Tag - Citigroup
Apple pursuing 'aggressive expansion' in enterprise market
Apple is engaging in an "aggressive expansion" into the enterprise market, Reuters reports. Sources tell the newswire agency that Apple has hired dedicated sales teams to talk with clients such as Citigroup. Apple is, moreover, said to be working in conjunction with "a dozen or so" developers -- such as ServiceMax and PlanGrid, which develop apps for managing field technicians and sharing construction blueprints, respectively. Apple is reportedly in talks to bring other developers into formal partnerships.
Apple, financial firms negotiate lower fees for mobile payments
In preparation for its mobile payment technology, Apple has successfully negotiated deals with five major financial institutions -- American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Capital One, and Bank of America -- to lower transaction fees, sources say. One linchpin was convincing them that mobile payments constitute "card present" transactions, which have a lower discount rate than their opposite, owing to lower fraud risk. That card-present rate has been dropped another 15 to 25 basis points however, meaning that Apple should get a roughly 10 percent discount on processing rates.
Analysts: Qualcomm 28nm crunch hurting/helping new iPhone
Analysts at Citigroup and Piper Jaffray helped trigger stock market jitters on Thursday over the implications of LTE chip supply as it relates to Apple. Following Qualcomm statements after its quarterly results that there was a supply shortage of its 28 nanometer chips made at TSMC, Citi's Glen Yeung and Piper's Gene Munster both suggested that was a direct sign of Apple choosing a 28nm MSM9615 cellular chipset for its next iPhone. To Yeung, a ramp down in existing 45nm parts combined with the shortage was a sign Apple was switching production and lowering orders of older hardware as it got ready to produce the new.
Kodak braces for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if patent sale stops
Kodak is drafting Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in the event it can't sell patents in the next few weeks, insiders asserted Wednesday. The proposed plan seen by the Wall Street Journal would see the camera legend possibly enter bankruptcy later this month or in early February. The reorganization would see it get $1 billion of debtor-in-possession funding and sell its entire library of 1,100 patents through a bankruptcy auction rather than a typical process.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed buys $300m stake in Twitter
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has bought a just under four percent interest in social networking pioneer Twitter. Prince Alwaleed, 26th on Forbes' list of billionaires, is the nephew of Saudi King Abdullah. The Prince paid out $300 million for his investment.
HTC sues Citigroup for painting too-bleak picture
HTC on Tuesday was confirmed to have sued Citi Global Markets for allegedly misrepresenting the company's already dim outlook. Deputy chief prosecutor Huang Mou-hsin told Reuters that the smartphone designer had quietly sued in August for allegedly breaking a stock transaction law after HTC's share price collapsed. Its price has been cut to a third of its April value, down to the equivalent of just over $13.
Citigroup splits EMI in sales to Sony, Universal [U]
(Update: confirmed) Citigroup is splitting EMI in two for a sale that's about to be imminent, according to claims Friday. Pointing to sources, the Wall Street Journal's Dana Cimilluca said that the publishing wing, EMI Music Publishing, would be sold off to a Sony consortium for $2.2 billion. The pure music label would go to Universal for $1.9 billion.
Study: 24.5% of online video is Netflix, iTunes 9.8 percent
A new study by Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney reinforced Netflix's dominance of online video. The online check had Netflix representing 24.5 percent of online video, ahead of Hulu (22.5 percent) and just short of Facebook (27.1 percent). iTunes was the top pay-per-show provider but was well short in use at just 9.8 percent of those asked online.
HTC denies rumors Microsoft hiking Android royalty rates
HTC on Monday shot down rumors mentioned by the Economic Daily Times and other outlets that Microsoft was raising the patent fees it was getting from Android makers. Following a Citi analyst report leaking royalty rates which showed HTC paying less than others, claims had surfaced in the Taiwanese press that HTC was about to pay more. Those aren't true, HTC said.
Windows Phone 7 may get NFC in 2011 in five-way fight
Hints that Microsoft might add NFC to Windows Phone 7 gained corroboration Tuesday with a pair of tips from insiders. The feature would be used for the expected role of mobile payments and would have the feature baked into the OS itself. NFC may come early, however; it could be in shipping devices before the end of 2011, Bloomberg was told.
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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj
Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket
The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]
Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera
Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94
Apple employees testing wheelchair features
New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa
SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards
SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If
Apple's third-quarter results due July 26
Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm
Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users
Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE
