iPhonity.com

Apple iPhone 4G in June?

Apple’s next update to the blockbuster iPhone handset is expected by one prominent analyst to have a lower total cost of ownership, and to also include new gesture-based functionality.

Katy Huberty with Morgan Stanley maintains that the biggest barrier to greater iPhone adoption is the cost of the hardware, followed by the service plan. The investment in the device has been its biggest issue in both developed markets like the U.S. and emerging ones like China.

But Huberty expects Apple to address that in June, by introducing a new model that will be economically friendly to even more consumers.

“We expect Apple to launch new iPhones in June that offer both a lower total cost of ownership and new functionality, potentially including gesture-based technology,” she wrote in a new note to investors Friday.

In 2009, when Apple introduced the new iPhone 3GS, the company also dropped the price of the previous year’s iPhone 3G to $99. However, despite the lower price point, the high end iPhone 3GS was still the most popular option for consumers.

In addition to lower cost of ownership for the iPhone, Huberty remains bullish on AAPL stock because of the forthcoming iPad launch in March. Here she is particularly optimistic, projecting shipments of 6 million devices in the 2010 calendar year, versus Wall Street’s average projections of 3 million to 4 million.

“We expect Apple to ship its first iPad and announce additional content deals in late March to better than expected demand,” Huberty wrote. “We see the iPad targeting the sub-$800 consumer notebook market which equates to 30M annual units just in the US (120M globally.”

Morgan Stanley has maintained its “overweight” rating for AAPL stock, with a price target of $250.

In the past, Huberty was notoriously negative on AAPL stock, suggesting the iPhone was too expensive even at a $199 price point. In late 2008, she predicted that iPhone sales would suffer because Apple had priced the product too high.

But last year, Huberty turned positive on Apple, stating that the company had become the “clear leader in the battle over the mobile Internet.”

by appleinsider.com

Apple files alt iPhone input, physical “key” login patents

Two recently published patent applications from Apple caught our attention for their craftiness. One shows how to use the iPhone’s camera as an alternate gesture input method; the other details a system using a uniquely shaped signet to log in to a computer.

The first patent, “Camera as Input Interface,” adds alternate input methods for a touchscreen phone, particularly useful when the touchscreen is pressed against your face during a phone call. The patent describes a method using the built-in camera as a gesture detector, recognizing “swiping” up, down, left, or right using a finger. The gestures could be used to control voicemail, for instance, by swiping “forward” or “back” to skip to the next or previous message. The input could be augmented with accelerometer data to recognize a “tap” as well, according to the patent application.

MacRumors notes that Apple has filed a number of alternate input methods for the iPhone, including a rear surface or an outer bezel that are also touch-sensitive.

The second patent, “Shape Detecting Input Device,” describes a system using a touchscreen to recognize uniquely shaped signets, and to perform actions associated with a specific shape. One application would be to log in a unique user based on the recognized shape. This is similar to the now-defunct practice of stamping a seal from a signet ring into sealing wax to verify a document’s authenticity or source. If such a signet were indeed on a ring, it could also be used to unlock an iPhone.

Apple’s patent suggests that unique signet shapes could be embedded in a ring, a tag, a card, a stamp, or even a key. Other suggested actions initiated by the signet shape recognition include configuring a system to a unique user’s needs, launching certain applications, or encrypting or decrypting messages or other content, making the signet like a modern, high-tech decoder ring.

by arstechnica.com

Apple May Put iPhone OS on Other Devices

Apple is showing its true mobile colors. The company is on the lookout for an engineer who can help get its mobile-phone software onto additional devices.

On Feb. 15, Apple (AAPL) posted an ad on its Web site for an engineering manager “to lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS [operating system] on new platforms.” Days later, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook called the company “a mobile device company,” echoing remarks by Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who in January said “Apple is the largest mobile device company in the world.”

The posting and remarks underscore Apple’s growing reliance on devices that provide Web access and computing features for users on the go. In the three months ended Dec. 26, the iPhone and related products accounted for $5.58 billion, or 36% of total sales, up from 25% of revenue a year earlier. Apple also sells other mobile devices, including the iPod Touch.

An adaptation of the operating system used in Macintosh computers, the iPhone OS runs the iPhone, iPod Touch music player, and the forthcoming iPad tablet computer. In the future, analysts say, Apple may put the OS onto Web-connected TV machines and devices that help viewers watch 3D programming. The Cupertino (Calif.)-based company may also consider licensing the iPhone OS to outside cell-phone manufacturers. Apple has shipped more than 75 million devices based on the iPhone OS, which lets users download and run applications such as games and calendars sold at the Apple App Store. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment.

Lenovo: Businesses don’t want tablet devices like the iPad

Lenovo recently released its latest tablet PC — the Thinkpad X201 — and with it came strong words against the iPad and the recent wave of similar “slate” tablet devices. As reported by CNET, Lenovo said that it’s not developing a slate device because it’s customers simply don’t want it.

Keyboards have long been a selling point for Lenovo’s computers (something it inherited from when IBM was still making Thinkpads). according to the company, it was the lack of keyboards that turned its customers off of slate tablets. Lenovo’s Thinkpad line is particularly popular among business users, and they likely weighed in heavily when the company was looking for feedback on slate tablets.

The X201 is a convertible tablet that can be switched from functioning as a typical laptop, to a screen-only tablet, by rotating the device’s screen. Before the hype that led up to the iPad (and inadvertently created the slate tablet segment), convertible devices like the X201 were what tech geeks thought of whenever they talked about tablet computing. While they found uses in certain scenarios (the healthcare industry jumped on Microsoft’s “Tablet PC” platform way back in 2003), convertible tablets were either too under-powered, or too expensive, to become mainstream hits.

Convertible tablet PCs also run full versions of Windows — unlike the stripped down iPhone OS that the iPad is running, or Google’s Android OS (which other tablet manufacturers are considering). This can be both good and bad. The good: Business users don’t have to learn anything new about the OS, and it can also run all of the software they’re familiar with. The bad: It forces convertible tablets to operate with standard computing paradigms — basically, its operating system simply isn’t optimized for the workflow of a tablet.

The X201 retails for $1200 — more than twice as much as the $500 low-end iPad. Android tablets are aiming for an even lower price range. Eventually, it will make sense for Lenovo to put out its own slate, no matter what some of its hardcore customers think. And as Stan mentions below in the comments, Lenovo is pretty much there already with its IdeaPad U1 hybrid smartbook.

For now, Lenovo customers get the best of both worlds with the X201. It runs Intel’s new low voltage Core i7 CPU, and comes standard with 4GB of RAM — so it’s definitely powerful. And unlike past convertible tablets, the X201 features a capacitive touch screen — which makes it very finger friendly, and ready to compete with multi-touch slate tablets.

RIM debuts new BlackBerry browser

Research In Motion on Monday debuted a new, long-awaited Web browser for its BlackBerry devices, touting the Webkit-based application as easier, faster and better at rendering Web sites.

The new browser, which will be available this year, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

RIM has long been criticized for its browser, which reviewers (including this one) have said is out-of-date compared to competing handsets that use Apple, Google and Palm operating systems.

The new browser is key to preserving the company’s large consumer adoption base, which has been growing thanks to two-for-one carrier deals and despite an overall lack of innovation in software from the company.

Four months ago, RIM debuted the Storm2, an update to its fully touchscreen BlackBerry, which made all the right moves on the hardware front but still felt behind in terms of software.

The Canadian company last year bought browser specialist Torch Mobile in a bid to revamp its browser.

Apple bans iPhone hackers from App Store

Apple has banned at least two prominent iPhone hackers from accessing its App Store.

Sherif Hashim, an iPhone developer who developed a hack for the latest iPhone OS 3.1.3, and iH8Sn0w, who developed the XEMN tool designed to unlock iPhone 3.1.3 radio baseband for the 3G and 3GS, found that their Apple IDs were blocked and accounts deactivated when they tried to access the app store of Monday. Their respective reactions can be found in Twitter posts here and here.

The move sparked concerns that Apple might ban all jailbroken iPhones was accessing the App Store. However, such a move would prevent Apple’s application developers from selling to the millions of users of jailbroken devices and would be especially bad politics following the launch of the Wholesale Applications Community at the Mobile World Congress conference earlier this week.

Apple has apparently limited itself to blocking exploit hunting hackers in a bid to frustrate the development of unlocking and jailbreaking tools that undermine its exclusive relationship with carriers and control over the delivery of apps. The move may also be aimed at piracy prevention as well as locking out, or at least frustrating, exploit creation and device hacking.

However, developers smart enough to figure out how to unlock iPhones are unlikely to be inconvenienced for too long by a ban on their current Apple IDs.

Apple Platforms Generate $25 Million for Gameloft in 2009

Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch have been a major boon for mobile game makers. Developers are hopeful that the launch of the iPad will yield even more opportunities, but for now the massive iPhone installed base has been serving them well. Gameloft has been a big beneficiary of the iPhone boom. Last month, the publisher announced that it exceeded 10 million paid app downloads on the App Store and this week Gameloft noted that App Store revenues grew to 17.6 million euros (about $25 million) last year.

Total revenues at Gameloft grew 11% to 122 million euros despite the fact that the company’s fourth quarter saw a 6% sales dip “due to Gameloft’s withdrawal from boxed games in January 2009 and to the drop in the dollar.” Mobile games accounted for 94% of the company’s sales in 2009, while console games took up the remaining 6% of sales.

The French developer saw 39% of its full-year sales in 2009 come from Europe, while North America accounted for 32% and the rest of the world made up 29% of revenues. Profitability is up as well, as Gameloft said its operating margin before stock options is expected to reach between 8% and 9% in 2009 compared to 3% in 2008.

Gameloft is forecasting even more growth for 2010. “In the long term, Gameloft is in an ideal position to benefit from the rapid emergence of digitally distributed video games on mobile phones, tablets, consoles and from major technological innovations brought to the market by companies such as Apple, Palm, Nokia and Google,” the publisher stated.

iPhone OS 3.2 rumors: an iPad camera, video calling and more

iPhone owners might not have access to iPhone OS 3.2 yet, but it’s already running on the new iPad. Our sister site, Engadget, was able to score some of the details of the new features in 3.2, and it sounds like it’s going to be great for both the iPhone and the iPad. The biggest surprise might be the inclusion of some video calling code that even includes multitasking while on a video call. This suggests a couple of things, either one of which would be awesome:

1) The next version of the iPad is getting a camera. This is the least immediately helpful possibility, but it also sounds completely likely. A lot of tech pundits assumed the first-gen iPad would include a camera, so I’d bet on seeing it next time around.

2) Multitasking is coming to the iPhone sooner rather than later. Although a video call and another task at once might be a lot to ask on the small screen – and not that useful, either – we can at least hope that the next software update brings the ability to run third-party apps in the background. The iPad already has wicked multitasking potential, with the introduction of new popover windows that don’t take up the entire screen.

Another useful new feature rumored for 3.2 is the ability to download and locally store files using Safari, and open them in other apps. The lack of access to the iPhone’s filesystem is one of the biggest reasons that fans of more open mobile operating systems scoff at Apple, and, although this wouldn’t totally shut down that line of criticism, it would be a step in the right direction. File uploading is also reportedly included in the update.

Apple confirms 3G VoIP apps on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch; Skype is waiting

Apple Inc. confirmed last night that it is now allowing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch developers to build apps that can make Internet calls over a 3G cellular network.
“We revised our Program License Agreement in conjunction with our updated Software Development Kit for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Apps,” wrote an Apple spokesperson. “Included in this update is the ability for developers to create VoIP apps that utilize cellular networks.”

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol — essentially, Web-based telephony.

As we reported last night, several VoiP apps have been approved for use on the iPhone, including iCall and Fring.

Skype, one of the most popular VoIP applications, said it had a 3G iPhone app ready to go, but wanted to get a couple of service details squared away.

Skype is waiting for Apple to clarify when the new SDK terms of service for iPhone OS 3.2 SDK beta, which were published yesterday, will go into effect for current iPhone users who are still bound under the terms of iPhone OS 3.12 SDK, according to Skype spokesman Chaim Haas.

“As soon as we have that clarification, Skype will submit its application for approval,” Haas wrote.

Apple announced Wednesday that iPad owners will be able to purchase monthly 3G plans for the device, which is quite a bit larger than a normal cellular phone, but could easily be used to make and receive calls.

Now that Apple and AT&T have green-lighted 3G data calls, iPad owners will not necessarily need an additional voice plan (not that the option for one was announced, but plenty of people were wondering).

In fact, the arrival of VoIP to iPhone may well be the beginning of a long decline for the concept of “voice minutes” — at this point, there’s really no point in differentiating one kind of call from another — it’s all data.

Apple Stock Takes a Wild Ride After iPad Unveiling

Apple’s stock soared after the iPad, a hybrid iPhone and netbook computer, was unveiled Wednesday and then plunged with the rest of the market Thursday morning. That shows the best and worst aspects of investing in Apple, all in less than 24 hours.

Apple is a phenomenal company, but it has to do business in the same fragile economy and stock market as everyone else. No matter how brilliant Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, is, the stock is vulnerable to a second dip into recession; $499 for the basic iPad will attract a lot of buyers, but fewer if the economy tanks anew.

The share price could also fall victim to perhaps the biggest threat that any asset faces: excessive expectations.

For the last decade Jobs has managed to do everything right, from the various iterations of the Mac to Pixar to iTunes and the iPod and the iEverything else. He has a knack, maybe better than anyone else does, for identifying a need in the marketplace, often one that consumers never realized they had, and designing a product or service to fill it.

AAPL 199.29 -8.59 (-4.13% )

Intraday | 3 Month | 6 Month | 1 Year
Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
But nobody’s perfect. Jobs has made mistakes, although not lately. It doesn’t look as though the iPad is one, but it’s way too early to tell for sure. And then there is his health to consider.

As the MoneyWatch house contrarian, I’m supposed to express disdain for anything as successful as Apple. But while the stock is close to all-time highs, it doesn’t look expensive.

By one popular valuation measure, the PEG ratio (the price-earnings multiple divided by the annual earnings growth that analysts expect over the next five years), Apple appears cheap. Its PEG (lower numbers are better) is 1.06, while those of Hewlett Packard, Dell and Microsoft range between 1.16 and 1.46.

But the ratio is susceptible to changes in circumstances. The five-year earnings growth estimate may prove to be way too optimistic if a new rival comes along and shakes up one of Apple’s markets or if an old rival proves more adept at fending off its competitive threat.

Apple is the kind of company that investors either love or hate, marveling at its success or awaiting its comeuppance. The true contrarian play might be just to leave the stock alone.