Money

Gazelle offering additional $10 on iPhone trade-ins right now

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Folks with an old iPhone laying around may be interested to know that electronic buy-back service Gazelle is offering extra money for Apple's handsets right now. In an effort to increase its inventory, the site says it will give you an additional $10 on your iPhone trade-ins.

For those unfamiliar with Gazelle, it's an online storefront that will pay you money for virtually any used electronic depending on the make, model and condition it's in. The transaction is done via mail, so essentially you send them your device, and they send you cash...

Apple to announce $3 billion Beats acquisition this week

Cody Lee ∙ May 27, 2014

Apple has remained mum on rumors that it's looking to acquire Beats Electronics, but it appears it's finally ready to break the silence. The New York Post reports tonight that the Cupertino firm is expected to announce the acquisition within the next few days.

Perhaps even more interesting is that the Post says Apple has managed to trim some $200 million off the price tag during the past two weeks of negotiation. According to the outlet's sources, the company has reached a deal to buy Beats for an even $3 billion...

MOG founder suing Beats for more than $20 million

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2014

As Apple moves closer to finalizing its Beats acquisition deal, a new report is out on a recently-filed lawsuit against the headphone-maker. The plaintiff is David Hyman, founder of music service MOG (now Beats Music), and he feels that Beats owes him a lot of money.

In the suit, shared by The Wrap, Hyman claims that he was offered a stout compensation package when Beats purchased his company and made him the CEO of Beats Music, which he never received. So now he's suing the firm for at least $20 million plus interest...

Apple’s new retail chief Angela Ahrendts awarded $68 million in stock

Cody Lee ∙ May 5, 2014

Talk about a signing bonus. After officially joining Apple last week, word got out today that Angela Ahrendts has already received 113 thousand units of restricted stock. At today's prices—remember, APPL is back up around $600—the shares would be worth roughly $68 million.

This makes the company's new SVP of retail and online stores one of the highest-paid executives in the industry, but of course, she'll have to wait to cash in. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the full amount won't be available until 2018...

ComiXology launches new read-only app following Amazon acquisition

Cody Lee ∙ April 26, 2014

ComiXology, the leading digital comics platform, has launched a new application for iOS today. The company sent out an email to customers this morning announcing that the old app is being retired, and a new one is now available. The biggest difference between the two, it seems, is that the new app does't allow in-app purchases.

The change is noteworthy, as the ComiXology app has long been one of the top-grossing iPad titles in the App Store, and it comes shortly after Amazon acquired the comics platform. It's not surprising though, as it's the same strategy the e-commerce giant takes with its Kindle iOS app, in an effort to circumvent Apple's 30% cut...

Apple Q2 2014 earnings: 43.7M iPhones, 16.3M iPads, $45.6B revenue

Cody Lee ∙ April 23, 2014

As expected, Apple is out with its financial report for Q2 2014 this afternoon. In a press release issued just a few moments ago, Apple announced that it sold 43.7 million iPhones, 16.3 million iPads, and pulled in $45.6 billion in revenue during its fiscal Q2.

Other than iPad sales, Apple beat the Street estimates by a wide margin. The Cupertino company also announced an accelerated strategy for its stock buyback plans, adding an additional $30 billion to the pot (for a total of $90 billion), as well as a 7-1 stock split...

Samsung expert says Apple should only get $38M for patent infringement, not $2B

Cody Lee ∙ April 21, 2014

The court battle between Apple and Samsung raged on in California today, with Samsung calling a damages expert to the stand. Judith Chevalier, a professor of economics at the Yale University School of Management, testified that if found guilty of infringement, Samsung should only have to pay Apple $38 million.

The figure, which is actually $38.4 million, is miles away from the $2.2 billion number that Apple's damages expert called for last week. Chevalier argued that a reasonable royalty rate for Apple's patents would've been $0.35 per patent, per device, and doesn't think the company should receive damages for lost sales...

Analysts make case for why Apple will launch mobile payment system

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

The Morgan Stanley Research group in Europe believes Apple has all the ingredients to cook up a proprietary mobile payment system, and makes a case for why the Cupertino-based company may launch it soon.

Primarily, Apple in a way is already the "de facto, in the mobile payment space," given it has 400 million credit cards on file through its iTunes Store.

One Morgan Stanley executive makes a strong case, based on public information and not insider Apple information, on why it sounds likely:

Facebook reportedly aims to get ahead of Apple with new payments service

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Get ready to pay for items using Facebook, as the social network is said to be planning a payments service that could launch before the rumored iWallet from Apple.

Facebook hasn't officially confirmed the service, but it's working to receive regulatory approval for it in Ireland, according to a report from the Financial Times. The service is said to allow users to store money and make electronic payments through the social network. Essentially, it will put Facebook in competition with Google Wallet, PayPal, Isis, Square, and soon Apple, if the rumors are true...

Apple calls in expert to explain why it deserves $2 billion in damages from Samsung

Cody Lee ∙ April 9, 2014

The high-profile patent trial between Apple and Samsung wages on, with Apple on Tuesday calling in a damages expert Chris Vellturo to speak to the jury. The MIT-trained economist's job was to help the company explain why it deserved the damages it's asking for.

For those who missed it last week, Apple is asking the court to award it $2 billion ($2.19B to be exact) in damages from Samsung for infringing on 5 of its utility patents. And according to Vellturo, that amount is fair based on a mix of lost profits and owed royalty fees...

Sprint now offering up to $650 for new ‘Framily’ subscribers

Cody Lee ∙ April 5, 2014

Following in the footsteps of T-Mobile, Sprint announced this week that it is now offering up to $650 in equipment trade-in and early termination fee credits to new subscribers. The goal of the promo is to entice customers to switch over from their current carriers.

Folks looking to cash in on the 'Framily Switching Bonus' offer must port their existing phone numbers from another company to Sprint. They must also trade-in their previous handsets for new smartphones, and subscribe to one of the carrier's new Framily rate plans...

Tim Cook made $74M last year, the highest among all tech CEOs except Zuckerberg

Cody Lee ∙ April 4, 2014

Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn't have an easy job. Not only is he in charge of one of the largest companies in the world, but he has to do so in the shadow of one of the most highly regarded executives of our generation, amidst constant criticism from those that say Apple's best days are behind it.

No need to worry though, Tim is well compensated. According to a new report, he took home $4.3 million in salary and incentives last year, and another $70 million in vested stock options. All told, Cook banked more than any other tech CEO in 2013 except for Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg...