Let’s not go there
In happier and far less controversial news, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) backed down from the worst idea Big Blue ever had.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)’s attempt to sell its server operations to Chinese systems builder Lenovo has been called off. The companies couldn’t agree on a price, according to Bloomberg’s sources. Lenovo wanted to pay as little as $2.5 billion for the server division, but International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)’s estimate of the segment’s value may have been almost twice as high.
All’s well that ends well. Big Blue gets to keep its unique and powerful top-to-bottom IT portfolio intact, and I hope management doesn’t go looking for alternative buyers. Synergies between International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)’s many moving parts are the secret recipe to the company’s success, and other tech giants are trying (but mostly failing) to copy International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)’s strategy.
Why change a winning team?
The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) lottery
When my son pushed the family iPad into my face and started asking about this $10,000 gift-card lottery, I thought he had stumbled on a major scam. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not in the business of running lotteries, after all, and anything that sounds too good to be true generally turns out to be empty fluff.
But Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) really is running a gift-card lottery to commemorate the upcoming milestone of 50 billion app store downloads. App grabber number 50 billion will get a $10,000 App Store gift card, and the next 50 downloaders receive a less generous but still significant $500 card. It’s real, it’s totally backed by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and I’m still shaking my head.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the master of public relations and has built a unique brand around exclusivity and quality. Buying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gear is a lifestyle choice, not a bang-for-your-buck decision. You buy Cupertino’s stuff because it makes you feel better.
Or at least that’s the way it used to be. This attention-grabbing milestone marker didn’t need a tacky lottery drawing. It smacks of desperation. And if you win, what would you do with $10,000 in App Store dollars? It’s not like you can use Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) cash to grab a nice dinner or a used car. Ten thousand dollars is a nice, big, look-at-me-now number, but the winner will probably never use up the entire thing.
The article The 3 Biggest Surprises in Tech This Week originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Anders Bylund.
Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares of Google, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders’ bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+.The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google and owns shares of Apple, Google, and IBM.
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