Sony Co. (NYSE: SNE), Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE), Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF), Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO), Sierra Wireless, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWIR) and Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) were downgraded by analysts.
Sony Co. (SNE) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Overweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was downgraded by Janney Montgomery Scott from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) was downgraded by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Underperform” rating.
Two Harbors Investment Corp. (TWO) was downgraded by Guggenheim from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SWIR) was downgraded by Raymond James (NYSE:JRF) from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.
Tidewater Inc. (TDW) was downgraded by Argus from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.
Showing posts with label Sony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sony. Show all posts
Friday, November 4, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Transocean (RIG) (AEO) (SNE) (BOBE) (CBRL) (CLMS) Downgraded
Transocean (NYSE: RIG), American Eagle (NYSE: AEO), Sony Co. (NYSE: SNE), Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE), Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL) and Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ: CLMS) downgraded by analysts.
Transocean (RIG) was downgraded by Macquarie from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
American Eagle (AEO) was downgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $12.00 on the company.
Sony Co. (SNE) was downgraded by Macquarie from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (BOBE) was downgraded by SunTrust (NYSE:STI) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Cracker Barrel (CBRL) was downgraded by SunTrust from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. (CLMS) was downgraded by KBW to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $14.00 on the company.
Transocean (RIG) was downgraded by Macquarie from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
American Eagle (AEO) was downgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $12.00 on the company.
Sony Co. (SNE) was downgraded by Macquarie from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (BOBE) was downgraded by SunTrust (NYSE:STI) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Cracker Barrel (CBRL) was downgraded by SunTrust from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. (CLMS) was downgraded by KBW to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $14.00 on the company.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle Offered Free for Some
It was only recently that the idea of Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) highly popular Kindle will be offered free, and that has become a reality for some, as it is being bundled by Carphone Warehouse - the mobile phone retailer in Europe - which will offer Wi-Fi Kindles for free upon the purchase of a two-year contract on select mobile phones.
There can be no doubt that this will eventually expand, especially as if sales for the contract soar because of the Kindle factor.
Along with Amazon's effort to compete with Netflix by offering free streaming content with every Prime membership, this free Kindle push could be a means to maintain an e-reader lead against Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, Barnes and Noble's (NYSE:BKS) Nook, and the Sony Reader (NYSE:SNE). Still, there's little worry about Kindle abandonment in light of iPad's success. In fact, there's actually an increase in Kindle ownership. Lunden writes:
"In a poll of those buying the iPad 2 over the first weekend of sales found that 24 percent owned a Kindle, compared to 13 percent of original iPad buyers having a Kindle. And only 6 percent use their iPad 2 as an e-reading device, down from 19 percent of those surveyed during the launch of the first iPad," said Paid Content's Ingrid Lunden.
Amazon was trading at $164.01, down $1.07, or 0.65 percent, as of 2:27 PM EDT.
Source
There can be no doubt that this will eventually expand, especially as if sales for the contract soar because of the Kindle factor.
Along with Amazon's effort to compete with Netflix by offering free streaming content with every Prime membership, this free Kindle push could be a means to maintain an e-reader lead against Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, Barnes and Noble's (NYSE:BKS) Nook, and the Sony Reader (NYSE:SNE). Still, there's little worry about Kindle abandonment in light of iPad's success. In fact, there's actually an increase in Kindle ownership. Lunden writes:
"In a poll of those buying the iPad 2 over the first weekend of sales found that 24 percent owned a Kindle, compared to 13 percent of original iPad buyers having a Kindle. And only 6 percent use their iPad 2 as an e-reading device, down from 19 percent of those surveyed during the launch of the first iPad," said Paid Content's Ingrid Lunden.
Amazon was trading at $164.01, down $1.07, or 0.65 percent, as of 2:27 PM EDT.
Source
Monday, March 14, 2011
Toyota (TM), Sony (SNE) Get Defensive Trades After Quake
Investors took defensive measures in regard to Japan-based Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Sony (NYSE:SNE), as concerns over the impact on the two companies as to possibly being shut down for an extended period of time hit the stocks.
Trade Alert said that there close to 30,000 puts and 9,068 calls traded in the MSCI Japan Index ETF (EWJ.P) on Friday, far above its average daily combined volume of 12,000 contracts.
Jon Najarian of optionMonster.com said, "Traders are primarily buying put options, perhaps as a hedge against existing long stock positions in case of a prolonged shutdown in their automotive and parts production facilities in Japan."
Option traders traded a total of 8,433 contracts in Toyota with puts outpacing calls by almost two to one, according to Trade Alert data.
Toyota closed Friday at $85.65, dropping $1.87, or 2.14 percent. Sony closed at $33.45, down $0.81, or 2.36 percent.
Trade Alert said that there close to 30,000 puts and 9,068 calls traded in the MSCI Japan Index ETF (EWJ.P) on Friday, far above its average daily combined volume of 12,000 contracts.
Jon Najarian of optionMonster.com said, "Traders are primarily buying put options, perhaps as a hedge against existing long stock positions in case of a prolonged shutdown in their automotive and parts production facilities in Japan."
Option traders traded a total of 8,433 contracts in Toyota with puts outpacing calls by almost two to one, according to Trade Alert data.
Toyota closed Friday at $85.65, dropping $1.87, or 2.14 percent. Sony closed at $33.45, down $0.81, or 2.36 percent.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Berkshire (BRK-A), (AIG), (CB), (XL),(RE), (PRU) Could Get Slammed from Japan Quake
The insurance industry has been especially hit hard and expected to have the most exposure overall to the 8.9 quake in Japan, which is the strongest in over a century.
Companies like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A), Prudential (NYSE:PRU), American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Chubb Group (NYSE:CB), XL Group plc (NYSE:XL) and Everest Re Group Ltd. (NYSE:RE) are among those that could be negatively impacted over time, as far as those trading in the United States.
Claims from the disaster are expected to reach into the tens of billions.
Other secondary effects in physical Japan are for companies like Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) and Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC), which have had to close plants.
Reinsurers like RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) and Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) are still recovering from the New Zealand earthquake in February.
Companies like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A), Prudential (NYSE:PRU), American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Chubb Group (NYSE:CB), XL Group plc (NYSE:XL) and Everest Re Group Ltd. (NYSE:RE) are among those that could be negatively impacted over time, as far as those trading in the United States.
Claims from the disaster are expected to reach into the tens of billions.
Other secondary effects in physical Japan are for companies like Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) and Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC), which have had to close plants.
Reinsurers like RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) and Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) are still recovering from the New Zealand earthquake in February.
Gamers Like (ATVI)(CCOEF)(UBSFF)(MSFT)(SNE) Could Get Boost on Stonger-Than-Expected Sales
Software sales from gaming companies came in higher than expected last month, as hardware sale soared beyond projections, with companies like Activision-Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), Unisoft (UBSFF), Capcom (CCOEF), Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) expected to benefit.
Gaming sales in February fell by 5 percent from last year, but analysts had been looking for a drop of 6 to 10 percent.
Activision-Blizzard's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" was again the top selling game for the fourth consecutive month. Capcom (CCOEF) battled its way into the number two with its new release "Marvel vs. Capcom 3," while Ubisoft's (UBSFF) "Just Dance 2" dropped to third place.
With hardware sales soaring, analysts say it could result in the gaming side getting more robust.
Another unknown is the impact the release of Nintendo's (NTDOY) 3DS system will have on the software side of the business. It has been a huge hit in Japan, and will be released in the latter part of March.
For the overall sector, sales rose by 4 percent over February 2010.
Gaming sales in February fell by 5 percent from last year, but analysts had been looking for a drop of 6 to 10 percent.
Activision-Blizzard's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" was again the top selling game for the fourth consecutive month. Capcom (CCOEF) battled its way into the number two with its new release "Marvel vs. Capcom 3," while Ubisoft's (UBSFF) "Just Dance 2" dropped to third place.
With hardware sales soaring, analysts say it could result in the gaming side getting more robust.
Another unknown is the impact the release of Nintendo's (NTDOY) 3DS system will have on the software side of the business. It has been a huge hit in Japan, and will be released in the latter part of March.
For the overall sector, sales rose by 4 percent over February 2010.
Majesco (COOL) Quietly Doubles in a Month
Majesco Entertainment (NASDAQ:COOL) a maker or reproducer of casual games, has almost doubled since February 11, when it traded for $1.26 a share.
If you go back to January 1, when they were trading a 77 cents a share, the company has over tripled in price.
While the company has been steadily moving up over the last several months, the main catalysts was their recent report where revenue for the quarter increased to $48.5 million, a 66 percent gain.
The company, at this time, is being driven by the release of its popular Zumba Fitness software, which can be played on Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Sony’s PS3 (NYSE:SNE) consoles.
Majesco closed Thursday at $2.48, gaining $0.23, or 10.22 percent. They were up to $2.50 in after hours trading.
If you go back to January 1, when they were trading a 77 cents a share, the company has over tripled in price.
While the company has been steadily moving up over the last several months, the main catalysts was their recent report where revenue for the quarter increased to $48.5 million, a 66 percent gain.
The company, at this time, is being driven by the release of its popular Zumba Fitness software, which can be played on Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Sony’s PS3 (NYSE:SNE) consoles.
Majesco closed Thursday at $2.48, gaining $0.23, or 10.22 percent. They were up to $2.50 in after hours trading.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Microsoft's (MSFT) Kinect Reaches 10 Million in Sales
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced its Kinect has become the fastest-selling consumer device in history, racking up 10 million in sales in a little over four months.
Not only has the Kinect sold robustly, but stand-alone Kinect games have also reached over 10 million in sales, adding significantly to the bottom line of the company in the last quarter, with no real competitors challenging them at this time. Sony's (NYSE:SNE) rival product has done little against the device.
Kinect is an infrared motion-sensing game system which allows to use to interact without any handheld aid.
The Xbox game console add-on is normally priced at about $150, although can be purchased online for less than that.
Not only has the Kinect sold robustly, but stand-alone Kinect games have also reached over 10 million in sales, adding significantly to the bottom line of the company in the last quarter, with no real competitors challenging them at this time. Sony's (NYSE:SNE) rival product has done little against the device.
Kinect is an infrared motion-sensing game system which allows to use to interact without any handheld aid.
The Xbox game console add-on is normally priced at about $150, although can be purchased online for less than that.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Qualcomm's (QCOM) Benefit Nokia (NOK), Sony (SNE), Ericsson (ERIC) Overstated Says BMO
The benefits to Qualcomm (QCOM) from the joint venture between Nokia (NYSE:NOK), LG Electronics (LGERF), Sony (NYSE:SNE), Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) are being overstated in the view of BMO Capital’s Tim Long, who cut his rating on the company as a result.
Long said he sees lower royalty payments than expected, and also cut his price target on Qualcomm.
Other pressures on Qualcomm will come from makers of tablets, in Long's estimation, as he sees Apple’s (AAPL) success and that of Samsung (SSNLF) and HTC with their Google (GOOG) Android-based phones affecting the company, as prices are pushed down.
"We see secular weakness from the Japanese OEMs due to strong Smartphone sales from Apple, Samsung and HTC in the domestic market. This has forced the Japanese OEMs to develop and sell Android devices that have lower ASPs than the feature phones they had previously offered. We believe the transition to Windows Phone 7 will hurt Nokia, while the Sony Ericsson new products are later than we expected. Last, we believe new tablet entrants have had a tough time getting product out, said Long.
BMO Capital cut its rating on Qualcomm from "Outperform" to "Market Perform." Qualcomm was trading at $57.30, down $0.28, or 0.49 percent, as of 1:40 PM EST. BMO lowered its price target on the firm from $65 to $56.
Long said he sees lower royalty payments than expected, and also cut his price target on Qualcomm.
Other pressures on Qualcomm will come from makers of tablets, in Long's estimation, as he sees Apple’s (AAPL) success and that of Samsung (SSNLF) and HTC with their Google (GOOG) Android-based phones affecting the company, as prices are pushed down.
"We see secular weakness from the Japanese OEMs due to strong Smartphone sales from Apple, Samsung and HTC in the domestic market. This has forced the Japanese OEMs to develop and sell Android devices that have lower ASPs than the feature phones they had previously offered. We believe the transition to Windows Phone 7 will hurt Nokia, while the Sony Ericsson new products are later than we expected. Last, we believe new tablet entrants have had a tough time getting product out, said Long.
BMO Capital cut its rating on Qualcomm from "Outperform" to "Market Perform." Qualcomm was trading at $57.30, down $0.28, or 0.49 percent, as of 1:40 PM EST. BMO lowered its price target on the firm from $65 to $56.
General Electric (GE), (JNJ), (DIS), (GOOG), Among Companies Hacked in 2010
According to a Bloomberg report released today, major companies like General Electric (NYSE:GE), Disney (NYSE:DIS), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), DuPont (NYSE:DD) and Sony (NYSE:SNE) experienced serious hacks into their networks in 2010, saying they were similar to the one Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) got hit with.
Information in emails from security firm HBGary were culled to gather the data, which had performed an investigation into the attacks.
At the time of the Google attack, tech companies such as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) said they had also been under attack.
According to the Bloomberg report, the attacks were “industrial espionage by hackers based in China, Russia and other countries.”
None of the companies have revealed the nature or extent of the attacks, so it's not clear what impact it had on the firms, although normally they report if it could effect the share price of the company, an din cases of material impact, they're required to report the consequences.
Information in emails from security firm HBGary were culled to gather the data, which had performed an investigation into the attacks.
At the time of the Google attack, tech companies such as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) said they had also been under attack.
According to the Bloomberg report, the attacks were “industrial espionage by hackers based in China, Russia and other countries.”
None of the companies have revealed the nature or extent of the attacks, so it's not clear what impact it had on the firms, although normally they report if it could effect the share price of the company, an din cases of material impact, they're required to report the consequences.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sony Music (SNE) Lands Universal Music's Morris
Former Universal Music Group chief Doug Morris has been named to make his long-rumored move to lead rival music group Sony Music Entertainment.
Morris will join Sony Music on July 1 after several weeks of contract negotiations between Morris, his former employers and Sony Corp Chief Executive Sir Howard Stringer. Morris had still been under contract at Vivendi SA's Universal Music as chairman till December 31 this year and only got a contract release this week.
Morris ran Universal Music for 15 years until he stepped down last year as CEO. He replaces Sony Music's current CEO, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who retires on March 31 after five years.
Sony said Stringer will oversee the executive decision-making at Sony Music for the few months prior to Morris coming on board in the summer.
Full Story
Morris will join Sony Music on July 1 after several weeks of contract negotiations between Morris, his former employers and Sony Corp Chief Executive Sir Howard Stringer. Morris had still been under contract at Vivendi SA's Universal Music as chairman till December 31 this year and only got a contract release this week.
Morris ran Universal Music for 15 years until he stepped down last year as CEO. He replaces Sony Music's current CEO, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who retires on March 31 after five years.
Sony said Stringer will oversee the executive decision-making at Sony Music for the few months prior to Morris coming on board in the summer.
Full Story
Friday, February 25, 2011
Choose Mosaic (MOS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), State Street (STT), Cummins (CMI), Alcoa (AA), Cameco (CCJ) if Unrest Wanes
If the current unrest in the Middle East begins to wane, Vadim Zlotnikov, a strategist at BernsteinResearch, says he would choose stocks like Mosaic (MOS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), State Street (STT), Cummins (CMI), Alcoa (AA) and Cameco (CCJ).
Assuming unrest continues, he would choose plays such as Chevron (CVX) and Conoco (COP), Bristol Myers (BMY), Sony (SNE) and DirecTV (DTV).
Big increases in the VIX, also known as the fear index, tend to weigh especially heavily on companies whose earnings prospects are tied closely to economic growth. These so-called procyclical stocks won't look like a good bet if the unrest in Libya intensifies and the New York price of oil soars to, say, $120 a barrel.
But Zlotnikov says he doesn't expect that to happen – which should be good news for the global economy and companies whose profits are strongly tied to global growth.
"While potential for spread of unrest to other major oil producing countries is clearly possible, this is not our base case as governments of oil-producing countries will seek to mitigate unrest through wage and other concessions," he writes. "Under the scenario of sustainable $100 oil during 2011, the adverse economic impact should be contained and a 'normal' decline in VIX should ensue during the next couple of weeks."
Full Story
Assuming unrest continues, he would choose plays such as Chevron (CVX) and Conoco (COP), Bristol Myers (BMY), Sony (SNE) and DirecTV (DTV).
Big increases in the VIX, also known as the fear index, tend to weigh especially heavily on companies whose earnings prospects are tied closely to economic growth. These so-called procyclical stocks won't look like a good bet if the unrest in Libya intensifies and the New York price of oil soars to, say, $120 a barrel.
But Zlotnikov says he doesn't expect that to happen – which should be good news for the global economy and companies whose profits are strongly tied to global growth.
"While potential for spread of unrest to other major oil producing countries is clearly possible, this is not our base case as governments of oil-producing countries will seek to mitigate unrest through wage and other concessions," he writes. "Under the scenario of sustainable $100 oil during 2011, the adverse economic impact should be contained and a 'normal' decline in VIX should ensue during the next couple of weeks."
Full Story
Friday, February 18, 2011
Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox Sales Up 15 Percent on Kinect Demand
The overall videogame segment suffered a dismal January, as sales were down and no company but Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with their Xbox was able to grow console sales year-over-year.
Microsoft said Thursday they sold 381,000 Xbox units in January, a 15 percent boost over January 2010. The company claims theirs was the only console showing growth for the month.
They could have sold a lot more consoles except for shortages driven by continuing demand for Kinect. Microsoft said that should show improvement throughout February.
According to NPD Group the only positive news for the overall sector was in accessories, which includes Microsoft's Kinect, which obviously was the story there as well.
Sale for accessories in January jumped to $235.1 percent, a six percent gain for the industry over last year.
The bad news in January for videogame software was sales dropped to $576 million, down 5 percent from last January. Hardware sales were worse, falling to $324 million, an eight percent plunge.
The top five selling games in January were Activision Blizzard’s (ATVI) Call of Duty: Black Ops, Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2, Electronic Arts’ (ERTS) Dead Space 2, Sony’s (SNE) Little Big Planet 2, and Majesco’s (COOL) Zumba Fitness.
Microsoft said Thursday they sold 381,000 Xbox units in January, a 15 percent boost over January 2010. The company claims theirs was the only console showing growth for the month.
They could have sold a lot more consoles except for shortages driven by continuing demand for Kinect. Microsoft said that should show improvement throughout February.
According to NPD Group the only positive news for the overall sector was in accessories, which includes Microsoft's Kinect, which obviously was the story there as well.
Sale for accessories in January jumped to $235.1 percent, a six percent gain for the industry over last year.
The bad news in January for videogame software was sales dropped to $576 million, down 5 percent from last January. Hardware sales were worse, falling to $324 million, an eight percent plunge.
The top five selling games in January were Activision Blizzard’s (ATVI) Call of Duty: Black Ops, Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2, Electronic Arts’ (ERTS) Dead Space 2, Sony’s (SNE) Little Big Planet 2, and Majesco’s (COOL) Zumba Fitness.
Majesco (COOL) Quietly Making Big Move
Majesco Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ:COOL) has been moving under the radar of most investors, but has been soaring over the last several months, almost doubling since it traded at $0.78 on January 1, 2010.
The company develops games for all the major consoles, including Xbox (MSFT), PlayStation (SNE), Nintendo, mobile devices and PCs.
They most work in the casual gaming sector, and the enjoyed recent success with its Zumba Fitness, which was the No. 5 selling video game in January, in an otherwise very slow month.
In the last three months, Majesco has soared from $0.60 at the close of the market November 17, to $1.50 as of close on February 17.
The company develops games for all the major consoles, including Xbox (MSFT), PlayStation (SNE), Nintendo, mobile devices and PCs.
They most work in the casual gaming sector, and the enjoyed recent success with its Zumba Fitness, which was the No. 5 selling video game in January, in an otherwise very slow month.
In the last three months, Majesco has soared from $0.60 at the close of the market November 17, to $1.50 as of close on February 17.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Sony (NYSE:SNE) Says May Leave Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes
In a spat with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) over its iTunes Music Store, Sony (NYSE:SNE) says they're looking at pulling out of the service.
This started when Sony was infuriated when their e-reader app for the iPad was rejected by Apple.
Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Michal Ephraim said concerning leaving iTunes, "If we do, then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes? Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that's the format right now. Publishers are being held ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold."
Sony recently launched its own 'Music Unlimited' store for the purpose of battling Apple for digital music sales.
They are also probably going to withhold some of its popular games from Apple's iPhone and iPad. Sony has also made an agreement with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to offer content via Android.
Apple was trading at $356.50, up $1.96, or 0.55 percent, as of 12:04 PM EST. Sony was at $34.86, up $0.03, or 0.09 percent. Google was trading at $619.18, gaining $2.74, or 0.44 percent.
This started when Sony was infuriated when their e-reader app for the iPad was rejected by Apple.
Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Michal Ephraim said concerning leaving iTunes, "If we do, then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes? Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that's the format right now. Publishers are being held ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold."
Sony recently launched its own 'Music Unlimited' store for the purpose of battling Apple for digital music sales.
They are also probably going to withhold some of its popular games from Apple's iPhone and iPad. Sony has also made an agreement with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to offer content via Android.
Apple was trading at $356.50, up $1.96, or 0.55 percent, as of 12:04 PM EST. Sony was at $34.86, up $0.03, or 0.09 percent. Google was trading at $619.18, gaining $2.74, or 0.44 percent.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shutting Competitors Out of App Store
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reverted to some of its former business practices, as they are taking more control of their App Store and shrinking what apps are allowed in it.
One of the major decisions by Apple is to disallow Sony (NYSE:SNE) from selling content within their apps, or to allow customer to have access to acquisitions they've made outside of the App Store.
In other words, Apple is moving toward any sales made through their iPhone apps to go through the App Store.
Included in content their shutting Sony out of are e-books. This was specifically targeting the Sony Reader Store. All in-app purchases are now required to go through Apple.
While it isn't clear at this time, the assumption is this will probably extend to Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and their Kindle reader. If that ends up being the case, e-book readers could end up only being allowed to be read e-books on company-specific readers, and not on others.
James McQuivey, a consumer electronics analyst at Forrester Research, commented on the change saying, "This sudden shift perhaps tells you something about Apple's understanding of the value of its platform. Apple started making money with devices. Maybe the new thing that everyone recognizes is the unit of economic value is the platform, not the device."
It that's the case, apparently Apple is recognizing the market will eventually mature, and then readers could become commodities, with no differentiation, as content would be able to be read by all.
They may see that content will eventually outsell hardware, and so are positioning themselves for that time.
Apple had no comment on the story. They closed Tuesday at $345.03, gaining $5.71, or 1.68 percent.
One of the major decisions by Apple is to disallow Sony (NYSE:SNE) from selling content within their apps, or to allow customer to have access to acquisitions they've made outside of the App Store.
In other words, Apple is moving toward any sales made through their iPhone apps to go through the App Store.
Included in content their shutting Sony out of are e-books. This was specifically targeting the Sony Reader Store. All in-app purchases are now required to go through Apple.
While it isn't clear at this time, the assumption is this will probably extend to Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and their Kindle reader. If that ends up being the case, e-book readers could end up only being allowed to be read e-books on company-specific readers, and not on others.
James McQuivey, a consumer electronics analyst at Forrester Research, commented on the change saying, "This sudden shift perhaps tells you something about Apple's understanding of the value of its platform. Apple started making money with devices. Maybe the new thing that everyone recognizes is the unit of economic value is the platform, not the device."
It that's the case, apparently Apple is recognizing the market will eventually mature, and then readers could become commodities, with no differentiation, as content would be able to be read by all.
They may see that content will eventually outsell hardware, and so are positioning themselves for that time.
Apple had no comment on the story. They closed Tuesday at $345.03, gaining $5.71, or 1.68 percent.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Say Goodbye to Sony's (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation and Microsoft's (Nasdaq:MSFT) Xbox, Cloud Gaming Has Arrived!
If Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) were smart, they'd immediately begin a response to the online gaming site OnLive, which is now streaming games directly to the TV from the Internet.
Is this the future Netflix (Nasdaq:NFLX) of gaming? Maybe.
All of it depends on their ability to work the kinks out of the system and secure deals with gaming companies to offer a wide range of games to users.
But the potential to be disruptive is very real, and it's not that far away from becoming a reality; if they're not responded to by the console makers.
OnLive has been around for a little while, but it appears they're ramping it up to the next level, giving pause to those watching the sector.
If anyone thinks entertainment of all kinds isn't going to eventually end up on the Internet somehow and then be downloaded to a screen of some size, is fooling themselves, this is where the revolution is heading to, no matter what the type of entertainment being offered.
At this time OnLive isn't simple enough for the masses to embrace, as there's some shortfalls and limitations to setting it up if you don't have an ethernet set up in your home. You have to be pretty savvy with setting things up to work your way around the problem, or at least know someone that can.
The other challenge, as mentioned, is for OnLive to garner more titles to offer up a good variety for users in order to make them feel they're getting their money's worth.
The strengths are similar to other Internet strengths, like sharing things you do in the game with other OnLive users. You can also watch others as they play their games in real time; it's called "Arena." You can let them know one way or the other what you think of their play. There are also apps you can use to view sessions of other players on Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPad, suggesting additional apps in the future.
The price at this time? Only $99, and it comes with the adapter for the TV and a wireless handheld controller and one game.
Users say it plays very close to the experience of a console, a must to be a seriously disruptive product.
OnLive isn't quite there yet, but they're not far away. For console makers to sit back and wait would be a huge mistake, and they're already behind the curve on this one. They should respond quickly if they don't want to get NexFlixed.
Is this the future Netflix (Nasdaq:NFLX) of gaming? Maybe.
All of it depends on their ability to work the kinks out of the system and secure deals with gaming companies to offer a wide range of games to users.
But the potential to be disruptive is very real, and it's not that far away from becoming a reality; if they're not responded to by the console makers.
OnLive has been around for a little while, but it appears they're ramping it up to the next level, giving pause to those watching the sector.
If anyone thinks entertainment of all kinds isn't going to eventually end up on the Internet somehow and then be downloaded to a screen of some size, is fooling themselves, this is where the revolution is heading to, no matter what the type of entertainment being offered.
At this time OnLive isn't simple enough for the masses to embrace, as there's some shortfalls and limitations to setting it up if you don't have an ethernet set up in your home. You have to be pretty savvy with setting things up to work your way around the problem, or at least know someone that can.
The other challenge, as mentioned, is for OnLive to garner more titles to offer up a good variety for users in order to make them feel they're getting their money's worth.
The strengths are similar to other Internet strengths, like sharing things you do in the game with other OnLive users. You can also watch others as they play their games in real time; it's called "Arena." You can let them know one way or the other what you think of their play. There are also apps you can use to view sessions of other players on Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPad, suggesting additional apps in the future.
The price at this time? Only $99, and it comes with the adapter for the TV and a wireless handheld controller and one game.
Users say it plays very close to the experience of a console, a must to be a seriously disruptive product.
OnLive isn't quite there yet, but they're not far away. For console makers to sit back and wait would be a huge mistake, and they're already behind the curve on this one. They should respond quickly if they don't want to get NexFlixed.
Monday, January 3, 2011
IMAX (NASDAQ:IMAX) Says No Sony (NYSE:SNE) Bid
A statement from IMAX (NASDAQ:IMAX) on the unsourced report of the Daily Mail that Sony (NYSE:SNE), and also Disney (NYSE:DIS), were interested in making a bid for the company, were shot down.
IMAX said, "IMAX Corporation is not aware of any corporate developments to account for this activity. The Company's policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly does not intend to comment further."
Even if the story were true, there could be challenges to either company named successfully bidding for IMAX because of ownership rules, which could bar the entertainment companies from owning theaters.
That may have been able to have been circumvented because of IMAX's licensing arrangement, but it wasn't a surety.
IMAX has about 440 theaters around the world.
IMAX said, "IMAX Corporation is not aware of any corporate developments to account for this activity. The Company's policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly does not intend to comment further."
Even if the story were true, there could be challenges to either company named successfully bidding for IMAX because of ownership rules, which could bar the entertainment companies from owning theaters.
That may have been able to have been circumvented because of IMAX's licensing arrangement, but it wasn't a surety.
IMAX has about 440 theaters around the world.
Friday, December 31, 2010
IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX) Soars on Sony (NYSE:SNE) Takeover Rumors
The Daily Mail in the UK has been the source of several major rumors lately, and the latest is the assertion IMAX (Nasdaq:IMAX) may be taken over by Sony (NYSE:SNE).
All of this is built upon speculation rather than sources, as the Daily Mail said "whispers" on the Street generated the story.
But when you dig into the matter, it's highly unlikely the bid would be made based on antitrust rules which don't allow theater chains to be owned by movie studios.
Technically in some cases it may work out though, as IMAX does license its theaters, meaning they may not be considered a chain.
Other challenges to the deal would be whether or not other studios would allow their content to go to an Sony-owned IMAX.
It will be surprising if the rumors turn out to be true, but even if they are, it would be an uphill climb to make the deal happen.
Sony was trading at $35.74, up $0.17, or 0.48 percent, as of 11:58 AM EST. IMAX was trading at $30.90, gaining $4.04, or 15.04 percent.
All of this is built upon speculation rather than sources, as the Daily Mail said "whispers" on the Street generated the story.
But when you dig into the matter, it's highly unlikely the bid would be made based on antitrust rules which don't allow theater chains to be owned by movie studios.
Technically in some cases it may work out though, as IMAX does license its theaters, meaning they may not be considered a chain.
Other challenges to the deal would be whether or not other studios would allow their content to go to an Sony-owned IMAX.
It will be surprising if the rumors turn out to be true, but even if they are, it would be an uphill climb to make the deal happen.
Sony was trading at $35.74, up $0.17, or 0.48 percent, as of 11:58 AM EST. IMAX was trading at $30.90, gaining $4.04, or 15.04 percent.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sony (NYSE:SNE) Ready to Launch PlayStation Smartphone
Sony (NYSE:SNE) may launch its long-awaited PlayStation Portable smartphone in the spring of 2011, according to a report in the English edition of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
The assumption is the smartphone will be modeled on Sony's handheld PSP Go game console, made by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and use Google's Android operating system to run it.
Sony is introducing the new model in order to compete with against entrenched smartphone devices such as developed by Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) and RIM (Nasdaq:RIMM).
Because it is based on a portable game console and empowers the user to participate in advanced gaming, it may be considered a must-have device and thought of as a gaming piece with the ability to talk to someone, rather than a smartphone you can use with a gaming system.
That could differentiate the smartphone in the minds of consumers, and possibly jumpstart their ailing console business.
Sony closed Wednesday at $35.87, up $0.03, or 0.08 percent.
The assumption is the smartphone will be modeled on Sony's handheld PSP Go game console, made by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and use Google's Android operating system to run it.
Sony is introducing the new model in order to compete with against entrenched smartphone devices such as developed by Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) and RIM (Nasdaq:RIMM).
Because it is based on a portable game console and empowers the user to participate in advanced gaming, it may be considered a must-have device and thought of as a gaming piece with the ability to talk to someone, rather than a smartphone you can use with a gaming system.
That could differentiate the smartphone in the minds of consumers, and possibly jumpstart their ailing console business.
Sony closed Wednesday at $35.87, up $0.03, or 0.08 percent.
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