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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Innovator Apple grows strong on surging iPhone demand

Apple profits are up 26% on iPhone boom. Apple shares were up 14% in after hours after Apple announced the earnings report. IIG is in excellent shape with Apple!

The best part of Apple earnings: CEO Steve Jobs attended the earnings call (which is quite rare), and had this to say:

Earnings Call: Jobs Says iPhone Revs Total $4.6B, Making Apple The Third-Largest Handset Maker

Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - News) CEO Steve Jobs made a special guest appearance on the company's earnings call to brag about the iPhone's stellar fourth-quarter performance, and to give his two-cents on how the consumer-electronics and computer company will be affected by the economic crisis as we head into the holiday shopping season. First, Apple's CFO Peter Oppenheimer explained Apple's new practice going forward of reporting non-GAAP financial results. Because the iPhone and Apple TV may provide free updates in the future, they are forced to spread out revenues for the devices over their lifetimes. Going forward, Apple will also report a non-GAAP financial measure that allows people to see how well the iPhone and Apple sales are currently doing. Under this new form of reporting, Oppenheimer said adjusted sales totaled $11.7 billion, or about $3.8 billion higher than its reported revenue, and adjusted net income was $2.4 billion, jumping by $1.3 billion than reported net income. "We believe this adds transparency to our business, and is helpful to you." Oppenheimer said because of the uncertainty in the market, they are going to be prudent in predicting results for the September quarter. He said Apple is targeting revenue of $9 to $10 billion and earnings per share between $1.06 and $1.35.

In a rare appearance, Steve Jobs joined the conference call to provide his outlook on the economy and detail the iPhone's Q4 performance. Jobs: "There's some remarkable things happening at Apple, but now it's all being done in front of the back drop of the economic global slowdown." Notes from the call, as reported by PaidContent.org :

-- On iPhone growth: Using the non-GAAP figures, Jobs said in the past quarter, the iPhone business has grown to $4.6 billion, representing 39 percent of Apple's overall revenues. "Clearly, it's too big for Apple or investors to ignore. The non-GAAP results are truly stunning." He said adjusted sales for the quarter are 48 percent higher than GAAP sales, and adjusted net income is 115 percent higher than reported net income. "It's more than double than reported net income...If this isn't stunning than I don't know what is, and it's all because of the success of the iPhone 3G."

-- On volume: Jobs said by selling 6.9 million iPhones during the quarter, Apple was able to beat RIM (NasdaqGS: RIMM - News), which sold 6.1 million Blackberry devices. "Apple outsold RIM last quarter. This is a milestone," considering Apple has only been in the market for 15 months.

-- Ranking by revenues: Jobs now claims that by revenues, Apple is the third largest mobile phone supplier in the world. Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News), is No. 1 at $12.7 billion; Samsung is No. 2 at $5.98 billion; Apple is No. 3 at $4.6 billion; Sony (NYSE: SNE - News) Ericsson (NasdaqGS: ERIC - News) is No. 4 at $4.2 billion; LG (SEO: 066570), No. 5, at $3.4 billion; Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), No. 6, at $3.2 billion and RIM, No. 7, at $2.1 billion. "It's pretty amazing," but Jobs cautioned that they were able to sell that many by increasing the number of countries to 51 from 6, and that it's unclear if they can sustain that pace.

-- On the App Store: Jobs said tomorrow they will achieve the 200 millionth download from the App store after being available for only 102 days. "This is one area where we have completely changed the value proposition for mobile devices...We've never seen anything like this." Today, the App store has roughly 5,500 apps, which are being distributed in 62 countries. "Competitors are scrambling to copy our app store."

-- On the economy: Jobs told analysts and press on the call that they believe they will do fine because they have have good customers, good products, good employees, and $25 billion in cash and zero debt. Jobs: We will increase our R&D investments because they created some of the best products in the last downturn. "It is an extraordinary opportunity for companies that have the cash."

Apple shipped 2,611,000 Macintosh(R) computers during the quarter, representing 21 percent unit growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11,052,000 iPods during the quarter, representing eight percent unit growth and three percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 6,892,000 compared to 1,119,000 in the year-ago-quarter.

Bottomline:
Apple revenue are up 27% and earnings are up 27% from prior year. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, up from 33.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 41 percent of the quarter's revenue. Traditionally, the last quarter of the year is Apple's best quarter. Considering the current economic downturn, even with a 20% conservative revenue and earnings growth, Apple will deliver $11.5 billion in revenue, and $1.89 billion in earnings; however, Apple is only providing guidance of $9 billion to $10 billion in revenue, and a broad range in earnings. Apple is definitely "low-balling" the guidance because of the current economy. Apple iPhone is a money making machine, and the iPhone will have even a greater impact on the earnings and revenue for the next quarter owing to Apple's accounting. Expect Apple to deliver another strong quarter, unless the economy completely unbuckles. Innovation Index Group has a BUY rating on Apple, and has a 12 month price target in the range of $160 to $190.

Innovation Index Reports

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007 based on performance model, and would have returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006) based on historical model*. This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.*

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NASDAQ: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Apple iPhone Goes Global

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, launched the highly anticipated super fast iPhone 3G at the Apple Developer Connection yesterday. The new iPhone will be available for sale on July 11, 2008.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of the Innovation Index.

The biggest surprise in the Apple announcement: iPhone 3G is available at half the price of the original iPhone at only $199 for the 8GB model in the U.S., and $299 for the 16GB model. And the new iPhone 3G packs twice the punch - it is twice as fast.

The new iPhone 3G packs a powerful mix of new features:
1. Built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services with real-time mapping and tracking the progress with GPS technology
2. iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync - Push Email, Contacts, Calendar - and runs the hundreds of third party applications.
3. Simultaneously browse the web, get map directions, or check your email while the call is on.
4. New App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.
5. MobileMe™, a new Internet service that pushes email, contacts, and calendars from an online “cloud” to native applications on iPhone, iPod® touch, Macs and PCs.

More importantly, the new iPhone 3G will be available in 70 countries in 2008, with 22 countries launching it on July 11. iPhone already ships with iPod, Internet, and a host of cool phone features.

Bottomline:

Apple iPhone 3G is poised to become a global phenomenon owing to lower entry costs, 3G technology, and enhanced features including corporate emails. With the iPhone 3G availability in all the continents, including the fast growing markets in Asia, established markets in Europe, emerging markets in Latin America and South America and other markets, iPhone is poised to eclipse the 10 million mark in 2008. Innovation Index Group had earlier estimated that Apple will sell 12 million new iPhones in 2008. Innovation Index Group raises the estimates based on the launch of the new iPhone 3G: Apple will sell over 13 million iPhones in 2008, and over 25 million iPhones in 2009. The lower price will result in a slight decline in Apple net earnings. However, the topline growth will compensate for the bottomline in 2009.

Apple iPhone will cannibalize the sales of iPods at these price points. Innovation Index Group believes that iPod sales will either remain flat year over year, or even decline with the introduction of the new iPhone unless Apple reduces the iPod prices further. Innovation Index Group had earlier talked about how Apple can turnaround the iPod sales growth. One of the suggestions made was that Apple should provide iPods for free with sales of new Macs - now Apple has started doing this for the students. Apple has a huge business in iPods. Apple needs to at the very least maintain this business, while it surges forward with the iPhone business.

Innovation Index Group has long-term BUY recommendations on the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index with price target of $235 to $250 for Apple in Q4, 2008.

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index. Over the past six years, the Innovation Index would have generated a gross average annual return of 40% based on historical model.* The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and the Innovation Index Fund Manager is up 10% in 2008.*

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is an investment management company organized under the California state regulation, and is registered with Department of Corporations and SEC Regulation D.

The Innovation Index Reports:

Invest in The Innovation Index - Innovation Index Fund tracks The Innovation Index
The Innovation Index closes 2007 at 66% - 2007 Annual Report on the Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 Innovative Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

Monday, May 19, 2008

Apple On A Tear - Up more than 50% in 3 months

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares have run up more than 50% during the last three months.

Apple is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.

What is driving the stock price?

1. Apple had an impressive second quarter earnings that beat the Wall Street estimates handily. Apple is poised to continue the earnings momentum in 2008, and beyond. How big has Apple revenue grown over the previous five years? About 300%.

2. Mac business is solid as a rock, growing 50% year over year. Apple has just rolled out new versions of iMac clocking over 3 GHz. And Apple is gaining ground in the laptop segment with the MacBooks.

3. iPhone business is strong, and Apple is on track to sell 10 million or more iPhones in 2008 - we estimate over 12 million. Some estimates track iPhone sales of over 5 million already in 2008.

Apple is introducing the all new iPhone 2.0 aka iPhone 3G next month. Further, Apple has created alliances all over the world to sell millions more iPhones.

Four mobile operators in the Asia-Pacific region introduced partnerships with Apple to bring the iPhone to their regions later this year. SingTel in Singapore, Bharti Airtel Ltd. in India, Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines and Optus in Australia. SingTel owns Optus and holds a 30.5 percent stake in Bharti and 44.5 percent in Globe. SingTel has about 2.3 million mobile subscribers in Singapore and around 7 million in Australia, according to data as of Dec. 31, 2007. Bharti currently has about 64 million subscribers, while Globe reported a 21.3 million mobile subscriber base for the quarter ended March 31. Potential Available Subscriber base for the iPhone: Over 95 million.

The top mobile phone operator in Latin America, America Movil SAB, (NYSE: AMX), another Top 20 Innovator, also announced plans to deliver the iPhone to its region. America Movil has 159.2 million subscribers in 16 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

Apple has also signed deals with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell the device in Canada; Milan-based Telecom Italia SpA to sell the iPhone in Italy; and Vodafone Group PLC, the world's biggest mobile company by sales, to sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey.

Finally, Apple sells iPhone with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), another Top 20 Innovator, in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom's Orange wireless arm in France.

In short, Apple has available subscriber base in the hundreds of millions for the iPhone - now it's a matter of time before Apple launches the new 3G iPhone, and potentially expands the market for the iPhone to tens of millions a year beginning in 2009.

The Innovation Index Fund Manager, that invests in Apple, is up 10% in 2008. The Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index have rebounded well in the 2nd quarter of 2008 to cause The Innovation Index Fund Manager to have double-digit gain for the year.

Innovation Index Group believes that the U.S. economy will recover significantly in the 2nd half of 2008, and the Top Innovators of The Innovation Index will reward the patient, long-term investor.

Innovation Index Group has BUY recommendations on the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index, and price target of $235 - $250 for Apple in Q4, 2008.

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index. Over the past six years, the Innovation Index would have generated a gross average annual return of 40% based on historical model.* The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and the Innovation Index Fund Manager is up 10% in 2008.*

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is a private placement investment partnership organized under the California state regulations.

The Innovation Index Reports:

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

Monday, April 7, 2008

How can Apple turnaround the iPod sales growth?

(click to maximize)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index, and the number one Innovator in the world.
iPod - Apple's best innovation, introduced in 2001 and masterminded by Steve Jobs, combines outstanding design, easy-to-use interface, superb performance, and an experience like no other. Apple assumed the world’s number one innovative company position in 2005, and held it again in 2006 and 2007 in large part due to the exponential growth of iPod – aptly called the iPod phenomenon.

Apple has sold more iPods every year since its introduction. In 2007 alone, Apple sold more than 52 million iPods, 6 million more than in 2006, and eclipsed the cumulative total of 100 million iPods sold since introduction. Apple also introduced the all new iPod touch in 2007, and new models in 2008. Apple reported in the quarterly earnings conference call that although the introduction of the high-end iPod touch may have reduced the sales volume growth of iPod in 2007, it increased the average selling price.

On the one hand, Apple is poised to have a great year of iPhone sales - Apple Innovation blog and Innovation Index Group, Inc. estimate that Apple will sell more than 12 million iPhones in 2008. Most of the industry analysts estimate Apple to sell more than 8 million iPhones in 2008. But will the growth of iPhone business cannibalize the growth of iPod business?

The iPod sales volume growth peaked in 2004 with a growth of 469% from 2003. However, since 2004, the sales volume growth of iPods is in a free fall. In 2005, the iPod sales growth was 287% over 2004 sales; in 2006, the iPods sales growth was only 45% over 2005 sales; and finally, in 2007, the iPods sales growth was a meager 13% over 2006 sales. Of course, the sheer size of iPod sales is a huge number - over 52 million a year - and it is harder to keep up the triple-digit sales growth when you achieve the 800 lb gorilla status. However, iPod market share has remained relatively flat around the 70% mark in the last couple of years.

How can Apple turnaround iPod Sales Growth Engine?

First, we must ask the fundamental question on whether the overall market of MP3 players is big enough and growing fast enough for Apple to grow the iPod sales 20% to 40% a year? If the overall market of Mp3 players is say 90 million in 2008, for Apple to maintain its 70% market share, it must sell 63 million new iPods in 2008. This would amount to a 20% growth in iPod sales from 2007, and a positive turnaround from the 13% sales growth of 2007. For Apple to grow its lead to say 75% in the MP3 market, Apple would need to sell 67.5 million iPods in 2008, or a sales growth of about 28% from 2007. This would be an amazing turnaround. However, if Apple sells anything less than 60 million iPods, a growth of 15% only over 2007, the analysts would begin to wonder on whether iPod is a growth phenomenon anymore. It would mark two years of back to back growth of 13% and 15%, and could mark a real slowdown of iPod sales.

Can Apple drive consumer behavior further to buy more iPods in 2008, and create a bigger market of MP3 players - thereby growing the market share?

What is Apple doing to drive this behavior?

1. Apple has introduced the new iPod touch at lower prices. iPod touch is perhaps the best iPod ever made, and would find existing iPod owners upgrading to it, and also new buyers.

2. Apple has lowered the starting price of iPod Shuffle to only $49 so as to attract first-time iPod buyers.

3. Apple is experimenting with newer business models for the iTunes store (unconfirmed) so as to provide more value and more songs in a new iPod.

4. Apple has introduced the new pink model of iPod nano, and also expanded the partnership with Nike for the gym.

5. Finally, Apple is expected to reduce the iPod prices further when it launches iPhone 2.0 (unconfirmed) or in summer, 2008.

Can Apple provide a free iPod Shuffle to every new buyer of a MAC or Apple TV? In order to get the Shuffle for free, a buyer has to subscribe to an iTunes service for $9.99 or $14.99? Would that drive more sales of iPods?

Or does a higher sales volume really matter to Apple? If Apple can sell iPods at a higher sales price, that would still drive the overall sales revenue growth. And that's what the investors are really looking for. Knowing Apple though, it is not about to relinquish its firm foothold on the MP3 market anytime soon, and it would continue to play both ends of the market.

2008 - Can Apple turnaround the iPod sales growth engine?

Innovation Index Group, Inc. maintains a BUY rating on Apple with a Q4, 2008 price target of $235 to $250.

Related Articles:

Apple iPhone 2.0 software scores a trifecta
Nike and Apple iPod working out at a Gym near you
Why Apple will hit $250 by December 2008?
Apple Creativity and Innovation in Business Case Studies
Apple iPod - Apple's Best Innovation
Apple introduces new iPhone and new iTouch
Apple kicks off 2008 with bold new innovations...

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index. Over the past six years, the Innovation Index has generated a gross average annual return of 40%.

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is a private placement investment partnership organized under the California state regulations.

The Innovation Index Reports:

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.*

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NASDAQ: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Research In Motion Delivers Outstanding 4Q and Yearly Results

Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM) one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index reported results for the three months and fiscal year ended March 1, 2008.
Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was $1.88 billion, up 102% from $930.4 million in the same quarter of last year. Revenue for the fiscal year ended March 1, 2008 was $6.01 billion, up 98% from $3.04 billion last year. Operating income for the fiscal year ended March 1, 2008 was $1.73 billion, up 114% from $807 million last year. RIM shipped 4.4 million smartphones in the fourth quarter and approximately 14 million smartphones during fiscal 2008.
Approximately 2.18 million net new BlackBerry(R) subscriber accounts were added in the quarter. At the end of the quarter, the total BlackBerry subscriber account base was over 14 million.
Future Earnings Guidance
Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 ending May 31, 2008 is expected to be in the range of $2.23-$2.30 billion. Net subscriber account additions in the first quarter are expected to be approximately 2.2 million. Earnings per share for the first quarter are expected to be in the range of $0.82-$0.86 per diluted share.

Bottomline:
RIM business shows no signs of slowdown from the economy. RIM beat the high end of revenue and earnings estimates for the latest quarter, and also gave a solid, uplifting outlook for the first quarter. RIM is firing on all cylinders thanks to the growth of consumer Blackberry smartphone business. "Heightened retail activities helped drive exceptional subscriber growth during the fourth quarter with net subscriber account additions growing more than 32% over the previous quarter and well over 2 million net subscriber accounts added in a single quarter for the first time," said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. On a conference call to discuss the results, co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said 38% of the company's subscriber base are individuals or other non-enterprise users. Bastille also said more than half of RIM's new subscribers were non-enterprise customers. RIM is able to penetrate a new and growing consumer market of smartphones, grow the topline revenue, and is able to do this while maintaining the overall margins. The biggest advantage that RIM has over other smartphone makers is that the major wireless partners all sell RIM Blackberry smartphones - Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T (NYSE: T), another Top 20 Innovator of The Innovation Index. This creates tremendous marketing and distribution leverage.

RIM shares are up 9% in 2008. Innovation Index Group maintains a BUY rating on RIM with a Q4, 2008 share price target of $135 to $145. If RIM continues to deliver outstanding results for the rest of 2008, it is quite possible for RIM shares to surge beyond $150 in 2008. If RIM can add 2 million new accounts and ship over 4.4 million new smartphones, will Apple iPhone do equal or better in 2008? Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a Top 20 Innovator of The Innovation Index. Innovation Index Group believes that Apple will ship over 12 million iPhones in 2008. RIM and Apple are poised to kick their smartphone business into overdrive in 2008.

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index. Over the past six years, the Innovation Index has generated a gross average annual return of 40%*.

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is a private placement investment partnership organized under the California state regulations.

The Innovation Index Reports:

Invest in The Innovation Index - Innovation Index Fund tracks The Innovation Index
The Innovation Index closes 2007 at 66%* - 2007 Annual Report on the Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 Innovative Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.*

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NASDAQ: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results

References:
RIM Press Release and Conference Call

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Apple Innovation and Creativity in Business Case Studies

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.

Why Apple is a BUY at these levels!
Apple stock provides great opportunity for appreciation
iPad 2 - Instant hit
Why iPad 2 is a runaway success?
iPad - Best innovation of 2010
Apple iPad arrived in grand style. And quickly became the best gadget of 2010.
iPod - Apple's Best Innovation
iPod driving Apple to Number One Innovative Company
Apple iPad will ignite the Ebook readers market
Apple is poised to sell at least 4 million iPads in 2010
HP Slate challenges Apple iPad
Ease-of-use, fun to use, coolness & intuitive design - Who wins?
How can Apple turnaround iPod Sales Growth?
Five steps Apple must take to create a turnaround for iPod Sales
Nike and Apple working out at a Gym near you
More customers to use Nike + iPod as they work out in the Gym
Apple iPhone Rising - Top Ten Innovations
Top Ten innovations introduced in iPhone by Apple
Apple launches iPhone 3G S - Speediest, Smartest, Sexiest Smartphone
iPhone 3G S ushers in new world of creativity and smartphone innovations
Apple iPhone Goes Global - Super Fast iPhone 3G
iPhone 3G: half price, twice as fast and in over 70 countries
Innovator Apple grows strong on surging iPhone demand
iPhone revs total $4.6B, making Apple the third-largest handset maker
iPhone 2.0 scores a Trifecta with developers, customers & partners
iPhone 2.0 innovations have created new opportunities and possibilities
Apple Kicks Off 2008 with Bold New Innovations
Apple introduces new innovations for 2008
Apple introduces new iPhone and new iPod Touch
Apple doubles up on new iPhone and iPod Touch
Apple iPhone Post Launch Innovations
Apple iPhone projections in 2007 and beyond
Apple in 2007 - Stupendous Growth
Apple is firing on all four cylinders - iPod, iPhone, iMac, Leopard
Apple trading off Leopard for iPhone
Why Apple chose to postpone Leopard and launch iPhone on time?
Apple - Google Juggernaut - Besting Microsoft?
If Apple and Google merged, can they beat Microsoft?
What drives Apple's Innovation and Growth?
Creativity and Innovation driven by inner conviction about outside world

Apple Innovation eBook - Innovation Strategy, Innovation Process, Innovation Model

How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?

What is Apple's Innovation Strategy? Download these Apple Innovation eBook insights and learn to be like Apple... like Steve Jobs, the innovator and CEO of Apple.

― "There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote
that I love. 'I skate to where the puck
is going to be, not where it has been.'
And we've always tried to do that at
Apple. Since the very very beginning.
And we always will." —Steve Jobs

Apple innovates through:
• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs Leadership

This Apple Innovation Strategy ebook provides insights, strategy, best practices, facts and much more...

Apple has built an Innovation Factory – one that harnesses creativity in its people, stimulating new ideas, and launching successful, profitable new innovations... Apple leverages its diverse culture, innovation processes, partners and networks to seize the new opportunities in the marketplace and grow its business...exponentially…

How did Apple do it?
• Increase revenue more than 400% in 8 years…
• Increase net profit more than 650% in 8 years…
• Increase market cap more than twenty times to over $170 billion and counting…

Buy Apple's Innovation Strategy and learn to innovate, like Apple, today!!

Revised in 2011! Includes Steve Jobs interview, iPad innovation, new insights and much more... 125 slides in all!

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Apple introduces new iPhone and new iTouch

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) today added new models of the iPhone(TM) and iPod(R) touch which have "double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go." In January, in my article on:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Kicks Off 2008 with Bold New Innovations I discussed many of the new innovations at Apple and the impact.

The revolutionary iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499, joining the 8GB model for $399. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch(TM) user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application*; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes(R) Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world's most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari(TM) and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Bottomline:

More memory! Yes, both iPhone and iPod Touch users want this, and crave for this so that they can add all the songs, music, videos and more. But Apple may have priced the 32GB iPod Touch at $499 out of the market. This was a great opportunity for Apple to reduce the price by $50 for each of the iPod Touch, and effectively price the new iPod Touch at $399 instead. iPod Touch is perhaps the best iPod to date, and considering that Apple came a bit short last quarter on the total iPods sold (versus analyst expectations), Apple may need to price iPod Touch more aggressively. On the other hand, the new iPhone is priced right at $499, however should have come with 32 GB instead to keep it consistent with the iPod Touch. Apple customers will welcome the new iPhones and iPods.

Invest in the Innovation Index Fund

We launched the new Innovation Index Fund in December, 2007 that invests in the Innovation Index including Apple and returned 66% in 2007, and 174% in the previous five years. If you want to learn more about the Innovation Index Fund, fill out your contact information at the bottom of this form: http://www.innovationindexgroup.com/invest.html

The Innovation Index Reports:

Invest in The Innovation Index - Invest in the brand new Innovation Index Fund
Introducing The Innovation Index Fund - Invest into The Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NYSE: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.

Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.

References:

http://www.apple.com

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Apple iPhone Post Launch Frenzy

Apple iPhone was launched on June 29, 2007.

Unconfirmed reports indicated high-end sales of over 700,000 iPhones during the first two days of launch (June 29, June 30), and over 1,000,000 in the first few days. iPhones were sold out at most AT&T (NYSE: T) and Apple stores. "Shoppers may have taken home as many as 700,000 iPhones over the weekend, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst David Bailey has estimated, twice his initial projection. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs has sought to use the connection to the iPod business, which pulls in about $10 billion in revenue a year, to reach his goal of selling 10 million phones in 2008."

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock traded as high as $134.50 on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 marking an all-time high for the company. Apple is scheduled to announce the quarterly earnings report on July 25, 2007 after market close.

Apple may introduce new, cheaper iPhone by Fall 2007

According to Forbes story, in a note to clients, J.P. Morgan analyst Kevin Chang said based on a patent Apple filed in November, he thinks a new iPhone is coming that will cost $300 or less. It is likely to be controlled by a scroll wheel, and might have limited functionality. He said the patent filing showed how to dial a phone number with the scroll wheel.

"We believe it's a strong sign that Apple could potentially convert every iPod nano into a nano phone," he wrote, referring to the company's popular flash memory-based music player.

The nano currently sells for $149 to $249, depending on the amount of included memory. The nano and Apple's shuffle iPod comprise the majority of the estimated 50 million iPods the company sells each year, Chang said.

Chang said there's "a decent chance" that Apple will accept operator subsidies for a cheaper iPhone model, which could sell 30 million to 40 million units in fiscal year 2008.

"The global introduction of this model should be much faster than iPhone, given the former's limited functionality and lower customization requirement," he wrote
Apple Competition

Motorola Needs To Be Quicker To Prevent The Big Squeeze
CNNMoney.com - 9 Jul 2007
Apple Inc .'s (AAPL) initial success with the iPhone increases the pressure on Motorola Inc . (NYSE: MOT) to move faster to launch exciting new products.With the popularity.....

Apple has not yet announced an European partner for the newly launched iPhone. There is speculation that O2 could be the chosen one.

Bottomline:

If Apple indeed sold over 1 million iPhones during the first week of launch, Apple is well poised to best its own estimate of 10 million iPhones during the first year of launch. This will be phenomenal. And the cheaper iPhone will only help cement the lead for the foreseeable future. Can Apple achieve the impossible barrier set by Motorola back in 2004-2006 of 60 million RAZR phones? Even if Apple sells over 10 million iPhones during the first year, the meaningful total impact on the revenue would only be about a third of the actual sales price, or about $1.6 billion in accountable revenue for the next fiscal year. This is owing to the fact that Apple will be counting the sale of the Apple iPhone over a two year period.

Who benefited most from the Apple iPhone launch besides Apple? Research In Motion Inc. (NASDAQ: RIMM) - RIM had an amazing quarter, beating profit and revenue estimates handily, besting all the analyst estimates, raising the quarterly estimates, and then announcing:

"As it prepares to do battle with the Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iPhone, Research in Motion (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ) told investors that, after eight years of trying, it's finally received the official green light to sell its sought-after BlackBerry device in China. RIM will serve corporate customers in cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou."

Apple has yet to determine its Asian partner for the iPhone, and will likely take a few years before entering the China market.

It's too early to predict as to who will emerge victorious in the Smartphone market: Apple, RIM, PALM or the emergence of Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola and more. For now, RIM has shown no signs of slowing down owing to the launch of the Apple iPhone. RIM CEO believes that all the interest around the smartphones actually helps RIM. RIM shares are trading at all time highs, and closed at $209.25 on July 10, 2007.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and RIM (NASDAQ: RIMM) are two of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index; Apple is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

Also check out the following interesting stories about the Apple iPhone Launch:
Apple iPhone Rising - June 29 Liftoff - Top Ten Innovations

Three Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Four Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Five Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Eight Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Nine Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Ten Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Launch

Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 15 - June 29 Launch

Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 14 - June 29 Launch

Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 13 - June 29 Launch

Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 3 - June 29 release

Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 2

Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 1

References:

Forbes
Bloomberg

Friday, June 29, 2007

Apple iPhone Rising - June 29 Liftoff - Top Ten Innovations

Top Ten iPhone Innovations introduced by Apple's Creativity

Apple iPhone launches today, June 29, 2007.

Here are the Top Ten innovations introduced in iPhone by Apple:

1. Make calls by "simply pointing at a name or number." Get out of here... no buttons to click. No clicking umpteen times before you find the number you want to call. Point and Call. Welcome to the new touchscreen interface of iPhone. If you love the iPod interface, iPhone will only make it better.

2. Visual Voicemail, is definitely an industry first, a new innovation, that "lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages." How useful is this? How often and how long you have to wait to hear that all important message from your very important friend, or boss until all the messages before are heard? If you are a frequent cell phone user, the answer is all the time. Apple understands the users' frustration as they check their voice mails, and Visual Voicemail will change the way you listen to your voice messages, and even save you minutes spent in waiting to hear that all important message. Oh, and you can even ignore earlier messages from that certain friend.

3. SMS move over. No more clicking 3 or 4 or more times to get to that letter that you want to type now. How about a touch keyboard that is predictive, full QWERT, and even prevents mistakes. Oh my. Finally, SMS will become easier, simpler, faster, friendlier, and bigger!! If you love SMS, iPhone is it. Recent reviewers have indicated that SMS on the iPhone needs a bit of getting used to; but once you do, you won't go back to the old ways.

4. A handy 2 megapixel camera, with that all important Photo management software. Finally. Now you can organize the photos you take and use them for wallpapers, emails, upload and download them to your PC or MAC, and watch them on a 3.5-inch widescreen.

5. A widescreen iPod. How wide? 3.5-inch wide. You love iPod. You would love iPhone even more. It takes iPod to the next level. Literally. iPhone promises that you will now "touch" your music, videos, photos, songs, artists, albums, playlists - all at the click of a finger. And now you can enjoy all those TV shows in cool landscape mode. Add YouTube to the video mix, and now we are talking!!

6. Cover Flow in iPhone introduces a new way to "browse music library by album cover artwork, for the first time." When navigating your music library on iPhone, you are automatically switched into Cover Flow by simply rotating iPhone into its landscape position. Now, you can enjoy the album in the same way as you buy it from the music store.

7. iPhone brings your Rich Email with the graphics, photos and visuals along with text from your friends, family or work to the phone. The emails are downloaded in the background while you work, browse, message or call, and will work on most POP3 and IMAP services. And to top it off, Yahoo! Mail is integrated and readily available for the iPhone.

8. Web Browsing as good as computer. This could be a stretch. Although iPhone comes with the Safari (TM) web browser which provides all the features of web browsing for the computer on the iPhone. Could this be the last straw that finally breaks the camel's back, and brings the hordes of wireless phone users to web browsing? Not only you can see a web page as it was designed to be seen, iPhone allows you to "easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on iPhone's multi- touch display with their finger." And with the Quad-Band GSM technology along with EDGE and Wi-Fi means "you can surf the web from just about anywhere," and even "automatically sync bookmarks from their PC or Mac."

9. Google Maps. On iPhone. No way. Yes way. Google's groundbreaking maps service and iPhone's amazing maps application tied together "offering the best maps experience by far on any pocket device." Easily and conveniently view maps, satellite images, traffic information and even get directions. Finally, you have everything local and global covered.

10. Artificial Intelligence. iPhone that thinks and senses and becomes one with what you do. iPhone has "advanced built-in sensors -- an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor" that "detects when the user has rotated the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display accordingly, with users immediately seeing the entire width of a web page, or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio." Are you kidding me? No wait. There's more. iPhone also has "proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away." Wait a moment. Finally, "iPhone's built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display's brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time."

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Two Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

"Apple Inc.'s iPhone won't hit stores until Friday, but the heavily hyped gadget already has unleashed a cottage industry of touch-screen protectors, leather hip carriers and car adapters.

Even the most enthusiastic manufacturers said creating formfitting iPhone accessories was an enormous challenge. A notoriously tightlipped Apple kept many partners in the dark on precise specifications, and some of the company's most trusted accessory manufacturers still have not touched a genuine iPhone.

To compensate, many cribbed size and weight specifications from Apple's Web site, then created models out of wood, cardboard or plastic. They shipped models to Apple for advice on whether headset and other outlets were placed correctly. They adjusted and resent revised versions to Apple." - Source: BusinessWeek

"Motorola, the world's second-largest mobile handset maker is coming off a $118 million dollar first calendar quarter loss, notes the Financial Times, where its strategy to increase market share resulted in crisis.

Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer for Motorola, told the financial paper that her firm is basing a comeback on a new generation of handsets, but admits that iPhone is of particular concern.
"I do worry about [the iPhone] because [Apple] is a great competitor; a very respectable, credible, tough competitor to have in the industry," she said.

At the same time, the exec believes the Apple device will appeal only to a "small part of the market" and hold its share of weaknesses. For instance, she said the phone's web browsing capability could have "severe limitations" because it will run on AT&T's slower 2.5G network, rather than the carrier's high-speed 3G network.

Motorola, which saw a resurgence after the launch of its RAZR handset in 2004, plans to unleash the second-generation of the super-slim handset sometime this summer. Like the firm's Q9 smartphone, the RAZR2 will reportedly run on the faster 3G networks." - Source: Apple Insider

"Vodafone is in talks with Apple to launch the U.S. firm's iPhone combined music player and telephone in Europe, and talks partly hinge on volume guarantees and subsidies, a Dutch magazine reported.

Apple demanded a guaranteed sales volume for the iPhone, which the British mobile operator did not want to give, Dutch magazine Bright said on its web site late on Tuesday.

The magazine said Vodafone was pushing for more scope to subsidize the phone and did not want Apple to have control of the sale price." - Source: Reuters UK

"Apple Inc.'s iPhone won a strong endorsement from a key technology reviewer on Tuesday, June 26 when the Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg called it a beautiful, breakthrough device.

"Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer," Mossberg said in a review on WSJ.com.

New York Times technology writer David Pogue also weighed in with a largely positive review saying that the iPhone lived up to most of its considerable hype even if it did fall short in some areas." - Source: WSJ, New York Times

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

Bottomline:

If iPhone is a huge success, the iPhone accessories market will be another big hit. Case in point: iPod accessory market. iPhone has competitors worried, both in the U.S. and outside. In order to succeed globally though, Apple must put together a solid win-win plan to expand in Europe and Asia soon - within the next two months. Finally, reviews of iPhone are coming in, and are mostly optimistic - either the reviewers don't want to emphasize the flaws, or there are limited flaws - also, do they really want to bet against a winning horse when there is so much hype, buzz, hysteria and more surrounding the launch? The consumers will soon find out whether the iPhone is for real on June 29.