Showing posts with label Analyst. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Analyst. Show all posts

iPad mini with Retina display coming in Q3 this year: Analyst

A Retina display iPad mini see a release in the third quarter of this year if a prediction by an analyst is to be believed.

According to a new report by CNET, NPD DisplaySearch, a global market research and consulting firm focusing on the display supply chain, has predicted that Apple is likely to refresh the iPad mini with a Retina display in the third quarter.

The same firm had earlier told the online publication that it was expecting two iPad mini refreshes, with the first one coming in the second half of 2013 and the other in first quarter of 2014. It had also added that the Q1 2014 refresh would see a Retina display. However it didn't specify as to which display technology would be used by Apple.

The current generation iPad mini features a display that has a resolution of 768x1024 pixels, and pixel density of 163ppi.

In March, DisplaySearch had made a similar prediction. It had said that a new iPad mini with an upgraded display was likely to appear later in the third quarter or fourth quarter of the year, but a Nexus 7 with a very-high-resolution display might make an appearance soon.

Paul Semenza, an analyst with the firm had said that it speculated that Retina version of the iPad mini with a resolution of 1536x2048 pixels, and pixel density of 324ppi, might go into production in the third quarter of 2013, with availability expected in the third or fourth quarter, as per a guess based on supply chain data. Semenza had also added that Apple could shortlist from companies such as LG Display, AUO, Japan Display, and Sharp to make the next iPad mini's display. He had stated that the challenge would be to fit a Retina display into the iPad mini's 7.2mm chassis.

Report by : Anupam Saxena

Analyst Predicts Delays For iPhone 5S, Low-Cost iPhone, iPad Mini 2

Last week, Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities released a report suggesting that three upcoming devices from Apple, the iPhone 5S, iPad Mini 2 and the low-cost iPhone will see a delayed launch, as the company is facing separate production issues for the three devices.

Now, backing Kuo’s claim, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, in his separate report suggests that the next couple of quarters could be quite difficult for Apple, as the company is facing a variety of production issues for the upcoming iPhone 5S, low-cost iPhone and the iPad Mini 2.

Misek, who recently visited Asia, says that Apple is facing pre-production issues for the iPhone 5S, and added that the mass production of the upcoming smartphone is at least a month away. He goes on to add that with the delay in iOS 7, a July launch for the iPhone 5 successor is out of the frame.

Coming to Apple’s upcoming low-cost iPhone, Misek says that it will most probably see a delayed launch as well, and will not surface anytime before the fourth quarter of this year.

Finally, he says that the next version of Apple iPad Mini will be delayed due to the issues pertaining to the Retina Display. However, he predicts that the iPad Mini 2 will be unveiled later this quarter.

Peter Misek’s comments are perfectly in line with those of Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities. Kou in his report had stated that the iPhone 5S is getting delayed due the Fingerprint sensor inside the iPhone 5S , as it is posing a number of technical challenges for Apple.

Kou blames the same Retina Display issue for the delay in the launch if the iPad Mini 2, which Misek has mentioned in his report.

As for the low-cost iPhone, Kuo says that Apple is facing issues pertaining to the plastic shell of the device. In a bid to keep the costs down, the low-cost iPhone is rumored to feature a plastic shell, which will be available in different colors and Apple is working quite hard to keep the shell as thin as possible. The coating and surface treatment for such a shell will take up more time, leading to the delay.

Report by : Abhinav Bhargava

Apple: Why analysts are unhappy

Samsung, which is Apple's chief rival and biggest component supplier, overtook Apple as the biggest seller of smartphones in the third quarter, selling close to 500 handsets a minute.

AN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc's shares fell by as much as 12 percent on Thursday, staging their biggest percentage drop in over four years and slicing more than $50 billion from the company's market value, as disappointing holiday-period iPhone sales reinforced fears it is losing its dominance in smartphones.

Eighteen brokerages, including Barclays Capital, Mizuho Securities USA, Credit Suisse, and Raymond James cut their price targets on the stock of the world's biggest publicly traded company by an average $132 to $612.

Apple's shares slid to $450.66 at the open on the Nasdaq, before recouping some of their losses.

The stock hit a peak close of $702.10 on September 19, valuing the company at $658 billion. Since then, it has lost about $225 billion, or 35 percent, of its in market value -- or about the entire worth of Chevron Corp, the second biggest US oil company.

Jefferies & Co cut its rating on Apple's stock to "hold" from "buy" and slashed its share price target by $300 to $500.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, who has previously raised red flags about Apple cutting orders to suppliers, said the iPhone slowdown was "real and material" and here to stay.

"We think Apple is losing the screen-size wars," Misek said, noting that demand was moving away from the iPhone's 3.5-inch and 4-inch screens to screens of 5 inches offered by rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, HTC Corp and Nokia Oyj.

Samsung, which is at the same time Apple's chief rival and biggest component supplier, overtook Apple as the biggest seller of smartphones in the third quarter, selling close to 500 handsets a minute.

Apple said it shipped a record 47.8 million iPhones in the December quarter, but this was well below the average analyst forecast of 50 million units.

The company's margins were also hit, sliding to 38.6 percent from 44.7 percent a year earlier, partly because its iPad is cannibalizing its high-margin Macintosh computers.

Expectations heading into the results had been subdued by news of possible production cutbacks, putting pressure on Chief Executive Tim Cook to keep up the company's momentum.

NEW PRODUCTS NEEDED

Analysts said Apple's growth would hinge on new products, but added that a new launch wasn't on the horizon.

"To re-accelerate growth, Apple likely needs to launch new products, yet few seem likely before June," Nomura's Stuart Jeffrey said.

The company has been long rumored to be working on a television but has so far deflected questions on its existence. Apple hasn't launched a new line of products in almost three years, apart from a smaller version of the iPad.

Some analysts questioned the company's strategy of betting its fortunes on one phone, while others said a cheaper iPhone could arrest losses of market share.

"Apple's modus operandi to date has been to cream the high-end off each market, but as the company's grown it may now need to target more of the mainstream," Evercore Partners analysts said.

Up to Wednesday, 24 analysts had lowered their price targets since October when Apple reported its fourth-quarter results, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Apple shares were down 10.3 percent at $460.66 in late morning trading.

The disappointing results also hit shares of some of Apple's suppliers. Cirrus Logic Inc, which gets nearly 80 percent of its revenue from Apple, fell 10 percent while shares of Skyworks Solutions Inc, which depends on Apple for about a quarter of its revenue, slipped 5 percent.

Cirrus makes audio-related chips while Skyworks provides power amplifiers for Apple products.

Apple is the lowest ranked stock among the marquee technology firms in the United States based on the change in analyst sentiment, or Analysts Revision Model (ARM), according to StarMine.

Apple's global ARM score of 10 is well below Google Inc's 34 and Microsoft Corp's 19 out of a possible 100. Nokia and Samsung have scores of 82 and 89, respectively.

Research in Motion Ltd has a perfect score of 100, according to the model, which measures analysts' revision of key indicators such as earnings and revenue estimates and changes to their ratings.

Report by : Reuters

Analyse your Facebook data with WolframAlpha’s new tool

WolframAlpha, the answer engine that computes data and answers questions with facts and numbers, has updated its meticulous Facebook Personal Analytics tool. The update brings more information about you and your friends on the social network and includes more than just statistical insights about how many links, photos and updates you ever posted on your page last year.

One of the new features is the social network visualisation. It displays a visualisation of your entire social network and shows how your friends fit into your social network. You'll see information regarding the groups of friends you have and the connections (or lack thereof) within those groups.

WolframAlpha's Personal Analytics for Facebook

Using this information cluster, WolframAlpha has identified five different roles for your social network. The official website states, “In total, there are five different 'network roles' 'we identify: social insiders and outsiders, social neighbors and gateways, and social connectors. Social insiders and outsiders are opposites: a social insider has a lot of friends in common with you (e.g. your girlfriend since freshman year); conversely, a social outsider is someone with whom you have few or no mutual friends (e.g. that girl you met horseback riding in Romania). Social gateways and neighbors are also opposites: a social gateway contact has a lot of friends that are outside your network (e.g. the editor of your college newspaper), whereas a social neighbor has few friends outside your network (e.g. your identical twin).”

The analytics also display geographical peculiarities in your friend circle using WolframAlpha’s minefield of data. Combining that data with your Facebook profile, the report gives you even more detail about your friends’ geographical relationships with you. WolframAlpha can show you your most 'geographically interesting' friends, like, for example, who is closest to the North Pole or the equator, who is farthest away from you and who has the highest or lowest elevation. It also shows you a heat map of your friends’ location.

Besides floating out these new features, the company has also improved some existing features. The weekly app activity pod now depicts which times of the day you most use facebook and for what purpose. It also shows you which times you prefer to access certain apps. So if you were ever worried about managing your FB time better, this tool is likely to be helpful. The tool also has a brighter, more colourful word cloud, which shows the most common English words you use in your wall posts.

WolframAlpha has also added a new Facebook Historical Analysis that displays how your Facebook profile has evolved over time in a visual manner. It displays info about your friends who got married or those who moved out of your hometown. A new filtering system breaks down your network according to certain criteria so you can learn more about your Facebook self than you ever knew.

Those users who wish to contribute to the mining of social data can opt in to become a Data Donor and help WolframAlpha improve both the Personal and Historical Analysis reports. The tool stores your FB data securely and helps Wolfram’s researchers find patterns across thousands of people in various locations. WolframAlpha hopes the info received from Data Donors will help the organisation make new scientific discoveries, besides creating a modern social graph.

At the time of publishing, however, the Personal Analytics tool is facing some problems due to hitting the Facebook API call limit. The website says they are working on resolving the issue.

Apple should appeal to new investors, not win back those leaving: Analysts

Apple needs to start making nice with Wall Street, analysts said Thursday as investors hammered the company's stock.

The sell-off put Apple a hair's-breadth away from losing its status as the world's most valuable company. At Thursday's close, it was worth $423 billion, just 1.6 percent more than No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp.

The plunge was set off by Apple's quarterly earnings report late Wednesday, which suggested the company's nearly decade-long growth spurt is slowing drastically.

The stock ended down $63.51 or 12 percent, at $450.50. It last traded that low a year ago. It was the biggest one-day percentage drop in the stock since Sept. 29, 2008, when two Wall Street brokerages downgraded the stock because of the recession. In dollar terms, it was the largest ever single-day change in the stock.

Should Apple try to win back the investors who are fleeing? No, analysts say. Investors who bought the stock on the way up will be chasing the next hot stock. The company needs to make itself appealing to a new crop of people who've never considered the stock, analysts say, by doing what Wall Street wants and doling out more of its massive cash pile in the form of more generous dividends and stock buybacks.

Apple's profits for the October-December quarter were flat compared with the year before. It still managed to grow revenue 18 percent from the year before, but the cost of starting up production lines for multiple new products like the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini meant that less revenue flowed to the bottom line. The company's gross profit margin in the recent quarter was 38.6 percent compared with 44.7 percent a year earlier.

Of even more concern to investors: Apple's forecast sales growth for the current quarter is around 7 percent compared with a year ago -far from the 50-percent-plus rate it's often hit in recent years.

Apple usually lowballs its forecasts, but Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer indicated the company will provide more realistic figures from now on.

To be sure, Apple products haven't lost their appeal. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company couldn't make enough iPhones, iPads and iMacs in the holiday quarter to satisfy demand. The problem is rather that Apple hasn't launched a revolutionary new product since the iPad in 2010.

It's a lot to ask that a company reinvent consumer electronics every few years, but Apple did it three times in a decade with the launch of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. In doing so, the company left investors with the expectation of perpetually zooming growth.

Now, Apple looks quite different. It's still massively profitable, but its growth is moderate, making it similar to companies like IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp.

"The company is at a bit of a crossroads," said Nomura Securities analyst Stuart Jeffrey. "It's gone from launching big hit products where they didn't have to look at the competitive landscape - they just did their own thing - and the growth meant they didn't have to focus on the whims of Wall Street."

The problem, Jeffrey said, is that Apple hasn't adjusted to this reality and worked to find new constituencies among investors. Those who invest in fast-growing companies or chase rising stocks have abandoned the company. Apple doesn't do enough to attract other investor types: value investors who seek out the stocks of undervalued companies with steady, predictable profits, and income investors who look for stocks with generous dividends and low risk.

Analyst Brian White at Topeka Capital Markets said the lack of interest from value-oriented investors means Apple lacks a safety net when there's disappointing news, like Wednesday's earnings report. When other companies' stocks fall, value investors tend to swoop in, putting a floor under the stock and dampening volatility.

"No one wants to pay anything for (Apple) because you can't get the value investor to back it up," White said.

Apple sits on a cash pile of $137 billion, which currently earns about 1 percent annual interest. It's a hoard that frustrates many company-watchers, and analysts are virtually unanimous in their opinion that Apple should be putting it to better use.

Apple has taken steps in the right direction, as far as Wall Street is concerned. Last year, it instituted a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share, a generous sum compared with most technology companies. But it's paltry when measured against companies with similar cash reserves. It has also started using cash to buy back shares - another way to reward investors.

But analysts say the company should be doing more. Jeffrey calculates that Apple will generate about another $103 billion over three years, but has only committed to returning $45 billion of this $240 billion in cash to shareholders.

"The company needs to change strategically in a number of ways including in looking after shareholders," Jeffrey said.

A higher dividend would appeal to value and income investors, and buybacks would reduce the number of shares outstanding, which in turn would get the company's earnings per share growing again.

White has been one of the biggest Apple cheerleaders on Wall Street. He drew attention in April for setting a $1,111 price target for Apple's stock when the shares were trading around $600.

White backed away from his old price target on Thursday. He said he still believes the company is worth that much, but he has realized he's too far in front of the pack. Investors aren't going to give the company the credit it deserves, in his opinion.

"It's tough for people to get their head around. I can't be a visionary forever," White said.

His new price target: $888. Eight is a lucky number in China, and three eights are extra lucky.

Report by : Associated Press

13-inch Retina Display MacBook Pro slated for launch in Q4 2012: Analyst

The Retina Display MacBook Pro was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this year. The Internet has been rife with rumours surrounding a 13-inch MacBook Pro with similar Retina Display capabilities since. CNET now reports that it spoke with NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim, who states that the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display will have a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.

According to the report by CNET, “A 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display is on track for production, according to an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch. DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim has been telling CNET for a while now that a 13.3-inch Retina version of the MacBook Pro (MBP) is slated for production in the fourth quarter. And today Shim reiterated that he sees no change in those production plans. Shim confirmed today that the MBP 13.3-incher will have a 2,560-by-1,600 pixel density display. That compares with the 2880-by-1800 15.4-inch Retina MacBook Pro announced in June.”

Its resolution is almost the same as that of the rumoured high end Nexus tablet
Shim states that the smaller Retina MacBook will be launched after the iPad mini. Apple is expected to release a smaller iPad to take on the likes of the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire. The announcement of this new tablet from the Cupertino-based brand is believed to take place sometime this month.

Only the 15-inch Retina Display MacBook Pro variant is currently available in the market. The months preceding the latest report were filled with countless rumours surrounding the launch of the new variant. A report in August speculated that the 13-inch variant could be launched by October this year. However, this has not happened yet. At the time, Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had shared with Apple Insider that he expected Apple to "ramp up production of a 13-inch next-generation MacBook Pro with Retina display in September. That would allow the product to hit stores in early October, in time for the holiday shopping season”.

As stated in our previous reports, like the next-generation Retina Display MacBook Pro, the 13-inch variety is expected to lack an optical disc drive and rely solely on solid-state flash memory storage.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display model will be slightly thinner than the 15-inch model, at 18 millimetres. As for the other specifications expected to feature on the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, the brand will use Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics and an Intel Ivy Bridge processor with a clock speed greater than 2GHz.

If you can’t wait for the 13-inch model, the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros are available in India at a starting price of Rs 1,52,900.

Here is a quick look at the highlighted features of the notebook:
  • 15.4-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880 x 1800 resolution at 220ppi
  • 2.3GHz or 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB shared L3 cache
  • 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory
  • 256GB or 512GB Flash Storage
  • Intel HD Graphics 4000
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching
  • 720p FaceTime HD camera
  • MagSafe 2 power port
  • Two Thunderbolt ports (up to 10Gbps)
  • Two USB 3 ports (up to 5Gbps)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone port
  • SDXC card slot
  • Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (sold separately)
  • Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter
  • 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
  • Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
  • Stereo speakers
  • Dual microphones
  • Headphone port
Report by: tech2 News Staff

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