Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Apple Tankwatch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rnsmth who wrote (3602)	4/11/2011 3:11:22 AM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 32692

Apple’s Achilles heel: Connectivity issues plague Verizon iPad By Carl Bagh \| April 11, 2011 3:02 AM EDT ibtimes.com iPad and iPhone users were exulted hoping their woes with AT&T were over when Apple announced the launch of its devices on Verizon network. However, the promise of seamless connectivity from Verizon seems to have eluded the owners of iPad 2, as WSJ reported that Apple has confirmed that Verizon iPad 2 owners are, indeed, having problems connecting to Verizon Wireless 3G data network. Some iPad 2 owners vented out their frustration on online forums stating that when they turn off the 3G data connection, they have to reboot the system to connect to 3G. A forum member Nixxon2000 stated the problem in Apple Discussions forum: "When I try to connect to the cellular data it just says iPad or Searching in the top of the screen. It did work last night. If I do a hard reset I can get it to work. Switching Airplane mode on and off to reset the modem does NOT work." Must Read An Insider’s view of workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant.An Insider’s view of workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant (PHOTOS) House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer Government Shutdown: 1995 Shows What Could Have Been Sponsorship Link How to make money from gold investment Another forum member Austin M. noted: "I'm having a similar issue, except mine always says "roaming". Nothing I've tried so far gets me to Verizon. Occasionally I'll toggle airplane mode and 3G on/off and Verizon pops up but only for a moment them it switches back to roaming." Forum member Jonsteinberg wrote: "I can't get data Verizon data to work without first rebooting after I turn cellular on." Connectivity issues have come to haunt Apple again after its antenna-gate issue erupted in July 2010, when users reported cases of signal-loss in the then newly launched AT&T iPhone 4. The problem was caused by the way the phone was held -- "death grip." The solution to the current Verizon 3G problem is to turn the cellular data on and then reboot the tablet. While Apple has is investigating the issue there are many more users thoroughly frustrated venting out their anger. Forum member Dambuilder stated: "Spoke to Verizon tech support last evening about the same problem. Had to go up about three levels before I reached someone that acknowledged that the constant roaming indication is a bug that they presently have no solution for. They had me reset my device but that did nothing. The workaround is to turn on data roaming which they claim is free anyway as long as you are in the US. That works for me for the near term but expect V to comeup with a solution. No timetable was discssed." The issue lingers on. Read more: ibtimes.com

To: rnsmth who wrote (3602)	4/11/2011 3:15:17 AM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 32692

PARADISE LOST: Why This Verizon iPhone Convert Went Back To AT&T Dan Frommer \| Apr. 10, 2011, 9:10 AM \| 4,972 \| comment 9 businessinsider.com Spark Capital VC Bijan Sabet dumped his Verizon iPhone and went back to AT&T. What!? To a casual observer, this may sound crazy. Wasn't AT&T ruining the iPhone? Wasn't Verizon supposed to rescue it? The truth is that each carrier has its limitations. In a blog post, Sabet explains why he went back to AT&T: "The inability to use data while on a call is frustrating. I tether my MacBook air to my phone and so this limitation sucks. Or when I'm talking to [my wife] Lauren and we are trying to choose a restaurant. Or talking about a business deal and I can’t talk and review a document that the sender wants me to review." "Verizon may have a better voice network but I felt the speed difference on the data side. 3G on Verizon is much slower than AT&T. And I often saw my Verizon phone in 2G mode." No real international roaming. "I get out of the United States a few times a year. In that scenario, the Verizon iPhone turns into an iPod touch. Not what I need." (In a previous post earlier this year, Sabet had said that with wifi in more places, and Skype for iPhone, he thought he could manage. But speaking from our experience, there's a big difference between roaming that's always on, and wifi hotspots which can be hard to fine and increasingly require a login, password, and fee. This is something Apple can address in the future with a hybrid CDMA-GSM iPhone.) "And lastly the Verizon iPhone felt like prison. I like the ability to move my SIM card to different handsets and try new devices. Last week i was at dinner with Peter Rojas and he showed me the new GSM Motorola Android phone. I can’t just pick up that phone and give it a try with Verizon. I’m locked in tight." Now, you could argue that these are power-user problems, which most people won't have to deal with, or won't even think about. Verizon's 90+ million customers have had to live with these limitations forever. And, Sabet lives in Boston -- not New York or San Francisco, where AT&T service is perceived as being the worst. (Though he travels to both on business regularly.) So we'll stop short of saying that this will become a trend. But it is interesting to see a power user like Sabet dump AT&T and return. Read more: businessinsider.com

To: rnsmth who wrote (3602)	4/11/2011 3:40:11 AM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32692

HTC profit triples, sales double from year ago on massive Android smartphone demand April 8, 2011 6:22 AM PDT by Lance Whitney news.cnet.com Smartphone maker HTC took home record profits and revenue in the first quarter thanks to surging consumption of its smartphone lineup. For the quarter ended March 31, the Taiwanese company earned $14.8 billion in Taiwan dollars (US$513 million), almost triple the NT$5 billion profit from the year-ago quarter. Net income easily surpassed the average analyst estimate of NT$12.8 billion as compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue soared to NT$104.2 billion, a gain of almost 175 percent from the prior year and a leap over the NT$95 billion forecast by the average analyst, said Bloomberg. HTC has been a major beneficiary of the rising demand for Android phones, especially those offering higher 4G speeds. Sold through Sprint, the HTC Evo 4G was the first 4G phone to hit the market. Adding to its high-speed lineup, the company recently unveiled the Thunderbolt through Verizon Wireless and the Inspire through AT&T. Though HTC didn't reveal the number of smartphones shipped during the first quarter, it had announced in January that it expected to ship 8.5 million handsets, up 157 percent from a year ago. Looking ahead, HTC is branching out into the tablet market with its upcoming 7-inch Flyer, aka Evo View, slated to launch this spring. HTC's market value recently surpassed that of global leader and rival Nokia, reported All Things D and other sources. The company is now worth around $33.8 billion, inching past Nokia's market capitalization of $32.84 billion. Read more: news.cnet.com

To: rnsmth who wrote (3602)	4/11/2011 3:41:34 AM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 32692

HTC Posts Record Sales, Profit on Demand for ‘ThunderBolt’, Smartphones By Tim Culpan - Apr 8, 2011 5:00 AM CT bloomberg.com Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou said, HTC “suffered” from a shortage of materials last year because the company “wasn’t ready for such high growth.” Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg HTC Corp. (2498), the Taiwanese company which overtook Nokia Oyj this week as the world’s third-largest phonemaker by market value, posted record quarterly profit and sales on demand for smartphones. Net income almost tripled to NT$14.8 billion ($513 million) in the first quarter from NT$5 billion a year earlier, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in a statement today. That was higher than the NT$12.8 billion average of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales more than doubled as HTC benefited from rising demand for smartphones that use Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android system and models that offer higher connection speeds. Profit may gain further this quarter as the company begins selling new devices including its first tablet computer, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. “We expect HTC’s new model launches in the second quarter to drive stronger shipment growth than peers in the next two quarters,” Jeff Pu, an analyst at Fubon Financial Holding Co. in Taipei who recommends investors “buy” the stock, wrote in a report yesterday. HTC said Jan. 21 it expected to ship 8.5 million units for the quarter, more than double that of a year earlier and its second-highest following the 9.1 million sold in the fourth quarter. It didn’t provide first-quarter shipment numbers today. Net income may climb in the second quarter to NT$16.4 billion, according to the median of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg in the past 28 days. ThunderBolt Vs Iphone Revenue rose to NT$104.2 billion, beating HTC’s own forecast for NT$94 billion, and surpassing the NT$95 billion average of 20 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That figure may climb to NT$112 billion this quarter, according to analyst estimates from the past 28 days. The company’s ThunderBolt handset, using fourth-generation high speed networks, equaled sales of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone in 61 percent of the 150 Verizon Wireless stores surveyed by New York- based BTIG LLC, analyst Walter Piecyk wrote in a March 31 report. ThunderBolt outsold iPhone in 28 percent of stores, according to the survey. “Several respondents indicated that the store lines were longer for the first day of the ThunderBolt launch than they were for the iPhone,” Piecyk wrote. “Verizon sales people indicated that sales of the iPhone were still strong but they simply noted that the ThunderBolt was as strong if not stronger.” The Taiwanese company’s first tablet, HTC Flyer, was unveiled on Feb. 15. Sales will begin in the second quarter, rivaling Apple’s iPad and Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy. Flyer has a smaller screen and higher-resolution camera than Apple’s iPad2. Overtaking Nokia HTC’s stock, which has tripled in the past year, fell 3.3 percent to NT$1,160 at the 1:30 p.m. close of Taipei trading before the earnings were announced. Its market value surpassed that of Nokia on April 6, putting it behind only Apple and Samsung, before dropping back below the Finnish rival in trading today. Global shipments of smartphones climbed 72 percent last year, more than double the 32 percent growth in the wider mobile devices market, researcher Gartner Inc. said in a Feb. 9 statement. Smartphones, the only type of phone HTC makes, accounted for 19 percent of market shipments last year, it said. Google’s Android operating system, which HTC uses for its handsets and tablets, will run on 49 percent of smartphones sold globally next year, from 39 percent this year and 23 percent last year, Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner said in a statement yesterday. The software platform will stay ahead of Research in Motion Inc.’s BlackBerry, and Apple’s iOS, it said. None of the 36 analyst recommendations compiled by Bloomberg advise investors to sell HTC while 29 say “buy” the stock. To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Culpan in Taipei at tculpan1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net