Apple's stock market value adds up to 3.7% of the entire S&P 500

We remember in the mid 1980's when Apple's stock was down to $12 during the John Sculley years. More recently, we can recall pre-Apple iPhone days when the stock was under $40. Now, years later, the Apple iPhone is almost 5 years old with 5 generations of the device having been launched. The company is on the verge of  launching its third generation tablet and the Apple iPad has become as much as an international hit as the iPhone has. Apple's stock has risen nearly in a straight line as more and more profits are filing up the Apple vault. Today, Apple is trading at $522.
The amazing thing about Apple's stock is that with the sensational rise it has had, the value of the company's shares now makes up 3.7% of the entire S&P 500. J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz says that Apple is no longer a company, but is its own sector of the market. Looking at the stock this way, Apple would be the 8th largest sector in the U.S., ahead of materials and utilities. Ironically, thanks to Apple, the tech sector leads the way by making up 20.2% of the stateside market.

Apple has $98 billion in cash and could buy any company it wants to. But the stock market works in cycles and stocks don't go straight up. Companies that in the past looked like it would rise forever eventually turned course and there will come a time when Apple's stock moves lower. But for now, the Cupertino based company is on an amazing roll that makes it the most valuable company in the S&P 500, worth more than Google and Microsoft combined and topping ExxonMobil by $60 billion.

Can the stock go higher? Back in January 2011, with the stock trading at a then all-time high of $329, not too many traders could imagine the company's market cap of $273 billion, which then put it $60 billion ahead of Microsoft, moving higher. As long as there is skepticism that Apple can go higher, the stock should continue to make new high. Once everyone is in agreement that there is no place for the stock to go  but up, that is the time to sell.
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iPad 3 Latest Reports Say Screen Sharpness is Nearly as Good as Billed

Apple's enhanced display on its yet-to-be-unveiled iPad 3 appears to be the worst kept secret, judging by all the eyes that are reportedly able to see it.

MacRumors owner Arnold Kim says anyone can buy the next iteration of the popular tablet at the Chinese website TrueSupplier. The skinny: The screen measures 9.7 inches in diagonal, the same size display as used in the iPad and iPad 2, but the resolution is four times as sharp.

Apple is reportedly expected to take the ribbon off the iPad 3 on March 7. Experts say it could include support for 4G LTE, more internal memory, and perhaps Apple's first quad core processor. For now, a lot of the speculation is focused on the display.

"When comparing the iPad 3 display to one from an iPad 2 under a microscope, the difference in resolutions becomes readily apparent, with the iPad 3 display's pixels appearing to be one-quarter the size of those on the iPad 2," reports MacRumors, which says it got its hands on one and used its measurements to extrapolate what the iPad 3 screen resolution should be: 2048 by 1536. That's four times the resolution of Apple's current and first-generation tablets.

PCWorld’s Matt Peckham has made the interesting point, however, that the "retina" description that's been applied to the next iPad is simply a marketing term Apple uses to refer to displays with greater than 300 ppi (pixels per inch), which is the maximum number the average human retina can discern. The iPhone 4 and 4S, running at 960 by 640 pixels across 3.5 inches diagonal, meet this requirement, but the iPad 2, running at 1024 by 768 pixels across 9.7 inches diagonal, doesn't.

When you compute a 2048 by 1536 pixel density across a 9.7-inch screen, it comes out to about 264 ppi, short of the generally accepted 300 ppi threshold. But, as the pundits point out, that's still a big improvement from the iPad 2's pixel density.

As for where MacRumors got the display, Kim said it wasn't stolen, but rather is readily available, much to Apple's chagrin. He says the TrueSupplier site sells an "OEM Apple iPad 3 LCD Screen Display Replacement" for $122.99.

On its website, Truesupplier says it serves more than 65 percent of the U.S. market and is a global provider of mobile data products, software and consulting services, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with branches in Hong Kong. Apple iPads are made in China, and Apple is currently embroiled in a spat with a Chinese company that claims it holds the rights to the iPad name in China.

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All Eyes Should Be On Verizon This Quarter

After losing on its home turf to the iPhone last quarter, the Droid brand is stepping up with its strongest showing yet, backed by new models and great deals. But will it be enough?
The Droid brand was Verizon’s reaction to the AT&T exclusive iPhone. It was, I believe, smartly executed and became a synonym for Android phones. But then Verizon did get the iPhone and thanks to their first new iPhone launch, the iPhone 4S in October, it counted for 55% of Verizon’s smartphone sales last quarter. This happened despite the launch of the Droid RAZR and the Galaxy Nexus the same quarter, and the fact the iPhone currently lacks Verizon’s heavily promoted 4G LTE connectivity.
Droid 4This quarter, Verizon’s Droid is rallying strong with the release of the Droid RAZR MAXX and Droid 4, which are essentially Droid RAZRs with a bigger battery and a slide-out keyboard, respectively. It’s a good array of options for customers while maintaining a distinct, recognizable style. They are further supported by price cuts and buy-one-get-one deals, not to mention the network edge with 4G LTE. There’s also the Android flagship phone, Galaxy Nexus, backing it up. Droid and Android in general are going into the quarter with every advantage. That pretty much has to make an impact on Verizon’s iPhone sales, but how big an impact?
Line in the sand
We’ll have to wait and see on that, but I’m going to say the point of success is 45%. If the iPhone slips to 45% of Verizon’s smartphone sales, then I see the effort as being worthwhile. Knocking it from 55% to 45% doesn’t sound like a major feat, but you have to take Apple’s own efforts in selling iPhones into account.
On the flip side, if the iPhone continues to account for more sales than all other Verizon smartphones combined, then we know Droid is in trouble. Verizon didn’t bet all its money on iPhone like AT&T (and Sprint) did. It has other horses in this race. Collectively, the Droid brand needs to make a strong showing this quarter. It won’t be put down if it doesn’t, but the strategy will definitely need to be reviewed.
A microcosm of the smartphone war
iPhone 4S build qualityHowever it turns out, this battle on this carrier is a microcosm for the larger one between iPhone and Android. Kevin Tofel at GigaOM questions whether the iPhone surge at Verizon means Android’s best days are behind it. I don’t see it that way. The surge is exactly what I expected from the first launch of a new iPhone on the Verizon network. I believe Verizon expected it as well, hence the strong reaction with Droid this quarter. The iPhone surge was not, in my opinion, a sign of things to come. Instead I believe the direction of the smartphone war depends on what happens next.
The iPhone has rolled out at a slow, deliberate pace and has yet to reach every carrier. This left a huge void for another platform to fill as carriers sought their own iPhone alternative. Android’s triumph was to beat out all other contenders in filling that void, but that victory is mostly within that void, with carriers that don’t have the iPhone. It is only in this past year, particularly last quarter, that Android is facing the iPhone on U.S. carriers that were once iPhone-free. How the iPhone fares this quarter on Verizon, without the shock of a launch, will give us a more lucid indication of how well Android handles the challenge of head-to-head competition.
Android may, as Kevin Tofel wonders, falter or it could bounce back. This quarter on Verizon will show us which way it’s headed. The Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0, a massive show of force with Droid, the 4G LTE advantage, special pricing on phones and data, this is Android at its strongest. It’s this quarter or never to dethrone the iPhone as Verizon’s smartphone sales king. If you want to know which way the winds of the smartphone war will blow, this is the battle to watch.
Source-gottabemobile

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Apple scores with digital textbooks and app

The sizzling rate at which e-books are growing suggests that digital textbooks almost certainly will be the norm when your kids' kids are in school. What we don't know is how quickly a transition to a mostly all-digital textbook education system might happen, how it could affect the way students learn, and which companies will be leading the charge.
 Two weeks ago, Apple declared its intention to be at the head of the class, with the unveiling of the iBooks 2 for iPad app and the iBooks textbooks that are the first to exploit the app.
I've spent time diving into some of these textbooks on the original iPad and the iPad 2. Initial works in algebra, biology and chemistry come from major educational publishers McGraw-Hill and Pearson. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and DK are also early publishing partners (the latter produces books on dinosaurs, insects and mammals).
Though I encountered some unfortunate crashes and bugs — Apple has a software fix coming soon — multitouch digital textbooks, when working smoothly, are engaging in ways that were simply not possible with the textbooks I grew up with. Digital versions promise instant search and easy navigation. They're rich in interactive animations, pictures and videos. It's better to see an animated tour of the genome in E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth than just to read about it. The various books let you consult study cards, create bookmarks, drag your finger to highlight passages and add notes. And textbook authors can update material to keep it current.
The other obvious A-plus benefit, true of any e-book but especially comforting to a student schlepping from class to class, is that you can lug the digital equivalents of heavy print textbooks without breaking your back.
Still, Apple and other companies hoping to make a big play in the digital textbook space face arduous tests. There aren't many available textbooks for iBooks 2 yet, in part because Apple, as usual, kept things close to the vest prior to launch.
And no matter how compelling a digital textbook might be, it is only useful to a student if the teacher or school decides that this is indeed the textbook to use with their class.
To encourage development, Apple launched iBooks Author, a free authoring tool for the Mac that encourages anyone to produce their own iBook textbooks, cookbooks, how-tos and other works. Apple says more than 600,000 copies of the tool have been downloaded since launch. Authors can distribute the books for free. But if they put the iBook textbook up for sale, they must do so through Apple's iBookstore. (Authors can use the content in other digital and print formats, Apple says.) So the supply of digital textbooks should look a lot better by next school year.
Another question mark is the iPad. Not every parent or school district is likely to buy iPads, which start at $499 each, for every student, even if educational discounts lower the cost a bit.
The first textbook titles concentrate on high school curricula and are priced at $14.99 or less, well below most of their print counterparts. The first two chapters of Wilson's book are free.
Apple has designs on the rest of the K-12 market, too, but hasn't said much about the prospects for iBooks on college campuses, though you can bet it will become an area of emphasis. But given how much college textbooks cost — well into three digits in many cases — it's hard to imagine Apple matching $14.99 pricing for them.
Apple has competition, too. Already, a couple of start-ups, Kno and Inkling, produce slick digital textbooks for the iPad. And I'd expect Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble to respond in some way.
Moreover, except for the odd torn page, you never have to worry about technical issues with old-fashioned textbooks. The Wilson book, among others I tested on the original iPad, froze. Performance on the iPad 2 was a bit poky at times, too. That Apple is producing a fix is good: A student who fails to do his assignments would be hard-pressed to say, "The iPad ate my homework."
Apple has certainly provided authors and publishers with tools that can provide compelling high-tech textbooks. But it's up to those authors and publishers to deliver the goods. As Wilson writes in Life on Earth, "Although we believe in the power of visual storytelling, we are careful to keep special-effects glamour in its place. Our animations are crafted to achieve high-quality instruction, not box office."
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ABSINTHE UNTETHERED A5 JAILBREAK TOOL FOR APPLE iPHONE 4S AND iPAD 2 MADE EASY ON BOTH WINDOWS AND MAC

Now that the Dev Team got around Apple's built-in A5 chip defenses, it released a software for untethered jailbreak of your iPhone 4S and iPad 2. The crew has made it a very simplified process, which rewards you with access to Cydia and all the goodies of jailbroken apps, that make the iPhone and iPad that much more functional.

The tool is called Absinthe (GreenPois0n, we get it), and offers one-click jailbreaking for both Mac, as well as Windows now. If you have been itching to do this, and get access to some of the cool things developers are doing with jailbroken Siri, get the respective Absinthe file for your OS from the source link, and check the instructional video below.

Bear in mind that Absinthe is not an unlocking tool, so if you need to be unlocked, stick with iOS 5.0, this is only for jailbreaking iOS 5.0.1 devices, and you can't come back to iOS 5.0, once you've updated, at least for the time being. Also, don't upgrade to iOS 5.0.2 once it's released, since you will lose the jailbreak.
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iBOOKS 2 APP CONTAINS HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS,POSSIBLY FOR iPAD 3'S DISPLAY

You didn't think that iOS developers would simply let the new iBooks 2 app get away without getting dissected, did you? Well, you might be interested in knowing what they found while digging through its insides. The software contains high-resolution graphics that are believed to be meant for use on the iPad 3's screen. As denoted with a “@2x” in their file name, the graphics have twice the resolution than the ones that are currently in use.

That the iPad 3, or whatever it is called, will have an improved display is something that we have heard many times from a number of sources. It is speculated that it will boast a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels effectively delivering twice the pixel density when compared to its predecessor, assuming that its physical size remains unchanged, of course.

Interestingly, that is pretty much what happened when the iPhone 4 was released – at 640 by 960 pixels, the so-called Retina display had twice as much pixels per inch than the iPhones before it. And that was a smart move that made developers' lives much easier. While native apps could make use of all those extra pixels, legacy applications could run easily by simply having their pixels doubled to fill the entire screen. 

Of course, do not forget that the above is just a speculation. After all, high-resolution graphics were discovered in Apple iBooks software prior to the iPad 2's release, yet we didn't get to see an upgraded display. On the other hand, an iPad 3 with a Retina display would not come as that much of a surprise given the amount of rumors that we've heard so far pointing at that direction. And with all those high-resolution tablet displays that we saw at CES 2012, we are definitely sure that the technology needed for achieving such pixel counts is already available.
Source-phonearena

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iTUNES MATCH LAUNCHES IN 19 ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES

Apple has updated the company’s iTunes Match service to include 19 additional countries. The list includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, bringing iTunes Match availability to 37 markets in total. Apple debuted the iTunes Match service late last year. For an annual charge, customers can scan and match tracks from their iTunes libraries and replace them with tracks in the iTunes Store and store them in iCloud. Apple lets customers download up to 25,000 tracks without DRM restrictions, with the ability to match any track in a supported audio file format.
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