Although admitted not much to do with domain names, the domain industry is closely aligned with the overall tech sector and we could help but notice a few negative stories out this morning on Apple, a company which you typically can’t find one negative story.
Sales of the iPhone 5 came in at a disappointing 5 Million this weekend, 1 million higher than the iPhone 4s but well under expectations of 6 Million- 10 Million.
Over the weekend about 2,000 workers rioted at the notorious FoxCom plant in China where the iPhone (along with a lot of other products) are manufactured closing the plant.
According to reports over 40 people were injured, “About 5,000 police were dispatched and the rioting was brought under control by around 3 a.m. Monday morning. The facility was closed for the day and was expected to be back online Tuesday”
As part of the OS update Apple released last week they replaced Google Maps with their own mapping system.
The reviews are in and certainly for Apple shockingly negative.
I’ve read a lot of reviews and articles about Apple Maps and story for story, Apple Maps are getting ripped in comparison to Google Maps leading Tech publication Gizmodo.com, review speaks for itself:
“Apple Maps on iOS 6 is really bad when compared to Google Maps on iOS 5. It has misled people aplenty, the magic flyby is a horror show, and even Apple had to acknowledge it sucks.”
Finally Samsung started running some television ads in heavy rotation lampooning those waiting in the iPhone line when they say their Galaxy S3 has most of the new features of the iPhone 5 plus more.
The ads which seem to run 2 minutes, try to make the iPhone line look especially geeky or older, where as the cooler people are shown to be on the Galaxy.
Its one of the first attack commercials I can ever remember seeing where another company is calling Apple out for its product as being not “ahead of the curve” and maybe worse, not the choice of the cool people.
I especially like the part of the commercial when we find out that the cool young person in line is only holding the spot for their parents.
Even its new Passbook app is getting some mixed reviews.
Apple has been on a 10+ year run as the most inventive producer of consumer electronics, the company everyone loves to become the most valuable company in the world without seeming to miss a step.
Today shares of Apple are down just over 2% at $685 a share.
What do you think are the cracks showing?
(Disclaimer: we per-ordered our iPhone 5 already & own shares of Apple)
Apple should have added NFC and Wireless Charging, Nokia is the new Apple and Samsung is the new Nokia.
I have to comment on this, because I think some expectations are running far in excess of business reality. If the iPhone 4, which is LAST YEAR’S model, sold 4-million units in its first weekend, and the iPhone 5, which is THIS YEAR’S model, sold 5-million units. That is a YOY increase of 20%!!! This is a very g*d-damned respectable number, particularly given an economy that is still sluggish, at best.
When did such numbers become a disappointment? What freak of nature is issuing guidance that suggests we’re supposed to have 50% increases all the time, in a single year. Such sales levels are not sustainable. I know people who are using the iPhone 3, still, with no intention of upgrading any time soon. People invest in capital, they don’t want to destroy that capital every year.
So the ANAL-ysts may be disappointed, but they are what I like to call “Ivory Tower Assholes”. These are the people that live in some Quantum Reality complete dissociated from the rest of us mortals.
For heaven’s sake, let Apple stock fall another 10% because of these morons. Then, go buy Apple stock. It’s a bargain at $1,000 per share. Just look at the ecosystem they’ve created.
Enough said.
Sales in the US would likely be much higher (although Danny did well in explaining that they’re high enough) if people weren’t locked into their two-year contracts. I know I won’t be eligible for a free phone upgrade through Verizon until the beginning of next year, some time.
Some investors are probably more concerned about what’s going on at FoxCom, and any issues that might have on production. Still, in the past week, Apple has seen a $40 increase in its share price, down about $9.30 or so currently. Other companies (including Samsung) only wish they could have the ‘troubles’ Apple has. 😉