Tag Archives: aapl

Amazon takes on Apple, Roku, Google with streaming video box

Amazon.com (AMZN) has set its sights on the living room with its latest consumer electronics gadget, a set-top box that streams Internet video and also plays games. It joins a crowded market with similar devices from Apple (AAPL), Roku, Google (GOOG) and others. Amazon introduced its long-awaited set-top box, called Amazon Fire TV, at a media event in New York City on Wednesday. The $99 device is available for order on Amazon.com. It joins joins Amazon’s Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets in the company’s homegrown product lineup. With Fire TV, users can access Amazon Prime Instant Video, as well as Netflix (NFLX), Hulu and other third-party video services. Plus, users can rent new release movies from Amazon. Among the innovative features of the device is speech-recognition technology for searching for programs to watch. Voice search is built into the Fire TV remote control. “Tiny box, huge specs, tons of…

Megasize Apple iPhone 6 could face production delays

Apple could begin production on a new model iPhone with a larger screen next month, but a second model with a megasize screen might be delayed, Reuters reported Tuesday. Apple’s (AAPL) suppliers will begin mass-producing displays as early as May for an iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch screen, the news agency said. Supply chain sources told Reuters that a 5.5-inch version could be delayed. Current iPhone 5 handsets have a 4-inch screen. South Korea’s LG Display (LPL) and Japan’s Sharp and Japan Display have been selected to make the smartphone screens, Reuters said . But the use of a new touchscreen display technology for the iPhone 6 could limit early production, it said. The iPhone 6 is expected to debut this September, analysts say. Photos of what could be the iPhone 6 were posted on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, Business Insider reported Monday . The pictures reportedly were taken at contract …

Apple iPhone 6 could ‘tank’ the company’s gross margins

Apple’s (AAPL) upcoming iPhone 6 smartphone could “tank” the company’s gross profit margins, unless it raises prices with the handset, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a research report Friday. The iPhone 6 is likely to cost considerably more to manufacture because it’s rumored to feature a larger-screen display. In recent years, Apple has kept pricing the same for its new smartphones. It has swallowed the additional costs of higher-end components, which has cut into its gross margins, Sacconaghi says. “One issue that we believe has not been fully flushed out in the investment community is the potential for material gross margin erosion associated with the iPhone 6,” Sacconaghi said. “We note that the prior two significant iPhone upgrades (3GS to 4, 4 to 5) each led to an estimated 900-1000 (basis points) of sequential iPhone gross margin pressure. As a result, current iPhone margins are about 1500 bps…