Apple (AAPL) has acquired a Big Data startup that specializes in tracking music listening trends on the Web. The British startup, Semetric, developed an analytics tool called Musicmetric. The music tracking service collects data from social networking and other websites. The platform also tracks music sales and illegal downloads. Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported the Semetric acquisition, which took place last year. Acquiring Semetric could
Qualcomm’s (QCOM) stock was down early Wednesday on reports Samsung will use its own application processor chip for its upcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone. Samsung and Apple (AAPL) have both stepped up internal semiconductor design, posing a long-term threat to chipmakers, analysts say. More functionality also is being integrated into single-chip designs, making some specialty chips less needed. Bloomberg reported that Samsung had tested the newest
Apple (AAPL) is likely to give March-quarter guidance below the consensus estimate of analysts despite the expected launch of the Apple Watch, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said Tuesday. Apple is widely expected to report strong December-quarter results thanks to its iPhone 6 smartphone lineup, so attention is shifting to the current quarter, she said in a research note. Apple is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter earnings after the arket close on Jan. 27. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to earn $2.59 a share, up 25% from the year-earlier quarter, on sales of $67.32 billion, up 17%. For the current quarter, analysts are modeling earnings per share of $2, up 20%, on sales of $53.71 billion, up 18%. March-quarter guidance “may be slightly below consensus revenue estimates, especially with a large (foreign exchange) headwind, but this is in line with recent guidance trends,” Huberty said. Apple has guided…