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Apple enjoys free Super Bowl advertising courtesy of NY Giants
While some tech pundits are bemoaning Apple's lack of ads during the Super Bowl on Sunday (the company hasn't run an ad during the big game for years), The Street's Jim Cramer is taking another view and one that is much more rooted in reality. Apple didn't need to pay for expensive Super Bowl air time, because the World Champion NY Giants provided tons of free advertising for the iPhone. As Cramer noted, "... there was one ad that struck me as the most honest, most riveting and most compelling of all. You see, the game had just ended, and Colts great Raymond Berry ran the Giant gantlet with the Lombardi Trophy. Suddenly it seemed like every other Giant pulled out an Apple iPhone to snap pictures of the moment. One after another after another. And I said to myself, there it is, not some pet dangling a bag of chips or some headlights killing vampires or King Elton getting trapdoored. Nope, there was an ad worthy of Steve Jobs and the company he built." Cramer went on to say "To me, the endorsement of Apple by real athletes who were not paid, especially when contrasted with the gift of the GM Corvette that Eli Manning didn't even seem to care about -- 'Eli, the keys, the keys, don't forget the keys!' -- said it all ... when everyone else is paying $3 million per commercial, Apple paid nothing and easily had the best ad of all." To see what Cramer's talking about, just check out the YouTube video below and count the number of iPhones that you see snapping photos and shooting video of Raymond Berry and the Lombardi Trophy. Amazing...
Consumer Reports optimistic about Verizon iPhone
Remember those warm summer days last year when the iPhone 4 was fresh from the Apple tree, and Consumer Reports said it couldn't recommend the smartphone because of the "grip of death" reception issues? Well, now that the Verizon iPhone is hitting the streets, the famous consumer advocacy and product testing group is weighing in on the newest variety of iPhone. Although Consumer Reports hasn't yet had an opportunity to actually test the Verizon iPhone, The Street is reporting that Senior Editor Mike Gikas says "key technical differences" separate the phone from the AT&T model. Does this mean that Consumer Reports may give the Verizon iPhone a thumbs-up? We'll have to wait to see the results of their detailed testing. You can watch The Street's interview of Gikas on the next page.
Word on TheStreet is that you shouldn't buy an iPhone 4
Two things are for certain: the iPhone 4 will be a huge success and there will be plenty of places that look to cash in by writing link bait headlines. Yahoo (remember them? They're the search engine you used before Google) jumps right in with 5 reasons not to buy the iPhone 4. Well, that's what it's called on their front page where it is prominently linked. When you click through it's actually titled: "5 Big Blemishes for the Apple iPhone 4" so you can see they're ramping up the hyperbole machine. The story is actually syndicated from TheStreet.com (home of Jim "didn't see the economic crisis coming" Cramer), and is written by Scott Moritz, whose track record is so poor someone has compiled a list of his bad calls. The article doesn't say that you shouldn't buy one, it says "[t]here are, however, a few shortcomings." Really, Sherlock? Here's a clue for you: every device has a few shortcomings, but let's see what shortcomings Scott found. Read on for more...
Rumors of a Pre-less Verizon "off base" according to analysts
A dubious rumor from The Street floating around about how Verizon was snubbing the Pre due to lackluster sales and no outlet for its VCast Store (which was a bit too thin to make it onto these virtual pages, in fact) has been questioned by a couple of analysts today. According to Deutsche Bank's Jonathan Goldberg and Morgan Keegan & Co's Tavis McCourt, a combination of supply chain orders and Palm's own 2010 financial projections -- not to mention Verizon's long history with Palm -- all point to a Pre launch on Verizon early next year, as previously rumored by the WSJ and confirmed by Verizon itself in July. Jonathan specifically called the new rumor "off base" and "incorrect," while Tavis says that "We do not have insight as to the marketing support Palm will get from Verizon, but we see little risk in not getting a placement at this carrier." Analyst fight! Read - Analyst debunk on AllThingsD Read - Original story on The Street
Analyst: PS3 dragging down Sony
Add one more name to the media dog pile that has developed around Sony since the company's launch of the PS3. RealMoney's Michael Comeau recently told readers that the slow start for the system was "only one of many reasons to avoid shares of the consumer-electronics conglomerate, but it's certainly the most important."Comeau cited Sony's unflagging support for Blu-ray as the PS3's Achilles heel, causing higher costs and production delays "with no discernible improvement in game quality." Ouch! A harsh assessment, and one Kaz Hirai would no doubt disagree with. Comeau also felt that the loss of previous Sony exclusives like Grand Theft Auto and Virtua Fighter and the early hype surrounding the Nintendo Wii will hurt Sony's gaming market share.Why is that important to the investors that Comeau writes for? Well, while gaming only provides 10 percent of Sony's revenue, it accounts for over 60 percent of their profits, leading Comeau to predict a declining video game market share for Sony will dramatically drag down profits for the entire company. What's more, increased competition in other consumer electronics like high-definition TVs lead Comeau to say "it is nearly impossible for me to come up with a bullish case for Sony." Double ouch!
