Here is your daily Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock news and rumors report for Oct. 14, 2010. The iPhone comes to Sam’s Club and Target as Apple’s retail initiatives continue to expand. Meanwhile, the Mac computer line is set to get a boost next week when Apple hosts the “Back to the Mac” event to show off new software and a rumored new line of MacBook Air laptops. Finally, Apple has been awarded a patent that would block sexting on the iPhone.
Sam’s Club, Target to Begin Selling iPhone: Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad tablet PC isn’t the only device to be invading retailers left and right. Hot on the heels of the announcment that Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) would begin selling the tablet computer this week comes news that a Wal-Mart subsidiary, wholesaler Sam’s Club, will begin selling the iPhone at its 602 membership-only stores across the lower 48 states. The announcement was made during Wal-Mart’s quarterly conference call on Tuesday, but it didn’t give a release date. Another retailer that recently joined the iPad community will begin selling the iPhone this fall. Sources close to the matter say that big-box chain Target (NYSE: TGT) is preparing to sell AAPL’s smartphones as part of its new Target Mobile centers. Announced this past summer, the devoted mobile phone sections are currently being added to 850 of Target’s 1,743 stores across the United States. As there is still no specific date marking the official launch of Target Mobile, Target’s iPhone plans are still nebulous.
“Back to the Mac” Event Hosted by Apple Hits Next Wednesday: Analysts predict that by the end of 2011, the iPad will be the fourth-highest-selling electronic segment in the technology market. It’s so popular that it controls an entire category on its own. With all eyes on the tablet, Apple’s line of Mac desktop and laptop computers has been left out in the cold in recent months. Not anymore. On Oct. 20, Apple will host “Back to the Mac” at its campus in Cupertino, Calif., where it is expected to unveil the new MacBook Air laptops, iLife and iWork ’11, and possibly a preview of its latest operating system update, Mac OS X 10.7. The new MacBook Air computers are rumored to be a series of competitively priced notebook-sized laptops with an 11.6-inch screen. Rumors have the pint-sized laptop shipping by the end of the calendar year.
Apple Files Patent for Anti-Sexting Technology:
A three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reviewed whether or not sexting, the act of sending sexually explicit images or language via text message on a mobile device, was protected speech last March. They couldn’t determine whether or not teens sending bawdy messages to one another were protected by the constitution but they did decide that the state of Pennsylvania couldn’t force them to attend educational programs for sexting. (That would be compelled speech.) Parents shouldn’t fret though. Apple Inc. is working fast to make sure teens won’t be able to sext on the iPhone. A new patent titles “Text-based communication control for personal communication device,” filed in 2008, was awarded to AAPL by the United States Trademark Office earlier this week. The patent describes a set of parental controls that would effectively block sexting on the iPhone. The controls will let parents designate specific language to be blocked from incoming and outgoing messages, in addition to internal software technology that would automatically recognize suggestive language. Apple has not announced any plans to introduce the controls to their devices yet, but the company and parents alike can be guaranteed that their new software will do nothing except create a whole new dictionary of slang.
As of this writing, Anthony Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
3 GameChanger Stocks to Buy Before Election Day. It is critical that you act today to position yourself to profit no matter what the midterm elections deliver. I’ve identified three stocks that I urge you to buy today for money-doubling profits in the year ahead — regardless of what happens in Washington. Get “3 GameChanger Stocks to Buy Before Election Day” — a brand-new FREE report from Hilary Kramer of GameChangers.
