Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) To Soon Start Selling Its Q10 Smartphone (Market News Call)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) will soon start selling its new QWERTY keyboard-based Q10 in the U.S., where it is expected to make its appearance by the end of May. According to reports the smartphone will be retailing for $249, which is about $50 more than Apple’s iPhone 5. The Canadian handset maker has entered into tie-ups with all the four top U.S. network carriers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA – for selling the Q10. The suggested $249 price assumes that buyers will also sign up for a two-year contract.
The brain trust at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Tuesday announced plans to repurchase $50 billion worth of the company’s stock. This buyback — due for completion by the end of 2015 — combined with a bump in the dividend, increases the amount of cash Apple is “returning to shareholders” to $100 billion. The folks in Cupertino are doing this, of course, because Apple’s burgeoning cash coffers are continuing to overflow, having reached $147 billion. So would it be surprising to learn that by the end of what CEO Tim Cook called a “record” buyback, Apple will almost certainly have even more cash than it does today? And given that, does it mean there’s still more to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s long-term strategic plan that remains a secret for now?
Nokia to launch new Lumia device May 14 (MarketWatch)
Handset maker Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) will launch a new Lumia smartphone in London on May 14, the company said Friday. When presenting Nokia’s first-quarter results last week, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said the company would soon introduce a new Lumia device to be marketed by a leading U.S. network operator. The event would mark the beginning of a series of new Lumia product launches, Mr. Elop added.
Microsoft gets upper hand in first Google patent trial (Reuters UK)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) came out on top in the first of two patent trials versus Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility unit on Thursday, as a federal judge in Seattle ruled largely in its favor. U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle said Microsoft owed only a fraction of the royalties Motorola had claimed for use of its technology in Microsoft’s Xbox console. Motorola had sought as much as $4 billion a year for use of its so-called standard, essential wireless and video patents, while Microsoft argued its rival deserved about $1 million a year. Robart decided the appropriate payment was about $1.8 million. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) welcomed the outcome.
Europe forces Google to make searches fairer (The Japan Times)
There soon could be two Googles: one built for Europeans, with links to rival search engines and labels alerting users whenever Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is featuring its own products, and another version for everyone else. The variations could result from…
…what amounts to a split decision in two high-profile antitrust investigations into the California-based search giant, one by U.S. regulators, the other by Europeans. Google emerged from the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) probe in January with only modest concessions as U.S. officials essentially dismissed the most serious allegations of monopolistic behavior — namely that the company manipulated search results to benefit its services. But European regulators took a tougher line Thursday, making a preliminary ruling that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) may be abusing its dominance over the search industry. The victims, the European officials said in a break with the FTC’s ruling, are not merely rival companies but consumers, who will benefit from a freer marketplace.
How Apple’s Developer Conference Grew Too Big for Its Own Developers (Wired)
WWDC is to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Developers as Coachella is to filthy hipsters: It’s the year’s must-attend event. Except the World Wide Developer Conference is way harder to get into. There are more than 275,000 iOS developers registered in the U.S. alone–and that doesn’t count Mac developers. Only 5,000 attendees get to walk the floors every summer. Untold thousands try and fail to score tickets. Others go to desperate measures to get their hands on a conference badge. In short, it’s grown into a disaster. WWDC is a five-day long event held in San Francisco’s Moscone West conference center. This year, it’s taking place June 10-14. Last year, it sold out in two hours. Thursday, the 5,000 high-demand tickets were gobbled up in a scant two minutes.
Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) BlackBerry Tooting Its Own Horn (Insider Monkey)
As of late, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry has not experienced many moments of euphoria. Instead, the company has been dogged by rumors and an operating system that just can’t seem to catch up to its competitors. Fortunately for Research In Motion Ltd, a new day and new device brings restored hope. Just as its Z10 was much hyped, the same holds true with the company’s latest offering: the Q10. There are many reasons why this Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) device is receiving so much attention, including the fact that it features a QWERTY keyboard. This is the feature that made the smartphone company so popular in the past, so it is only natural for it to hope for more of the same this time around.
Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)’s Global Head Of Branding And Marketing Strategy Quits (US Market Buzz)
Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) has lost one of its top key executives. The company’s global head for branding strategy and marketing, Steven Overman has quit the company, according to a report. Overman was the person responsible for the agreement between Nokia and Microsoft, and formulated the partnership that is changing the fortunes of the two companies in the mobile segment. He joined Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) in 2010 from Lowe Worldwide where he was heading the marketing team which handled the Nokia account.
Microsoft could make 3D Skype calls a reality with new meeting tech (The Verge)
A 3D telepresence technology that started life as a Microsoft research project may soon become an official product, a new job listing suggests. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has begun advertising for a new software development engineer who will be tasked with helping it develop hardware and software capable of offering…
…holographic meetings for remote workers. The company says it is also looking to extend the technology to Skype, allowing consumers to enjoy “high-definition communication” in its voice and video calling software. “A realistic physical ‘body-double’ or proxy in a remote meeting.”
Google Fiber and Google Glass Could Also Come To Nothing (Forbes)
Why is Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) installing fiber optic cable in three American cities? Why is into a dubious wearable project called Glass? The answer is: there is no reason in the world why a search/advertising company would invest in these types of projects. For that matter, the same can be said of driverless cars. Google’s innovation strategy and the easy way it draws analysts into the excitement of change might be blinding us to something more fundamental about the company’s struggle with the future.
Can Microsoft and RIM Compete? (About)
Both BlackBerry and Windows Mobile have received a small shot in the arm recently, after years struggling to compete with anything iOS and Android have done. For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), this is mainly due to the favorable reaction to handsets such as the Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) Lumia 920 which use the Windows Phone 8 OS. For BlackBerry owner Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), a company which has seen its market share drop from around 8% to as little as 3% in a year, the launch of BlackBerry 10 and the Z10 phone also seems to have roused some interest from users. But is this all too little, too late?
Apple Inc. (AAPL): The Crucial Data You Didn’t Account For (Insider Monkey)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) investors should pay attention to a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. In preparation for this year, a total of 134 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -15% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly. Of the funds we track, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the largest position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Citadel Investment Group has a $5.4717 billion call position in the stock, comprising 8.4% of its 13F portfolio.
