Apple is the Target

With all of the recent sucess of the iPhone, once again Apple is the target of the competition namecalling. Nokia is suing Apple for copyright infringements with the iPhone. Verizon is attacking the iPhone with "we got a map for that" for the larger coverage over AT&T. And now Verizon has teamed up with Motorola and disses all of the "negative" features that the iPhone doesn't have or do with their latest Dune ads. When I first saw these ads, I didn't even know what it was for. The ending was like an ad for a horror flick.
Apple will survive all this. Just like the iPod attacks. The Nokia copyright suit I am sure is a minor one. Maybe Apple will need to pay some minor royalties to Nokia for some menu system etc. Seems a bit late for that kind of lawsuit. The iPhone has been out for quite some time. Maybe it was because of Nokia's poor earnings report.
One surprising thing is that the exlusive AT&T agreement may end mid 2010. Verizon keeps posturing to sell the iPhone, but they don't want to give up everything like AT&T did. With the Apple Apps store instead of their own, Vcast store. It's a big chess game about who makes how much profit in the big deal. Who has more to gain from each other. I am sure Apple will be able to work out a deal, unless Verizon becomes too stuborn again and wants all the chips for themselves. Personally, I would like to see Apple start their own network, or buy one. Seems like Sprint and T-mobile are the only ones left. AllTel got bought by Verizon. They probably have the cash. They could start a new paradime about cell phones are sold. I don't know if the numbers add up, but with Apple profits going like gangbusters, and Verizon's profits slipping I think Apple has the upper hand.

Mad Money loves Apple

I recently watched an episode of Mad Money. Its that investing show with Jim Cramer, who acts like a crazy radio disc jockey playing all sorts of sound effects and lots of crazy sight gags. He is actually a former high end investment broker. Well on this last show he was wearing a large Apple make of cardboard, and taking bites out of apples from a large bushel basket of them. His point, was that many investors think that with Apple's latest great earnings report this past quarter that they should jump ship because Apple is as high as they can go. He says wrong, "Apple is the only company who has said what he has dying to hear, Apple cannot keep up with demand". In a recession, and consumer spending way down, Apple can't keep up with demand. And it is not just the iPhone either, according to Cramer it is there whole product line. He said "This may be the biggest technology company of all time, including Google, and Microsoft". Pretty amazing words. He points out that they only have 3% of the cell phone market and about 4% of the computer market, so there is huge growth potential. And he makes the comment, "Have you ever heard of someone who has switch to an Apple product regret it?, No, once an Apple customer always an Apple customer." I know he always throws in a bunch of showmanship but I think he believes his picks and then spins a wild presentation around it. You can see the episode on iTunes as a podcast. I think it was 10/20 and it is the first topic he covers. Go Apple the technology marvel.

Apple quits the US Chamber of Commerce

Did you hear this story about Apple quitting the US Chamber of Commerce? I guess it goes back to a statement that the USCOC made pretty much denying global warming and giving a position against any measures to counter it. Apple thought that this position was denying reality and quit in protest. A few other large companies have also quit the USCOC for the same reason including Nike and a few others. I don't think this made big news. I wonder how much a company pays in dues each year.