Tag Archives: Apple Maps

News, Politics, Government

Is Apple's Dark Period Finally Coming To A Close?

Leave a comment

By Mark Rogowsky, Contributor

It’s been a rough 10 months for Apple since the stock touched $700 and the iPhone 5 was released last September. Slowing growth, a lack of new products outside of a smaller iPad, and a relentless technology press have more or less created the impression the company is yesterday’s news. After Microsoft’s disappointing earnings results last week highlighted the software giant’s troubles transitioning to a mobile world, surely Apple will join its old rival in the tech company dead pool when it reports later today. Oh, and it’s going to let everyone know next quarter won’t be much better. That’s the conventional wisdom anyway. The source of Apple’s woes, according to the multitude of experts, is some combination of CEO Tim Cook’s failure to effectively replace Steve Jobs, a lost ability to innovate, or something to do with the admittedly poor rollout of Apple’s Maps product with the new iPhone. In the short run, though, the company has faced more tangible execution and product-cycle issues rather than ethereal “innovation” problems. And many of those seem to be clearing. Consider: The iPhone is too expensive, but still very popular. Apple sells iPhones to carriers for an average price of $641. That’s true even though nearly half of them are older iPhone 4 and 4S models, according to data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. (Their survey is U.S. only; it’s likely that the total is even more skewed toward older models in at least some other countries.) In Russia, these high prices recently led the three largest carriers to drop the iPhone entirely. Clearly, Apple has some problems, which is why nearly everyone expects a lower-priced model with a plastic-shell from the company this September. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Lululemon, Take Heart: 3 Companies That Bounced Back

Leave a comment

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz

Filed under: , ,

Aaron Harris, Getty ImagesChristine Day, CEO, lululemon athletica, speaks to reporters on Feb. 15, 2013.

Lululemon athletica (LULU) was on top of the world.

The retailer of upscale yoga and fitness apparel saw sales soar 37 percent in its latest fiscal year, fueled by an impressive 16 percent spike in comparable store sales. Lulu’s bottom line was even hotter, as diluted earnings skyrocketed 46 percent for the fiscal year ending on Feb. 3.

Then came the sheer yoga pants.

An imported shipment of the company’s iconic black Luon pants proved to be embarrassingly see-through. The chagrined retailer didn’t catch the mistake in time and after complaints started pouring in, it was forced into a recall.

There’s always a scapegoat, and after originally pinning the blame on its Taiwanese supplier, Lulu offered up a sacrificial lamb of its own by showing its chief product officer the door.

The yoga retailer had it all, but then it had one controversy too many. But it’s not the only company that has suffered from potentially corporate-destructing mistakes.

There’s no such thing as ‘too big to falter’

It often takes just a simple mistake to unravel a killer brand. Have you seen the saga playing out at J.C. Penney (JCP) these days? CEO Ron Johnson is now ex-CEO Ron Johnson after making the fatal blunder of assuming that it could wean customers off of sales and coupons.

There is no company that is too big to falter the moment that consumers turn. If you don’t believe that, pull up the stock chart for tech giant Apple (AAPL) just after its Apple Maps fiasco during the iPhone 5 launch. Ouch!

Let’s look at a few other big brands that consumers turned on before winning back the public. That may be doing well now, Lululemon, take heart.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)
Few burrito rollers have the same kind of fanatical following as Chipotle. The “food with integrity” mantra strikes a chord with young diners, but the model featuring quality eats pieced together quickly on a fast-moving assembly line is what keeps customers from bolting when they see the long lines.

Despite the lunchtime queues that snake their way to the counter, Chipotle has courted controversy before. In 2011 it came under fire for hiring and then firing undocumented workers. In 2012 Chipotle was taken to task for its practice of rounding off bills to the nearest nickel at some of its high-volume eateries to keep the queue at the register moving quickly.

Hiring illegal immigrants at a time when the country’s unemployment rate was high? Angering the other side of the argument after unceremoniously letting them go? Deliberately overcharging some customers, even if it was just by a penny or two?

Carnitas-craving customers have forgiven Chipotle.

Netflix (NFLX)
Shares

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/lululemon-chipotle-netflix-starbucks/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Is Apple So Weak?

Leave a comment

By Tim Beyers, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

First, a bit of old news. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers last week for failing to live up to expectations for warranty and repair service. CEO Tim Cook promised to do better in a letter reminiscent of an earlier mea culpa over Apple Maps.

Why bring this up now? Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova also insists that Cook’s apology — his second — reflects a broader trend at Apple, and one that should have investors concerned.

In the following interview with The Motley Fool’s Erin Miller, Tim says that Apple may be losing the swagger that was so visible during Steve Jobs‘ tenure as CEO, replaced by Cook’s easy, mollifying demeanor. Thus far, investors haven’t seen any benefits from the shift.

Has Apple become weak? Please watch this short video to get Tim’s full take, and then leave a comment to let us know whether you’d buy or sell Apple stock now, and why.

It’s incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out “Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks” in The Motley Fool’s latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged among the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

The article Why Is Apple So Weak? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the 
Motley Fool Rule Breakers
stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He and Erin Miller both owned shares of Apple at the time of publication. Check out Tim’s Web home and portfolio holdings, or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Should Apple Just Buy Yahoo!?

Leave a comment

By Rick Munarriz, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Apple and Yahoo! are reportedly discussing expanding their relationship.

Wouldn’t it be wild if Apple’s next move was to put a ring on it?

Let’s be frank. The chances of Apple and Yahoo! hooking up are slim. Yahoo! turned down Microsoft at a much higher price point several years ago, and the stock‘s been a market darling since Google executive Marissa Mayer took the helm after a long line of unsuccessful CEOs.

However, each company would have plenty to gain by warming up to the other.

Folks “briefed on the matter” are telling The Wall Street Journal that the two companies are discussing ways to prominently integrate more of Yahoo!’s services on Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices.

That’s a no-brainer. Yahoo! already provides some of the default iOS apps for stock quotes and weather. Perhaps more importantly, Yahoo! isn’t Microsoft or Google.

Mr. Softy and Big G are Apple’s two biggest rivals, though these days Google has become the bigger enemy as Android conquers the smartphone and now tablet markets. Apple tried to distance itself from Google last year, going with a homegrown default solution to Apple Maps.

Right. We know how badly that played out for Apple. Any bone that Apple could throw Yahoo! is one less bone that it would either throw out to Google or possibly mess up on its own.

Yahoo! could also use Apple. Forget Yahoo!’s recent buoyant stock price. Ever since Yahoo! struck a deal to outsource its flagship search business to Microsoft Bing, revenue growth has been stagnant and Yahoo!’s been shedding market share. There isn’t a lot that Yahoo! can do to change that. It struck a deal for its search portal to be Bing’s trophy wife for the next 10 years, and folks will naturally wean themselves off of Yahoo! to get their results directly from the source. Yahoo! knows this. It lived through it when Google powered its queries.

Let’s cut to the chase: Apple may find itself offering a search product to remain competitive with Google without assisting the enemy. Why not dust off Yahoo!’s cobwebbed yet once-effective search technology? This would likely violate the terms of Yahoo!’s deal with Bing, but obviously there has to be a way out — and a shotgun wedding with Apple may do exactly that.

Apple would benefit from nearly every aspect of Yahoo!’s wide array of online properties and Asian investments. Yahoo! would benefit from being a part of the world’s most popular mobile operating system outside of Android.

Don’t run off to check the bridal registry. A deal isn’t really likely to happen. However, under different circumstances, Apple and Yahoo! would’ve looked so good walking down the aisle at a point when Apple investors need a spark and Yahoo! investors need growth.

It’s a battle for the crown
It’s incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Video: Visualizing airspeed via an iPad with Apple Maps

Leave a comment

By Matt Hickey, Contributor

We know that modern airliners scream across the sky at speeds up to 560 miles per hour, but numbers like that can be pretty abstract. It’s better to have a more visual way to really appreciate how fast you’re traveling when flying, and this video demonstrates that nicely. Reddit user jzzsxm — real name withheld by request as one isn’t technically supposed to use a GPS on flights in the US — shot the video on cross-country flight from Boston to Portland in February of this year. It features the iPad’s Maps app showing satellite imagery of the terrain below. It uses Go-Go’s in-flight WiFi to render the data for the map’s graphics and have to admit that I’m fairly impressed that it can keep up as well as it does in this video; I’ve always found in-flight WiFi to be pokey at best. I asked the FAA if they had a comment on flyers using devices with integrated GPS on flights and was told that it has nothing to say about it right now but may (or may not) get back to me soon. That said, the FAA will be re-evaluating its rules regarding in-flight electronics in the near future – but don’t expect to be able to yap on your phone during takeoff and landing anytime soon. One more thing: You should be very happy I was able to get through this whole post without making a “cloud computing” pun. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Apple Buys Its Way Indoors

Leave a comment

By Evan Niu, CFA, CFA, The Motley Fool

Indoor Google Maps. Source: Google.

Inside, Google still has a lead over Apple. However, the search giant’s indoor initiatives date back to 2011, so Apple has more hope in catching up behind closed doors as opposed to under the sun.

The Mac maker becomes a map maker
Apple has confirmed the acquisition to both

Filed under:

Even though Google is undeniably the mobile mapping king, Apple isn’t giving up so easily. That’s why Apple has acquired WifiSLAM, a small start-up specializing in indoor GPS, since the next frontier of mobile mapping is inside.

iOS users quickly snapped up the new version of Google Maps once it was released on Apple’s platform in December, just months after Apple made the controversial switch to its in-house offering. Google’s first-mover advantage is seemingly insurmountable since it has spent years aggregating mapping data that Apple simply doesn’t have yet.

On the outside, Google’s Street View offers unprecedented reach for an online mapping service. We’re talking about the search giant showing users the Great Barrier Reef or more recently, the Himalayas’ Mount Everest Base Camp. Meanwhile, Apple’s still working on getting down the basics before going mountain climbing.

WifiSLAM is a small company that uses ambient Wi-Fi signals to help pinpoint a smartphones indoor location within an approximate accuracy range of 2.5 meters. That information could potentially be used to eventually build step-by-step indoor navigation, proximity-based social networking, or product-level retail customer engagement.

With WifiSLAM, Apple is taking the mapping fight inside instead of outside.

Let’s take this inside
Turn-by-turn driving navigation was reportedly a major point of contention between Apple and Google that led to the switch. Indoor step-by-step navigation, on the other hand, is mostly an untapped frontier.

Google has already begun building out its data on indoor maps, including integrated floor plans in selected locations and a Google Maps Floor Plans service that’s still in beta testing. So far, buildings like airports and shopping malls, among others, have partnered with Google to make indoor maps available. Big G doesn’t want you running into any Minotaurs, after all.

Indoor Google Maps. Source: Google.

Inside, Google still has a lead over Apple. However, the search giant’s indoor initiatives date back to 2011, so Apple has more hope in catching up behind closed doors as opposed to under the sun.

The Mac maker becomes a map maker
Apple has confirmed the acquisition to both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, without officially disclosing the price. The WSJ‘s sources peg the price tag at $20 million, which is little more than loose change for Apple.

WifiSLAM is now the fourth acquisition that Apple has picked up to build its mapping service. The Mac maker began acquiring map makers as early as 2009, starting with Placebase for an unknown amount. The company would then proceed to buy Poly9 in 2010 and C3 Technologies in 2011. These three purchases were stitched together to help launch Apple Maps.

Two months ago, there were also rumors that Apple was looking to acquire Waze, the crowd-sourced traffic and navigation service. The acquisition made sense, since Waze is also a small start-up with innovative technology that could be integrated into Apple’s offerings, and Waze is already one of Apple’s mapping data partners. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Apple's Latest Buy

Leave a comment

By Rex Moore, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The following video is from Monday’s MarketFoolery podcast, in which host Rex Moore and analysts Matt Argersinger and Jason Moser discuss the top business and investing stories.

  buys the GPS mapping service WiFiSLAM. Apple’s Map app was criticized when it first launched. What does the acquisition mean for the future of Apple Maps?  Will Apple’s latest bet help it better compete with Google ? In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts discuss the implications for investors.

There’s no doubt that Apple is at the center of technology’s largest revolution ever, and that longtime shareholders have been handsomely rewarded with over 1,000% gains. However, there is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. Eric Bleeker, The Motley Fool’s senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and sell Apple and the opportunities left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Rex Moore“, contentId: “cms.27133”, contentTickers: “NASDAQ:AAPL, NASDAQ:GOOG”, contentTitle: “Apple’s Latest Buy”, hasVideo: “True”, pitchId: “1”, pitchTickers: “NASDAQ:AAPL”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Security Flaws Could Undermine Trust In Apple's Mobile Payment Ambitions

Leave a comment

By Anthony Wing Kosner, Contributor

It’s starting to look like the Apple Maps fiasco all over again. The latest Kafkaesque turn of events, reported by The Verge, goes something like this: Apple introduces two factor authentication for Apple Ids two years after Google; another in a series of lock screen exploits makes it possible to reset a user’s password using only their email address and birthdate; the only protection against the exploit is to activate the two factor authentication; many users found themselves in line with a three day wait to add the authentication to their accounts. Awkward! …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Articles of Interest

Yet Again, Steve Wozniak Is Worried Apple Is Losing Its Cool

Leave a comment

By The Huffington Post News Editors

Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is yet again worried about Apple’s future.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Wozniak expressed concern that Apple might not be considered the “cool” computing system for too much longer. “We used to have these ads, I’m a Mac and I’m a PC, and the Mac was always the cool guy. And ouch, it’s painful, because we kind of are losing that,” he said.

He might be right. Apple has had a rough few months of press with the Apple Maps fiasco, the company’s stock falling, and a recent hacking, which was disclosed this week.

Read More…
More on Microsoft

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

Is Apple Losing Its Brand Equity?

Leave a comment

By Darcy Travlos, Contributor The foundation of Apple’s brand equity is its promise to deliver a delightful user experience to consumers.   Less than stellar consumer reviews on a number of applications from MobileMe to Apple Maps have nicked away at that promise.   As the stock price and recent analyst price-target drops would lead us to believe:  Is Apple losing its luster?
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest