A whole new Samsung Galaxy makes Apple Inc. uncomfortable
By Chris Sorensen - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - 0 Comments
How does this ‘almost theatrically overblown phone’ deliver on user experience?
Jason DeCrow/AP
With its five-inch screen, 13-megapixel camera and software that senses whether you’re looking at it, Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 is “an almost theatrically overblown phone, stuffed to the plastic casing with hardware and features,” according to PC Magazine.
It was not quite the revolutionary device many had hoped for, but it’s still making über-minimalist Apple Inc. uncharacteristically uncomfortable. In a Wall Street Journal interview, marketing chief Phil Schiller dismissed the S4 and other phones that run Google’s Android software as unworthy iPhone competitors, citing a subpar user experience.
He may well be right, but the comments came off looking petty and defensive, given that Apple’s stock has dropped by 35 per cent over the past six months, while Samsung’s has soared 11 per cent. Besides, it’s unlikely consumers will punish Samsung for offering them more for their money.
-
Attention Canadians: Samsung Galaxy S4 will allow users to wear gloves
By Emily Senger - Friday, March 15, 2013 at 11:17 AM - 0 Comments
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has tapped into a market of chilly Canadians. It will…
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has tapped into a market of chilly Canadians. It will allow users to wear gloves while operating its touch screen.
Imagine the possibilities. No more frozen fingers while texting at the bus stop. Capturing that brag shot from the top of a ski hill on a powder day will carry less risk of frostbite. And it will eliminate the need for goofy looking gloves with those conductive fibers sewn into the fingertips. Continue…
-
What’s eating Apple?
By macleans.ca - Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 8:50 AM - 0 Comments
A fast declining stock price may be a sign of deeper trouble at the world’s most valuable tech company
Noah Berger/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Apple’s new store in Silicon Valley may have cathedral ceilings and marble walls, but part of the business is rotting. On Nov. 7, the company’s stock price slid almost four per cent—now down more than 20 per cent from its peak of more than $700 a share in September. Yet some investors are sticking up for Apple, calling the stock a buy despite the troubles facing the world’s most valuable tech company.
At the end of October, Apple launched the iPad Mini to lacklustre reviews, and shortly after forced out its long-time chief of mobile software, Scott Forstall, after he refused to sign a public apology acknowledging troubles with the firm’s new maps service. While supply problems have plagued the newly released iPhone 5, rival Samsung’s Galaxy S III just nabbed the No. 1 spot in the smartphone market, widely considered Apple’s stronghold.
According to Bloomberg News, many analysts are sticking to their stock price targets (an average of $760), hoping Apple’s woes can be solved in the short-term. “There are real problems at Apple and then there are fake problems that aren’t long-term,” says Farhad Manjoo, a tech columnist for Slate who has covered Apple for the better part of a decade. Manjoo puts supply problems with the iPhone 5 in the latter category and says once the company figures out how to meet consumer demand, its bestselling product will boost share prices. Apple says it just launched three new products, which means manufacturing costs cut into short-term profits, and investment bank Oppenheimer & Co. chalked up share declines to an overpriced iPad Mini and recent management changes. Continue…
