What will Apple announce in the morning about what they will do with their growing cash balance?
WILD GUESS
A 5% dividend of total cash balance. Envision this as a 1.25% per quarter pay out.
Month: March 2012
Media Culture Shifts: theory vs. reality
Media Culture Shifts: theory vs. reality:
Regardless of upper management’s determination, you’ll never be able to steer a century-old company the way a young startup adjusts to changing circumstances, whether it’s explosive growth or adverse events.
(Via Monday Note)
Old firms are like big cruise ships, it’s hard for them to change direction and make maneuvers rapidly. Speed and direction changes are two of the things that new firms (typically) have as strengths for dealing with changing market realities.
Anarchy in the App Store – Businessweek
Anarchy in the App Store – Businessweek:
“how often a downloaded app gets used, the leader board might more accurately reflect popularity, says Craig Palli, a Fiksu vice president.”
Interesting idea to create a more relevant ranking system. What are people downloading and how often are they using it? This could be a problem for apps that are not used frequently. I’m thinking of the app Pages, an app from Apple. I have it, but don’t use it often.
The Kalamazoo X Conference – How Did I Hear About This?
Thought it might be worth documenting how a Lanyrd email from a few days ago became my path to awareness about the Kalamazoo X Conference (Saturday, April 21, 2012). Lanyrd is a way to see which of your online (and possibly real) friends are attending or speaking at an event.
More information about the Kalamazoo X Conference can be found here and here.
An App for Searching Favorites?
This app looks interesting.
No iPhoto for Original iPad?
The Apple Event – Some Predictions
Apple Event March 7, 2012
A few thoughts. I’ve been reading some blog posts and listening to some podcasts and below are a few thoughts. Some are guesses others have that I agree with. Also, this is not all-inclusive. Just want to get a few things written down before the event.
This will be an iPad event
There will be a double resolution screen. It’s my understanding that the pixels per inch would not make it a true retina display, but every one seems to be calling it that. *1
As for the name, iPad HD seems more likely than iPad 3. *2
The current iPad 2 will still be manufactured. It will probably only be available in 16 GB sizes. *3
The iPad HD will also come in storage capacity double each of the three variants currently available. There will be three sizes. The new sizes will be 32, 64, and 128GB. Some iTunes U lectures are nearly 1 GB each, hence the need for more storage. *4
There will be new software for acquiring, scheduling and watching video programming on a tv. This may be part a new Apple TV, the set-top box, not an actual Apple TV. *5
It’s my belief that the iPad will not have a 4G option. It’s a bit fuzzy if there will be mobile operator integration. Meaning, there will not be an AT&T model and a Verizon/Sprint model for 3G. *6
The Big Guess
The surprise as I believe it will play out is that there will be a new larger iPod Touch. The screen will be about 7″ as measures diagonally. This has been a thought of mine for the past five of six months. Reading Kindle books on an iPad would be better on a slightly smaller device. A larger Touch might fit the bill for content consumption. This will keep the iPad brand strong (and separate), and clear in the minds of consumers and users. The iPad is the tablet computer and the Touch is more of a content consumption device. *7
Notes
*1 This seems to be the consensus view.
*2 There are some people who suggest this will be the name.
*3 Believe I heard about this on the Talk Show podcast. Might be episode 81. They also spoke of lower prices on the iPad 2.
*4 Apple has increased device storage capacity options in the past. There is a real need for more space with use cases for iPad. iTunes U files, iBook textbooks, Movies etc.
*5 This may mean a new version of iTunes. Not sure.
*6 As the iPad becomes more mainstream, users are less likely to want of need another data plan. They already have broadband at home with a wireless router (Wi-Fi) and a data plan on their phone. A third data plan is an extra and unnecessary expense. There will still be a market for the 3G version, but it will be come a smaller fraction of overall sales. my guess, between 10-15% of sales when yearly output is greater than 50 million units and less than 100 million units.
*7 Have not heard or seen many people thinking this. There was some conversation about a 7″ iPad coming out later this year.
D.L. Damore 