Does anyone really think that Apple won't make a cheaper iPhone eventually? As Cupertino gradually reaches the loftiest heights of their profit margins, it would seem inevitable they will start to explore less-expensive options to soak up any remaining market share worldwide. But hey, if this is news to you, read on to find out what The Wall Street Journal has to say on the subject in our Tuesday recap...
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple may be planning to combat the rise of Android and Samsung Galaxy smartphones in particular with a "lower-end iPhone." Calling the move "a big shift in corporate strategy as [Apple's] supremacy in smartphones has slipped," the cheaper iPhone is said to look a lot like the current model, but made from less costly materials, such as polycarbonate plastic. The report also claims Apple may recycle parts from older iPhone models to arrive at a lower price point. The report isn't exactly a revelation: A cheaper iPhone is more a matter of "when" rather than "if," and the newspaper was quick to note "Apple could still decide to scrap the plan," giving them a nice out if the low-cost iPhone doesn't appear anytime soon.
To the surprise of no one, consumer electronics companies continue to introduce a wave of new products at CES 2013 this week, and Panasonic is no exception. The company has unveiled its line of smart VIERA plasma HDTVs for this year, which include a curious new feature called Swipe & Share 2.0. What does it do? According to the press release, it "transforms the TV into a hub for streaming and sharing photo and video content seamlessly with smartphone and tablet devices." Naturally, that includes iOS as well as Android devices, but the feature will only be found on 2013 VIERA ZT60, V760 and ST60 models, so keep that in mind while planning your next HDTV shopping extravaganza.
Tuesday saw the official release of Firefox 18 from Mozilla, and this is the one MacBook Pro with Retina Display users have been waiting for. The update indeed includes support for those luscious Retina Displays on OS X 10.7 and up, while also adding faster JavaScript performance by way of the IonMonkey compiler as well as preliminary support for WebRTC. Version 18 also brings better image quality thanks to a new HTML scaling algorithm, performance improvements for tab switching and a handful of developer-oriented features. You should know the drill by now thanks to these rapid releases every six weeks or so, but if not, head to the Mozilla website and get your download on, fool...
In what's sure to be a preview of the carrier's Q4 2012 earnings report due January 24, AT&T has announced 10 million smartphones were activated in the holiday quarter, topping the previous record of 9.4 million sold during the same period in 2011. According to Reuters, the carrier appears to have sold 26.7 million units in 2012 -- slightly ahead of their own 26 million forecast -- meaning more and more of us are tossing out the dumb phones and wading into the smartphone pool. Rival Verizon Wireless isn't sharing any Q4 numbers yet, but they did go on the record touting their "strongest fourth quarter ever," with both an increase in subscriber numbers as well as an overall bump in smartphone sales. Stay tuned, a wave of Q4 2012 earnings announcements are coming!
Reuters (via Yahoo! News) reported Tuesday that retailer Target is planning to attack e-tailers head on by price matching competitors all year round from here on. Target had introduced an online price match service for the holiday season which ended December 16, but the move was apparently successful enough to make it a permanent one. The report singles out competitors such as Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Toys R Us, and Target shoppers will have a week to claim their price match after making a purchase.
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