Telecom
The coming release of Apple's AAPL iPhone will give the tech titan more than a toe in the mobile phone market, according to one observer. The hotly anticipated iPod-inspired cell phone also will give Apple a nice handle on a partner's pocketbook, a Wall Street analyst
said Tuesday.
The iPhone, due out from Apple in June, commands enough potential sales leverage that AT&T T is willing to share some of the proceeds, says American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, in a note Tuesday.
According to the two-pronged revenue sharing arrangement, AT&T will pay Apple a commission for each new customer and a cut of the customer's monthly payment, writes Wu.
Not since Qualcomm QCOM successfully sued phone makers to honor its patents and enter royalty agreements has a tech equipment shop of Apple's size managed to wring recurring fees out of the ever expanding wireless industry.
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon VZ and Vodafone VOD, was offered an exclusive deal for the iPhone but said no to Apple's revenue sharing proposal in January.
But AT&T may believe the half-inch thick iPhone -- with its large touch screen, music player, 2-megapixel camera and $500 price tag -- might be the big hit with gadget lovers. And that's a lucrative opportunity, given that Apple says 100 million iPods have been sold.
The iPhone's progress is worth a slow release of its Leopard operating system.
But the company's iPhone stays on schedule.
It just can't tackle Apple's installed base.
It's not perfect, but the brand risks won't overshadow its brand momentum.
Stocks in the U.S. were set for a stronger open Tuesday.
Its copyright-free music deal with EMI means bigger things for the iTunes franchise.
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Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.
Ensco International and Echelon have the potential to move higher in coming days.
See who made what calls.
The addition of video is helping telecom companies compete against cable and satellite companies.
The June West Texas Intermediate contract reflects selling pressure ahead of Tuesday's expiration. But stocks in the sector are generally trading higher.
See who made what calls.
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