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| HTC's Peter Chou: We Don't Pay Apple $6-$8 per Android Phone | |  HTC is happy with its recent patent dispute settlement with Apple, and the media estimates the company is paying Apple $6 - $8 for every Android phone it sells are wrong, claims HTC CEO Peter Chou. "I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number, but I'm not going to comment anything on a specific number. I believe we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending," Chou said at a KDDI Corp product launch in Tokyo. In November 2012, HTC has announced it has ended its patent dispute with Apple, without giving away any specifics about the agreement. "HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation," Chou said at the time. The $6-$8 price range comes from Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu, which cited multiple industry sources. Wu himself called that price range "reasonable." |
| These 3 Charts Tell the Story of Intel's Otellini Era | | Monday, November 19, 2012 4:55 PM | Quartz |
|  Today investors neutrally greet the news that Intel boss Paul Otellini will step down in May after eight years at the helm of the chip giant. Otellini officially ascended to the corner office on May 18, 2005. Here's a look at three charts that detail key parts of the story of his tenure. First, Intel's market capitalization shrank by roughly 37% during Otellini's term. Of course, Intel has been dealing with the same industry trends as other chip makers, including the rise of tablet computing. Here's a look at how its stock price has done, in comparison to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, a broad barometer of chip-maker stocks. During the Otellini era, Intel shares are down 22%. The broader index is down 15%. But what really matters isn't Intel's performance against similar chip makers, but the comparison with the explosive share price of ARM Holdings, the designer of the most popular kind of chips for smartphones. Intel, by contrast, mainly makes chips for personal computers. Intel's inability to react to the rise of smartphones and tablets could end up being Otellini's main legacy. Image courtesy of Flickr, Mitchell Weinstock, qtschlepper |
| Apple Stock Jumps More Than 7% After Falling to 6-Month Low | | Monday, November 19, 2012 11:47 AM | Seth Fiegerman |
|  Apple's stock just had an insanely great day. The company's stock jumped by more than 7% in trading Monday, ending the day at $565.73 a share, its highest point in nearly two weeks. Prior to this, Apple's stock had been on a two-month long decline, which culminated in the stock falling to a six-month low on Thursday and the company's market cap falling below $500 billion. The stock began to slip in late September as investors began to worry about supply constraints after the company reported lower-than-expected iPhone 5 sales. The decline has been further exacerbated in recent weeks by several factors, including news of an executive shakeup, a lower-than-expected profit margin for the December quarter and reports that Apple's share of the tablet market has declined significantly -- not to mention general instability in the stock market from the U.S. election and European debt crisis. At the end of last week, some were saying there was no bottom in sight for the stock, but this week two analysts expressed renewed confidence in the stock, which appears to have helped turn it around. Brian White, an analyst with Topeka Capital Markets, wrote in a research note that the sell off of Apple stock "has gotten to the point of being 'insanely insane' given the depressed valuation, new blockbuster products for the holiday season, the attractive long-term growth opportunities that lie ahead and the Company's ability to distribute significant cash flow to investors." Scott Craig, an analyst with Merrill Lynch, lowered his price target on Apple to $780 a share from $840 previously, but noted that he remains positive about the stock. "Although we do not expect these uncertainties to alleviate near term, we remain positive on current product cycles and believe the stock offers a very attractive balance of growth and value," Craig said in a research note, via Fortune. Apple's stock is still down about 20% from its all-time high of $705 a share.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Dennis Goedegebuure. Bonus gallery:10 Excellent iPad Apps You Should Download Right Now |
| Target's 9 Best Black Friday Deals | | Monday, November 19, 2012 11:21 AM | Christine Erickson |
|  Black Friday is nearly upon us. Before stepping into the trenches of retail war, be sure to do your research. The infamous day of deals has become more complicated as shoppers move online. It used to be that Black Friday was reserved for physical storefronts, and Cyber Monday was dedicated to online spending. But the two have merged to become three to five days of retail madness. SEE ALSO: How to Avoid These Top 5 Black Friday Traps Target's Black Friday deals are pretty straightforward, but keep in mind all sales vary and are only available until supplies last. It's basically broken up into three tiers of sales, depending what your up for. Average Shoppers: Look for Target's regular doorbuster deals. The items listed will be on sale in stores and online from Thursday at 9 p.m. to Saturday, Nov. 24. Hardcore Shoppers: For those prepared to wait in line for a very limited number of marked-down products, Target's "Bonus Doorbusters" begin at 4 a.m. Friday morning. They are available in stores only, and typically run out before the line even gets into the store. Plan accordingly. Online Shoppers: There are a few sales exclusive to online shoppers. They will begin on Thanksgiving day, but the real Internet deals will be available the following Cyber Monday. Image courtesy of Flickr, partymonstrrrr |
| Samsung Pulls 'Disturbing' Ad Comparing Laptop to a Puppy | | Monday, November 19, 2012 11:06 AM | Todd Wasserman |
|  Samsung pulled an ad that compared a laptop to a puppy because "it was clearly upsetting people," a rep from Samsung's ad agency says. The company introduced the ad called "Don't Give Up on Puppy Love!" early Monday. The ad. which promoted Samsung's Solid State Drives, showed consumers getting fed up with their PCs and then physically attacking them. Via animation, Samsung superimposed a big-eyed face that looked like a puppy onto the PCs. The juxtaposition was disturbing for some, who charged that the ad was condoning animal abuse. (For those curious about the ad, it was still available here at this writing.) "I'm actually a bit emotionally disturbed after viewing the early scenes of the ad," wrote one. "I'm an animal lover and have a number of pets at home and this brings up a very strong emotional reaction from me." Another added, "Samsung's ad agency should quit smoking this bad stuff. Seriously, WTF." A rep for the ad agency behind the effort, The Viral Factory, says that, despite some speculation, the ad was commissioned by Samsung and was up on one of the company's official YouTube channels. The Viral Factory's last ad for Samsung's SSDs -- which featured the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme -- went over better, racking up more than 3 million views so far on YouTube. Samsung reps could not be reached for comment on the latest ad. |
| Gilt's Black Friday Deals Are Awesome ... If You Can Find Them | | Monday, November 19, 2012 10:25 AM | Joann Pan |
|  Daily deals purveyor Gilt Groupe is giving shoppers a reason to stay in bed and rest off those tryptophan-induced hangovers. On Thanksgiving Day, the luxury-brands-for-less retailer is offering mobile-only sales starting at 9 p.m. EST. That means there's time to mingle, taste all the side dishes and enjoy dessert before going into full Black Friday shopping mode. Mobile consumers can also preview the full Black Friday sale that night before everyone else on Gilt.com and the Gilt to Go app (available on iOS and Android). The next morning, Gilt promises mobile-only doorbuster sales worth waking up for at 6 a.m. You'll only have until 9 p.m., however, to virtually grab what you can. And at 12 p.m. the website will "misprice" mystery items for customers to find on the site -- expect exclusive designer items for $20 to $40. Gilt won't tell customers where the misplaced items are, so happy hunting. SEE ALSO: The Woman Behind the $1 Billion Gilt Groupe While Gilt Groupe offers deep discounts 365 days of the year, some think the best deals come after Thanksgiving. On Cyber Monday this year, the ecommerce giant will launch a new sale, dubbed The Free Fall, at 11:45 a.m. sharp. "This is a brand new sale format, where there will be specific sales in Gilt's Women's, Men's, Home and Taste stores that will only be available for about five to ten minutes, and throughout that time, the prices will continue to drop until the sale ends," a Gilt Groupe spokesperson told Mashable via email. At noon, the sale will feature "over-the-top gifts." New Free Fall sales will start at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Expect flash sales on designer clothing, baby wear, home goods, food and wine and other categories. Smartphone Black Friday sales are expected to be huge this year as ecommerce companies directly compete with brick-and-mortar stores by offering online- and mobile-only deals at peak store hours. Thanksgiving weekend shoppers are expected to double this year from last. Will you be skipping the long lines in favor of virtual Black Friday deals? Tell us in the comments. Bonus: More Black Friday Deals Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Geber86 |
| Microsoft Sends Rep Out to Personally Dis the iPhone, Android [VIDEO] | | Monday, November 19, 2012 9:13 AM | Todd Wasserman |
|  It's the classic source of angst for a marketer: If only people could actually see how good this product is, then they'd understand. For Microsoft, it must be especially frustrating. The company feels there are features to Windows Phone 8 that are so good that any reasonable person would swap their iPhone or Android if they just saw Microsoft's phone up close and personal. That's the apparent impetus behind a new round of videos featuring Ben "The PC Guy" Rudolph. The videos show Rudolph meeting strangers and then talking up superior features of the Win 8 Phone. In the video above, he interrupts a couple's dinner to show them how much better the Nokia Lumia 920 is versus the iPhone. In the video below, he challenges a woman to a text-off with her HTC phone and wins handily. After each instance, he gives the participants the Lumia 920. SEE ALSO: Can Mashable's Apple Fangirl Switch to the Lumia 920? Microsoft is reaching into its old playbook for this variation of the Pepsi Challenge. In February, the company dispatched Rudolph for the same mission with the Windows Phone. That program, "Smoked By Windows Phone," hit a snag when a participant in a challenge claimed it was rigged. (Rudolph later apologized.) Before that, in 2009, Microsoft ran an ad campaign called "Laptop Hunters" that featured putative real consumers saving money by buying Windows-based PCs rather than Apple's comparable but pricier models. Microsoft also promoted its Zune MP3 player by taking potshots at the iPod that year. It's unclear whether the tactic will work this time around. However, if Microsoft was somehow able to clone Rudolph and have him run the same comparison with the tens of millions of people who own iPhones and Android devices, it might just do the trick. Bonus Gallery: Nokia Lumia 920: A Big Phone With a Killer Camera |
| 10 Black Friday Deals You Can't Afford to Miss | | Monday, November 19, 2012 7:50 AM | Matt Petronzio |
|  Elbowing through masses of gift-hungry shoppers on Black Friday is an apt introduction to the stressful holiday shopping season. Those who have ever ventured into this day of retailer chaos know that it can be tense and even dangerous. But it helps if you have a game plan. SEE ALSO: How to Avoid These Top 5 Black Friday Traps If you're compelled to take advantage of the major deals retailers offer on the Friday after Thanksgiving, make sure you check out store websites and ads ahead of time to figure out what you'd like to purchase. We've compiled some of the best deals we've seen to help you weed through the hundreds of offers out there. Note that some of the deals we've listed above aren't actually available until Black Friday -- Nov. 23, 2012. Do you plan to purchase any of these items? Tell us what's on your shopping list. |
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