Happy Apple shareholders!

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Something happened with the Apple shares today. Suddenly the price started to climb up again. When I write this blogpost it’s about ten dollars increase since yesterday and if you look back one year it’s not such a big event – but if you look back to one week ago, it’s something in the economic debate climate that has changed.

Today people laugh at Samsung. Poor Samsung who just launched their new Big Galaxy S 4 and guess what, after a years complaining about Apple not being innovative enough, it’s Samsung’s time to get the complaints. It seems Samsung tries to do what tech people always have done before Apple entered the scene: they invent technical features that the average customer or user doesn’t really care about. They do it just to be able to add another feature to the list, not to make life better for the user.

This is what I read in today’s reviews, so I haven’t tried out a Samsung Big Galaxy S 4 myself.

Still, it’s kind of funny that this should be enough to get the Apple share price increase. I guess we are a lot of people who has waited for the day to come when Apple starts to climb up again and we can’t yet be sure that this is the turning point, but let’s hope so.

I read one interesting comment on Seeking Alpha, by ”scott trader”:

”maybe just maybe samclone doesn’t know where the puck is heading because of aapl using other new suppliers….”

Actually this is exactly what is bound to happen at some point. It’s obvious that Samsung has not only been one of Apple’s suppliers, but also a shameless copycat and since Apple has started to buy their parts from other suppliers, Samsung can’t get their usual sneak peek and inspiration from Apple’s innovation before the products have been launched. Now they have to stand in line and wait for Apple to launch their products like the rest of the world…

If that’s the reason to why Samsung Big Galaxy S 4 disappointed the market, then I think Samsung has yet a lot of disappointments to come. Because, Apple creates products that are grounded in humans, not in tech. Apple is about design and function built to make a difference. Samsung can’t copy that.

And, by the way, it seems like Samsung shares dropped today…

This is getting sillier for every day…

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When I bought my Apple shares in January 2012 I didn’t expect the price to rise as much as it did. I was really amazed but also happy of course. But then things started to change by the autumn and we all know that the price is back to January 2012 once more.

This year has really been a learning year for me and as usual, the best advice I now would like to give to myself is ”Always listen to myself”. I didn’t buy my Apple shares to earn a fortune in short time. I bought them because I like Apple and admire the work they do. I believe in Apple’s way of creating smart devices. Thinking like that, nothing much has changed since one year ago.

The only thing that has changed for me is that I now have a bigger understanding for what the rally of expectations can do with the stock price and frankly, I find it so silly. Grown up men (well, a few women as well I guess, but the ones I read about are usually men) that tries to impress on each other with numbers, tables, statistics and graphs predicting the future for Apple. At some point most of them tried to be the best at praising Apple and then they got confused until they started to be best at dooming Apple. What did Apple do to feed all those predictions? Nothing strange really, they kept on doing a good job.

What do I expect from Apple during 2013?

  • Some new models of MacBooks, iPhones and iPads.
  • Fresh new version of iWork! It’s about time we get a good and well thought-out version of that incredible, enjoyable software.
  • Making it easier to use Apple ID and iCloud, build in better solutions for sharing documents with others. No more confusing messages during updates or installations…
  • New design for the iOS User Interface. Jony Ive – I hope you will come up with something delicate!
  • New, cool devices! Yes of course, we are getting curious: what are you Apple guys working on? Is it the iWatch, the Apple TV solution or what? Surprise me!
  • Continue to sell all over the world. I expect them to grow fast on markets in China and India, but also to grow on other markets of course.
  • Expand their market shares in working places like schools, healthcare, factories, aircraft – well every kind of working place I can think of.
  • To pay their dividends and maybe increase them a little?
  • I finish with my special, personal wish: Please Mr Tim Cook, give me a BIG iPad, an iPad Pro! I would love to work with a bigger touchscreen when I create ideas!

I think it’s okay if the price of the Apple shares don’t rise too fast if it means that the price will continue to increase during a long period, like five years. Because I don’t like the hysteria we had during 2012… I hope that Apple will keep on making a difference to the world. I love Apple.

PS. I found the video on iDownloadBlog.

It’s time to get social Apple!

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Charlie Kindel has written an interesting article about Why Nobody Can Copy Apple and his conclusion is very simple:

It only focuses on one customer: The Consumer.

I see this like a wholeness where it’s not only about seeing the market as business or customers but also about seeing the customer as both a private person and a business person. That’s how I started to think after reading his article.

This goes hand in hand with the development with social media. The old way is to think of business and work like something separate from your private life. In social media the tendency is to let them melt together and become one. We do business with persons, not with companies or brands. A lot of people haven’t yet understood this and are afraid to show themselves in person on Facebook. But we, as being customers, expect to see the person behind the business more and more.

Except from companies like Apple, which is a paradox. Imagine how cool it would be to follow Tim Cook or Jony Ive on Twitter, Facebook or a blog? Actually, that might be what’s missing right now? The shareholders want to get the feeling of what’s happening and all they can rely on are rumors and rare interviews and speeches. And we all need to fill in the empty space after Steve Jobs. I always thought of Apple as an exception from social media but now, starting to think like this, I actually got scared. I think Apple needs social media right now! I don’t think that Samsung’s CEO is blogging or anything, but imagine if Tim Cook could be the first in this business to do it? He would for sure be one of the most interesting persons to follow…

It’s not like one has to reveal secrets just because you have a blog. People want to feel connected to the persons behind the products today. Steve Jobs managed to create that feeling without social media, but Tim Cook who seems to be a really nice and clever man doesn’t have a similar strong connection with the customers and fans. A blog would be an excellent channel for him. He could connect with the customers.

Also, another thing that Apple does against ”the rules” is the system for feedback. I understand that Apple is big, but it is another paradox to think of the extreme high level of customer care in Apple Stores in contrast to the dull system for feedback online. I send in suggestions and feedback all the time but never get a simple ”thanks”. When I send feedback to other companies they often answer me and make me feel like if they listen to me.

I think the Apple Communities could get a more friendly tone and also it would be great to know if someone at Apple actually reads what goes on there in the discussion. That’s also a place where it would mean so much if people could feel that they participated in developing Apple’s products to get even better. Of course, it’s all the designers and engineers at Apple who does 99,9% of the hard work, but even so, it wouldn’t hurt to emphasize the feeling of ”all us Apple users are a big family and we help Apple as much as we can”. 

You know, I think that’s how it all begun? I remember that there were some kind of Apple groups in Växjö (Sweden) and there were more of them all over the world. Today I don’t know what has happened with those groups, I never hear of them. But today we could create that feeling of belonging to a group on the internet.

And I think we are a lot of persons that long for ways to connect with Apple in ways like this.

So, please Apple: consider becoming more social online!

How to become an iTunes Partner as a Content Provider, Part 2…

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In February TWO years ago I wrote about ”How to become an iTunes Partner as a Content Provider, Part 1…” I didn’t figure out how to do it by then, but in the beginning of January I finally managed to get an EIN for my company.

I’m sorry to say that Apple gave no useful information about how to get an EIN from IRS. I learned how to do it from a Swedish blogger and it turns out that the best way is to call the IRS and not try to use the on-line option to fill in the registration.

I know English pretty well, but I’m not familiar with the bureaucratic vocabulary so I was very nervous when I called IRS. It’s not easy to spell everything on the phone and especially not when you have a Swedish company named ”Stenstroms Information & Marknadsforing HB”. That’s 38 letters I had to spell out loud for the woman at IRS. And it didn’t help when I tried to be helpful and she said ”No, now we’re going to this MY way!” Ooops?

BUT I did get my EIN directly in the phone and 3-4 weeks later we finally got it on paper too, all the way from USA.

We tried to register as an Apple Content Provider directly when I got the EIN on the phone, but it wasn’t properly registered all the way by then and we couldn’t go through the application until we had got this letter. Since January 28th we are Apple Content Providers! Hooray! 
However, you might want to sell stuff through Amazon as well and now we found that they have better information on how to do everything – so, if you found this blogpost because you want to publish your own books, you will probably learn a lot from Amazon.

We haven’t finished our first book yet, but we are about to and more books will follow. So, I can’t yet tell you what it’s like to actually upload and sell books through iBook Store or Amazon.

Apple distortion field?

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Sometimes I wonder if some people go into the Apple distortion field in some strange, magical way because I can’t really explain how some people react to the latest news about Apple.

  1. Apple Earning Report. It was amazing. They keep selling more and more. Their profits can make any company in the world green of envy. How does the market react? ”Buhuuu, that wasn’t good enough! Apple didn’t reach up to my expectations!” So, they start to sell their shares and the stock price fall. Don’t they at all consider that Apple has plenty of excellent products to come in their pipeline? Haven’t they understood that Apple has just begun to go into the Chinese market? Just wait and see what will happen as soon the contract with China Mobile is signed! And there’s also a movie about Steve Jobs coming up which means people will actually pay to watch a long ”commercial” about Apple…
  2. Apple Supplier Responsibility 2013 Progress Report. It feels good in my heart to read about the efforts Apple go through to make the working conditions better and better. I was especially touched to read about how they force the factories to send home minor workers, guarantee that they will go to school and also pay the fee they paid them to do the work in the factory. That’s amazing. Apple has also started an educational program so that the young workers get a chance to educate themselves. There is much more in the report and I get proud over Apple. So, what can I read in the news? Well they say that minor workers has been found in those factories. Like if it is something bad? I mean, the whole point of taking care for the working conditions would be to find what doesn’t work and then make it work better, isn’t it? I think it would be a terrible result if they said that they worked for better working conditions but then were too lazy or blind to find any flaws, like minor workers.

So, please tell me, what’s wrong with people?