Here is your daily Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock news and rumors for August 2, 2010. The big news for Apple today is news itself, with word that News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) is developing a brand new news service for Apple’s iPad. Speaking of the iPad, Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is hoping to slow AAPL’s tablet sales with an announcement of the Blackpad tablet computer.
News Corp.’s News Service for iPad: Rupert Murdoch knows a good thing when he sees it, and the Australian tycoon is undoubtedly salivating over the growing audience on Apple’s tablet computer. News Corps’ the Wall Street Journal is already enjoying a robust following on the iPad, with a base of 64,000 active users that’s grown steadily since the publication launched on the device earlier this year. Now, it looks like News Corp is looking to expand into original tablet computer content. The Financial Times reported this past Friday that Murdoch’s News Corp is now developing a brand new subscription-based news service for AAPL’s iPad and other tablet devices. While the company hasn’t made a final decision on the final form, cost, or name of the proposed news service, they have started direct customer surveying to find out what users expect from such an outlet. The Wall Street Journal will be hosting group research sessions at New York City Apple Stores to discuss “experiences with the iPad, the Wall Street Journal app, and other news apps.”
Research in Motion Plans Blackpad Tablet: While RIMM’s line of BlackBerry smartphones continues to lose market share to Motorola’s (NYSE: MOT) Droid and AAPL’s iPhone, it looks like the tech company isn’t willing to throw in the towel just yet. It was confirmed late last week that Research in Motion will go head to head with Apple this fall on a new battlefront: the tablet computer market. Bloomberg reporter Hugo Miller wrote that Reseach in Motion will release the “Blackpad” tablet this coming November. RIMM’s iPad competitor will feature a 9.7-inch screen as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communication technology. RIMM will also allow users to connect to the web through their internet-connected BlackBerry smartphones, a serious perk for brand devoted users and one that Apple doesn’t offer. (AAPL famously restricts iPad users from connecting to the web by linking with their iPhone.) Improved connectivity features seem to be the crux of RIMM’s strategy at this point since pricing is not; the rumored retail price of the Blackpad is $499, just like Apple’s device. More concrete details should emerge tomorrow, August 3, when Research in Motion hosts an event to unveil both the Blackpad and the new BlackBerry 9800 slider phone.
Apple Takes Down iPhone 4 Competitor Antenna Performance Page: If you don’t have anything nice to say, it’s better to say it all on a devoted web page and then later take the page down. In the two weeks since Apple’s press conference addressing the iPhone 4’s antenna problems, Apple has been updating the URL apple.com/antenna with statistics comparing other smartphones’ antenna performance with the iPhone 4. The site called out the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N97 mini and just last week included Verizon (NYSE: VZ) flagship smartphone the Motorola Droid X as having just as many performance issues as the iPhone 4. The site included video comparisons between AAPL’s products and their competitors. Today, Apple updated the site again, but this time removed all reference to competing smartphones. While Apple hasn’t made an official statement as to why they removed the product takedowns, we’re hopeful that someone just told them to grow up already.
As of this writing, Anthony Agnello did not own a position in any of the companies named here.
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