Apple Review

15 Billion dollars, Apple? Someone is doing some Christmas shopping

So it came out last week that Apple had been saving a bit of money. They are likely going to buy something and the internet blew up with ideas on what that should be. Ars came up with Adobe, Tivo, Nintendo. We aren't feeling any of those - here's why:

Adobe - there is too much overlap in products. Final Cut/Premiere. Aperture/Lightroom, etc, etc. Adobe has a great portfolio of applications but overall the line isn't close enough to Apple's core competency. Plus the two companies aren't getting along that well anymore. Adobe is also pricey.

Tivo - It is a great technology for the next 3-5 years. Soon though, networks will be broadcasting their content over the net by themselves. The technology to leverage advertising will make them more than the currently falling costs of broadcasting over the net - so it won't matter. As someone who has to watch college football on a slingbox, I say hurry the fsck up.

Nintendo - great idea, but they are too expensive. Any buyout of Nintendo would have to be more like a merger. Can you see Steve Jobs agreeing to a merger and taking in top management? Us neither.

So, we've come up with three companies that Apple should buy - and which they actually have a shot at. Yep, telecoms:

Clearwire. Fresh off their split from Sprint talks, Clearwire is looking for some more dough. Apple has 15 billion reasons why they should come into the Apple fold. Oh, btw, WiMAX is great match for Apple's new mobile platform.

Skype - Recently devalued and a bargain. Ebay is looking for a buyer. Over 100 million users. VOIP. Phone Numbers. iPod, iPhone, tablets...it all makes much more sense.

700MHz spectrum. Not a company per se - but a huge amount of power in the telecommunications industry for the next 20+ years. Apple would likely partner with Google and a few other technology giants (MS?) on snapping this up. It goes without saying that tech companies are sick of letting the telecoms tell them how they can use and sell their products. This will be an interesting auction. NFL draft, eat your heart out.

Will Apple put its feet into the telecom world? $15 billion is a whole lot more fun to spend than distribute to shareholders. Maybe we'll get some news at Macworld on January 14-18. OH btw- the telecom auction is on Jan 17. ;)

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15 Billion dollars Apple? Someone is doing some Christmas shopping

Adobe - there is too much overlap in products. Final Cut-Premiere. Aperture-Lightroom, etc, etc. Adobe has a great portfolio of applications but overall the line isn't close enough to Apple's core competency. Plus the two companies aren't getting along that well anymore. Adobe is also pricey.

Tivo - It is a great technology for the next 3-5 years. Soon though, networks will be broadcasting their content over the net by themselves. The technology to leverage advertising will make them more than the currently falling costs of broadcasting over the net - so it won't matter. As someone who has to watch college football on a slingbox, I say hurry the fsck up.

Nintendo - great idea, but they are too expensive. Any buyout of Nintendo would have to be more like a merger. Can you see Steve Jobs agreeing to a merger and taking in top management? Us neither.

So, we've come up with three companies that Apple should buy - and which they actually have a shot at. Yep, telecoms:

Clearwire. Fresh off their split from Sprint talks, Clearwire is looking for some more dough. Apple has 15 Billion reasons why they should come into the Apple fold. Oh, btw, WiMAX is great match for Apple's new mobile platform.

Skype - Recently devalued and a bargain. Ebay is looking for a buyer. Over 100 million users. VOIP. Phone Numbers. iPod, iPhone, tablets...it all makes much more sense.

700MHz spectrum. Not a company per se - but a huge amount of power in the telecommunications industry for the next 20+ years. Apple would likely partner with Google and a few other technology giants (MS?) on snapping this up. It goes without saying that tech companies are sick of letting the telecoms tell them how they can use and sell their products. This will be an interesting auction. NFL draft, eat your heart out.

Will Apple put its feet into the telecom world? $15 Billion is a whole lot more fun to spend than distribute to shareholders. Maybe we'll get some news at Macworld on January 14-18. (OH btw- the telecom auction is on Jan 17;)

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VOIP on iPhone-iPod platform. Next killer app

Frankly, I don't understand why there isn't more hype about this. As an expat living far away from friends and family, I rely on Skype at home to make and recieve calls. Local calls. Cheap local calls. Lots of them. When I spend two hours talking to American Airlines, trying to get my Christmas return tickets sorted, it saves me hundreds of dollars.

I use a Belkin Skype phone (which is awesome in every way except battery life). I use Skype over Fring on my Nokia N95 which is simply amazing - especially over 3G. I use the MacOSX Skype client both at home and while at work. But I'd sure love to use an iPod or iPhone for this. It is just the perfect natural fit. The hardware can handle this. As of today we have proof.

Now I am not saying it is Skype or bust. I am perfectly happy to switch to any SIP or Vonage phone or whatever. Just give me a US number and a reasonable price. Better yet, give me a few choices, make some competition. Turn this ino a positive for consumers. Apple, so far, has not made any movements at all on this either on the desktop or on the portables. A few possible scenarios exist:

Apple could be building its own VOIP network and planning to integrate it into iChat both on the desktop and on the iPhone. Hopefully, they use the open SIP platform that allows it to communicate with many of the other phone systems in the world.

Apple could be partnering with Google and using its GoogleTalk/Jabber platform and plan integration across its line of products. Google is likely looking to expand its Google Talk service so users can receive incoming calls. This in turn could be connected with other google account services like email, calendar, contact list, etc.

Same thing as above but instead with Yahoo!.

Apple opens up iPod/iPhone for applications. Vonage, Skype, Fring. SIP, etc jump on board.

Apple buys Skype from Ebay and turns it into a defacto communications platform. While it has the legacy phone number/SMS system, it also includes chatting and claims over 100 million users currently. Skype is undervalued and not being developed properly by ebay. Apple has $15 Billion in the bank. Oh and *cough* 700Mhz Spectrum is also for sale *cough*

Apple does nothing. Waits for phones to die and instant messaging to take over in a few years. Puts $15 Billion in pork bellies and frozen concentrated orange juice.

Will we see a VOIP service at Macworld? I certainly hope so - but if I had to bet on it, I'd say no. Apple has kinda missed the whole VOIP boat so far. I hope I am wrong and we see some big announcements - just about an of the above scenarios would be really exciting. But, until Apple opens their eyes / rolls out their VOIP application, go hackers!