Analysts Eyeing Record Highs for Apple's Stock Price, Rushing to Raise Price Targets Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:25 AM PDT Analysts were sour on Apple last year, believing the company's stock would not climb over the $700 mark it crossed briefly in September 2012. Now with a 7-for-1 stock split and a continuing stock repurchase plan, this negative sentiment is changing with analysts revising their price targets for the again-hot stock, reports Fortune .
Table compiled by Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt. In recent weeks, analysts have adjusted their price targets by as much as 30 percent, with prices now ranging from a low of $87 from Morningstar's Brian Collelo up to a high of $124 from Stephen Turner of Hilliard Lyons. With the recent upgrades, the analysts' average price targets are now above Apple's all-time high once the stock split is accounted for. As noted by BTIG's Walter Piecyk, some of this optimism stems from new U.S. carrier plans that will expand the number of customers eligible to upgrade to Apple's next generation iPhone and new leasing options that offer upgrades with a minimal upfront cost.
Wireless carriers in the U.S. have been modifying their consumer cellular and data plans, introducing no-contract options and new incentives that make it easier for customers to upgrade to new phones. Much of this change has been initiated by T-Mobile, which started its Uncarrier promotion in early 2013 with a no-contract Simple Choice plan that lets you pay for a phone in installments with a low upfront cost and early upgrades. Other carriers, such as AT&T, have followed suits with similar plans. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Google Following in Apple's Footsteps With Songza Purchase Posted: 01 Jul 2014 02:41 PM PDT Just over a month after Apple announced plans to purchase Beats Electronics and the Beats Music service, Google has made its own music purchase, acquiring streaming music service Songza. First launched in 2007 and revamped in 2011, Songza is a curation-based music service much like Beats Music. Songza offers a multitude of customized playlists created by music experts, which revolve around different moods and activities. For example, in its iPhone app, Songza provides playlists for "Working Out," "Waking Up Happy," "Feeling Confident," and more. Beats Music, meanwhile, boasts "in-house curators" that provide handpicked albums and playlists based on a user's personal tastes. There's also a feature called "The Sentence," which offers playlists based on location, feeling, and genre. The two services are both similar in regards to their emphasis on human curation, which is becoming a must-have feature in the streaming music arena. Beats Music's focus on curation was one of the driving factors behind Apple's purchase of the service.
Beats Music app on the left, Songza app on the right Apple has plans to keep Beats Music separate from its own iTunes and iTunes Radio offerings, and Google too has said that Songza will remain independent, though it has plans to integrate Songza features into Google Play Music and other Google services in the future. Both Songza and Beats Music are set to remain available on multiple platforms.
Like Beats Music, which had 250,000 subscribers in May three months after launching, Songza is relatively small at five million users compared to competitors like iTunes Radio, Pandora, and Spotify. The major differentiating factor between the two services is cost -- Songza is free and ad-supported while Beats Music requires a monthly subscription. The terms of the deal between Google and Songza were not disclosed, but some reports have suggested Google paid around $15 million for the service. Apple's Beats deal is still awaiting regulatory approval and is expected to close next quarter. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Aperture Replacement 'Photos' to Offer Image Search, Editing, Effects and Plugins Posted: 01 Jul 2014 12:11 PM PDT Last week, Apple announced that the company would be discontinuing their Aperture photo management software to focus development on the new Photos app that was introduced at WWDC. Details on Apple's new Photos app, however, remains scarce, leaving Aperture users with a lot of uncertainty. Ars Technica was able to get additional information from an Apple representative, who indicated that certain professional-grade features would be coming to the new Photos app:
Some of these editing features are already depicted in the screenshot that Apple released of Photos at the time of the announcement: The screenshot shows an adjustments panel with settings for Light (Exposure, Highlights, Shadows, Brightness, Contrast, Blacks), Color (Saturation, Contrast, Cast), Black & White (Hue Strength, Neutral Boost, Photo Tone, Grain), Definition, Vignette, White Balance, and Levels. Apple has promised that existing Aperture users will be able to import their libraries into the new OS X Photos app. Photos is expected to be released early next year. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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FTC Accuses T-Mobile of Knowingly Charging Customers for Fraudulent Services Posted: 01 Jul 2014 11:51 AM PDT The United States Federal Trade Commission today filed a complaint against T-Mobile, accusing the carrier of charging customers for unauthorized SMS subscriptions that delivered information like horoscopes and celebrity gossip at prices up to $9.99 per month. T-Mobile reportedly collected 35 to 40 percent of the amount charged to consumers, at times continuing to bill customers even after it was clear the charges were fraudulent. According to the FTC, T-Mobile made "hundreds of millions of dollars" using these tactics.
T-Mobile also failed to provide full refunds to customers after the charges were discovered. The FTC is asking for a court order to prevent T-Mobile from continuing to charge customers for fraudulent services and to provide full refunds for its "ill-gotten gains." T-Mobile has not yet commented on the FTC's complaint, but the company's outspoken CEO, John Legere, will undoubtedly have a response. In recent months, T-Mobile has worked hard to distinguish itself from other mobile phone carriers with its "UnCarrier" initiatives designed to disrupt traditional mobile service. The company has uncoupled device costs from service costs, introduced a Jump upgrade plan, provided unlimited texting and 2G data in 100 countries, offered customers up to $350 to switch carriers, and announced plans to allow customers to "test drive" the service. Update 1:30 PM PT: T-Mobile has released a statement calling the FTC's complaint "unfounded and without merit." T-Mobile goes on to state that it stopped billing for Premium SMS services last year and has launched a "proactive program" to provide full refunds for customers. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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