Money

Apple to announce second quarter earnings on April 23

Cody Lee ∙ April 1, 2014

Folks wondering how Apple did during its quiet second quarter will have their answer in just a few short weeks. The Cupertino company has updated its Investor Relations page to note that it will be releasing its financial results for Q2 2014 on April 23rd.

There were no new products announced during the 3-month period, but Apple did make some changes to its device lineup. In March, the company launched a new 8GB version of its iPhone 5c in certain countries, and reintroduced its 4th generation iPad...

Survey finds 33% of iPhone owners would pay an extra $100 for bigger display

Cody Lee ∙ March 27, 2014

We don't really know anything about Apple's plans for the next-gen iPhone, but the consensus seems to be that it will feature a larger display. As Samsung and other rivals continue to gain marketshare with their 5-inch+ handsets, it's believed that Apple cannot continue to avoid the so-called 'phablet' space.

And analysts couldn't be happier. Why? Well just look at this new survey data published by Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt. According to the data, one-third of American iPhone owners would be willing to pay an extra $100 for Apple's next smartphone if it featured a larger display than its predecessor...

Pandora upping monthly ‘One’ fee, dropping annual subscriptions

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Pandora announced this week that it is going to making some significant changes to its Pandora One subscription service over the next couple of months. Most notably, it's going to be raising the monthly subscription cost and eliminating the annual option.

Citing rising licensing costs, Pandora says that it's raising its 'One' fee from $3.99 per month to $4.99 per month, and taking away the discounted annual plan altogether. The company says that royalty rates it pays to artists have increased 53% since it began...

You could be using your iPhone to pay for your burgers next month

Cody Lee ∙ March 18, 2014

Bloomberg is reporting this afternoon that Burger King, the second-largest burger chain in the US, is introducing an app next month that will allow customers to pay for their Whoppers with smartphones. The outlet says the move is part of an ongoing effort to lure in young diners.

According to a company spokesman, the program will launch in early April in select stores, and should be available in all of Burger King's 7,000+ American locations within a "few months." The chain is also looking at adding the ability to order food and drinks for in-store pickup...

Google cuts prices for Drive storage, putting pressure on Dropbox and others

Cody Lee ∙ March 13, 2014

Google announced some drastic price cuts for its Drive cloud storage today, dropping its 100GB plan down to just $1.99 per month. The service now significantly undercuts rivals like Dropbox, which charges $10 per month for 100GB, and iCloud, which doesn't even offer a 100GB option.

To be fair, Google's Drive pricing was already lower than Dropbox, with a 100GB plan costing $4.99 per month vs. $9.99. But that extra $3 per-month savings equates out to $36 per year, making it even more attractive. Don't mind paying $9.99 monthly? Drive now offers 1TB at that price...

Eddy Cue and other Apple execs granted $19 million in restricted stock bonuses

Cody Lee ∙ March 6, 2014

According to some recent SEC filings, Eddy Cue, Phil Schiller and other Apple executives have been awarded restricted stock bonuses that will vest over the next 3 years. The bonuses consist of more than 30,000 shares, worth in upwards of $19 million at today's prices.

Restricted stock units, or RSUs, are typically given as an incentive to stay with a company. Additionally, since they convert into shares of stock upon vesting, they encourage execs to put their 'best foot forward' as their value directly correlates to the firm's performance...

Mark Zuckerberg says WhatsApp worth more than $19 billion

Cody Lee ∙ February 25, 2014

Since Facebook announced last week that it would be acquiring WhatsApp for $16+ billion, pundits have been trying to make sense of the deal. How can a messaging app startup be worth so much more than say, Motorola Mobility, which has thousands of employees?

According to Mark Zuckerberg, it's not. It's worth more. Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday, the CEO said that WhatsApp was a 'great fit' for his company and that it was worth more than the $19B ($16B + $3B in vested shares) they paid for it...

Microsoft to cut Windows OEM fees 70% to counter Apple and other rivals

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

In an effort to stave off competition from Apple, Google and others, Microsoft is said to be cutting the cost of Windows 8.1 by as much as 70%. Now it sounds like this is for manufacturers only, who pre-install Windows on their devices, but it should still eventually turn into savings for consumers.

You see, Microsoft is hoping that by cutting the cost for manufacturers to install Windows on products less than $250, it'll entice PC makers to create and sell more cheaper models. It's also cutting the requirement for <$250 devices to complete logo certification in an effort to speed up their releases...

Verizon completes purchase of Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 21, 2014

Verizon last September announced that it has reached an agreement with Vodafone to buyout its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless in one of the largest corporate acquisitions in history.

In December, the Big Red carrier won necessary approvals from the Federal Communications Commission and today the company announced that the acquisition has been completed - Verizon now owns 100 percent of the "industry-leading U.S. wireless carrier"...

T-Mobile making changes to its ‘Jump’ upgrade program this month

Cody Lee ∙ February 16, 2014

TmoNews is reporting that T-Mobile plans to make some changes to its early upgrade program 'Jump' in the near future. The site says that the carrier will soon get rid of the 6 month waiting period, essentially allowing customers to upgrade their devices as often as they want.

But don't get too excited yet. In addition to eliminating its equipment upgrade waiting periods, T-Mobile is also going to raise the amount that customers have to pay off before they can trade in their device for a new one to 50%, or half of their old handset's full retail price...

Viber acquired by e-commerce giant Rakuten for $900 million

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 24, 2017

This is kind of interesting. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that the popular voice call app Viber has agreed to a deal to be acquired by Rakuten for $900 million. For those unfamiliar with the e-commerce giant, it's essentially Japan's version of Amazon.

Viber is available on all major mobile and desktop platforms, and is one of Skype's biggest competitors with over 300 million users worldwide. It was one of the first apps to allow 3G VoIP on the iPhone and it now supports land-line calls, messages and even push-to-talk...

Unused iPhones in the US said to be worth over $13 billion

Cody Lee ∙ February 13, 2014

I have a ritual I go through every time I purchase a new iPhone, which lately has been once per year. I hunt down my original box and accessories, and prepare my old handset to be sold on eBay as soon as my new one arrives. And I thought this was a common practice.

But according to the "Mobile Mountain Study" conducted by research group OnePoll, for resale site SellCell, almost half of the consumers who buy a new smartphone are holding on to their older device instead of opting to recycle or sell it in the used handset market...