Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Wednesday:
App Store Sells in China: The world might be Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) oyster, but China is certainly the shiny pearl hidden within. Over the past 18 months, Apple’s revenue from the country has grown by leaps and bounds. The company pulled in $3.8 billion in sales over its second quarter in China, six times the amount from a year ago. A Wednesday report from research group Distimo (via GigaOM) said that one of Apple’s newer businesses, the iPhone/iPad App Store, is the company’s latest rising star in China. At the beginning of 2011, the Chinese App Store saw just 18% as many downloads on the iPhone as the App Store in the U.S. As of November, that number had risen to 30%. The iPad is an even greater force, with Chinese App Store downloads accounting for 50% of all app downloads on the tablet across both that country and the U.S.
Christmas Rush: The company may be a brutal master when it comes to warranties, but let it never be said that the company isn’t willing to give its customers a break — at least, not when there’s money to be made. To that end, Apple is offering free next-day shipping on all orders made via its website through Wednesday. Analysts across the board are already expecting Apple to sell between 28 million and 31 million iPhones by the end of the holiday quarter. Free shipping may bump that number by a few hundred thousand.
Kindle Fire Update: Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire tablet may be taking haymaker swings at Apple iPad sales, but consumer satisfaction with the device could certainly be improved. Complaints of slow web browsing and other performance issues have quelled some of the early hype around Amazon’s $200 tablet. The company released a new software update for the device on Tuesday night. The update improves performance, fixes touch navigation, and adds a password lock for accessing WiFi networks.
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.
