Apple unwraps mini-iPad to take on Amazon, Google

SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Apple Inc will begin to sell an 8-inch version of the iPad on Friday to compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle and other smaller tablets, but it set a higher-than-expected price tag of $329 that Wall Street fears could curb demand.

The 7.9 inch "iPad mini" marks the iPhone-maker's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. Apple hopes to beat back incursions onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in a larger tablet space - one that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and marketing chief Phil Schiller took the wraps off the new tablet, which essentially has most of the functions and features of the full-size iPad but in a smaller package.

Priced at $329 for a wi-fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than some predicted, but some analysts see that as a bid to retain premium pricing levels. Others fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 10-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.

"Apple has always been a premium hardware manufacturer. It's basically a hardware company and they don't have Google advertising or Amazon's online store to fall back on," said Destination Wealth Management CEO Michael Yoshikami.

"But people are happy to pay a premium because it's quality hardware, and the ecosystem (of content and apps) cannot be underestimated."

JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna said, however, "It's coming in the range that most were grumbling about and that, quite frankly, we're a little bit concerned about."

"It's a little confusing at this juncture to try and figure out how it fits into the line-up. Is it going to cannibalize the more expensive iPad?" he said.

"It is worth noting that there are zero-margin products out there competing with them now ... and that is presenting some challenges to Apple."

Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester who attended the event, said he was impressed with the lightness of the iPad mini, which he got a chance to play with following the event.

"Apple went for the high end of what people have been thinking of," Gillett said, adding that Amazon and Google may have to adjust their product lineups to compete with the iPad mini.

The focus on growing competition was evident as Schiller - at the iPad mini's launch event, held in San Jose's California Theatre - compared the iPad mini with Google's popular 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet, citing feature by feature why the new Apple device was superior. It is unusual for Apple to single out a specific competitor in its product launches.

"Theirs is made of plastic," Schiller said, referring to the Android tablet. "The entire Android product is thicker and heavier."

Schiller later defended Apple's pricing of the iPad mini, telling reporters he expects consumers to recognize quality and be willing to pay for it.

FASTER AND SLIMMER

In a surprise move, Apple also announced a fourth-generation full-sized iPad just six months after unveiling a third generation device to much fanfare. The latest tablet, which again sells for $499, is faster and slimmer and comes just days before Microsoft is due to show off its own "Surface" tablet.

Apple also unveiled thinner MacBook Pro laptops, including a 13-inch Retina display.

SIGHTS ON AMAZON

The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple visionary Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based model, often called an ecosystem.

A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago.

"It's very cool," Cook said of the iPad mini. "We told you earlier this year you would see some incredible innovation from Apple across the year. We think we kept our promise."

In a rarity for a company that tightly controls events, Apple live-streamed its invitation-only presentation to Apple devices such as the iPad and Macintosh computers.

The Kindle and Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists. Those companies' tablets - the most successful other than Apple's - have forced Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.

Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire released last year for $199 was one of the hottest-selling holiday gadgets. It pressured Amazon's margins but potentially garnered millions of new high-spending customers for the online retailer.

Amazon sold more than a million Kindles a week during December, paving the way for Google to try out a similarly sized small tablet.

Amazon has now launched its second-generation Kindle Fire HD, which it says is the "best-selling product across all of Amazon worldwide," based on undisclosed U.S. sales figures and international preorders.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet, built by Asian manufacturer Asustek, won top marks from reviewers and quickly ran out of stock after its July launch.

All three companies will be vying to get their devices on shopping lists during the U.S. holiday season, which traditionally starts next month.

Surveys conducted ahead of Tuesday's news suggested some consumers had hoped for a more affordable Apple mini tablet.

The "starting sweet spot" for the tablet would be in the $249-$299 range, according to a survey of more than a thousand consumers by Baird Equity Research.

PRICE IS KEY

Jobs famously derided the 7-inch screen, saying such a device should come with sandpaper so users can file down their fingers. But an internal email revealed during a patent trial showed he turned more favorable to the idea by early 2011.

Apple has sold 100 million iPads so far, with the device accounting for 26 percent of Apple's fiscal third-quarter revenue.

But analysts are concerned now about erosion of Apple's industry leading margins as it takes on the Kindle Fire. It earned gross margins of 23 percent to 32 percent on U.S. iPad sales between October 2010 and the end of March 2012, according to a July court filing by Apple.

Amazon's first Kindle Fire just about breaks even after manufacturing costs, according to IHS iSuppli estimates, and Google has said its Nexus 7 is being sold at cost.

"The pricing may limit sales. From a profitability perspective though, I think at $330 Apple is still getting adequate gross margins on the sales," said Morningstar analyst Brian Colello. "But at that price point it may limit adoption and unit volumes."

Apple's shares ended regular trading down 3.2 percent at $613.36, after gaining 4 percent on Monday in the run-up to the event.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Barr and Alexei Oreskovic, Editing by Edwin Chan, Richard Pullin, Andrew Hay and Steve Orlofsky)

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Kids With Electronic Devices in the Bedroom Are More Likely to Be Obese

If your kid spends too much time staring at a TV or another electronic device at night, he's more likely to be obese and suffer from other health issues.

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In what might be the first study that connects the dots between sleep, diet and physical activity among kids, Canadian researchers have found that adding just one hour of extra sleep decreases the chances of being overweight or obese by around 30%.

"If you want your kids to sleep better and live a healthier lifestyle, get the technology out of the bedroom," said Paul Veugelers, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta in Canada, and a co-author of the paper.

[More from Mashable: This Talkative, Winking Robot Helps Dieters Lose Weight [VIDEO]]

The scientists surveyed around 3,400 students in fifth grade (ages 9 to 11) and found that half of them had at least one electronic device in their bedrooms. Those were 1.47 times more likely to be overweight than kids with no device in their bedrooms.

To find out more about this study, watch the video above. What do you think of this study? Does your kid have access to electronic devices in his or her bedroom? Tell us what you think in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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This Android Phone is Tailor-Made for Visually Impaired People [VIDEO]

Rather than downloading various apps and software to accommodate their needs, the visually impaired are getting an Android smartphone developed specifically for them.

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Telecom-product manufacturer Qualcomm and Project Ray are partnering to create one do-it-all device for visually impaired consumers. The off-the-shelf Android device will be able to read your messages, navigation and audio books aloud. It also has object recognition and will adapt to users' preferences and usage patterns. Users will navigate the touchscreen phone using vibration and sound.

This phone will reach an entirely under-served market when it comes to smartphones. There are 285 million visually impaired people in the world, 39 million of which are blind. Currently, several smartphone apps help visually impaired people identify paper currency, navigate streets and read text messages out loud. These options might be preferable to some visually impaired people who are strictly iPhone users, as Qualcomm and Project Ray's phone is Android-based.

[More from Mashable: How the Cellphone Got 'Smart']

In recent times, technology has proven to help thevisually impaired. This May, a woman in Australia received a bionic eye implant. When the implant was turned on, she was able to see shapes and lights, after being blind for 30 years. Other tools such as EyeMusic, a set of glasses that have a camera and headphones, use music to identify objects to the wearer.

What other features would you add to this Android phone for the visually impaired? Tell us in the comments below.

[Via: Engadget]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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Dutch court says Samsung does not infringe Apple patent

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that Samsung Electronics does not infringe an Apple Inc patent by using certain multi-touch techniques on some of the Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablet computers.

Samsung and Apple, the world's top two smartphone makers, are locked in patent disputes in 10 countries as they vie to dominate the lucrative mobile market and win over customers with their latest gadgets.

Apple argued in September in the Hague court that Samsung infringed its patent on multi-touch function, which lets users use two fingers at one time on a touch screen.

"With these products Samsung does not infringe the claims that Apple has made," the court said in its ruling.

Apple has taken Samsung and others to court over the "pinch to zoom" function popular on smartphones and tablets.

Apple lost a preliminary injunction on this patent in the Dutch courts last year and also lost its battle in the courts in Britain against HTC Corp, and in Germany against Samsung and Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google.

The Dutch court acknowledged that its multi-touch patent ruling on Wednesday was similar to those in Britain and Germany.

Samsung said it welcomed the Dutch court's decision, while Apple wasn't immediately available for comment.

The Hague has become an important court room battle ground between companies making mobile phones and tablet computers, as court actions there are considered to be cheap, speedy and efficient.

The Dutch court's ruling comes ahead of a decision in the United States from the International Trade Commission on Friday over claims that Samsung infringed on Apple patents.

(Additional reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Mark Potter)

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Facebook's mobile surprise allays growth fears

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc grew mobile advertising revenue several times in the third quarter, a faster-than-expected pace that helped drive shares in the world's No. 1 social network nearly 13 percent higher.

Facebook said on Tuesday that it now gets 14 percent of its advertising revenue from mobile ads, helping to reassure investors that the social network is beginning to figure out how to earn money off smartphone and tablet users.

Mobile ad revenues totaled roughly $150 million, up from an estimated $40 million to $50 million in the second quarter and almost nothing in the first.

"This certainly dispels the most bearish view, that Facebook couldn't monetize people on phones or tablets," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert Baird & Co.

"In about a six-month period they've actually started to generate decent revenues form their mobile applications," Sebastian added, though he said Facebook still needs to show that its mobile ads can command the same rates as its traditional ads and that they can deliver results for marketers.

Mobile advertising has been among the key investor concerns hanging over Facebook, helping slash more than $40 billion off its market value since its May IPO. As its users increasingly access the social network with their smartphones, Facebook has struggled to transition its business to mobile devices.

The mobile ads helped reignite Facebook's overall advertising business during the third quarter, following several consecutive quarters of slowing revenue growth that raised questions about Facebook's long-term prospects.

Advertising revenue increased 36 percent to $1.09 billion, up from 28 percent growth in the second quarter. But revenue from its payments and other businesses increased just 13 percent to $176 million.

Mark Zuckerberg, the 28-year-old chief executive who created Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, said mobile was the "most misunderstood aspect" of the company and took issue with the "myth" that Facebook could not earn money on mobile.

"Over the long run we're going to see more monetization per time spent on mobile than on desktop," Zuckerberg said on a conference call with analysts on Tuesday.

The company's shares leapt nearly 13 percent to $21.97 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

Facebook said it had crossed the 1 billion threshold for monthly active users by September 30, of which 604 million were mobile users, a gain of 61 percent from a year earlier.

The shift to mobile has challenged many of the Web industry's top companies. Google Inc is the No.1 provider of smartphone software with its Android operating system. But the company missed Wall Street's revenue targets in the third quarter, with some analysts blaming the shortfall on its increasing reliance on lower-priced mobile ads.

Social game maker Zynga Inc, which announced layoffs of 5 percent of its staff on Tuesday, has suffered as it struggles to translate its hit games to mobile devices and as the use of its games on Facebook's service declines.

NOT PLEASED WITH GAMING

Zynga's woes were visible in Facebook's results, with Facebook's payments revenue from the maker of Farmville down 20 percent year on year.

Zuckerberg said he was not pleased with revenue from gaming, but said that beyond Zynga - which accounts for 7 percent of Facebook's total revenue - the situation was brighter.

"The interesting thing is that the rest of the games ecosystem has actually been growing. Our monthly payments revenue from the rest of the ecosystem increased 40 percent over the past year, since payments has been adopted," he said.

Zuckerberg also said Instagram, the photo-sharing app that Facebook acquired for roughly $750 million this year, now has 100 million users, up from 27 million when Facebook bought the company.

Facebook posted a net loss of $59 million or 2 cents a share in the three months ended September 30 after booking a big provision for income taxes. Excluding share-based compensation and income tax adjustments, it earned 12 cents a share, a penny higher than the average analyst expectation.

Facebook Finance Chief David Ebersman said the company would continue to invest aggressively during the fourth quarter, though the company did not provide a specific financial outlook, in keeping with its previous practice.

Ebersman said that the total number of ads that Facebook delivered in the third quarter increased 27 percent year-on-year and that the average price per ad increased 7 percent.

Facebook's third-quarter mobile revenue marked a big jump from the second quarter, when Facebook said that it was generating more than $1 million a day from a new class of ads that appear in users' newsfeeds. Facebook said that roughly half of that revenue was from mobile ads, suggesting that mobile advertising revenue totaled $45 million in the second quarter.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordan Rohan said that Facebook's mobile ad revenue was impressive, but said that Facebook needs to proceed carefully so as not to damage the user experience by overloading its service with too many ads.

And he said that Facebook's desktop PC advertising business appeared to have shrunk by about $40 million from the second quarter. Rohan said he would rather see the desktop ad business remain stable as the mobile ad business grows.

Facebook's third-quarter revenue of $1.26 billion was a hair above the average analyst expectation of $1.23 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Mark Bendeich)

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UMass Football Players Get Served -- With Scholarships [VIDEO]

If you're about to make someone's year, why not scare them a little bit first to add to the drama?

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The head coach of the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, Charley Molnar, awarded two of his student athletes with scholarships for their efforts both on and off the field.

To do it, he brought in some well-armed help -- two police officers. The students thought they were being arrested, not being given thousands of dollars towards their education.

[More from Mashable: Erin Andrews Receives Death Threats From Strange Twitter Troll]

The captured moment of fear turning to joy is truly priceless.

Michigan State

Via imgur

Click here to view this gallery.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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Sony to close tech center in Tokyo to trim costs

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said it will close an office building in Tokyo and relocate the 4,800 people who work there to other sites in and around Japan's capital to help squeeze costs as it seeks to return to profit.

The Shinagawa Technology Center, close to its Tokyo headquarters, will be vacated by September next year, a Sony spokesman told Reuters, with the property being returned to its owners.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly and Junko Fujita; Editing by Michael Watson)

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Apple set to unwrap mini-iPad to take on Amazon, Google

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc is expected to make its biggest product move on Tuesday since debuting the iPad two years ago, launching a smaller, cheaper tablet into a market staked out by Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc.

Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

Amazon's Kindle and Google's Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists, helping force Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.

A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.

"Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct," said Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a former Apple ad executive.

"They have a large market share, and to protect that market share they have got to be innovative," he said.

Apple's invitation-only event, where it is expected to unveil the tablet, gets underway at 10 am PT (1700 GMT) in San Jose.

Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple was planning a less expensive version of the iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move they say might hurt its margins, but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important segment.

The chief rival is Amazon, which proved a 7-inch tablet at around $200 has consumer appeal. The Kindle Fire, released last year for $199, was one of the hottest-selling holiday gadgets. It pressured Amazon's margins but gave it potentially millions of new high-spending customers.

Amazon sold more than a million Kindles a week during December, paving the way for others like Google with its Nexus 7 to try and beat Apple in a market the company created.

The Internet retailer has now put its second-generation Kindle Fire HD in the market, which it says is the "best-selling product across all of Amazon worldwide", based on undisclosed U.S. sales figures and international preorders.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet, built by Asian manufacturer Asustek, quickly ran out of stock after its July launch.

All three companies will be vying to get their devices on shopping lists during the U.S. holiday season, which traditionally starts next month.

"It's going to be the go-to holiday gift," said Michael Yoshikami, founder of Destination Wealth Management, which owns Apple shares.

PRICE IS KEY

Apple now has just one 9.7-inch iPad, starting at $499. The previous version, or iPad 2, is available for $399.

Jobs famously derided the 7-inch screen, saying such a device should come with sandpaper so users can file down their fingers. But an internal email revealed during a patent trial showed he turned more favorable to the idea by early 2011.

Apple has sold over 84 million iPads so far, with the device accounting for 26 percent of Apple's fiscal third quarter revenue. Most Wall Street analysts expect Apple's new tablet to fall between 7 inches and 8 inches in size, saying its price will be crucial to its success.

The "starting sweet spot" for the tablet would be in the $249-$299 range, according to a survey of over a thousand consumers by Baird Equity Research.

"When asked what the most they would pay for a smaller iPad was, our respondents on average said that they would pay $242 for a 7-inch iPad and $268 for an 8-inch iPad," William Power, Baird Equity Research analyst, said.

Any erosion in Apple's industry leading margins also hinges on the price tag. It earned gross margins of 23 percent to 32 percent on U.S. iPad sales between October 2010 and the end of March 2012, according to a July court filing by Apple.

Rivals haven't fared as well. Amazon's first Kindle Fire just about breaks even, according to IHS iSuppli estimates, and Google has said its Nexus 7 is being sold at cost.

Topeka Capital's Brian White argued a smaller tablet could overtake sales of the iPad in a few years. He is forecasting sales of 5 million to 7 million in the December quarter.

Apple shares rose 4 percent on Monday, buoying the benchmark S&P 500 index. While the stock is up 56 percent this year, it is currently down 10 percent from its record high of $705 on September 21, struck by concerns about iPhone-supply disruption at contract manufacturer, Foxconn Technology. Sharp criticism about errors in its Maps service also hurt.

"Apple's stock is up a ton and it is only logical that it will take a breather after a while," Yoshikami said. "I don't think there is any fundamental issue beyond that."

(Additional reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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Are You a Pumpkin Pro? Show Us Your Best Jack-o-Lantern

Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, reality TV star and de facto leader of the "birther" movement, says he is planning a "big announcement" about President Barack Obama. "I have something very, very big concerning the president of the United States," Trump told "Fox & Friends" on Monday during a phone interview. "I will be [...]

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Nokia seeks $1 billion from bonds to help power fightback

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Mobile phone maker Nokia plans to raise 750 million euros ($980 million) by issuing convertible bonds to bolster its cash position as it battles to claw back market share lost to Apple and Samsung.

Once the world's biggest mobile phone maker, the Finnish firm has fallen far behind Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy phones in the lucrative smartphone market, and is pinning its hopes for recovery on new models that go on sale next month.

With its net cash falling to 3.6 billion euros in September from 4.2 billion in June, and its credit ratings cut to junk over the past year, analysts have said the company needs to show a turnaround in the next several months if it is to survive.

"It is a rather cheap way to get extra financing," said Evli analyst Mikko Ervasti of the plan to issue convertible bonds, which are potentially most lucrative to investors when they are converted into shares several years after they are issued.

"They need buffers (and) their 2014 bond also requires financing," he added.

Nokia finished the third quarter with 3.8 billion euros in interest-bearing liabilities, with 1.75 billion in bonds and loans maturing in 2014. The company also owns half of network equipment venture Nokia Siemens Networks, which finished the quarter with 1.4 billion euros in liabilities.

The convertible bonds will be due in 2017 and will pay a coupon between 4.25 percent and 5.00 percent. The initial price for conversion into ordinary shares is expected to be 28-33 percent above the average price of Nokia shares between the launch and pricing of the offering.

At 0905 GMT, Nokia shares, which have been volatile in recent sessions, were down 5.1 percent at 2.05 euros.

LUMIA 510

Nokia's fortunes hinge on its top-of-the-range Lumia 820 and 920 models, which run on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 software, come in vivid colours, have high-resolution cameras, and will hit the stores in November.

On Tuesday, the group unveiled the lower price Lumia 510, which is an update of the Lumia 610 but does not use the newest version of Windows software. The 510 has a larger screen and will be sold for around $199, excluding taxes and subsidies.

ING analysts welcomed the convertible bonds plan as reducing uncertainty around Nokia's short-term debt maturities and bolstering its capital.

"It also shows that the company is taking the question marks around its credit quality seriously and is willing to take the steps necessary to improve this," they said in a research note.

Nokia's five-year credit default swaps were trading around 2.8 percent tighter in early trading, signalling a reduction in the cost of insuring the company against default.

The final terms of the convertible bonds, including the conversion price and maximum number of shares which may be issued upon conversion, will be announced later in the day. Trading in the bonds are due to start around October 26.

($1 = 0.7651 euros)

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando and Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki and Josephine Cos in London's IFR; Editing by Mark Potter)

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