iPad dominates due to Apple's supply deals

NEW YORK (AP) -- Apple certainly has lots of buzz and corporate cache behind its products, but there's a hidden - almost mundane - reason its newest iPad is likely to dominate the competition: the advantageous deals the company cuts with components manufacturers.

Apple's size, and the fact that the iPad shares components with the highly popular iPhone, means that the company can buy crucial parts such as processing chips and display screens at lower prices. Any company that wants to make a tablet computer that matches the iPad's $499 starting price has to endure higher costs.

As a result, Apple's tablet-making competitors have flailed - and failed. And with the new iPad, Apple is expected to extend its 62 percent market share in the tablet computer category it created. IMS Research expects Apple to capture 70 percent of the market this year.

A year ago, scores of companies all thought they had a shot at emulating Apple's success. More than 100 tablet models were on display at the annual consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas in January 2011. Many of them ran on the Android operating system, developed by Silicon Valley powerhouse Google.

As the year progressed, those dreams crumbled. The iPad 2, launched in March, proved nearly unassailable.

A big part of the reason was that Apple has priced the iPad aggressively. At just under $500 for the basic model, Apple's profit margin on the device is lower than on the iPhone, a smaller device for which it charges phone companies a wholesale rate of $600 or more.

On Wednesday, Apple stuck to that price point when it unveiled the new iPad model. It has a screen that displays sharper images and deeper, more vibrant colors to set it apart from the competition. The new tablet goes on sale March 16 in the U.S. and several other countries.

Apple has other advantages, too. The company sells about a third of all iPads in its own stores or from its website. By cutting out the middleman, Apple is able to keep more of the slim profit margin for itself.

Because it produces tens of millions of iPads and uses some of the same components as the highly popular iPhone, Apple can buy crucial components such as chips and displays at lower prices.

According to research firm IHS iSuppli, Apple is the world's largest buyer of the microprocessor chips that serve as the "brains" of various devices. In January 2011, Apple said it had spent $3.9 billion on long-term contracts to secure supplies for two years of a "very strategic" component it wouldn't name. Few other companies are able to commit that much money.

Many suppliers are happy to sell to Apple, given the company's success in mobile products. ARM Holdings PLC, a British chip-maker that licenses the technology used in iPhone and iPad chips, for instance, saw its stock rise nearly 4 percent Thursday, a day after Apple unveiled iPads with faster processors. Other Apple suppliers, including Cirrus Logic Inc., Jabil Circuit Inc. and Skyworks Solutions, have all experienced healthy stock gains in recent months.

The iPad's pricing created an odd situation. Usually, the first gadget of its kind to hit the market is expensive. Competition then gradually brings prices down.

With the iPad, the reverse happened: Competing products from makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. were more expensive, at least for the first year.

The most extreme example of a tablet failure comes from Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry.

In late 2010, RIM's co-CEO at the time, Jim Balsillie, said interest in the planned PlayBook tablet was "really overwhelming," particularly from corporate customers, a key market for BlackBerry phones. In March, just before it launched, Balsillie said the PlayBook "may well be the most significant development for RIM since the launch of the first BlackBerry device back in 1999."

But the PlayBook was widely panned because of its software, which RIM had put together. It was also expensive. It cost the same as an entry-level iPad 2 despite being half as big.

When sales failed to materialize, RIM had to slash the price of the PlayBook from $500 to $200. It ended up taking a pre-tax charge of $485 million for the declining value of its inventory.

Other manufacturers slashed prices too, culminating in a "fire sale" during the recent holiday season, said Rhoda Alexander, an analyst who covers tablets for IHS iSuppli.

"Those price discounts have come out of the profit margin, to a large degree," she said.

Hewlett-Packard Co., meanwhile, left the market completely. In August, it decided to discontinue the fledging TouchPad tablet along with its line of smartphones, despite great reviews for the in-house software running them.

Samsung has been one of the survivors, selling 6.1 million tablets last year, according to IHS iSuppli. That makes it the second largest tablet maker after Apple, with a market share of 9 percent compared with Apple's 62 percent. Samsung is also one of the world's leading makers of smartphones, chips and display screens. The company is, therefore, big enough to capture some of the advantages that Apple has as a buyer of components in bulk.

Samsung has put out a bevy of tablets in different screen sizes, hoping to capture buyers, who for one reason or another, want something other than the 9.7-inch screen of the iPad.

In November, another successful challenger appeared: Amazon.com Inc. The Internet retailer figured out that people would buy a device other than an iPad if the price was considerably lower. It put together a Spartan tablet with a minimum of frills and started selling it at $199. Amazon doesn't make a profit on its Kindle Fire, according to IHS iSuppli, but it hopes the device will help boost sales of movies, music and electronic books at its online store.

Analysts estimate that Amazon sold 3.9 million to 6 million Kindle Fires in the first six weeks, making it the third-largest seller of tablets last year. Looking solely at the last three months of 2011, Amazon beat Samsung as the second-largest seller of tablets.

Barnes & Noble Inc. adopted a similar strategy and was also successful, at least considering that it's a bookseller venturing into consumer electronics. It updated its Nook Color e-reader to make it more of a general-purpose device and called it the Nook Tablet. ISuppli estimates that it sold 3.3 million Nook tablets last year.

During this year's holiday shopping season, a new raft of challengers will appear: tablets powered by Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8. Microsoft has provided software for PC-style tablets before, but they've never been more than a niche product. Now, the company is creating a version of Windows that runs on phone-style processors such as those used in the iPad. Reviews of the pre-production software have been positive. It will allow users to do some things they can't on an iPad, such as running two applications side by side on the same screen.

Still, analysts expect Apple to regain market share, after losing some because of the unsustainable discounting by competitors late last year. On Wednesday, Apple said it would keep the iPad 2 in production and cut the starting price to $399 - the same price as Samsung's Galaxy Note Tab 10.1.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEC_IPAD_THE_COMPETITION?SITE=NYONI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Video: Sheridan weeps on stand during ?Housewives? trial

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/46679875#46679875

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Home Improvement Projects Made Simple | Roofing Repair Atlanta

What do you know about home improvement? Do you have a plan? If you do, do you wish to improve upon it? What is your skill set like? Is what you?re using working with your home? Are you sure you are installing things properly? If you cannot answer these questions confidently, look at the tips below.

Updating the outside of your house by repainting the exterior or updating the siding is a very cost value added home improvement. It is one of the most effective ways to increase the sale price of your home. By giving your home an exterior facelift you can instantly add more buying appeal to your home.

If you don?t want to invest money into buying a slipcover for your chair, you can make your own from a bed sheet. Buy a twin or queen-size bed sheet from cotton in the color of your choice. Drape it over your chair, and affix it with safety pins in a fashion that isn?t noticeable.

Paint your doors with a fresh coat of white paint to cover up the wear of everyday use. After a while the doors get a grimy bland color, so applying a new coat can make your doors appear new, as well as, add brightness to the inside of your house.

Try taking care of your garden for better home improvement. This is generally regular maintenance like mowing, weeding, and weatherproofing structures like fences and sheds, and cleaning or painting garden furniture. You can also choose to hire a garden maintenance company that can regularly clean and maintain your garden so that it always looks great.

Is your kitchen looking a little bland? One way to make your kitchen look good again is to put in new kitchen faucets. New faucets can make your kitchen really glow. Faucets add a touch of style and elegance to your home and are relatively inexpensive, making them an affordable way to add class to your home.

When you buy new appliances to improve your home, don?t just set the old ones out by the curb to take up space in the land fill. Take some time to find a local recycler if they are broken. If they still work, donate them to your favorite charity or sell them for a few dollars to someone who needs them.

Poke holes in your wall paper bubbles! Sometimes bubbles form when you are hanging wallpaper and you don?t notice them until it?s too late to pull the paper back and correct them. All is not lost! Just use a pin to pierce each bubble then carefully flatten it out against the wall.

When you are making improvements to your home, don?t be afraid to ask for help as soon as you can. The sooner you ask for help, the sooner you can get assistance with your home renovation project. If you wait too long and ask for assistance in the middle of a home renovation project, you may not get the help you need when you need it.

Are you more informed when it comes to home improvement? Do you have plan that works now? Have your skills improved? Can you now use things that work with your home? Do you know how to properly install things? With any luck, the tips above should have helped you answer these questions.

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Source: http://roofingrepairatlanta.net/home-improvement-projects-made-simple/

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Group asks FDA to treat superbugs like rare diseases

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A research group is proposing a new tool in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria: turn infections into a rare disease.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) offered a plan on Thursday that would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review certain kinds of antibiotics like it reviews "orphan" drugs for rare diseases, making it easier for companies to gain approval.

Misuse of medications and other factors have fueled the evolution of multi-drug resistant bacteria, or "superbugs", for which there are few treatment options.

These include drug-resistant strains of MRSA and C-difficile, which have wrought havoc in U.S. hospitals, as well as infections common in the developing world, like tuberculosis.

MRSA -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- alone is estimated to kill around 19,000 people every year in the United States.

The FDA on Wednesday also highlighted the importance of combating superbugs, as long as there are ways to ensure new antibiotics are not overused, making the problem worse.

But many drugmakers have turned away from what has become an unprofitable area of research, leaving few medicines to fight drug-resistant strains.

Today, only two large companies - GlaxoSmithKline Plc and AstraZeneca Plc -- still have strong antibiotic research and development, compared to nearly 20 companies in 1990, according to the IDSA.

Congress passed the Orphan Drug Act in 1983 to deal with a similar problem: too few companies were investing in drugs to treat uncommon diseases, usually ones that affected fewer than 200,000 people in the United States.

The law offered companies tax credits, marketing rights and other incentives, helping to bring 135 "orphan drugs" to market, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Robert Guidos, IDSA's vice president of public policy and government relations, said a similar program could work for antibiotics, where the unmet need is just as great, while investment has plummeted.

"This proposal creates a new mechanism, similar to the orphan drug act (for rare diseases)," he said. "It's a game-changer," Guidos said.

Under IDSA's Special Population Limited Medical Use framework, companies that want to develop new antibiotics can enroll fewer patients in clinical trials and often get a faster response from the FDA.

To get approval for the program, companies would have to target their antibiotics at specific strains of disease that have few treatment options.

FIGHTING OVERUSE

Janet Woodcock, head of the FDA's drugs center, said the incidence of drug-resistant bacteria has reached "crisis proportions" in the United States, but the FDA was concerned new antibiotics could be overused.

"We need antibiotics to be used for life-threatening infections that lack medical treatments ... and not for your kid's ear infection," Woodcock said during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.

The World Health Organization warned last year that misuse of antibiotics was so bad it could bring nations back to the time before major antibiotics were developed.

Woodcock said the FDA was exploring creating a special designation for drugs that have the potential for misuse -- such as antibiotics and obesity treatments -- but can also benefit a limited number of patients.

These drugs would have strict labels on who they are meant for, and pharmacists and doctors would have to know the regulations.

While the FDA has no power to regulate medical practice, Woodcock said she believed this special designation would give doctors enough information to use medicine appropriately.

IDSA said it would also work with insurers and doctors to make sure any antibiotics approved through the pathway would go to the right patients. IDSA represents about 10,000 physicians and scientists that focus on infectious diseases.

The group is submitting its proposal on antibiotics to Congress during a hearing on Thursday about a bill to renew FDA user fees, or the funds companies pay to the agency in exchange for faster review of drugs and devices.

Since the fees provide almost half of the FDA's funding, the bill often serves as a vehicle for broader FDA-related changes. The fees must be renewed every five years, with the current bill expiring in September.

(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Paul Tait)

(Removes reference in 4th paragraph to malaria, which is caused by a drug-resistant parasite, not bacteria)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/group-asks-fda-treat-superbugs-rare-diseases-050245897.html

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Significance of Mobile Phone Review Websites

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Apart from portraying reviews by experts, these websites also feature mobile phone reviews by customers who have actually used those phones. By reading experience of other cell phone users, you can take a better decision ...

Source: http://technology.ezinemark.com/significance-of-mobile-phone-review-websites-18d483a3497.html

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Read This Useful Advice About Commercial Real Estate | Model Dogs

Did you know that there are literally, millions of properties across America that have been foreclosed on this year alone? Many of these are commercial properties. What this signifies, is the fact that the real estate marketplace remains unstable, so you should be correctly informed as a buyer before acting. This article may give you some perfect ordering tricks so that you an act as an informed buyer.Make neighbors with different investors. Purchasing commercial real estate is a complicated process, and you have concerns about whether a property would make a advantageous investment. Develop relationships with people that are knowledgeable in this area of real estate; they might be able to conserve you from making a mistake.Investing in commercial real estate requires a particular understanding of the local marketplace. Property values are largely determined by local marketplace conditions like occupancy degrees, rental rates and demographic styles, making an actual visit with the potential property in addition to touring the whole neighborhood a necessity.

When buying commercial real estate for the very first time, be prepared with take your time in learning the contracts, deciding what kind of property you wish to purchase and how with make has. It may be frustratingly slow at first, but, once the first purchase is completed the deals may progress more immediately.

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Be prepared with be patient and invest a advantageous bit of from pocket income when working on buying a commercial property. Buying commercial property is a extended process and you?ll have with pay with receive surveys, inspections and some other fees that several do not anticipate with receive hit with when they invest.

Before you invest in commercial real estate, you should challenge underlying assumptions. Even though several professional formas may look good, you should nonetheless review the validity of the different assumptions because the professional forma could have gaps in it that need addressing: Suppose a professional forma assumes there is two months of leasing down-time. Therefore, you should consider what would happen if the leasing down-time is six months instead of two? What would happen? This is an important assumption that demands to be addressed.

If your future rental property or apartment complex enables you with host a yard sale or garage sale, ask them if you?re enabled with post your signs within the complex like light poles or tree stumps. Some property managements do not let the display of any kind of advertisements publicly.

If you are seeking to purchase and then eventually lease a commercial property, try to obtain a building that has a great deal of space. Trying with lease out dwellings that are too little will be hard? people like to be in a spacious area, not a claustrophobic one.

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Networking is a perfect tool when you may be getting into commercial real estate. Networking enables you with make contact with others who can enable you. In return you might be able to aid them too. It is a win-win for everyone, and may make real estate more profitable for you.

When ordering commercial property remember that they do take longer than in the event you were going with purchase a single family house. You don?t like to receive impatient or rush into anything. Commercial property ought not to be looked at as a fast technique to make some cash. Look at it as an investment.

If trying with purchase a five device apartment requires commercial financing, which with you is a big hassle, then you shouldn?t even consider it. You must think big and go for, let?s state, a ten device apartment. The more units you purchase together, the cheaper the price per device. Take benefit of such deals and don?t be scared with make a big purchase.

To have enduring success in commercial real estate, have persistence. Deals of the nature take more time than residential houses. These properties are more probably with finance your retirement than pay your current bills. Let them do what they are advantageous at, which is aid you in the extended run, not only now.

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Be sympathetic with the different party in the purchase or market. While you don?t have to make concessions with them, sympathy in conversations remains necessary. Remember, besides the fact that this really is a purchase, you may be both nonetheless people along with a little politeness goes a extended technique. In some cases it can even enable to seal the deal.If you are renting a piece of commercial real estate for a new or existing company, make certain that you have your own agent or representative, much as you would in the event you were buying that same property. There are a great deal of incidentals that might should be negotiated and explained with you during the process.As reported at the beginning, there is very a bit of information regarding commercial real estate. Hopefully you will find these tricks beneficial. You must now find yourself ahead of the game in the event you are working with become an expert, or merely trying with receive a bit of background information.

Source: http://modeldogs.com/?p=255

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Chrysler recalls 210,000 Jeep Liberty SUVs

By msnbc.com news reports

Chrysler is recalling nearly 210,000 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicles due to potential problems resulting from excessive corrosion that could lead to a loss of control by the driver.

Chrysler, which is controlled by Fiat , is recalling the estimated 209,724 Jeep SUVs from model years 2004 and 2005. Some may be equipped with rear lower control arms that can fracture due to corrosion caused by road salt used in certain states, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue, NHTSA said.

The recall is expected to begin by the end of April and the rear lower control arms on all affected vehicles will be replaced, according to NHTSA.

NHTSA said it opened a preliminary evaluation of the issue in April 2011 based on nine complaints about fractures due to excessive corrosion. The probe was upgraded to an engineering analysis in September 2011.

The cars affected in the recall were originally sold or are currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., according to the documents.

Reuters contributed to this report.??

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/07/10600266-chrysler-recalls-210000-jeep-liberty-suvs

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