Some consumers getting rid of all gadgets - and replacing them with iPhone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Research in Motion (RIMM) upgrades e-mail function on BlackBerry

Research in Motion (RIMM) upgrades e-mail function on BlackBerry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The new product turnaround at Motorola (NYSE: MOT) may already be crippled. One analyst, quoted by Bloomberg said, "The Razr 2 didn't set the world on fire and it won't be a phenomenon like the original one."

The cause of Motorola's problem with its newest product may be the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, which appears to have sold more than two million units in the last quarter of 2007.

While the RAZR2 may be a better product than its predecessor, Apple, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Samsung and Sony Ericsson have all introduced similar products to take advantage of the high-end multimedia handset space. Motorola may be squeezed out of a market it helped create.

With its shares trading just above $13, near a 52-week low, a weak fourth quarter earnings report could take the stock much closer to $10.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Has iPhone killed the new Motorola RAZR2? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Riddle me this Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) bulls, gadget lovers, and self-identified nerds: why should I get excited about new iPods if my existing one doesn't work right now?

Much I love my iPod, it drives me bonkers. Sometimes my podcasts don't update even though I make sure that my software is updated. Sometimes the iTunes doesn't recognize it. Sometimes, I can only play music I downloaded from my CDs. Oh, how can I forget the times it's crashed.

Tech companies including Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) all follow the same product introduction playbook. They introduce a device or Internet feature before the bugs are worked out in the hopes that consumers will give them "feedback" about problems they should have caught themselves. Good thing for Apple that the iPod is so cool that people will put up with this nonsense, but it is irritating.

Apple seems to expect me to buy new, expensive devices every few years that in theory should have fixed the problems in the old iPods though likely they will have their own set of problems for consumers to sort out.

About the only help that consumer can get is "support" documentation that's written by geeks for other geeks.

That seems to be the way things work in the digital age and that's sad.

New iPods? Apple (AAPL) should get the existing ones to work right first originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Is Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone a flop? That's what the stock market seems to think, judging from the decline in the share price of Apple and the phone's exclusive vendor AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), after the telecom company reported disappointing sales numbers.

AT&T, which also had lackluster earnings, signed up 146,000 iPhone customers in the first two days of sales, below analysts' forecasts of more than 500,000, according to Reuters. How meaningful is this? After all, there is no possible way analysts could have accurately predicted sales of the iPhone since it's so unique. About the best analysts could do is make educated guesses, which have proven to be wrong.

Continue reading Is the iPhone a flop?

Is the iPhone a flop? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Top five gadgets to avoid gives a peek into companies' technology strategies and consumer response

Top five gadgets to avoid gives a peek into companies' technology strategies and consumer response originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As an admitted gadget idiot, I ought to be drawn to Verizon Communications Inc.'s (NYSE:VZ) Chocolate and Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (NYSE:S) Fusic phones. After all, wouldn't it be better to have one device to play your music and make telephone calls. It's one less expensive thing that can be left in a restaurant or lost in a taxi. Still, I am not ready to take the plunge yet.

Apple Computer Inc.'s (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPod is so simple to use that even a caveman can use it. I really don't care for now that I can't make a phone call over my iPod. I would rather have a good MP3 and a good cell phone rather than a mediocre device that does multiple things.

That's why I am curious about what will come of the reported alliance between Apple and Cingular. CNNMoney points out that if the report in the Wall Street Journal proves accurate, this is bad news for Verizon and Sprint, which unlike Cingular use CDMA technology while Cingular uses the more common GSM. Other attempts to sell iPod phones have flopped because they weren't very good.

For technophobes like me to buy a new device, it has to be durable (we drop stuff a lot) and easy to use. I can be persuaded to give up my temperamental iPod if something great came along to replace it. Ditto for my cell phone. So, I'll check out what's going to come out from Apple and Cingular.

The companies might consider selling clips for their device like the ones kids have for their mittens. It would sure save me a lot of aggravation.

Jonathan Berr is the editor of http://www.desperateinvestors.com.

Apple's iPod is tough to beat -- even a gadget idiot like me knows that originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Jan 2007 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Engadget Index up $19.20 on first day 'trading' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.