[JonCBK]

Oh I know...I was just venting a bit... didn't mean to single out your post..
Cheers.


Posted via CB10

While I agree Samsung would not lie about its sales publicly, they do pretty much just deliver numbers that include sales to resellers. So their numbers for the GS4 might be the phones that made it into customers hands, or they might be phones that are still in shop inventories. Now, the GS4 is a good phone and every GS4 that is currently sitting in a shop's inventory will eventually be sold to a customer. We are at least half a year away from having to think about returned unsold stock. So it is probably okay for Samsung to report everything it shipped out the door as a "sold" phone. But we really don't know how many customers actually have bought those phones so far. And the lack of lines at stores is telling. It really takes just a huge amount of activity to sell millions of anything. Especially something where the act of buying takes about 20 minutes (that seems about right if you are buying a phone in store and getting it activated, but maybe you could do it a little faster).

[z10fido]

Apple does not constrain supply in fact unlike bbry they ensure there are hundreds of devices in stock and you can go buy one off contract no issues if u want to line up. They post hundreds of thousands of sales on day one. That's not sign of supply constraint. Now others do choke supply to give the impression of demand. Apple does not

Posted via CB10

[hurds]

Apple does not supply constrain. Apple does not supply constrain. Why people think that, I just don't know. Cutting edge technology that needs to get duplicated 10 million times for a specific sale on a launch date is hard. And frankly since manufacturing mistakes can be made, it isn't even really prudent to run all the manufacturing lines full out for weeks before really testing the products in real world conditions fully.

But the whole constraint idea is wrong. It just is not what they are doing. They want to sell and they want to sell as many of their devices as they can before new technology makes what they are selling obsolete. They like the lines. But considering they fulfill their orders, they have given us all options to avoid the line by ordering online. The lines are more of a social event at this stage or for folks who forget to order online but who get swept up in the hype.

But it most definitely is not because Apple turns to a manufacturer and tells them to send everyone home for a half day because Apple wants supply constrained. That is not what is going on.

I disagree. They built their brand on supply constraint. Many things point to this. High initial price at launch. Limited releases for purchase locations. Limited countries. Limited carriers with the phone.

It may not be your vision of supply constraint were "Apple turns to a manufacturer and tells them to send everyone home for a half day because Apple wants supply constrained".


Apple built their brand on supply constraint .Thats a fact.


Its also something that will now hurt their brand since supply evenutally (if it hasn't already) surpass demand (although they'll try to hide the truth, as many companies would) and this is part of how their brand was built.

[hurds]

Apple does not constrain supply in fact unlike bbry they ensure there are hundreds of devices in stock and you can go buy one off contract no issues if u want to line up. They post hundreds of thousands of sales on day one. That's not sign of supply constraint. Now others do choke supply to give the impression of demand. Apple does not

Posted via CB10

yum. apple juice.



BB has a great advertising event where the theme was 'wake up'. Some people still haven't.

[Shanerredflag]

I don't know about about anyone else but I'm already getting excited for the ER #'s...I don't expect earth shattering (by our standards here) but am confident we should beat all the analysts projections by a significant margin and that should finally wipe out that friggin 18.15 resistance and turn it into support for the next quarter going forward.


Posted via CB10

[z10fido]

If they can sell near a million on launch day I'd hate to see an open supply. They air ship pallets of iPads and I phones to stores. The only constraint is how much the factories can produce.

Posted via CB10

[JonCBK]

I disagree. They built their brand on supply constraint. Many things point to this. High initial price at launch. Limited releases for purchase locations. Limited countries. Limited carriers with the phone.

It may not be your vision of supply constraint were "Apple turns to a manufacturer and tells them to send everyone home for a half day because Apple wants supply constrained".


Apple built their brand on supply constraint .Thats a fact.


Its also something that will now hurt their brand since supply evenutally (if it hasn't already) surpass demand (although they'll try to hide the truth, as many companies would) and this is part of how their brand was built.

I'm sure you are wrong about this. New products that are manufactured by someone else means Apple has to buy them from the manufacturer before it can sell them to the customer. Apple has probably historically conservatively underestimated demand for their new products. But that doesn't mean they were engaging in supply constraint as a marketing strategy. It means they were prudent and risk adverse and they didn't tell their manufacturers to produce millions (which creates storage issues) ahead of launch dates.

I've been through this discussion before and it gets a little tiresome. Folks who think there is supply constrain think that there is an infinite amount of manufacturers out there who can be trained and tested and specced out to produce a brand new device (one that requires cutting edge manufacturing techniques), they can run full steam for two weeks (so there isn't huge storage issues from the initial production), then get dropped to zero production after all of the entire worldwide demand is met on a specific launch day (because your belief is that a product is intentionally supply constrained if every person in the world who wants the device can't buy it on launch day). So the plan, for something like the iPhone is: sell 30 million on Tuesday, and then sell 30,000 a day going forward. So set up manufacturing capabilities that can either make 30 million or storage that can securely stockpile 30 million. And then cease manufacturing at 99% of your facilities so you can match your long term demand.

(And if you are numerically challenged, spend some time thinking about the difference in size between 30 million and 30,000. They are both large numbers but they are very different. For example, if you had $30,000 you could just about buy a nice new Audi A4. If you had $30 million, you could buy that car every single week of every year for the next 20 year.

There is no way to make a brand new technologically challenging device just appear in any number you want all over the world on the same day. Apple is fantastic at what they do and what they do is amazing. The hiccups you see are just products of reality.

[z10fido]

I don't know about about anyone else but I'm already getting excited for the ER #'s...I don't expect earth shattering (by our standards here) but am confident we should beat all the analysts projections by a significant margin and that should finally wipe out that friggin 18.15 resistance and turn it into support for the next quarter going forward.


Posted via CB10

Adding subscribers would help it rocket to 20. Would take a fee million new users though

Posted via CB10

[JonCBK]

I don't know about about anyone else but I'm already getting excited for the ER #'s...I don't expect earth shattering (by our standards here) but am confident we should beat all the analysts projections by a significant margin and that should finally wipe out that friggin 18.15 resistance and turn it into support for the next quarter going forward.


Posted via CB10

I agree. I suspect those Q10s are selling like hotcakes and they are selling at a really nice profit margin. Every day I see someone with a blackberry and I think, that is a future Q10 (or whatever replaces it) owner. Seriously, I want to see them here in the US and see how they go.

[Shanerredflag]

Adding subscribers would help it rocket to 20. Would take a fee million new users though

Posted via CB10

That's an interesting point...BIS is gone other than in certain jurisdictions so those subscriber numbers are bound to fall, however BES is now deployed in 12000 locations, will they report BES subscribers and licenses paid?

Posted via CB10

[CDM76]

That's an interesting point...BIS is gone other than in certain jurisdictions so those subscriber numbers are bound to fall, however BES is now deployed in 12000 locations, will they report BES subscribers and licenses paid?

Posted via CB10

Maybe a better (more accurate) way of measuring would be using active BBIDs ?
Well, at least until BBM goes multi-platform.

[greggebhardt]

I think, that after the markets close, there is too much over analyzing of what happened today and what might happen tomorrow. There will be more than enough time to worry and stress out tomorrow when the markets reopen. The market will once again be "alive" and will not be predicted.

Hope we all have a great day!

[CDM76]

Some light reading for 3 am :
http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/05/and...rging-markets/
"The analysts projected that sub-$100 and 5-inch Android phones will capture 80 percent of the growth opportunity in the global smartphone market. They believe that local Chinese vendors launching the “good enough” sub-$100 Android phones will drive the growth."

StreetInsider.com - BlackBerry (BBRY) Q10 Sales 'Strong' in Canada, Won't Help If U.S. Flops
"The results were similar to those we found with the Z10 shortly after its initial launch – a tepid reception in the UK and a much more positive response in Canada"

BlackBerry Gets Negative Reviews From Its Users: Study - Light Reading
"While other players like Samsung and Apple have clearly edged out BlackBerry from the no. 1 position in the smartphone market, consumer sentiments in social media gave a clear indication that BlackBerry has a long way to go to regain its lost glory."

Nothing really earth shattering here, and nothing all that great in terms of positive news. Still waiting for SOMETHING positive ....

[greggebhardt]

I don't know about about anyone else but I'm already getting excited for the ER #'s...I don't expect earth shattering (by our standards here) but am confident we should beat all the analysts projections by a significant margin and that should finally wipe out that friggin 18.15 resistance and turn it into support for the next quarter going forward.


Posted via CB10

I would get more excited about the next ER if I did not remember what happened at the last one!

[Charles Martin1]

I would get more excited about the next ER if I did not remember what happened at the last one!

I'm going to pull 50% the day before.

[Charles Martin1]

If there is going to be a blowout ER, I think a pre-release the week before of the number of Z10 phones sold, would be a perfect hype builder. Drive those shorts mad.

Then on the ER, share the number of Q10 phones sold and set off the fireworks.

The fact that TH has already said that he expects 10s of millions of the Q10s to sell this year should have us in a very, very good position. I'm thinking that he had given some insight into the actual demand that he was seeing, and was not making some off the cuff BS, and nobody really thought much about it for whatever reason.

[Scott Lefebvre]

I'm going to pull 50% the day before.

Wow that would take balls, I am more afraid of missing the potential upside
than a small pullback, one of these times its going to take off and I want to
be strapped in.

[Charles Martin1]

I think that we're going to have a very, very good ER. Much, much better than expected. I believe that a sell off immediately is going to happen regardless but will rebound quickly.

[bungaboy]

Doesn't sound too promising.

HTC managers depart as revenues dwindle and First delayed in UK

The Guardian

Thursday, May 23, 2013 9:55 PM GMT

Widespread departures in Asia, Europe and US lead former staffer to suggest friends there should 'just quit. Leave now' - as Everything Everywhere delays HTC First launch

Charles Arthur

Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC has seen an exodus of top managers as the company struggles to stay profitable amid falling revenues. Key figures including the chief product officer Kouji Koudera, Asian chief executive Lennard Hoornik, director of global communications Jason Gordon and five other senior staff have departed in recent months.

In another blow to the company, Facebook has delayed the European launch of the HTC "First" - the first and so far only phone to incorporate its "Home" app which takes over the Android home screen - following disappointing sales in the US which saw it axed after only a few weeks on sale.

With HTC's monthly revenues for the first four months of 2013 at under two-thirds of that for the same period in 2012, and first-quarter operating profits down by 99%, the company is struggling to cope with the growing power of South Korean rival Samsung, which announced on Thursday that it has shipped 10m units of its new Galaxy S4 smartphone less than a month after its formal launch - substantially faster than the 50 days its predecessor, the S3, took to reach the same mark.

Koudera's departure comes after HTC generally won plaudits from reviewers for the design of its HTC One flagship phone, which uses an aluminium case; many preferred it over the Galaxy S4. But the company has been unable to secure volume shipments in the way that Samsung - which owns its own production lines for screens and memory - does.

The mood inside HTC appears to be darkening, though. As first pointed out by The Verge, Eric Lin, formerly HTC's product strategy manager for two and a half years who quit the company in February to join Skype, suggested in a tweet "to all my friends still at HTC - just quit. Leave now. It's tough to do, but you'll be so much happier, I swear." Lin clarified that he actually uses the HTC First, and that "I think HTC makes great phones".

The next day he added "My heart goes out to the huge number of current and ex-HTC-ers who reached out to me today. I love you all." He suggested that "I don't miss the place, only the people" - perhaps implying that he disagreed with higher managers.

The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed HTC executive saying that the company had sold around five million of the One smartphone since its launch a month ago. As with Samsung's figure, those would have been shipped to carriers and wholesalers rather than necessarily being in the hands of users. The executive told the WSJ that orders "are still more than what we can supply".

Other recent departures from HTC include:
• Rebecca Rowland, global retail marketing manager, to Microsoft;
• Phil Roberson, UK and Ireland regional director
• Mike Coombes, UK and Ireland head of sales
• Florian Seiche, chief of Europe, Middle East and Africa
• John Starkweather, manager and worldwide director of digital marketing, joined AT&T

Meanwhile the HTC First, which was pulled off the market by the biggest carrier, AT&T, in the US after just over a month following what are believed to have been disappointing sales - which are expected to leave HTC with excess inventory - will not go on sale in the UK as scheduled this month.

In a statement, Facebook said: "We've listened to feedback from users on their experience using Home. While many people love it, we've heard a lot of great feedback about how to make Home substantially better. As a result we're focusing the next few months on adding customisation features that address the feedback we received. While we focus on making Home better, we are going to limit supporting new devices and think it makes a lot of sense for EE and Orange to hold off deploying the HTC First in Europe."

[Charles Martin1]

Nope, not at all. It's a venture they should never have started but now that they have, you know that they have to save face and make tweaks and release patches...in the end I think they quietly walk away from it.

[Charles Martin1]

Wow that would take balls, I am more afraid of missing the potential upside
than a small pullback, one of these times its going to take off and I want to
be strapped in.

Nah, I've seen the same pattern at all of our major events and I think that we can expect an attempt this time too. I've said after each of the others that I should've but didn't and so I will this time.

Besides, we're going to see a nice building of the SP going into the ER, which from this point could be as much as 25%.

[bungaboy]

Tough sledding for Nokia.

REVIEW: Nokia's Newest Lumia Still Isn't The Best Windows Phone (NOK, MSFT, VZ)

Business Insider

Thursday, May 23, 2013 5:20 PM GMT

Nokia has a unique approach to its smartphone business.

Even though it has other options, it still chooses to make its best phones with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system, which isn't nearly as popular as Google's Android. It's a bold bet that Windows Phones will be the next big thing, despite a lot of evidence to the contrary.

Late last year, Nokia introduced its top-tier 920 line of Lumia phones running Windows Phone. The first was the Lumia 920, which was only available on AT&T here in the US. This month it released a variation of that phone, the Lumia 928, as a Verizon exclusive.

On paper, the $100 Lumia 928 is pretty much the same phone as the Lumia 920. Most of the noteworthy changes are cosmetic, but there is a bigger emphasis on the camera this time around.

Here's the review.

Hardware And Design

Specs-wise, the Lumia 928 is nearly identical to the Lumia 920. There are a few minor changes like a different screen and new kind of camera flash, but most people won't notice a change in overall performance. The only reason the Lumia 928 even exists is because Verizon wanted an exclusive top-tier Lumia phone of its own. It's the same phone we got last year covered in a different shell.

And that's my biggest problem with the Lumia 928 –– its design. Whereas the Lumia 920 had a strikingly unique look to it, the Lumia 928 looks squared off and uglier than its older sister. It's thick, heavy, plasticky, and not nearly as fun to hold or use as its chief Windows Phone rival, the HTC Windows Phone 8x. Yes, on paper 10.1 mm doesn't sound very thick, but when you put the Lumia 928 next to an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S4, it looks like a brick.

On the other hand, Nokia fans tell me all the time they love that Lumia phones are thick and heavy. They say it makes for a more substantial phone that's less likely to crack if you drop it. They say the phone is thick because of Nokia's advanced camera hardware and wireless charging. They say I'm "a wimp" and "should go to the gym" if I think Nokia phones are too heavy.

Those are all fair assessments, but I still prefer my phone to be thin, light, and pretty. Not thick, plasticky, and bulky. I suggest going to the store and holding the Lumia 928 for a few minutes before you buy one.

Design aside, the Lumia 928 is a fine device and performs just as well as any other Windows Phone from HTC or Samsung. It has a 4.5-inch AMOLED display, which I think looks better than the type of display used on the older Lumia 920. Battery life is good too. In my experience, Windows Phones tend to last longer than Android phones and the iPhone, and the Lumia 928 comes with wireless charging if you buy a separate charging pad.

The Camera

Nokia is making a big fuss over the Lumia 928's camera. If you look at all the marketing materials and videos, you'd think this thing was a camera first and a smartphone second.

There's some truth to it though. The Lumia 928 has one of the best smartphone cameras I've ever used, but it's not any sort of revolutionary leap forward in mobile imaging. It takes great photos in low light and there's a handy dedicated camera shutter button on the side.

There's also a special Xenon flash on the back, which is supposed to "freeze" your subjects in place when you snap a photo, reducing the chances of a blurry image. In my tests though, I didn't notice anything special about the Lumia 928's flash. It's no better than what you'd find on any other smartphone camera.

The advantages over other smartphone cameras are incremental and highly subjective. The Lumia 928 takes great photos, and that's all you need from phone. Don't let the camera be the deciding factor between this phone and something else.

Windows Phone

The current version of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, Windows Phone 8, has been out since last fall, so I won't waste too much time going over it again. Just know that it's a slick and pretty operating system, and a good option if you're looking for something different than the basic layout of the Android or iPhone home screen.

But Windows Phone is not good if you like to have the best apps. After all this time, developers are still wary of making apps for Windows Phones, and you won't find many popular ones like Instagram, Gmail, HBO GO, and several others.

Things are getting better though. Pandora and Hulu Plus recently launched on Windows Phone, and Microsoft says more top-tier apps are on the way. There are a bunch of clones and alternatives to those popular apps, but I still think it's better to have the option to use the services you want to use.

If you're the kind of person who likes having the best apps and games on your phone as soon as they come out, then you shouldn't get the Lumia 928 or any other Windows Phone.

Conclusion

The Lumia 928 is a good Windows Phone, but it's not the best Windows Phone. Smartphones are very personal, and I think it's better to have one that looks and feels good, something you're proud to show off. I didn't get that feeling with the Lumia 928.

However, I am optimistic about another Lumia phone coming out soon, the Lumia 925. That phone has a metal casing, and based on what I've read so far it'll likely be the best Windows Phone you can buy. (Unfortunately, it'll only be available on T-Mobile in the US.)

If you're a Verizon customer who wants a Windows Phone, you should take a look at the Lumia 928, but I still think HTC's Windows Phone 8x is a better buy.

[Charles Martin1]

Quiet morning so far. Nothing in premarket yet.

[EvanRitch]

Im looking to penny stocks today!!

[tygros]

Apple does not supply constrain. Apple does not supply constrain. Why people think that, I just don't know. Cutting edge technology that needs to get duplicated 10 million times for a specific sale on a launch date is hard. And frankly since manufacturing mistakes can be made, it isn't even really prudent to run all the manufacturing lines full out for weeks before really testing the products in real world conditions fully.

But the whole constraint idea is wrong. It just is not what they are doing. They want to sell and they want to sell as many of their devices as they can before new technology makes what they are selling obsolete. They like the lines. But considering they fulfill their orders, they have given us all options to avoid the line by ordering online. The lines are more of a social event at this stage or for folks who forget to order online but who get swept up in the hype.

But it most definitely is not because Apple turns to a manufacturer and tells them to send everyone home for a half day because Apple wants supply constrained. That is not what is going on.

Jon, you're either clueless or intentionally missinformed. Facts are Apple now sells less than Samsung in the US, and here they have long lines and sell outs at every launch, both online and in stores. If they are not constrained, then Samsung or someone is constraining, because you can't come out of the gate like that and still under sell someone who doesn't. At least in the US that is how it looks.

Posted via CB10