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iPads Going For Big Premium on Amazon

Michael Comeau — Sat, 15 May 2010 01:40:40 +0000

The war between Adobe (ADBE) and Apple (AAPL) over the latter’s refusal to integrate flash technology in its iPhone and iPad products is still heating up – but there’s no sign that it’s taking a toll on Apple’s red-hot iPhone and iPad.

In Apple’s March quarter, it crushed Wall-Street analysts’ expectations by selling an incredible 8.7 million iPhones, up 131% year-over-year.

The iPad has also seen strong early sales, crossing the 1-million unit sales mark in 28 days – a number that would have been far higher if not for the limited supply and slow geographical rollout.

And what I just noticed today is that iPads are actually selling for a premium on Amazon.com.

Amazon itself does not stock the Apple iPad. However, third-party sellers have gotten their hands on them, possibly buying them at Apple retail stores to sell them at a profit.

This isn’t at all unusual for hot consumer-electronics products. For example, the Nintendo Wii was selling at a huge premium on eBay (EBAY) and Craig’s List after its 2006 launch.

As of Friday May 14th, the 16 gigabyte Wifi-only model is selling for $599 and up, while the 64 gig version starts at $799.99.

These are $100 premiums over Apple’s own selling prices, even though it’s unclear whether Apple will honor the warranties on devices sold through nontraditional channels.

That doesn’t seem to matter to iPad-seekers though – both the 16 and 64-gigabyte iPads are clocking in the top 15 position on Amazon’s computer and accessories best-seller list.

The verdict – Apple’s products are so strong that consumers just don’t care about the lack of Flash compatibility in Apple’s mobile devices.

The proof is in the pudding, and the pudding looks like a big fat pile of cash for Apple.

Disclosure: long AAPL

Need an iPad NOW?

Michael Comeau — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:33:42 +0000

Apple (AAPL) is not shipping iPads for 5-7 days after they’re ordered, but if you absolutely, positively need one today, there are third-party sellers on Amazon(AMZN) that are selling the 16 gigabyte wi-fi model for $565 and up – a $66 premium to Apple’s price.

People are not hesitating to pick these up – the iPad is a top-10 seller on Amazon’s computer and accessories best-sellers list, so if you want an iPad fast, this is probably a good option. I’ve made dozens and dozens of buys from third-party vendors on Amazon and have never had a problem.

My Top Mobile Phone Stock Picks

Michael Comeau — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:08:18 +0000

A reader asked for my opinions on mobile-phone stocks, so I thought I’d give everyone a quick run-down of my opinions on the big names in the space:

Apple (AAPL) – BUY

What can I say? I’m an Apple shareholder and a huge fan of their products. I fully expect the iPhone to resume taking market share, particularly if the company releases a new model this summer as they have every year since 2007. Plus, the company is still taking market share in PC’s with no sign of a slowdown. I’m not particularly bullish on the iPad, but even I can’t complain about potential icing on this cake.

Motorola (MOT) – SELL

Yes, the Droid is awesome, but the market is now being flooded with Google (GOOG) Android powered phones and that means too much competition. Verizon (VZ) is now offering two-for-one deals on the Droid and Devour, and Motorola doesn’t have any other strong models that can pick up the slack.

Nokia (NOK) – HOLD

I was tempted to slap a sell on Nokia, but the fact remains that they just had a decent quarter and that means it could scrape back some market share from the likes of Apple and the Android lot.

Microsoft (MSFT) – SELL

Microsoft has made some positive strides in their mobile-phone unit, but it’s just not enough to make any kind of meaningful financial impact on the company. Apple’s market-share gains in PC’s won’t be reversed, and we’re also moving towards a world of cheap, or even free software, and that aint good for Mister Softeee.

Research-In-Motion (RIMM) – HOLD

RIM still has a stranglehold on corporate IT departments for mobile email, but I worry that its position in consumer smartphones will be eroded by the iPhone, and flood of Android and Windows Phone 7 models that are going to hit the market later this year. So color me as on-the-fence.

———–

disclosure: long Apple (AAPL)

Best Buy Will Carry iPad At Launch

Michael Comeau — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:48:38 +0000

You’ll have at least one more choice than the Apple (AAPL) store if you plan on picking up an iPad on its April 3rd launch date.

Apple just confirmed that most Best Buy (BBY) stores will have Apple iPads in stock beginning at 9 a.m. – a smart move considering that there could be some huge crowds lined up at Apple stores.

In fact, if you’re in the market for an iPad, you just may want to skip the Apple store and get to a Best Buy at open where the crowds will probably be a bit lighter. Back when the iPhone launched, Apple stores were absolutely mobbed, and given the massive media attention accorded to the iPad, things could be even worse this time around.

Now one thing that’s interesting is that the iPad hasn’t shown up atAmazon Amazon for pre-order just yet, possibly because Amazon prices Apple products as much as 10% below Apple’s asking price.

HT: TechCrunch

Apple iPad Accessories Available from Amazon.com

Michael Comeau — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:31:57 +0000

The Apple (AAPL) iPad is still months away, but that’s not stopping the likes of USAGear, TrendyDigital, and CaseCrown from making accessories for the world’s most-wanted tablet computer.

Amazon.com is already listing accessories like cases, cleaning brushes, and underwater protectors (YES) for the iPad, so you can be ready for that scuba-diving trip you’ve got planned.

Amazon, Macmall Discounting Apple Aperture 3

Michael Comeau — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:09:25 +0000

Just a quick heads up: Amazon is taking orders for Apple Aperture 3 at $189, $10 less than Apple itself is charging.

Macmall is even cheaper at $179 for the full version:
Aperture 3

And just $89.99 for the upgrade (vs $99.99 straight from Apple):
Aperture 3 – Upgrade

Apple Releases Aperture 3 – And It’s War!

Michael Comeau — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:48:21 +0000

UPDATE: Amazon is taking orders for Aperture 3, undercutting Apple by $10.Fellow photo enthusiasts rejoice!

Apple (AAPL) just announced Aperture 3, the latest update to its line of photo editing and management software. In response to customer demand, Aperture 3 includes some key features Aperture users have been asking for since the release of Aperture 2.

Aperture 3 retails for $199 ($99 as an upgrade), the same price as Aperture 2, and $100 less than Adobe’s Lightroom. You can save another $10 by ordering from Amazon.
Among Aperture 3’s 200+ new features are:

the faces and places functions from iPhoto
non-destructive brushes with edge detection
chromatic aberration filter
new curves tool
skin smoothing
camera focus points
improved search, including photo usage, place, face, label, etc.
enhanced web publishing for Facebook, Flickr, etc. built in
video and audio support
64-bit support
enhanced RAW support, even for brand-new cameras like the Nikon D3s (but no Panasonic GF1?)

Call me crazy, but it looks like Apple is going for Adobe’s (ADBE) throat. Aperture has been more of a direct competitor to Adobe’s Lightroom rather than Photoshop, but we can’t ignore Aperture 3’s enhanced editing tools, which edge it closer to being a full-blast photo editing program.

Read more about Apple Aperture 3.

Here’s the full press release:

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced Aperture™ 3, the next major release of its powerful photo editing and management software, with over 200 new features including Faces, Places and Brushes. Building on the innovative Faces and Places features introduced in iPhoto® ‘09, Aperture 3 makes it even easier and faster to organize large photo libraries. Aperture 3 introduces new tools to refine your photos including Brushes for painting image adjustments onto parts of your photo, and Adjustment Presets for applying professional photo effects with just one click. Stunning new slideshows let you share your work by weaving together photos, audio, text and HD video.

“Millions of people love using iPhoto to organize, edit and share their digital photos,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Aperture 3 is designed for both professionals who edit and manage massive libraries of photos and iPhoto users who want to take their photos further with easy-to-use tools such as Brushes and Adjustment Presets.”

“Aperture 3 gets it right,” said National Geographic photographer, Jim Richardson. “The image editing tools are exactly what I have been asking for, they’re so easy to use and give me a level of control that I never even thought possible.”

“I chose Aperture because it was the most powerful archiving application around, but it’s now an unbelievable imaging tool as well,” said Bill Frakes, Sports Illustrated staff photographer. “I am beyond impressed with the massive changes made in Aperture 3.”

Aperture 3 allows you to organize large photo libraries with even more flexibility using Projects and the new Faces and Places. Faces uses face detection and recognition to find and organize your photos by the people in them. You can view faces across your entire photo library or view just the faces that appear in selected projects. In a new view that speeds up the organization process, Aperture 3 displays faces that have been detected but haven’t yet been named. Places lets you explore your photos based on where they were taken, and like in iPhoto, Places automatically reverse geocodes GPS data into user-friendly locations. In Aperture 3, you can assign locations by dragging-and-dropping photos onto a map or by using location information from GPS enabled cameras, tracking devices or your iPhone® photos.

The new Brushes feature allows you to add professional touches to your photos by simply painting effects onto the image. Aperture 3 includes 15 Quick Brushes that perform the most popular tasks like Dodge, Burn, Polarize and Blur, without the complexity of layers or masks. Brushes can automatically detect edges in your images to let you apply or remove effects exactly where you want them. Aperture 3 includes dozens of Adjustment Presets that apply a specific style or look to the entire image with just a click. You can create your own custom presets or explore the techniques of other photographers by importing theirs.

Aperture 3 makes it easy to share your work with stunning slideshows that weave together photos, audio, text and HD video. You can select one of six Apple designed themes or choose your own transitions, background, borders and titles, and even add your own soundtrack. You can export your slideshows directly to iTunes® to take with you on your iPhone or iPod touch®. You can also share photographs as beautiful prints, create custom-designed hardcover books and publish to online photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr, right from Aperture 3.

Pricing & Availability

Aperture 3 is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and existing Aperture users can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $99 (US). A downloadable 30-day trial version is available at www.apple.com/aperture/trial. Aperture 3 runs as a 64-bit application on Mac OS® X Snow Leopard® on Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Full system requirements, online tutorials and more information on Aperture 3 can be found at www.apple.com/aperture.

HT TechCrunch

Of Moms and iPads

Michael Comeau — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:55:35 +0000

iPhone game developer Ethan Nicholas just did something shocking: wrote some nice things about the embattled Apple iPad in a TechCrunch guest post.

Mr. Nicholas calls the iPad “a computer for people who don’t like computers.” In fact, he feels so strongly about the iPad’s supposedly-easy usability that he plans on buying one for his mother.

I usually stay out of other people’s family affairs, but for the sake of Ms. Nicholas, I feel compelled to speak up.

The argument that the iPad is “a computer for people who don’t like computers” does not hold water. People who don’t like computers are the last folks who should be playing with a first-generation tablet PC that’s missing features even computer-haters are accustomed to using, like a memory-card reader and a USB port.

Mr. Nicholas also said the iPad “won’t allow her to install umpteen news and weather gadgets that start up on boot and slow her computer to a crawl. It won’t suddenly forget how to talk to a network, or get so confused by all of the software installs and uninstalls that you finally have to break down and reinstall the system from scratch.”

I agree. The iPad won’t allow itself to be bogged down with useless programs and won’t require the constant attention that say, a Windows-Vista PC requires. But home wi-fi networks aren’t perfect. They do get screwed up and require occasional resets. And need I remind anyone that AT&T is supplying the iPad’s 3G data access? The last time I checked, that network wasn’t exactly running like a Swiss watch.

Mr. Nicholas’ complaints about computers don’t apply to all PC’s – they appear to be very much Windows-centric. I know, because up until a month ago I was stuck in the dark world of impossible-to-cancel print jobs, driver disappearances, system passwords that only work some of the time, and performance-sucking security software. All of my issues were solved by picking up a lightly used early-2008 Macbook.

I recommend the same fix for Ms. Nicholas, who sounds like she’s the victim of the wrong computer – rather than computers as an entire product class.

It’s true – once you go Mac, you never go back. I’ve never met anyone that said “I shouldn’t have bought a Mac.”

Have you?

Is the Apple iPad a Real Gaming Machine?

Michael Comeau — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:37:53 +0000

Yes, I’m stilling writing about the Apple (iPad), and yes, I’m still disappointed, particularly because I can’t use it in my photography without a goofy adapter.

But let’s talk a new topic: Gaming.

Portable gaming is best done on a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP. Games for the iPhone and iPod Touch are more time-killers than anything else – though I will admit that I am super pumped for a portable version of Plants vs. Zombies, a game I like even more than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Now the iPad, with its beautiful 9.7″ screen could have been an amazing portable gaming devices – but let’s face facts: real gaming, rather than pure time-killing casual games, require a d-pad and buttons. Platforming games can be awesome on a DS or PSP, but they just don’t work on a touch screen.

I’m also concerned about the lack of proprietary, killer content. That’s what gets people pumped up for a gaming platform. People don’t buy an Xbox 360 because it’s cool. They buy it to play Halo and Gears of War. Bigger-screen versions of iPhone games just aren’t enough to position the iPad as a legit gaming device.

It also would have been nice if the iPad had snazzier games to show off. Electronic Arts’ (ERTS) Need for Speed: Shift isn’t bad, but it is old and on all-platforms.

The iPad, and iPhone/iPod Touch for that matter, needs something exclusive – it’s very own Mario or Link or Samus or Master Chief. That’s what will get people to think of it as a real gaming device, and what’s more is that it would enable higher pricing.

Cheap games that cost a dollar or two are fine for small, indie publishers with low overhead, but not for the likes of EA and Activision (ATVI). Selling 1 million units of a $1 game just doesn’t move the needle for a large, publicly-traded company.

The Apple iPad and Photography

Michael Comeau — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:14:57 +0000

An iPad Would Have Made This Picture Better

As a very amateur photographer, I had high hopes for the Apple (AAPL) iPad.

I’ve experimented with tethering my Canon DSLR to my computer. In plain English, that means using a computer to operate the camera while previewing the images on screen. And that was fine inside the house.
But since I pack my camera bag as lightly as possible – typically just one body, one lens, and a gorillapod – there’s no way I’d ever drag my computer out with me. The 1.5 pound iPad could have been an amazing for working tethered with things like landscapes and time-lapse work. It has a huge screen, tons of battery life, and more than enough storage space for any of my photo outings.

But it fails for two simple reasons:

1) No USB Port without an overpriced adapter
2) No ability to run Apple’s Aperture software, which has great tethering, organizational, and photo editing tools

Maybe I’m a cheapskate, but I don’t see why I should pay up for a port that should be standard on a $500 device – especially since that adapter is also just one more thing that can break in the field. And even a scaled-down version of Aperture would have been awesome for the iPad – you could just sync up everything on your ‘real’ computer later. And you know what? It would be something that Adobe’s Lightroom couldn’t match.

And why couldn’t Apple at least stick iPhoto, along with an actual camera, in the iPad? The iPad has room inside for a decent-sized image sensor, which combined with the big screen, would have made the iPad an amazing photographic tool. Canon and Panasonic are moving tons of point-and-shoots like the G11 and LX3 for about $500, which along with Canon’s strong earnings report indicates that photographers are willing to pay up for the latest hot stuff.

A camera would have also enabled movie-making on the go with iMovie. One device that can shoot, edit, and upload video on the go would have just been amazing.

So the more I think about the iPad, the more disappointed I become. Yes, the iPad is probably the best device for displaying a portfolio, but I’d rather use it to create. We’ve come to expect a lot from Apple – but everybody misses sometimes.