Sony Brings Music Unlimited to iOS to Challenge iTunes: Let it not be said that Sony (NYSE:SNE) isn’t willing to push like Sisyphus against an impossible task and risk getting crushed in the process. The metaphorical boulder that Sony is pushing up a mountain in this case is its Music Unlimited subscription-based digital music and the mountain is Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) portable-device business. Sony will be releasing its service on the iOS platform, meaning iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users will be able to stream digital music from Sony for between $4 and $10 per month. According to a Wall Street Journal report on the subject, Sony will release the iOS version of Music Unlimited sometime this quarter. Of course, Sony is looking to compete on the home turf of Apple’s iTunes, the digital media business that accounts for more than 70% of all digital music sales. Hence the appropriateness of the drawn out metaphor above.
Sharp Out as iPad 3 Display Provider: A Thursday report at Korea’s Electronic Times (via Mac Rumors) said that Apple is dropping Sharp (PINK:SHCAY) as the provider of LCD displays for the iPad 3 due out before the end of 2012’s first quarter. While the industry source cited said that production of iPad 3 screens is already well underway, it’s LG (PINK:LGEAF) and Apple’s manufacturing partner/rival Samsung (PINK:SSNLF) making them. Earlier reports out of Japan said that Sharp was providing these screens, but this latest report claims Sharp’s screens failed Apple’s approval process for mass production.
Eager Apple Fans in China Line Up Ahead of iPhone 4S Release: China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) will release Apple’s latest iPhone in China on Friday morning and, as tends to happen when Apple puts out a new phone, consumers are lining up around the block to get their hands on it. Steven Millward of Penn Olson reported on Thursday morning that prospective buyers are braving cold weather of about 37° F in Shanghai to get first crack at the iPhone 4S.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook. For more from the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
