There’s supposed to be a big announcement tomorrow. AT&T’s stock has tanked, just as it always does when there are Verizon iPhone rumors (but this one is supposed to be the real thing).
Meanwhile, Apple’s stock is soaring, just as it always does seemingly no matter what happens. (“Any investor getting caught up in CDMA iPhone hype needs to realize that the real winner probably won’t be Verizon. It will likely be Apple,” writes CNN’s financial commentator Paul LaMonica.)
Meanwhile, there are also lowly consumers who will be affected. I have an iPhone with AT&T and I share the complaints of everyone else in the universe about poor service. It is hard to even remember a time when your calls weren’t dropped.
However, I’m wondering if AT&T’s problems aren’t the result of winning this mega-popular product to begin with and shouldering its huge data demands–and whether Verizon can actually do it better once it gets all those new subscribers.
I’m not switching just cause I’m currently locked in on an AT&T contract (along with millions of others). But when that ends…well. What are others planning to do?
It’s corporate earnings season, and yesterday Apple reported another stunning quarter–although iPad sales were a bit lower than expected, and shares declined after hours nevertheless. But who cares: Apple shares have careened to over $ 300 in value in recent months, and there are just under a billion of them out there.
What that means is that as of now, Apple (AAPL) is flirting with being a company worth over $ 300 billion. And what’s more, some analysts suggest there is still quite a lot of upside.
This shouldn’t only be of interest to investors. It’s of far broader political and cultural significance. You see, Apple is currently the second most valuable private company in the world–second, that is, to Exxon Mobil (XOM), which is currently worth about $ 338 billion.
There couldn’t be a more stark contrast between the new economy and the old than the comparison of these two companies–a sleek tech giant versus a dirty fossil energy monster. (more…)
It wasn’t for nothing that I asked these questions yesterday (and some of the responses were very helpful). Over at the Science Progress blog, I’ve now done a full piece about what happened in science in 2009, which includes observations like these:
It was a year of complete U-turns in science policy. President Barack Obama reversed George W. Bush’s dramatic restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, and the first 13 new stem cell lines were approved for federally funded research since 2001. Meanwhile, the Obama Environmental Protection Agency moved to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, finding that they do indeed endanger the public.
It was also the year of the first-ever passage, by a 219-212 margin in the U.S. House of Representatives, of a cap-and-trade bill that would cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions—but not the year for any parallel action in the U.S. Senate.
It was the year that everyone seemed to own an iPhone and use the word “app” in regular conversation. It was the year Twitter went from being a mere annoyance to the epitome of web-based communication.
It was a year that saw the very first Nobel laureate scientist assume a cabinet position, in the figure of U.S. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu.
It was the year of….many, many, many other things, some funny, some outrageous, some profound. Read here for the whole list, and leave comments about anything you think may have been left out!
Motorola’s Anroid 2.0 phone debuts today with its slide-out keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, and DVD-quality video recording. The NYTimes calls the Droid 2.0 incredibly fast with superb audio quality, but adds:
..the Droid’s design screams “Star Wars,” if not “Darth Vader.” It’s jet black, all sharp angles and industrial-looking edges. Verizon asked Motorola to soften the design for better female appeal, but it’s hopeless: Droid is all masculine, all the time. When you slide the screen up to reveal the thumb keyboard, there’s no spring-assisted snap; it drags like a plow through soil. It’s all part of the manly man design concept.
Wait I sec… I love Star Wars! Still, it’s a shiny new phone with lots of buzz and anticipation surrounding the release. The Wall Street Journal predicts it may be a big win for Verizon, Motorola and Google, while naming several drawbacks.
I have the original iPhone and am planning to purchase a new one soon. My contract’s been up for a long time and the screen finally cracked last week after an unfortunate collision with hardwood flooring. It’s past time to join a 3G network. However, next year I’m headed to Austin, TX and service sounds unreliable in the region.
So I’m curious to hear from our tech savvy readers about early impressions of the Droid 2.0. Further, what do think is the best smart phone on the market right now?
A stronger, faster, badder iPhone features a camera that shoots video and zooms, longer battery life, and few other updates.
More at CNN…
..or at least one concept design posted at dotdosh. [Others have imagined more radical possibilities.] We don’t know what to expect, but the next generation arrives July.
