I don't think that buying EA is the way to go, even if Apple wants to get into games publishing.
EA is a big company that, quite frankly, produce a lot of shovelware. Just look at their line-up of iPhone games. They simply don't understand the platform.
If Apple were to get into games, it would be a far better move to buy up the small indie developers. They understand the iPhone and it's likely that they will understand the iPad better than any of the major publishers too.
If Apple did want to buy a publisher then Valve Corporation would be a far better proposition than EA. You'd get a bunch of incredibly talented staff, a fantastic vision for the future and the best digital distribution system I've ever witnessed. Sounds like a good fit to me.
Apple s spending a fair amount on this now. They've got programs in place for this, as well as making sure their products are environmentally sound.
What they don't want is a mandated situation in which they would be constrained to do certain things that might not be good for the long term. From my own experiences, I can say that management dislikes having restraints put on them which limits their flexibility.
Yeah like manufacturing the next QUARTER BILLION iThingys with replaceable batteries and upgradeable memory so they can be useful for more than two years. Apple's environmental programs are the proverbial lipstick on a pig. Which reminds me, I need to go to ebay to find another battery for my Motorola Razor - which I love and want to keep using.
- Invest even more into chip manufacturing for smaller, more powerful and more energy efficient hardware.
That makes sense to me. Lots of suggestions here about Apple entering new markets, but some investments in the supply chain could both allow innovations to existing lines and grow margins.
Yep the Movie industry made $400 million last year on Downloaded movies, They made $18 Billion on DVD sales, $17 Billion on movies airing on paid and unpaid TV and 8 Billion on theatre sales.
Chris - Where did you get those figures? I'm amazed that DVD sales dwarf box office.
Do you have anything similar for the music industry?
And do you have any domestic vs. exports figures? My understanding is that Hollywood is one of the US's biggest exporters. Is that true?
I'm not worried about Apple "thinking big." I'm worried about them having so much cash burning a hole in their pockets that they make a very large and very unwise acquisition. Just listen to some of the dumb suggestions we hear around this place about the companies it would be great for Apple to own, for no particular reason. I know Apple's management wouldn't deliberately buy a boat anchor, but then nobody does -- and they still do it all the time. It seems ridiculous to say it, but since the concept seems to elude so many people: $40 billion is huge amount of money no matter how you cut it. By this time next year, the hoard will very likely have grown to over $50 billion. Then what?
Maybe they could buy Time/Warner? Wait, AOL already did that.
In my opinion, AAPL is being too conservative with its cash. With $40B in the bank, I'd expect them to be aggressive in using it (even more than they are). While they have continued to expand by opening retail stores, develop new products, etc, it is evident that AAPL is still growing the cash account. Given that AAPL has both relatively small (Mac) and large (iPod/iPhone) markets across its product lines, I'd think they should open the spigot and let the cash flow a bit more. And if I were an investor, I'd be raising my eyebrow at their $0 debt. Debt is a double-edged sword in that yes, debt creates obligation to others, but is also a sign of healthy growth and business expansion. To me, this says that AAPL could be doing so much more with what they have. Whats the point of hording all that cash if it's just going to sit there? With $40B in reserves, you'd think that AAPL should be around $300 or higher per stock, but its not. I think the reasons I state above contribute at least somewhat to their seemingly under-valued stock- investor apprehension.
That would fit well with their "paid content delivery" business. It would not surprise me, with their emphasis on huge monitors, to see them go into some sort of integrated TV/computer line which would allow easy purchases of content.
6) Upgrade the Apple TV as well, maybe with an 2.16 intel core 2 duo, 2gb ram and a better video card. I got the specs for the ATV in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_TV)
all with some upgradeable options.
Now thats what I call a big bold move, that will put a whole lot of Macs out there.
Really? You cannot possibly conceive of situations where thinking big doesn't mean overextending oneself, doesn't mean highest marketshare or highest revenue? I guess you just failed CEO 101 dude.
"Thinking big" may result in highest marketshare or highest revenue, but that wasn't Apple's primary goal in thinking big.
Those results are not a guarantee for lots of reasons, such as if the "thinking big" was wrong, or if a competitor was a illegally-behaving monopoly.
As for overextending oneself, if you have $40B and your thinking big results in losing $10B, did you overextend yourself? Bringing it to a more conceivable scale, if you had $400K, and your thinking big results in losing $100K, did you overextend yourself? If you only had $100K, and lost it all, did you overextend yourself?
Because there's a big difference between Jobs being a large stockholder and sitting on their board, something which is common in all industries, and Apple owning the whole shebang.
Even now, Disney is doing things that are opposed to Apple's interests.
My rhetorical question was intended to get Woohoo to think about his wrong assertion.
Yeah like manufacturing the next QUARTER BILLION iThingys with replaceable batteries and upgradeable memory so they can be useful for more than two years. Apple's environmental programs are the proverbial lipstick on a pig. Which reminds me, I need to go to ebay to find another battery for my Motorola Razor - which I love and want to keep using.
And not a peep about no upgradeable processors and cameras?!?!
In my opinion, AAPL is being too conservative with its cash. With $40B in the bank, I'd expect them to be aggressive in using it (even more than they are). While they have continued to expand by opening retail stores, develop new products, etc, it is evident that AAPL is still growing the cash account. Given that AAPL has both relatively small (Mac) and large (iPod/iPhone) markets across its product lines, I'd think they should open the spigot and let the cash flow a bit more. And if I were an investor, I'd be raising my eyebrow at their $0 debt. Debt is a double-edged sword in that yes, debt creates obligation to others, but is also a sign of healthy growth and business expansion. To me, this says that AAPL could be doing so much more with what they have. Whats the point of hording all that cash if it's just going to sit there? With $40B in reserves, you'd think that AAPL should be around $300 or higher per stock, but its not. I think the reasons I state above contribute at least somewhat to their seemingly under-valued stock- investor apprehension.
My $.02
Yes, but we all know about companies that grew too fast... Actually, Apple has doubled their R&D spending over the last 2 years. But it's not just money, you actually have to have high-quality people (A-team-level) to produce meaningful results.
But just go back 2.5 years. What if iPhone and multi-touch was a flop? Then there would likely have been a slowing growing cash pile, or a declining cash pile.
"The potential loss of such huge fees is one of the reasons that Hollywood remains anxious about digital streaming, still in its early stages. Leaving aside the ever-growing problem of piracy, studio executives fear that, if movies are routinely distributed by being downloaded into personal computers and television sets, the studios will end up exchanging "analog dollars for digital pennies," as Mr. Epstein puts it. The phrase is an odd one—DVD stands for "digital video disc," after all, and has nothing to do with analog forms like VHS—but it makes sense: In 2007, the studios earned only $400 million from digital downloads, compared with $17.9 billion from DVDs, $16.2 billion from pay and free television, and $8.8 billion from theaters.'
EDIT: it looks like I got the year wrong...it was 2007 not 2009...sorry
Sorry nothing on the CD sales other than I think legal DL's music (iTunes, etc.) is still dewarfed by piracy to the tune of 90% and no data on the exports question.
Comments
EA is a big company that, quite frankly, produce a lot of shovelware. Just look at their line-up of iPhone games. They simply don't understand the platform.
If Apple were to get into games, it would be a far better move to buy up the small indie developers. They understand the iPhone and it's likely that they will understand the iPad better than any of the major publishers too.
If Apple did want to buy a publisher then Valve Corporation would be a far better proposition than EA. You'd get a bunch of incredibly talented staff, a fantastic vision for the future and the best digital distribution system I've ever witnessed. Sounds like a good fit to me.
...and return whatever is left to shareholders
hehe indeed
NANOPHONE
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
if one more troll says blue ray i will scream
my net fix rent's BD
i bought a high end sony BD/DVD player for 75 bucks
BD is already bargain basement
the race to the bottom has killed the last straw man alive
9
And going with Jobs' "think big", there's still a long way to go with evolving iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
What if they came out with a really BIG iTouch? Oh wait...
Apple s spending a fair amount on this now. They've got programs in place for this, as well as making sure their products are environmentally sound.
What they don't want is a mandated situation in which they would be constrained to do certain things that might not be good for the long term. From my own experiences, I can say that management dislikes having restraints put on them which limits their flexibility.
Yeah like manufacturing the next QUARTER BILLION iThingys with replaceable batteries and upgradeable memory so they can be useful for more than two years. Apple's environmental programs are the proverbial lipstick on a pig. Which reminds me, I need to go to ebay to find another battery for my Motorola Razor - which I love and want to keep using.
- Invest even more into chip manufacturing for smaller, more powerful and more energy efficient hardware.
That makes sense to me. Lots of suggestions here about Apple entering new markets, but some investments in the supply chain could both allow innovations to existing lines and grow margins.
They might buy a display manufacturer as well.
Yep the Movie industry made $400 million last year on Downloaded movies, They made $18 Billion on DVD sales, $17 Billion on movies airing on paid and unpaid TV and 8 Billion on theatre sales.
Chris - Where did you get those figures? I'm amazed that DVD sales dwarf box office.
Do you have anything similar for the music industry?
And do you have any domestic vs. exports figures? My understanding is that Hollywood is one of the US's biggest exporters. Is that true?
I'm not worried about Apple "thinking big." I'm worried about them having so much cash burning a hole in their pockets that they make a very large and very unwise acquisition. Just listen to some of the dumb suggestions we hear around this place about the companies it would be great for Apple to own, for no particular reason. I know Apple's management wouldn't deliberately buy a boat anchor, but then nobody does -- and they still do it all the time. It seems ridiculous to say it, but since the concept seems to elude so many people: $40 billion is huge amount of money no matter how you cut it. By this time next year, the hoard will very likely have grown to over $50 billion. Then what?
Maybe they could buy Time/Warner? Wait, AOL already did that.
Your point is well taken.
My $.02
Apple Samsung TV with dvr and wifi. Thank you.
That would fit well with their "paid content delivery" business. It would not surprise me, with their emphasis on huge monitors, to see them go into some sort of integrated TV/computer line which would allow easy purchases of content.
1) Computers: BD support, USB 3.0, maybe HDMI,
2) iMac: drop the prices by $100 or $200
iMac 21"($999): i5 intel processor, 8gb ram, 1Tb HD, 512mb video card
iMac 21"($1399): i7 intel processor, 8gb ram, 2Tb HD, 512mb video card or dual card
iMac 27"($1799): i7 intel processor, 8gb ram, 2Tb HD, 512mb video card or dual card
iMac 27"($2000+): i7 intel processor, 16gb ram, 2Tb HD, 512mb video card or dual card
3) Macbooks:
Macbook 13"($799): 2.53Ghz intel core duo, 4gb ram, 320Gb @ 7200rpm, 256mb video card
Macbook 15"($999): as above
4) Macbook Pro:
Macbook Pro 13"($1199): i5 intel processor, 4gb ram, 250gb HD @ 7200 rpm
Macbook Pro 13"($1499): i7 intel processor, 8gb ram, 320gb HD @ 7200 rpm
Macbook Pro 15"($1799): i7 intel processor, 8gb ram 320gb HD @ 7200 rpm
Macbook Pro 15"($1999): faster i7 intel processor, 8gb ram, 500gb HD @ 7200 rpm
Macbook Pro 17"($2399): as above
5) Mac Mini:
Mac Mini($499): 2.53ghz intel core 2 duo, 320gb HD, 4gb ram
Mac Mini($599): 2.66ghz intel core 2 duo, 500gb HD, 4gb ram
6) Upgrade the Apple TV as well, maybe with an 2.16 intel core 2 duo, 2gb ram and a better video card. I got the specs for the ATV in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_TV)
all with some upgradeable options.
Now thats what I call a big bold move, that will put a whole lot of Macs out there.
Really? You cannot possibly conceive of situations where thinking big doesn't mean overextending oneself, doesn't mean highest marketshare or highest revenue? I guess you just failed CEO 101 dude.
"Thinking big" may result in highest marketshare or highest revenue, but that wasn't Apple's primary goal in thinking big.
Those results are not a guarantee for lots of reasons, such as if the "thinking big" was wrong, or if a competitor was a illegally-behaving monopoly.
As for overextending oneself, if you have $40B and your thinking big results in losing $10B, did you overextend yourself? Bringing it to a more conceivable scale, if you had $400K, and your thinking big results in losing $100K, did you overextend yourself? If you only had $100K, and lost it all, did you overextend yourself?
Because there's a big difference between Jobs being a large stockholder and sitting on their board, something which is common in all industries, and Apple owning the whole shebang.
Even now, Disney is doing things that are opposed to Apple's interests.
My rhetorical question was intended to get Woohoo to think about his wrong assertion.
But yes, that is the answer to the question.
What if they came out with a really BIG iTouch? Oh wait...
In a year or two, people will be asking what if they came out with a really BIG iPad?
Yeah like manufacturing the next QUARTER BILLION iThingys with replaceable batteries and upgradeable memory so they can be useful for more than two years. Apple's environmental programs are the proverbial lipstick on a pig. Which reminds me, I need to go to ebay to find another battery for my Motorola Razor - which I love and want to keep using.
And not a peep about no upgradeable processors and cameras?!?!
Who wants slow apps and ugly pictures...
(sarcasm)
In my opinion, AAPL is being too conservative with its cash. With $40B in the bank, I'd expect them to be aggressive in using it (even more than they are). While they have continued to expand by opening retail stores, develop new products, etc, it is evident that AAPL is still growing the cash account. Given that AAPL has both relatively small (Mac) and large (iPod/iPhone) markets across its product lines, I'd think they should open the spigot and let the cash flow a bit more. And if I were an investor, I'd be raising my eyebrow at their $0 debt. Debt is a double-edged sword in that yes, debt creates obligation to others, but is also a sign of healthy growth and business expansion. To me, this says that AAPL could be doing so much more with what they have. Whats the point of hording all that cash if it's just going to sit there? With $40B in reserves, you'd think that AAPL should be around $300 or higher per stock, but its not. I think the reasons I state above contribute at least somewhat to their seemingly under-valued stock- investor apprehension.
My $.02
Yes, but we all know about companies that grew too fast... Actually, Apple has doubled their R&D spending over the last 2 years. But it's not just money, you actually have to have high-quality people (A-team-level) to produce meaningful results.
But just go back 2.5 years. What if iPhone and multi-touch was a flop? Then there would likely have been a slowing growing cash pile, or a declining cash pile.
Chris - Where did you get those figures? I'm amazed that DVD sales dwarf box office.
Do you have anything similar for the music industry?
And do you have any domestic vs. exports figures? My understanding is that Hollywood is one of the US's biggest exporters. Is that true?
iGenius, It's from an WSJ book review Rules of the Game last week....
Here's the link to the whole review: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...880577406.html
And the paragraph of the numbers!
"The potential loss of such huge fees is one of the reasons that Hollywood remains anxious about digital streaming, still in its early stages. Leaving aside the ever-growing problem of piracy, studio executives fear that, if movies are routinely distributed by being downloaded into personal computers and television sets, the studios will end up exchanging "analog dollars for digital pennies," as Mr. Epstein puts it. The phrase is an odd one—DVD stands for "digital video disc," after all, and has nothing to do with analog forms like VHS—but it makes sense: In 2007, the studios earned only $400 million from digital downloads, compared with $17.9 billion from DVDs, $16.2 billion from pay and free television, and $8.8 billion from theaters.'
EDIT: it looks like I got the year wrong...it was 2007 not 2009...sorry
Sorry nothing on the CD sales other than I think legal DL's music (iTunes, etc.) is still dewarfed by piracy to the tune of 90% and no data on the exports question.