.

I also believe that once Apple decides to launch the app store for Apple TV, gaming will be a major marketing ploy.  Both Apple and publishers will have to sit down and figure out just how they can make sure users can stay engaged while not repeating any of the issues console makers have had to go through.

5-Inch iPhone: Rumblings, Cravings, And Lots of Speculations

I’m sure Apple has iPhone prototypes in Jony Ives’ lab ranging from 3” all the way up to 6”.  It makes sense that Apple would play around with different screen sizes and UI to see what is best for users.  Now, it’s anyone’s guess whether Apple will ever release an iPhone with a bigger than 4” screen current on the iPhone 5.  


Momentum/Issues

However, momentum is building within the Apple blog circle that Apple could conceivable release a 5” iPhone and they speculated how Apple could go about it.  The way they’re doing it is through mockups, speculating about resolutions, DPI, and icon sizes.  I read just about every post I could find on it and love every one of them and hope to God that they’re right.

Here are the more recent ones in the last week or so (Marco, iMore, Daring Fireball).

There are just a few problems.  One is Tim Cook saying that they found the perfect size with the 4” screen that is great for one handed use.  However, Apple has a history of saying one thing and doing another.  What Apple tells us today is what they want the media and its customers to think for today.  Tomorrow is another matter.  It’s an issue but not a major one.  Apple has been known, rather notoriously, for saying one thing only to do the complete opposite a moment later.

The second is that many of these mockups and speculations talk about the 5” DPI being less than the Retina Display.  If falls somewhere between the iPad mini and the iPad Retina Display.  Between this issue and the one-handed use, I think this is much more problematic.  It would not be Retina anymore by Apple’s own definition (as it is today).  Okay, fine.  Neither is the iPad mini or the iPad 2, two Apple products on sale that do not have Retina Displays.

However, a 5” iPhone will be considered a flagship device that will go just against competing flagship phones from Samsung, HTC, Nokia, and RIM.  And basically any punk on the mobile mean street looking to knock off Apple.  By keeping the same as the 4” at 1136x640, Apple leaves itself to cheap marketing shots by its competitors.

In fact, the upcoming Galaxy S 4 will have a 5” 1080p display.  That’s about 440 dpi.  If Apple keeps the 5” display at 1136x640.  I see the marketing from just about everyone who wants to tear one into Apple even if they don’t succeed in destroying iPhone’s good name.


What I Like Apple To Do

What Apple has to do increase the resolution again to keep the DPI within the parameters so that it can call its 5” iPhone display a Retina Display.  Go even as high as 2272x1280, twice the resolution of today’s iPhone 5 display and 4X the number of pixels. There will be added cost but Apple is free to price this higher than the regular 4” iPhone display.  I’m okay with even a 1.5X increase in resolution at 1704x960.  It’s quite feasible from a technical standpoint.  As for the apps, well, I believe app developers will fall in line.

And you know what? I’ll buy it.  Tens of millions of Apple fans will buy it.  Millions will wait eager wait in line for it.  At 2272x1280 or 1704x960, it would blow my socks off!

It would be Apple’s crowning achievement in mobile but it would cost more.  For instance, I see Apple release a 5” iPhone with a $100-150 premium over a comparable 4” iPhone.  And it’ll come with a 32 GB as a base model rather than 16 GB and go all the way up to 128 GB.  Depending on Apple’s willingness to absorb some margin hit and it has shown that in the last couple of financial quarters, Apple could really take the 5” and up segment of the market from Samsung.

My guess is that Apple has already laid the ground work for this.  For one thing, Apple already has the chips capable of running in the iPad 4 when it refreshed the 9.7” iPad with a better CPU just before the Christmas.  According to Apple, the A6X chip inside the iPad 4 has about 50-100% the processing and graphics power as the iPad 3.  And they both run the same display.  So you have to ask yourself what kind of awesomeness this chip will do in a 5” iPhone.  (If you like tech analysis and benchmarks, check out BareFeats and Anantech on the A6X chip.)


Will It or Won’t It?

All these speculations aside, which I’m loving it, it’s hard to say if Apple is going to go for it.  Times have changed since the original iPhone came out of Steve Jobs’ pocket in 2007.  A lot.  The incumbent leaders in mobile have come and gone with Palm being gone and Blackberry look at its new Blackberry 10 devices as make or break for 2013.  Microsoft has yet to mount a comeback (though I think Redmond’s patience will win the day eventually).  Nokia is in the same bed with Microsoft.

For the Android device makers, they’ve gone the bigger screen route and with a lot of success.  Apple’s biggest foe, Samsung, has differentiated itself from the rest of the Android pack with brilliant branding, copy Apple’s success to one degree or another, and really innovated with the bigger screens in the Galaxy Note line.

On top of that, the 5”-ish Galaxy S line is lighting up the high-end segment of the market where Apple usually like to have all to itself.

More than just phones getting bigger, so are the habits of mobile warriors and their behaviors towards their smartphones.  Calling is out.  Texting and other forms of social communication is in.  Twitter, Facebook, blogging as well surfing the Web or using apps take up more time than before.  Bigger screens helps.

We simply don’t use our phones to make calls as much anymore.  Our smartphones are for absorbing information.

I think Apple will eventually relent just as they have with the iPad mini.  However, when it happens, it’ll be on Apple’s terms and parameters.  It will not because investors, pundits, or market forces dictate it so.

Social: Twitter Was Hacked - So Were Others LIke the NYT. Expect More Of This

All Things D.

More than 250,000 Twitter accounts were hacked. Luckily, mine wasn't among those but I'm sure that day will come. And this happened via Twitter, not individuals who were phished or something.

With today's short term media attention, I want to remind ourselves that earlier in the week, the New York Times claimed to have been targeted by Chinese government backed hackers. I know there is no evidence that Beijing had a direct hand in it but, come on, it's China we're talking about.

Later, the Wall Street Journal as well as the Washington Post revealed that they too had the honor of the Chinese probing them from the back.

Needless to say, it's only February and we've for 11 more months to go in 2013. We're looking at a lot more of this for the rest of the year and beyond.

It won't be just social media sites or media giants. I think government sites are next as are public facilities like water, gas, and power facilities.

So ATD is right. It isn't who will be the next to be hacked but who will admit to being hacked.

And what's also right is that there are companies out there that are not aware of security breaches into their networks.

So it kinda makes you wonder about any PC, phones, or tablets you own.

For mobile users, our fear isn't necessarily about our smartphones or tablets. However, it's the data that apps you download and install that we have to worry about. We simply don't know what kinda of data these apps are pulling from our devices. On top of that, we have to trust Apple, Google, Blackberry, and Microsoft to police their app stores on our behalf. The trust we put in Google is doubly more important because it make money off user data.

Just this week, up and coming social network Path was fined $800,000 by the FTC for violations. The fine was for allowing children onto their network and collecting their information. And this is a very good iPhone app that we thought Apple would have done its vetting before allowing the app into the store.

So whether it is companies or individuals, hacking is going to be the norm and the only one thing to know about this and one defense we users have.

We have to know that companies we give our information to will most definitely get hacked. And the only defense we have is common sense.

- Posted using Mobile