Apple Talk | All things Apple, from the iPhone to the iPad: PC bashers welcome!

Steve Jobs' keys to success

His laser-like focus always comes to mind.

I talked about Bill Gates and his impact on Microsoft. I really feel that Gates is a truly remarkable individual and one of my biggest idols. But now I want to look at Apple’s Steve Jobs and how he was instrumental in the success of this computer giant.

I have been attempting to get a startup going, but one of the biggest troubles I have had is to focus. Focusing is something that Jobs was a master at. Here is a book that I strongly recommend you to read to help you focus. Books are everything really and reading some good books can have such a positive impact on your life and business.

Steve Jobs also understands the value of people’s time and he made sure that they didn’t have to waste time trying to sit around and figure out how his products work and this was another very important factor in Apple’s success.

Jobs also understood the marketability of a great product. Too often, people try to sell stuff to get quick profits in anticipation of overnight success. That is human nature because we are always trying to care of ourselves and our kids, etc. Quality and the product is what matters and even the real estate mogul Donald Trump has stated this many times.

I have tried to follow this methodology many times too by not just writing about anything and focusing on putting up some very good material on Klat. If you ever get the time, read this article on the Harvard Business Review of the real leadership lessons of Steve Jobs.

Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall sells off 95 percent of his shares

In a sale of Apple shares that netted $38.7 million, executive Scott Forstall sold off 95 percent of his shares and is left with only 2,988 shares of Apple stock. But this does not mean, however, that Forstall will be leaving as Fortune has reported that he has the 100,000 restricted stock units that he got in 2010.

Forstall is widely known as a mini-Steve Jobs and is also a Stanford graduate. He was also very instrumental in setting up some of the fundamental technologies at Steve Jobs’ startup venture Next. There has been a lot of talk that Forstall might become the next CEO of Apple.

Forstall has actually been pretty open about his desire to be the next chief executive of the Cupertino based company. If that happens, even without taking into account his large stake in Apple, Scott Forstall will be a very rich man indeed. For now, us Apple investors will have to wait and see what America’s most admired and secretive company will decide to do with regards to its future.

At the moment, Forstall makes $700,000 annually by being at the helm of the iOS software division at Apple. I guess with everyone talking about how Forstall is really a Steve Jobs clone, this should really bode well for Apple and its investors. However, he has had a history of being pretty difficult to work with which has led to the exit of quite a lot of top-level Apple executives over the years.

Forstall has played a very central role in the iPhone and iPad business which have actually put Apple’s sales and stock prices to very high levels.

Apple now has a $600 billion market capitalization

Apple is on the way to become the most valuable company in history

Apple’s market cap has hit the $600 billion mark and only one other company in history has done so: Apple’s rival, Microsoft. Microsoft crossed the $600 billion market cap back in December 1999 and has dropped its market cap since then and is currently at a $255 billion market cap.

In the case of Apple, stock analysts and investors are more bullish than ever as there are also reports that its stock price has really not kept up with its amazingly high earnings. This makes Apple a great buy even at its $620ish stock price right now.

Apple was already the most valuable company on the globe when it hit the $600 billion mark but it is not yet the most valuable company in history as Microsoft managed to hit $619 billion on December 30, 1999. When taking inflation into account, that $619 billion valuation is actually $846 billion in today’s money.

So Apple still has a long way to go to add this next jewel in its already very remarkable crown. But many analysts are so bullish about Apple that they feel that the technology giant is not done yet and will hit the $1 trillion market cap. However, there have been a few naysayers who feel that Apple’s profit margins cannot be sustained.

According to these critics, the iPhone will see a drop in sales because phone companies are actually losing out on profits because of the subsidies that they pay for Apple’s newest model. Regardless, great things are yet to come and many predict that Apple will beat Samsung as the globe’s largest tech company as measured by revenue.

Apple will start paying a dividend and buyback stocks

Apple’s stock price has gone up by as much as 37 percent since January with many analysts expecting a dividend to be paid especially since the death of CEO Steve Jobs. The Cupertino, CA company has announced a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share that will take effect from July 1 of this year or the company’s fiscal fourth quarter.

News of this has sent the stock price to almost $600 which it went over for a while as well before dropping back to $592 today. The good thing for the tech giant is that it will be able to attract more investors after deciding to issue dividends. A wider range of funds will want to add Apple stock to their portfolios. For instance, “value-oriented” funds have a policy of buying stocks that pay dividends.

The reason why Apple grew a cash and securities pile of $98 billion was because Steve Jobs was always haunted by the times in the mid-1990s when the company was pretty cash strapped. But even after the dividend is paid, Apple will continue to grow its cash pile albeit at a slower rate.

The global sales of the best-selling tablet computer, the iPad, and the leading smartphone, the iPhone, have greatly increased earnings too. The annual dividend comes to $10.60 and is a 1.8 percent yield when using the stock price of Apple right now. This is not as attractive as the yield of Microsoft which is 2.5 percent or Hewlett-Packard that has a 2 percent yield, but the dividend announcement is an extra benefit for investors already enjoying the sharp increase in Apple’s stock price.

New iPad Hits Stores Friday

What to look forward to in Apple's latest tablet

It's not the iPad 3. Don't you dare call it that. Despite the fact that it is, in fact, the third release in Apple's tablet series, this shiny new grandson only goes by "the new iPad". Because "the iPad Jr. Jr." wasn't quite impractical enough. I mean, presumably Apple's going to keep spitting out these things, so what happens next time when the new iPad is no longer new? When it's the second-newest iPad, replaced by the thinner, snazzier, more powerful new-new iPad? Are we going to keep taking "news" on? Will we have to pick out a new type of animal to differentiate our tablets? Come up with something, Apple. At least name them by the year they come out.

The new iPad will arrive in stores on Friday. If the thought of anything freshly stamped with the Apple logo whets your appetite, here's what you've got to look forward to.

In keeping with the tradition of superlatives, Apple promises that the new iPad's screen boasts the best mobile display ever. They have multiplied the iPad 2's pixel resolution by four, meaning that you can zoom in four times as much before you start seeing the edges of the pixels themselves. With a 2048 by 1536 resolution and a 44 percent increase in color saturation, everything will look clearer and brighter. I imagine your first look at the new iPad's screen will be a lot like the first time you peered into an iPhone 4. It may just redefine what you thought was visually possible on a tablet device.

Apple has also planted a better camera in the back of the slab. It packs 5 megapixels and advanced optics, with automatic white balance and face detection. It'll even let you shoot HD video if you're so inclined to use it as a camcorder. Or you can use Facetime to broadcast your mug to your loved ones in 1080p. Seems like Apple is trying to appeal to the social power of the device, making video chats and home movies seem like a high-tech, exciting experience.

The new iPad also comes with 4G capabilities built-in, as well as the requisite Wi-Fi. Interestingly enough, Apple has equipped it with the power to act as a hotspot for up to five other devices in case you ever need to tether your laptop to your wireless data connection.

As we might have expected, the latest iPad will be released with a $499 price tag. Worth the splurge? Maybe if it's your first one, but I'm always wary of upgrading for upgrading's sake.

Justice Department to Sue Apple Over E-Book Prices

Accuses company of collusion with publishers

Seems the lawsuit-happy consumer tech giant is about to find itself on the other end of the suing stick. The US Justice Department has stated that it plans to sue Apple and five of its e-book publishers over a scheme to artificially inflate the prices of books purchased for iOS.

Before Apple released the iPad in 2010, Amazon reigned as the primary seller of e-books and e-readers with its popular Kindle and wide selection of titles. E-book apps for the iPhone and iPod touch existed, but the hardware's small resolution couldn't compare to the easy reading of designated e-reader hardware. But when Apple launched its tablet, it also launched an attack on the way book publishers sell their digital products.

Amazon and other e-book retailers used to operate on a wholesale model. They would pay up front for the right to sell a title, then set their own customer price. When the iPad came out, Apple decided it wanted a better deal than that. Jobs and company therefore devised an agency model by which Apple would take a 30% commission off the sale of every e-book. In order for publishers to turn a profit, the list price would have to rise. Customers were essentially paying more to make sure Apple got a better cut off book sales.

Certain e-book apps were forced to close shop after refusing to raise their prices to satisfy Apple's commission. The big publishers happily adopted the new model--and agreements with Apple forced them to refuse to let competitors like Amazon sell their products via the old wholesale system. As a result, we saw a spike in e-book prices across the board.

Apple does seem to have single-handedly forced out any kind of competitive pricing on e-books, but does it count as collusion? Some, like Mark Coker of e-book distributor Smashwords, say that taking down the agency model will only serve to hurt publishers and allow Amazon to restore their pre-iPad e-book monopoly.

Despite the rise in prices we saw with the adoption of the agency model, the e-book industry is thriving. Consumers don't seem to mind paying more to be able to read books on their iPads, Kindles, and Nooks. The industry saw $1.7 billion in sales in 2011, up from a mere $78 million in 2008.

Personally, I'm doing okay with the prices at my local used bookstore, so Apple's price manipulation doesn't affect me much. And given that the company has more money than a lot of countries do, I'm sure they'll hold their own on the brunt end of the legal battle.

What should investors do with Apple stock?

"I think conservative and aggressive investors can still benefit from buying shares of Apple. "

I continue my talk about Apple stock in this post. The stock price has gone up by almost 50 percent in just 3 months, from about $360 to finishing at $545.18 at the close on Friday. I wish I had bought like some lucky investors did when the stock was just $250. But I didn’t, so now I have to see the best possible decision at this point.

I think conservative and aggressive investors can still benefit from buying shares of Apple. But I feel that there will be a pullback for the stock price as is the case with any stock that is being highly touted by the media and has been rising so quickly. In terms of the long term trend, Apple stock should continue to keep going up and most analysts agree with this.

The reason is that Apple has a lot left in its tank when it comes to its renowned innovative products and technologies that people across the globe clamor up to purchase even though they are more of a want than a need. The market share of Apple continues to grow abroad and many have speculated that we may have the planet’s first trillion-dollar company on our hands soon.

What should encourage investors even more is the fact that when you just look at China, Apple could add a further 30 million to 50 iPhone sales in 2012. A conservative investor can look to buy Apple at $420 or so as the price has been dropping and this should be a good target price. From then on, the stock price should just continue to keep going up barring any volatility that should be expected from a hot stock like Apple.

Seems Legit: iPhone Stoves Seized in China

They were not real. They were counterfeit Apple stoves. In case there was doubt.

If you're going to try to get away with hocking fake merchandise, you should probably start by plastering pirated logos on objects that are actually made by the company you're trying to imitate. You wouldn't put a Louis Vuitton pattern on a vacuum cleaner and expect its value to surge. You wouldn't try to pass off a soldering iron as genuine Tiffany's merchandise. And you probably shouldn't try to claim that that gas stove is really an iPhone.

Nevertheless, some intrepid entrepreneur in China decided it was probably a good idea to raise the value of his stoves by affixing the Apple logo and the word "iphone" to their front panels. From the looks of the photo, these stoves look more like hot plates than full ranges. I guess that makes them slightly closer to the size of an iPhone than your average cooking appliance, but come on now. These things might be able to cook you bacon--something for which there is not yet an app (get cracking, developers)--but they're not even close to being considered technology. Why bother even printing the logo? Besides, we all know that if Apple were to release a stove, it wouldn't run on gas--and it certainly wouldn't brand itself with that kelly green. It would probably feature three different touch-sensitive screens, voice-activated temperature controls, and programmable automatic cooking features. Wake up in the morning and it'll already have cooked your oatmeal for you. Download recipes and virtual ingredients from the app store for $.99 a pop and let the machine do all the work. Now with dual cameras, Facetime, and integrated Twitter support. It's the most amazing iStove yet.

Chinese authorities still saw fit to confiscate all of the stoves in a warehouse raid. They won't stand for any counterfeit goods, no matter how unlikely to fool the public they may be. The police seized just under 700 stoves that were not only falsely branded, but also lacked any protection against flame-outs. Dangerous stuff indeed! You'd take one home only to discover that its Apple China Limited compliance certification label was forged (gasp!) and also that it burned your entire house down while you were out at work. Oops. Oh well, you can always get new kids. I guess that's the real horror of faking brand names. It's not so much the profit losses as it is the fire and destruction and death. Good job, Chinese authorities, on preventing another household tragedy.

Looking Ahead to Mountain Lion

OS X 10.8 seeks to bridge the gap between desktop and mobile interfaces

As mobile technology becomes more and more popular, powerful, and profitable, software behemoths like Apple become more and more inclined to model their desktop software after what's running on their phones and tablets. An advance look at OS X Mountain Lion reveals that the Apple experience of the future will be increasingly centered around iOS.

Formulating a seamless software experience has been the goal of many a developer over the past few years. Cloud storage and device synchronization are the future of how we create, store, and publish data. But Apple doesn't seem entirely pleased that developers outside its umbrella have been coming up with effective methods of keeping all your data accessible from all of your gadgets at once. Mountain Lion will introduce several new features that seem to be designed to compete directly with existing third-party apps.

As a stab at the formidable Dropbox, whose ease of use allows me and plenty of others to swap files between multiple computers, Mountain Lion will feature an upgraded version of iCloud that allows you to upload documents directly to your personal cloud storage. Any synched document will be updated on all your devices as soon as you save changes, meaning you won't have any need for multiple copies of similar documents as you transfer your work around your home network. It sounds like it'll be a little more streamlined than the current Dropbox setup, but iCloud will still lack a browser with which to glance through all your uploaded documents at once.

The new incarnation of the Notes app also seems like it's trying to enter in the running with Evernote, the awesome word processor/productivity app with which I get most of my work done. Not only will Notes synch up neatly between its desktop and mobile versions, it'll also support images and email exporting.

In addition to new methods of handling data, Mountain Lion also aims to change the way we communicate with our fellow Apple junkies. iChat will be replaced with the new Messages app, which integrates FaceTime and allows you to swap texts with mobile devices. But don't worry: it'll still support AIM and the like for those of you with friends stuck in 2002. Furthermore, Twitter exports will be integrated into several existing OS X components, like iPhoto and Safari. You won't even need to hop over to Twitter's website to post a new photo or link to your feed.

Looks like Apple's making it increasingly easier to want to own all of their devices at once, feeding our stubborn addiction to their products. Probably a wise trend to cultivate.

Apple Sues Samsung Over Autocorrect

More like LOLsuit, am I wrong?

The playground sand-kicking between Apple and Samsung continues. In the latest move in their seemingly never-ending legal feud, Apple is now suing the less powerful mobile manufacturer over the autocorrect feature in their Android phones and tablets. Because Apple patented the substitution of one word for a more commonly used word, and now no one else can ever include an autocorrect feature in their technology ever again, I guess.

To be fair, Samsung's built-in check-and-swap mechanism did look pretty similar to Apple's. The phone dictionary's proposed word hovers just above whatever you're typing just like it does in iOS. But the patent is phrased in pretty broad language and seems like it would apply to just about any kind of feature that suggests a better word than the one you're working on. If you're allowed to see both what you're typing and a suggestion at the same time, you're looking at a feature patented by Apple.

But is Samsung really the only manufacturer whose devices have that kind of autocorrect? We've come a long way from the days of T9, when phones could just swap in whatever they felt like right over what you were actually trying to text. I feel like the side by side comparison of what you're trying to say and what your phone thinks you want to say is pretty essential.

Maybe Apple just has a deep personal vendetta against this particular competitor. I'm sure there are plenty of patent overlaps between the iPhone and the various Motorola and HTC Android devices, yet Apple has spent about 100 million dollars battling Samsung alone. Seems awfully vicious, doesn't it? Especially considering they've largely been unsuccessful at keeping Samsung out of the phone and tablet business. Apple seems especially concerned with the Galaxy tab as a threat to the iPad, as many of those legal fees have gone towards trying to bar Samsung's new tablet from even being sold at all. Having failed to squash the Galaxy on the basis of design patents--judges ruled that you can't, in fact, copyright rectangles--Apple is now rearming themselves with utility patents. If I had to guess, I'd say that the judges will probably assert that you can't really copyright autocorrect, either. Whether they like it or not, Apple is going to have to deal with Samsung as a tablet competitor, even if they take a hefty swipe at the enemy's legal budget as they go forth.

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