Apple is the next Microsoft, analyst says

Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes says he just doesn't see growth in Cupertino's future, whether it's from a watch or a TV. Is this really Steve Ballmer? (Credit: James Martin/CNET) The first time I ever talked to an analyst, she told me that I was perfectly sane, but merely needed a few hundred Prozac to lighten my burden. This early, troubling experience has tended to color my encounters with the word "analyst." However, in the venal world of money, every time an analyst speaks, numbers seem to twirl on Wall Street in nervous reaction. I am surprised, therefore, that Wall Street and half of California didn't endure electrical faults on hearing that an analyst had declared Apple heading down Microsoft Way. As Business Insider reports, Barclays' Ben Reitzes sniffed that Apple's shares were, you know, alright to have and to hold, but only if you're prepared for richer or poorer. "Frankly, we just couldn't quite bring ourselves to use smart watches or TVs as reasons to raise numbers," he said. "Nor were we fully convinced that these products could move the needle like new categories did in the old days." Ah, the old days. When iPods were exciting and Barclays was just a bank. Reitzes, though, continued to make the one comparison that will energize the bile of many who believe Apple to be the way, the truth, and the life. He said: "We look at a valuation analogy vs. Microsoft from 2000 to about 2010 and see no precedent that large-size tech companies simply start to broadly outperform again after a tough year or two if the law of large numbers is catching up to them and margins have peaked." In essence, Apple is just like Microsoft, merely steps away from a flattened mediocrity, and ready to elect a hoodie-wearing cricket fan to the CEO's throne. Reitzes might turn out to be right. It may well be that Apple slips into a fallow irrelevance, as other competitors (who?) stomp upon it with innovation (what innovation?). Still, analysts make many predictions so that at least some of them might turn out to be right. Some analysts, I understand, even put their money on the very opposite side of where there mouth is. It's called being clever or something. Your fickle is their normal. Why, just two years ago, an analyst issued an upgrade note on Apple. He used phrases like "solid momentum," "pent-up demand" and "bloody hell, there's money to be made here." Actually, I made the last one up. What I'm not making up is that the optimistic analyst of 2012 was Barclays' Ben Reitzes. Has it really all gone so wrong for Apple in these last two years? One analyst says "perhaps." Another says "perhaps not."

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Samsung Materials Affiliates Hold Investment Due to Slow Business

It has been about four months since the electronic material research center of the Samsung Group was opened in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province. However, its subsidiaries’ move-in is continuing to be delayed. Besides, the recent poor performances of Cheil Industries, Samsung SDI, and Samsung Fine Chemicals and their investment postponement announcements are adding difficulties to the Samsung Group’s plan for the promotion of its material business segment.

At present, Cheil Industries has yet to complete its relocation, and Samsung Fine Chemicals is planning to be housed there from next month, according to its plan to move the headquarters to Suwon. Only Samsung SDI has finished the relocation so far.

Under the circumstances, some industry insiders point out that the Samsung Group has failed to draw up a big picture for the restructuring of its materials business arms. “The overhaul is likely to be led by Samsung Electronics, but no specific plan has been suggested yet,” said one of them, adding, “It seems that Samsung is suffering from the lack of a control tower.”

The trouble has been compounded by the subsidiaries’ less-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of last year. Not a few investment plans have been put on hold, signaling some change in their long-term business strategies. Cheil Industries and Samsung SDI recorded losses in that quarter while Samsung Fine Chemicals’ annual operating profits fell below zero. The first has decided to reexamine its 1.8 trillion won (US$1.68 billion) investment plan for the next three years. The third is going to pace itself as well in manufacturing polysilicon and positive electrode active materials for secondary batteries.

Things were quite different earlier last year. At that time, Cheil Industries took over Novaled, which owns OLED patents, and sold its fashion business unit to Samsung Everland to speed up the reorganization. However, the pace has been significantly slowed, due mainly to the poor performance of Samsung Electronics, one of its major clients.

The group has not come up with any countermeasures, either. This means that the future of the subsidiaries of Samsung is not entirely rosy in the short term.

Samsung Fine Chemicals is moving ahead with its polysilicon and active material businesses, through collaboration with SunEdison (formerly MEMC) of the US and TODA of Japan. Samsung SDI, in the meantime, is producing products based on its PDP patent contracts with Seiko, Asahi, Sony, etc. Although they have hundreds of patents and their own R&D teams and projects, these are easily eclipsed by its rivals like LG Chem.

This is why some employees of the companies are claiming that the chemical business unit, rather than electronics, lead the development of the materials business in view of its own characteristics, that is, at least five to 10 years is taken for at least some tangible results. Then, it is Cheil Industries that is to assume the central role. Still, it remains to be seen whether or not Cheil Industries is capable enough when its business showings and relations with the National Pension Service, the largest shareholder, are taken into consideration.

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Samsung Group seems to have a vision with NX30, Galaxy Camera 2

Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 price to be announced around launch

Samsung NX30 has 20.3MP APS-C CMOS Sensor, can capture fast-paced moments in perfect clarity.

At the Samsung Group Forum in Bali, the buzz was all around the updraded versions of a bunch of its mobile devices as well as the enterprise oriented tablets. However, the Korean tech giant also showed that it means business in a segment that it has not really been able to monopolise so far.

The Samsung Group announced the Samsung NX30 and the Samsung Galaxy Camera 2. The first a compact system camera delivering high quality images and the second a sequel to the Galaxy Camera line-up that brings smartphone-like sharing to imaging devices.

The NX30 has an advanced 20.3MP APS-C CMOS Sensor and can capture fast-paced moments in perfect clarity thanks to its 1/8000 sec Shutter speed and the 9 frame per seconds (FPS) continuous shooting function. The NX30's NFC and Wi-Fi capabilities creates a 'eTag & Go'f function that lets users tap and share photos instantly and easily. The Photo Beam feature allows users to transfer images or videos between smartphones or tablets by simply touching devices together.

The Galaxy Camera 2 lets users enjoy the full benefits of the Android platform. Its 16M BSI CMOS Sensor is supported by a 21x Optical Zoom. It also featured an upgraded 1.6 GHz Quad-Core processor supported by a massive 2.0 GB of RAM. The Galaxy Camera 2's 121.2mm (4.8-inch) HD Super Clear Touch LCD adds to the experience.

Samsung will announces the prices closer to the India launch dates.

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Apple eyes smart magnets to attach accessories to your iPad

The iPad already houses magnets that can hold smart covers and cases. Now, a newly-published Apple patent filing envisions a greater attraction for the technology.

(Credit: Apple/USPTO)

The iPad's magnetic personality could help users attach an array of accessories to their tablets.

Published Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, a patent fittingly named "Magnetic Attachment Unit" describes how the iPad's current magnet system could be expanded to hook up with docks, stands, touchpads, joysticks, cameras, other iPads, and even a special magnetic ring. iPad owners would be able to couple the tablet with an accessory without having to rely on the dock connector.

Accessories would connect to any side of the iPad, including the bottom, letting the tablet attach to compatible docks and stands. Apple's iOS would support the technology, so iPad users could attach or detach an accessory by pressing the home button.

Two iPads might even hook up with each other to expand their capabilities. Content displayed on the screen would extend from one iPad to the other. You could also view the screen on one iPad and use the virtual keyboard on the other iPad. Finally, the patent filing describes a magnetic ring that would let you swipe your hand over the screen to activate certain features.

As always, a patent filing doesn't mean the technology will ever appear in the real world. However, since magnets are already built into the iPad to support smart covers, expanding that idea to other accessories seems a natural next step.

And whether or not Apple moves forward on this front, at least one other company wants to tap into the power of magnets. Unveiled by Nano Magnetics at CES in January, a patent-pending device called Nanoport would use magnets to connect mobile devices with each other and with separate accessories.

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Barclays downgrades rating on Apple stock due to maturing smartphone market, tells investors to 'step aside'

Shares of Apple stock slid Thursday morning after investment firm Barclays Capital lowered its rating on shares of the iPhone maker, saying it doesn't expect the stock to break out of its current trading range within the next year, and suggesting its performance could become comparable to that of rival Microsoft.

Analyst Ben A. Reitzes issued a note to investors, provided to AppleInsider, in which he advised them to "step aside," citing a maturing smartphone market that he believes presents limited future growth potential for Apple's iPhone. And without a new "revolutionary" product, he doesn't believe shares of Apple will see a boost anytime soon.

"Frankly, we just couldn't quite bring ourselves to use smart watches or TVs as reasons to raise numbers — nor were we fully convinced that these products could move the needle like new categories did in the old days," Reitzes wrote on Thursday.

The analyst said that as an iPhone user, he's "very excited" about some of the company's new products in the pipeline, with potential innovations in mobile payments, geolocation, and wearable devices. But as an investor, he doesn't see Apple introducing anything as groundbreaking from a financial perspective as the iPhone or iPad.

"We believe Apple's story is all about iPhones and 'new categories' seem to be designed to make the iPhone more useful — but don't necessarily reaccelerate growth in the iPhone category to sustainable double-digit levels," he wrote. "If we were to see evidence that payments and/or new content deals enhance the Web services aspect of Apple vs. Google and others long-term, we may need to reassess this opinion."

Reitzes then went on to cite the valuation of Apple's rival Microsoft from 2000 to 2010, and suggested that Apple might see a similar pattern. The analyst said that he sees "no precedent" that large tech companies can broadly outperform once again after "a tough year or two."

In his eyes, the "law of large numbers" may have caught up with Apple, and the company's gross margins may have peaked.

"As a result, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with saying shares could be range-bound as we move from product cycle to product cycle until we can see Apple creating entirely new markets in the cloud," he said.

Accordingly, Barclays has downgraded Apple from an "overweight" rating to "equal weight," with a continued "neutral" outlook for the company. The firm's price target for shares of AAPL is $570, or about $35 higher than where it is trading as of Thursday morning.

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