Margins Archive

  • Fujitsu, Toshiba lock up handset division merger

    Fujitsu, Toshiba lock up handset division merger

    Posted on June 17, 2010 | No Comments
    The I's have been dotted, the T's have been crossed, and two of Japan's mobile giants -- Fujitsu and Toshiba -- have apparently brought their handset division merger talks to a fruitful conclusion. Fujitsu will take a majority stake in the joint venture, which should become Japan's number two domestic market phone supplier behind Sharp; together, they'll still have virtually no significance on the global stage, but this might be an interesting opportunity for phones like the TG01 and its successors to get a little more play around the world. For its part, Toshiba is looking at the deal to step back from an unprofitable business; margins on phones in the Japanese domestic market are razor-thin, and other players like Mitusbishi have already bowed out entirely. Best of luck, you lovebirds.

    Fujitsu, Toshiba lock up handset division merger originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sony Ericsson Q1 Results Are In, Back In The Black

    Sony Ericsson Q1 Results Are In, Back In The Black

    Posted on April 16, 2010 | No Comments
    Sony Ericsson today posted their Q1 results for 2010, and the results are... good! Despite most analysts predicting a net loss (a recent Reuters poll of analysts showed an average estimated loss of €157m), Sony Ericsson have gone and surprised everyone by turning a €18m profit. This time last year they posted a €370m loss, and have posted losses for the last 7 quarters. Needless to say, this is a great turn-around for the company.

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  • What if…Apple only offered the 64GB/3G iPad and sold it for $499

    What if…Apple only offered the 64GB/3G iPad and sold it for $499

    Posted on February 11, 2010 | No Comments
    Even though the iPad is still more than a month away from shipping, iSuppli conducted a preliminary itemized parts breakdown. The results aren't that surprising: Apple's making a boatload on these things. Suppli concluded that the $499 16GB/no 3G model only costs $229 to manufacturer with the $829 64GB/3G model costing only $117 more to make even though it carries a $329 premium. Nice, eh? These numbers can be broken down even further showing Apple's insane margins. The 3G module only costs $24.50, but Apple charges $129 more for the option. The NAND memory chips are really the only difference between all three options, but their real costs of $29 for 16GB, $59 for $32GB, and $119 for 64GB are nowhere near proportionate with the iPad's prices. All this data shows that Apple's abandoning its long-held K.I.S.S. strategy. So what if Apple got back on the keeping it simple bandwagon, only offered the high-end 64GB with 3G iPad and still sold it for $499? After all, the company would still be making at least $153 on each iPad sold. Would that turn around the iPad's outlook?

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  • CEA boots small vendors out of Las Vegas hotels

    CEA boots small vendors out of Las Vegas hotels

    Posted on January 11, 2010 | No Comments
    In the dog eat dog world of the CE business, margins are low and money - especially in this economy - is tight. That's why a number of smaller vendors, including some we talked to in Vegas, took rooms in local hotels or ran "peripheral" events in other venues. The Daily Tech reports that some of those vendors have been ousted by the hotels themselves after the CEA, the organization that runs CES, convinced management to force them out.

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  • Yup, the Acer Aspire One AOD250 dual boots Windows XP and Android, all right

    Yup, the Acer Aspire One AOD250 dual boots Windows XP and Android, all right

    Posted on October 15, 2009 | No Comments
    Oh, netbooks. Doug loves ‘em, but I’m still not convinced of their vitalness. Is it neat to see a tiny little computer zip around the Internet? Sure, yeah. Can I go about my business without ever having owned one? So far, so good! I bring this up because yesterday I was able to goof around—in [...]

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  • Recession slows the sales, adoption of Intel’s Classmate PC

    Recession slows the sales, adoption of Intel’s Classmate PC

    Posted on September 30, 2009 | No Comments
    The worldwide recession looks to have taken a bite out of sales of Intel's Classmate PC, a computer that was supposed to bring the power of, um, computers to the developing world. Since governments have been devoting resources (read: money) to fighting the recession, they have less money to buy “superfluous” items like computers for kids.

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  • Apple Store goes down for mystery updates

    Apple Store goes down for mystery updates

    Posted on September 28, 2009 | No Comments
    We’re used to seeing this message flash across the Apple Store every time Steve Jobs graces the stage – but on a random evening at the beginning of the work week? That’s a bit strange. Any guesses as to what’s in the oven? The latest whispers around the Interwebs all suggest that iMac and MacBook revisions [...]

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  • Orange France outs the LG GD910’s excessively high price

    Orange France outs the LG GD910’s excessively high price

    Posted on August 7, 2009 | No Comments
    Oh man, Devin is going to be upset. He is enamored with the LG GD910, but I have a feeling that the price is a tad too rich for him. There was a rumor that it was going to be pricey and sure enough, Orange France is going to sell it with at €899 ($1,290) on-contract.

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  • The Mac Versus PC Debate Has Never Been Clearer

    The Mac Versus PC Debate Has Never Been Clearer

    Posted on July 23, 2009 | No Comments
    “Our goal is not to build the most computers. It’s to build the best.” That was Apple COO Tim Cook two days ago during Apple's quarterly earnings call. Sure, it may sound like spin from an executive who doesn't have a better answer as to why Apple isn't competing in the low-end of the market, and thus, gaining market share. But it's not. You need look no further than numbers released today by NPD to understand Apple's strategy. Its revenue share of the "premium" price market — that is, computers over $1,000 — is a staggering 91%. This means that 9 out of every 10 retail dollars that is spent on PCs in that price range, goes to Apple, as Betanews' Joe Wilcox points out. That, for lack of a better word, is insane. Analysts and journalists are often quick to point out Apple's relatively low overall market share (less than 10%). But that completely misses the point of Apple's Mac business. If Apple wanted to make a range of low-end computers, it absolutely could. And such machines would sell like crazy, boosting Apple's market share. But there would have to be some trade-off in quality, and perhaps more importantly to Apple, to its high margins. And as it has proven time and time again, it has no desire to give up either.

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  • How Much Is That Apple Tablet Going To Cost? Not $399 Or $499.

    How Much Is That Apple Tablet Going To Cost? Not $399 Or $499.

    Posted on July 21, 2009 | No Comments
    There's always good bits of data you can pry from Apple's cold fingers during the Q&A sessions of its quarterly earnings conference calls. Today was no different. As usual, a question came up about Apple entering the "low-end" laptop market, which is a fancy way of saying "netbook" market. Once again, Apple COO Tim Cook reiterated Apple's stance that "Our goal is not to build the most computers. It's to build the best." What he means by this is that Apple has no interest in playing in low-end market, which is of course also a low-margin market, which would mean Apple's pretty margins taking a hit. But wording is everything, and Cook once again didn't exactly eliminate the possibility of Apple making a new type of portable computing device. He said that no matter what the price point is, that if Apple feels it can build a product worthy of its brand, it will do so. But he also specifically called out two price points that he thought are producing junky products, and implied that such price points will continue to produce junky products: $399 and $499.

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  • Headline: Dell unlikely to buy Acer, says Micheal Dell

    Headline: Dell unlikely to buy Acer, says Micheal Dell

    Posted on July 16, 2009 | No Comments
    Dell is on the market for some profitable companies but Acer isn’t one of their targets. In case you didn’t hear, Acer is almost ready to take away the #2 PC maker spot from Dell, but that doesn’t concern Mr. College-Dropout-Dell. Bloomberg, Acer “might have a similar unit volume to Dell, but their gross margin dollars are [...]

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