Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)
iOS 7 to new MacBooks: Will Apple’s WWDC 2013 live up to expectations? (FirstPost)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to reveal a digital radio service and changes to the software behind iPhones and iPads on Monday as the company opens its annual conference for software developers. Apple hasn’t said what it will unveil at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. But the major announcements are expected during Monday’s keynote presentation. Last year, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) used the conference to announce its own mapping service, better integration with social networks and improvements to virtual assistant Siri. It also announced thinner MacBooks with high-resolution screens. The conference runs through Friday.
Apple Polishes Software for iPhones, iPads (WSJ)
This week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) +0.76% will try to regain its shine. The company’s annual developer conference, which begins Monday, looms as the latest crossroads as the technology icon struggles to maintain its trendsetter status since the death of Steve Jobs. Apple’s streak of game-changing devices has stalled and the iPhone and iPad seem stale, compared with new offerings from Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -0.14% and others. Software blunders, like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s widely panned mapping app, have raised doubts about the company’s ability to build cutting-edge mobile services. Rivals like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) +1.75% are colonizing the iPhone with their own software, bolstering use of their own rival offerings.
Apple Music Service to Compete with Pandora, Spotify (Nasdaq)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Monday is expected to unveil a long-awaited service for streaming digital music, the company’s most ambitious collaboration with the music industry since the launch of the iTunes Music Store a decade ago. As then, the stakes for both sides are high. …For Apple, streaming is a shot at regaining an edge in digital music and beating back competitors trying to colonize the iPhone and iPad with other software that could make their users less loyal over time. Rival offerings like Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) Internet radio app have become big sellers of mobile advertising, competing with Apple’s iAd service.
Most Emerging Stocks Rise on U.S., Japan Data as Zoomlion Slides (BusinessWeek)
Most emerging-market stocks advanced as better-than-estimated data from the U.S. and Japan overshadowed Chinese trade figures that trailed estimates. Largan Precision Co. (3008) led gains by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) suppliers after the Commercial Times said that the Cupertino, California-based company will sell a lower-priced iPhone in August. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. (011200), which does business in North Korea, jumped 15 percent as South Korea agreed to minister-level negotiations this week with the communist regime. Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co. slumped to a record in Hong Kong. India’s rupee sank to a record versus the dollar.
Apple’s 30% E-Book Commission Is 100% Legal (WSJ)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) just passed 50 billion downloads of the 850,000 apps for its iPhones and iPads. For paid apps, developers get 70% of the sales revenue and Apple keeps 30%. This applies to everything from the best-selling game Angry Birds to the GarageBand app that turns an iPad into a musical instrument. Revenue sharing is a common business model, and it wasn’t controversial until the Justice Department made this 30% the crux of its e-book price-fixing case against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), now entering its second week in federal court in New York.
Google to buy Waze for $1.3b (Globes)
Sources inform ”Globes” that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will acquire Waze Ltd. for $1.3 billion. The acquisition of the Israeli navigation app and traffic report start-up will be completed after months of reports that Waze would be sold to either Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Ra’anana-based Waze has almost 50 million users. This is a big number for an Israeli company, which probably helped it achieve the hoped-for exit. Reports about a possible sale of Waze are not new. Last year there were reports Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) wanted to buy Waze and in late August 2012, it was reported that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) was in talks to acquire the company. According to some reports, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) representatives arrived in Israel to meet Waze executives, but no deal was reached in the negotiations, apparently because of the price tag.
Will Apple’s trade-in ploy for iPhone 5S spell doom for Galaxy S4? (Emirates247)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) doesn’t like losing – and lately, it’s been losing both market share as well as market cap to Samsung Electronics’ (NASDAQ:SSNLF) Galaxy S4. So while it should ideally do what it does best – bring out a killer version of the iPhone loaded with features to stand head-and-shoulders above competition – sadly, that might not nearly be enough to propel Apple back to the top echelon on the smartphones leader-board. And that’s because not only has Apple lost some of its passion for innovation due to the unfortunate death of its co-founder Steve Jobs back in 2011, but also because the Cupertino-based company has been a victim of its own success.
Internet giants deny giving gov’t access to servers (Malaya)
Major tech companies including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) said they do not provide any government agency with “direct access” to their servers, contradicting a Washington Post report that they have granted such access under a classified data collection program. The newspaper reported that the U.S. National Security Agency and the FBI are “tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies” through a secret program known as PRISM, and extracting massive amounts of data including audio, video, photographs, emails, documents and connection logs.
Apple eyes iPhone buy-back program (JournalGazette)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is starting an iPhone trade-in program this month aimed at getting users to upgrade to the iPhone 5 and turn in older models, people with knowledge of the plans said. Apple has teamed up with Brightstar Corp., a mobile-phone distributor, to run the exchange program, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) hasn’t publicly announced the plan. Brightstar also handles trade-ins for AT&T and T- Mobile US, as well as other carriers and device-makers, amid brisk demand for refurbished iPhone 4s and 4Ss in emerging markets.
