Here is your daily Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock news and rumors for December 7, 2010. The second generation iPad could be coming as soon as February according to Taiwanese sources. Also, bad news for Apple’s sole iPhone supporter in the United States as a Consumer Reports survey finds AT&T the least preferred mobile carrier in the United States. Finally, a new report finds enterprise buyers frustrated by Apple’s cancelling of the Xserve server line.
iPad 2 to Ship in Next 100 Days: Taiwanese industry hawks DigiTimes are reporting that Chinese manufacturer Foxconn will ship the next iteration of Apple Inc.’s popular tablet by next April. Citing sources within Foxconn, DigiTimes claims that the iPad 2 could arrive as soon as the end of February 2011, with the group producing an initial shipment of 400,000 to 600,000 units for sale worldwide. As AAPL stock blog Apple Insider points out, this rumor seems to support previous murmurings surrounding the next iPad, particularly claims that iPad 2 component production would begin in earnest come January. The DigiTimes article actually goes on to claim that Apple had hoped to launch the iPad 2 even earlier, but that testing of the tablet’s firmware has held up the process and could delay the release beyond February and into April.
AT&T Ranked Worst Mobile Carrier by Consumer Reports: Though reports earlier this year saw the reputation of AT&T (NYSE: T) improving, the results of a recent customer satisfaction survey published by Consumer Reports shows that AT&T is in last place amongst mobile phone users in the United States. Of those respondents who were also AT&T subscribers, more than half were iPhone users. AT&T received the worst ratings in all categories with the exception of text messaging service. The company’s poor customer support, service, and value were singled out as particularly poor. Consumer Reports‘ electronics editor Paul Reynolds said, “Our survey suggests that an iPhone on Verizon Wireless… could indeed be good news for iPhone fans.” Verizon (NYSE: VZ) actually fell to second place in the survey results after seven years in the lead. U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM), a company that only services 26 states, mostly in the southern and mid-western United States, unseated Verizon from the top spot. Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) came in third while T-Mobile USA came in fourth. It was rumored earlier this week that Verizon is planning to pay AAPL a hefty fee to block the iPhone receiving support on Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks.
AAPL Enterprise Customers Troubled by Xserve Discontinuation: Even though AAPL’s Xserve rackmounted servers weren’t widely used when the line was cancelled earlier this fall, those enterprise consumers who used them continue to be hassled by Apple’s decision to cease producing and servicing the line. CNNMoney.com published profiled industry response to the end of the Xserve server line today, reporting “a mix of confusion and frustration” amidst former Xserve users in Apple’s still-growing enterprise customer base. Zimmerman Agency IT director John Welch described the surprise product realignment as “a nightmare” for his staff. Still, the overwhelming majority of former Xserve customers plan on sticking with Apple’s products, with 70% reportedly planning on using Apple desktops and servers going forward.
As of this writing, Anthony Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
