A few years back, Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz sat in on one of Steve Jobs’ keynote speeches, presaging a vital computer/caffeine partnership. It wasn’t long before those little iTunes download cards starting showing up on the Starbucks counter, and iTunes was featuring a specially designated iTunes + Starbucks feature. iTunes cards often feature music of the month and the download cards are for a full album. It’s saved a vast amount of space and made the search for music an entirely different experience. The larger the selection of iTunes cards, the more Starbucks will seem less like a coffee shop and more like a record store of the past. But that’s not the end of the story; it becomes even further intertwined when a third party comes into the mix.
Around the time of the launch of the first generation iPhone, Apple decided upon AT&T to provide wireless service. It was highly publicized that Apple was looking for a company that would allow them to get royalties off monthly cell phone payments on the iPhone. As we all know, Apple priced the iPhone at $599, with no savings by signing on for two years. Without a doubt, Verizon Wireless missed the boat here when they declined the opportunity to work with Apple, citing that they could make a phone of their own, without having to pay third party royalties. And so it evolved that Apple and AT&T teamed up to provide service for the iPhone.
Perspective consumers were dismayed when discovering that the device would be running on AT&T’s slower “EDGE” network, known for having notoriously abysmal data service. Add into the equation that 3G technology was already working and delivering close to Wi-Fi speeds. In preparation for the major launch of the original iPhone, AT&T prepared their EDGE network lines and markedly boosted speeds. Without a doubt, these preparations were all tailored for the iPhone.
Eventually, AT&T’s CEO (and rumors around the blogosphere) acknowledged the development of Apple’s next iPhone: the iPhone 3G. AT&T delivered again, by upgrading the EDGE network to 3G. Apple was now ready to release the iPhone 3G on the network.
Right before the announcement of the new iPhone 3G on June 9th, Starbucks was in hot water with T-Mobile, which initiated a lawsuit as a result of Starbucks’ sudden jilting of T-Mobile, in preference for AT&T. Starbucks was preparing to have iPhone/iPod Touch + Starbucks content and music ready for their Wi-Fi consumers. And who does Schultz choose for cafe wireless? None other than AT&T. The new AT&T wireless internet at Starbucks allows 2 hours of free internet when connected to a Starbucks Rewards registered card account. Registration is free, and has made a trip to Starbucks even more appealing.
There have already been a number of rumors about iPhone users receiving unlimited free Wi-Fi service inside every Starbucks. Now more than ever, the probability of the two products working in tandem seems a given. Apple, AT&T, and Starbucks are collaborating so closely these days that one can envision these three companies developing an even closer partnership to serve their niche consumers.
The American economy and market has been suffering for quite some time now. This economic stress has had a direct effect on the worldwide notebook share, decreasing by 6 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, frequently bucking the trend, Apple saw a 60 percent increase year over year, which placed the company in the top ten of computer companies.
A data company called DisplaySearch, placed Apple at 7th place among computer retailers like HP, Dell, and Acer.
Also of particular note were Apple’s 7 percent and Samsung’s 15 percent [quarterly] growth. Apple’s entry-level notebook starts at more than $1,000, while Samsung, at present, only sells notebooks in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and greater China.
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In Apple’s WWDC 2008 Keynote speech by Steve Jobs, he mentioned that Apple had sold out of iPhones–selling 6 million total. Immensely successful and potentially another great story for Apple. But there’s a downside for investors.
The downside in all of this iPhone news for investors is the simple fact that Apple hasn’t/won’t be selling the iPhone for close to two months by the time it finally releases iPhone 3G. I’m ready for it and most everybody I know is excited about the new $199 price point for the 8 GB model. But that won’t help investors in the latest quarter.
Apple is set to release this quarter’s earnings on July 21st, 2008. This will allow an initial number of iPhone 3G sales to be mentioned in the quarter. Without a doubt that should be a positive catalyst for Apple stock. But once again, Apple hasn’t been selling the iPhone for about two months by that point.
What does that mean for Apple’s quarter? Will we see record numbers once again? This all seems very uncertain and up in the air as of right now. Not to mention that Jobs’ health has continued to put pressure on Apple stock as of recently.
A variety of blog posts today have suggested this idea that consumers of Apple’s new iPhone 3G will have to possibly buy and set up the AT&T plan in Apple Stores on July 11th. This process severely slow down lines. But also, a new feature on the iPhone 3G suggests that having iPhones to buy and sell will be much easier this time around.
Let’s say you’ve purchased a new iPhone 3G. You sign-up with AT&T, with what probably will need to be a 2-year contract. Then, Apple updates the iPhone 3G hardware, and you’re once again left with an outdated product (which always seems to be the case with technology). Apple has now created the ability to easily remove your SIM card.
The SIM cards inside cell phones contain all the data and information that cellular telephone companies need to figure who’s calling who and what phone they’re calling from. In other words, the SIM card is your phone’s identity. Without it, you’ll have a deactivated phone that can only dial 911.
Due to this fundamental problem, Apple decided to create the ability to eject your SIM card and then take that with you to another, future iPhone. This ability would suggest that Apple has no problem with you reselling your iPhone and upgrading to the latest and greatest version.
It’s here. You can now watch the 2008 Keynote Speech by Steve Jobs at WWDC. Now, consumers can actually see what everything looks like and what they have to look forward to coming out on July 11th.
The website for the video reads:
Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil iPhone 3G, the App Store, MobileMe, and more in his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address from San Francisco’s Moscone West. See the video-on-demand (VOD) event right here, exclusively in QuickTime and MPEG-4.
Alright, the keynote is all done, but there’s plenty more to cover. The new iPhone ad is now available online at YouTube.com and we’ve posted it here. But we also wanted to focus on the idea that the keynote was nothing special (in a way).
By all means, Steve Jobs brought everything we wanted (except iChat video for iPhone). But he wasn’t able to surprise with anything. Even Snow Leopard, the other operating system, was expected to come out at this keynote. Nonetheless, we’re quite happy with the keynote and excited about Apple’s future.
Immediately after the WWDC Keynote by Steve Jobs, Apple has updated their iPhone website with the all-new iPhone. The website has a new picture of the black iPhone and says, “Twice as fast. Half the price.”
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Eventually, AT&T’s CEO (and rumors around the blogosphere) acknowledged the development of Apple’s next iPhone: the iPhone 3G. AT&T delivered again, by upgrading the EDGE network to 3G. Apple was now ready to release the iPhone 3G on the network.
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While the majors continue to occupy the top ten, it’s encouraging to see Apple move forward. This move may point to investor optimism in this upcoming quarter. 
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
What does that mean for Apple’s quarter? Will we see record numbers once again? This all seems very uncertain and up in the air as of right now. Not to mention that Jobs’ health has continued to put pressure on Apple stock as of recently.
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