Apple's Lala purchase price disputed, Kodak storewide sale, more
Two competing outlets disagree on whether Apple paid $80 million or $17 million for the streaming music service Lala, Kodak is having a one-day 20 percent off sale, and Bento for iPhone reaches a milestone.
Lala purchase amount in question
Yesterday, Peter Kafka of MediaMemo cited multiple sources in stating an $80 million purchase price of Lala. Last week, it was confirmed that Apple purchased the streaming music service for an undisclosed sum.
But Tuesday, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch chimed in with his own, different side: He claims Lala was purchased for $17 million by Apple. In addition, because the company allegedly has $14 million in cash, that values the entire company at just $3 million.
"We also believe that LaLa was acquired mostly for the star engineering team and the awesome recent Google deal more than for the product," Arrington said. "iTunes in the cloud isn’t something we should hold our breath for. $3 million for top-of Google music results and a top team of engineers makes a lot of sense. $80 million not so much."
For his part, Kafka has not modified his original article.
Arrington's take also differs from at least one analyst, who has predicted that Apple's purchase of Lala will play a part in a cloud-based streaming service incorporated with iTunes. Such a system could allow iTunes content and purchases to be accessed easily on a number of devices.
Apple has not officially divulged any details on the purchase. So far, the company's only statement has been: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not comment on our purpose or plans."
Kodak store one-day-only sale
Tuesday only, Kodak is offering 20 percent off of everything in its store. The storewide discount includes digital cameras and video cameras, camera accessories, hardware, and printers.
Save more than $50 on the Kodak Easyshare Z1015 IS, $40 on an Easyshare W820 8-inch wireless digital picture frame, or $60 on an ESP 9 All-in-One Printer, just to name a few.
No special coupon code is needed to obtain your 20 percent discount upon purchase. Kodak's cameras all record in a Mac-friendly .MOV file format. The sale ends Tuesday evening.
iPhone Bento app sales top 100,000 in 6 months
FileMaker announced Tuesday that sales of its Bento application for the iPhone and iPod touch have crossed the six-figure threshold in its first six months of availability.
The $4.99 application aims to help users become organized and more efficient. It is an extension of Bento, the database application for Mac OS X. Bento for iPhone is created by FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple.
"Whether they want to take client information with them on the road, track trip expenses, create To Do lists, manage membership lists, get in shape or plan events, people are enthusiastically embracing Bento for iPhone and iPod touch to organize their busy lives," said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services with FileMaker. "We released Bento for iPhone just last May, and it is already among the most popular productivity apps on the Apple App Store."
In September, FileMaker released Bento 3, bringing iPhoto integration to the application. It allows users to store information about photos and link them with contacts, projects, events, and other information within the software.
Lala purchase amount in question
Yesterday, Peter Kafka of MediaMemo cited multiple sources in stating an $80 million purchase price of Lala. Last week, it was confirmed that Apple purchased the streaming music service for an undisclosed sum.
But Tuesday, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch chimed in with his own, different side: He claims Lala was purchased for $17 million by Apple. In addition, because the company allegedly has $14 million in cash, that values the entire company at just $3 million.
"We also believe that LaLa was acquired mostly for the star engineering team and the awesome recent Google deal more than for the product," Arrington said. "iTunes in the cloud isn’t something we should hold our breath for. $3 million for top-of Google music results and a top team of engineers makes a lot of sense. $80 million not so much."
For his part, Kafka has not modified his original article.
Arrington's take also differs from at least one analyst, who has predicted that Apple's purchase of Lala will play a part in a cloud-based streaming service incorporated with iTunes. Such a system could allow iTunes content and purchases to be accessed easily on a number of devices.
Apple has not officially divulged any details on the purchase. So far, the company's only statement has been: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not comment on our purpose or plans."
Kodak store one-day-only sale
Tuesday only, Kodak is offering 20 percent off of everything in its store. The storewide discount includes digital cameras and video cameras, camera accessories, hardware, and printers.
Save more than $50 on the Kodak Easyshare Z1015 IS, $40 on an Easyshare W820 8-inch wireless digital picture frame, or $60 on an ESP 9 All-in-One Printer, just to name a few.
No special coupon code is needed to obtain your 20 percent discount upon purchase. Kodak's cameras all record in a Mac-friendly .MOV file format. The sale ends Tuesday evening.
iPhone Bento app sales top 100,000 in 6 months
FileMaker announced Tuesday that sales of its Bento application for the iPhone and iPod touch have crossed the six-figure threshold in its first six months of availability.
The $4.99 application aims to help users become organized and more efficient. It is an extension of Bento, the database application for Mac OS X. Bento for iPhone is created by FileMaker, a subsidiary of Apple.
"Whether they want to take client information with them on the road, track trip expenses, create To Do lists, manage membership lists, get in shape or plan events, people are enthusiastically embracing Bento for iPhone and iPod touch to organize their busy lives," said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services with FileMaker. "We released Bento for iPhone just last May, and it is already among the most popular productivity apps on the Apple App Store."
In September, FileMaker released Bento 3, bringing iPhoto integration to the application. It allows users to store information about photos and link them with contacts, projects, events, and other information within the software.
Comments
But Tuesday, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch chimed in with his own, different side: He claims Lala was purchased for $17 million by Apple. In addition, because the company allegedly has $14 million in cash, that values the entire company at just $3 million.
I thought $80 million was a little much.
Arrington said. [?] "$3 million for top-of Google music results and a top team of engineers makes a lot of sense. $80 million not so much."
That is hard to argue with.
In classic Apple fashion the app lacks options and basic features.
It emphasizes simplicity over configurability.
It ends up being good for very simple things and poor for anything even moderately complex.
The Bento desktop app should be part of iWork and the iPhone app should be $0.99
(Stick with me here...)
http://douchebagname.com/
Sorry, but someone went through all the trouble to set up this site, and it had to be said.
Bento for iPhone is a good idea that is poorly executed.
In classic Apple fashion the app lacks options and basic features.
It emphasizes simplicity over configurability.
It ends up being good for very simple things and poor for anything even moderately complex.
Yeah, that sounds like the same issue they had with FileMaker for the Palm.
It could be so much more, but it's just lacking.
Tuesday only, Kodak is offering 20 percent off of everything in its store. The storewide discount includes digital cameras and video cameras, camera accessories, hardware, and printers.
I got myself a Kodak all in one printer, fax and scanner a few months back through a promotion.
Their ink prices are better and the prints last longer than others.
I've been quite happy with their results, although I don't think their inks are available in typical office type stores. So less markup.
I also had a 5 megapixel 10x zoom Kodak camera bought a few years back that still works very well and takes great pictures.
Combined with Apple's Aperture, I have produced some amazing 8 x 10's (max for a 5 megapixel) of our trip around the country a couple of years ago.
I wished 20 something megapixel cameras existed back then but they didn't.
Kodak does have a 16 megapxel camera for about $200 or so.
HP was my printer company of choice, until they bought out Compaq and tried to invade Apple's market. Also HP started the whole glossy screen computer business, you know how I feel about that.
So what's your douchebag name?
(Stick with me here...)
http://douchebagname.com/
Sorry, but someone went through all the trouble to set up this site, and it had to be said.
Love it!
Very clever.
The news reporting on this site is getting noticeably worse lately. A lot of articles needing correction within 24 hours.
There's not much you can do to avoid it, unless you're fine with waiting up to two days to post news, thus getting scooped early by other sites.
As long as corrections are issued it's fine, I think.
HP started the whole glossy screen computer business, you know how I feel about that.
Which is funny, because HP makes one of the best mid-priced non-glossy displays around - using the same panel that's used in the 24" Apple Cinema Display, but non-glossy.
While I agree that $80 million sounds like a lot, is it common for a 3 million dollar company to have $14 million in cash?
Depends on what your burn rate is. If they were a 50-person outfit and burning through $3MM/month, on the last of their start-up capital, then a $3MM buy-out is pretty reasonable as they were not generating a profit.
I've recently bought me an EasyShare C180 for $79, and other than having to use AA batteries and buy an SD card, I love it and it does what it is meant to do excellently.
Bento for iPhone is a good idea that is poorly executed.
In classic Apple fashion the app lacks options and basic features.
It emphasizes simplicity over configurability.
It ends up being good for very simple things and poor for anything even moderately complex.
The Bento desktop app should be part of iWork and the iPhone app should be $0.99
BENTO is a subset of Apples FILEMAKER PRO . and file maker pro is the strongest database SW in the world. its wins the codec award year after year .
'APPLE IS holding back on all this for some odd reason .
why apple would dumb down a SW program that EVEN i can make my own data bases with beyond me ??
When apple is ready yo unleash FILEMAKER PRO AND FILE MAKER PRO lite << benito >>
watch out .
just saying
peace 9
Which is funny, because HP makes one of the best mid-priced non-glossy displays around - using the same panel that's used in the 24" Apple Cinema Display, but non-glossy.
Yea HP is listening to their customers better than Apple.