Hacker News Reader

beatleon China Now Leads the World in New iOS and Android Device Activations

There are two types of consumers.

-People who are willing to spend a lot of money on a device they love (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch) will spend money on apps.

-People who got their 2nd-rate, poorly built device (most android devices) for free from their carrier or for $50 from a flea market. They are not going to spend money on apps and are most likely to pirate apps/content.

beatleon HTC isn’t just building an Android skin, it’s building a whole platform

people treat their phones the way they treat their gf/wife. :)

beatleon HTC isn’t just building an Android skin, it’s building a whole platform

>dropped, forgotten places, thrown around, banged around, kidnapped by a dog, you name it.

You need a phone that you LOVE so much that you will never:

-drop -forget -throw around -bang around -have it kidnapped by animals

You need a phone you love so much that you feel an urge to make sweet and passionate love with it every single day.

beatleon Without ads, Android apps could be more than twice as power-efficient

All evidence to the contrary (including this article).

beatleon Without ads, Android apps could be more than twice as power-efficient

the ad services (Google, etc.) doesn't care about your phone's battery life as long as they can serve their ads. They don't get anything in return if they spend time and resources making their ads "more efficient". These companies don't care about the user experience or providing a better product. They're in the ads business not in the making-a-better-phone business.

as far as they're concerned your phone's battery life is a hardware/OS issue.

sad but true.

beatleon New iPad Tops Three Million

Here's another mind-boggling info:

Apple sold 3 Million iPads. That number DOES NOT include preorders of the device, which went live the day the product was announced. Why didn't Apple include the preorders?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-57400231-248/apple-3-milli...

beatleon Apple Announces Plans to Initiate Dividend and Share Repurchase Program

Even with the dividend and share buyback plan, Apple is expected to continue to add significant amounts of money to its cash balance, which stood at $97.6 billion at the end of 2011.

If Apple consumes about $15 billion a year in cash for its stock buybacks and dividends, it is generating so much new cash from its business that its total cash balance at the end of fiscal 2013 could be around $180 billion, estimated Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/technology/apple-to-use-ca...

beatleon Apple Announces Plans to Initiate Dividend and Share Repurchase Program

You're right. Apple has so much cash that the only thing that makes sense is to both pay out quarterly dividends AND buying back their stock. Even though AAPL is still considered a GROWTH stock.

NOTE:

Apple earned ~$13b profit last quarter and it's only going to grow. $15b x 4 quarters = $60b PROFIT PER YEAR.

They can easily afford $45b over the next 3 years considering they have more money than God.

beatleon Apple Conference Call

looks like it :)

beatleon Apple Announces Plans to Initiate Dividend and Share Repurchase Program

I was right about Apple's plans to repurchase its own stock. I guess I was a little surprised by the quarterly dividend and the amount of money it plans to spend ($45b over 3 years).

Then I realized Apple earned $13b profit last quarter and it's only going to grow. $15b x 4 quarters = $60b PROFIT PER YEAR.

Not all of their profit will be used for the share buy back/dividend, but Apple can easily afford it and still have MORE cash (specially after you factor in cash inflow from its investing activities).

beatleon Apple Conference Call

That would be the best use of their cash. but not the most capital efficient. Wall Street won't like it.

beatleon Apple Conference Call

More likely a major share repurchase. check my other post below for an explanation.

beatleon Apple Conference Call

>Market expectations for inflation are usually factored into interest rates already.

Actually that is not true. Historically Interest rates on currency-based investments have not caught up with inflation and taxes. Majority of Apple's cash is invested in long-term securities though so their investment is protected from inflation.

beatleon Apple Conference Call

>at the rate of inflation that is likely to occur over the next several years, holding that much cash is a huge mistake

Actually majority of Apple's cash is invested in long-term and short-term securities so they are protected from inflation.

I don't think Apple will pay a dividend.

1. the Massive increase in Apple's stock price is more than enough compensation for shareholders. A dividend will just be drop in the bucket compared to the capital gains investors are going to earn in the next months or years. Paying dividends at this stage is a waste of money.

2. Apple's PE is around 16. AAPL is still VERY cheap. Compared to Google(20) and Amazon(134), both companies not nearly as profitable as Apple.

3. There is still a lot of room for growth (TVs, China, NFC, etc.).

4. Stock buybacks is more tax-efficient compared to paying dividends since the investors will have to pay the 15% tax rate if they get paid dividends.

5. Share repurchase may FURTHER increase stock price since it will increase EPS, ROE (Return on Equity) and ROA (Return on Asset) and decrease PE. Improved financial ratios will make the stock look even more attractive to investors.

CONCLUSION:

Given these 5 factors. I believe Apple WILL NOT pay a dividend.

Apple will instead perform a share repurchase.

beatleon Khan Academy iPad app launched

Sorry I wasn't very clear. generally speaking this is a bad idea but it works great if you have a small table.

1) in my ViewDidLoad I create an array of cells.

2) Then in my cellForRowAtIndexPath, I return the particular cell in my array.

- (UITableViewCell )tableView:(UITableView )tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath {

NSUInteger row = [indexPath row];

return [cellArray objectAtIndex:row]; }

beatleon How a Google Search Unraveled Mike Daisey’s Apple-Foxconn Story

The motivation was not "pure". Mike Daisey lied for money and self-promotion.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

Wrong. Mike Daisey presented his lies AS FACTS to reputable news organizations.

Here’s a transcript of his appearance on the Ed Schultz show on MSNBC:

SCHULTZ: OK. What did you see?

DAISEY: I saw all the things that everyone has been reporting on. I saw under-age workers. I talked to workers who were 13, 14, 15 years old. I met people whose hands have been destroyed from doing the same motion again and again on the line, carpal tunnel on a scale we can hardly imagine.

SCHULTZ: Making Apple products?

DAISEY: Yes. And making products across the electronics industry. All our electronics are made in this fashion.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

note: it's a fabrication.

in the words of Mike Daisey: "I used a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell a story"

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

And sell the video on iTunes :)

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

Big difference.

James Frey lied about his own personal experience and Henry Blodget was involved in securities fraud. They are relatively unknown outside their industry.

Mike Daisey told lies that he presented to news organizations, blogs, etc. as facts -- for money and self-promotion at the expense of a well respected company. CNN, NYTimes, The Washington Post, etc. wrote articles based on Mike Daisey's lies. In my view this is similar to what happened to Dan Rather a few years ago. People will forget, but they will remember.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

note: brudgers is Mike Daisey's publicist.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

>Money is the best explanation for the PR push behind your email.

Your statement however is worthy of a WOW.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

what do you think about James Frey and Henry Blodget?

exactly.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

I hope you enjoyed your 5-min of fame Mike Daisey because your reputation is now completely and irrevocably ruined.

beatleon This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

The public radio broadcaster said that the segment’s creator, Mike Daisey, had fabricated key details in his report. Although Daisey did actually travel to Shenzhen and speak with Foxconn workers, he later told This American Life that he should have been more forthcoming in his work -

adding “this is theater,” he said. “Not journalism.”

unbelievable. shameless.

beatleon Apple Shares Hit $600 Ahead of iPad Release

Buy commodities, sell brands.

-Warren Buffet

beatleon Kevin Rose Will Join Google

Right. He can partner with or hire one of the thousands of developers available out there.

beatleon Apple Shares Hit $600 Ahead of iPad Release

proper valuation is the key. Investment bankers use several valuation methods to determine a value of the company. the most common method is the discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. This is what these so-called analysts do all day.

If you've ever studied finance, you'll get an even better appreciation of Apple and why it's doing everything right with regards to how they manage their cash, acquisitions, dividend/cash buyback policy, supply chain management, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discounted_cash_flow

beatleon Apple Shares Hit $600 Ahead of iPad Release

people replace their phones,ipads,laptops,TVs, etc. did I mention NFC?

beatleon Apple Shares Hit $600 Ahead of iPad Release

Apple's PE is only 17. ridiculously low considering Apple's revenue/profit/cash growth. Google's PE = 20. Amazon's PE = 134. Both not growing nearly as fast as Apple.

1. Apple's Last quarterly earnings DID NOT include China's iPhone 4S sales. Plenty of room for growth.

2. the iTV will be another billion dollar revenue stream for Apple.

3. NFC. Apple earning $$$ each time 100+ million people use their iPhone/iPod touch to pay for something? we're looking at a whole new ball game fellas.