eBay resellers cash in on iPad shortages

Average selling price for third-gen 16GB Wi-Fi iPad is $92 above list, says auctioneer

Computerworld - eBay resellers are asking an average price of $591 for the base model of Apple's new iPad, or nearly $100 above list, the online auction site said today.

Although Apple charges $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi new iPad, the wait time for new orders now stretches two to three weeks.

eBay sellers are taking advantage of the tight supply by trying to flip their pre-ordered 16GB Wi-Fi tablets at an average price of $591.

"Selling my iPad 3 pre-order," said a seller identified as "resqbobby" in an eBay Marketplace listing. "Auction is for one white iPad 16GB WiFi. Don't wait in line for hours for a sold out product, get yours here now!"

Resqubobby listed the incoming iPad for $1,250, more than double the average cited by eBay.

Others used the same reasoning to pitch their pre-ordered iPads.

"The new iPad 3rd generation are already being back ordered, why wait to get the best? No lines, no rain, buy from us!" read the description of a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad with an asking price of $959.99 Canadian, or $966.25 U.S.

People who don't want to wait weeks before seeing their iPads wend their way to them have options, including Apple's retail stores, or other outlets, including Best Buy and Radio Shack in the U.S. The new iPads are to go on sale at retail on Friday, March 16.

U.S. mobile carriers AT&T and Verizon, which will sell the higher-priced iPads that support 3G and LTE data networks, are only taking customers' email addresses for later notification when the tablet is available.

Another alternative is the iPad 2, which Apple has retained in its sales line-up. Last week, Apple dropped the price by $100 for the two remaining models, the 16GB Wi-Fi and the 16GB 3G. The iPad 2 ships in one to three business days, according to Apple's online store.
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IPhone Failing to Gain Market Share in China as Samsung Lead Triples

Apple Inc. (AAPL) got a second partner in China to sell the iPhone in the world’s biggest mobile-phone market. The deal may be too late to catch Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), with a market share that’s three times larger and growing.

China Telecom Corp. (728) began selling the iPhone last week as Apple tries to build on its 7.5 percent share of the country’s smartphone sales. Samsung controlled 24.3 percent of the market for phones that can play videos and games, according to Gartner Inc., using a strategy of allying with all three of the nation’s third-generation networks since such services started in 2009.

ucceeding in China is important for Apple as shipments of smartphones in the country are projected to jump 52 percent this year to 137 million units, overtaking the U.S. for the first time as the world’s biggest market. Unlike Samsung’s strategy of partnering with all carriers, Apple has limited its own success by not making a device compatible with the nation’s biggest operator, China Mobile Ltd. (941)

“I don’t expect Apple to replace Samsung any time soon,” Gartner analyst Sandy Shen said in an interview. “China Telecom is the nation’s smallest carrier, so the extent to which they can help Apple is quite limited.”

The 16.8 percentage-point gap in China between Cupertino, California-based Apple and Samsung almost doubled from the third quarter. While Samsung is No. 1 and Apple No. 5 in China, the global story is different: Worldwide, Apple passed its Suwon, South Korea-based competitor to become the biggest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter, according to Gartner.
China Mobile

Apple’s partnerships with China’s second- and third-largest carriers give it access to about 34 percent of the nation’s 988 million mobile users, while Samsung targeted the whole market. iPhones aren’t sold to China Mobile’s 655 million subscribers, a number almost equal to the combined population of the U.S., Brazil and Mexico.

“Having access to more subscribers gives vendors like Samsung an advantage,” said Teck Zhung Wong, a Beijing-based analyst with IDC China, who forecast the 52 percent jump in smartphone sales this year. “If Apple is going to continue to grow in the Chinese market, it has to consider very seriously a handset with China Mobile.”

China Telecom had a total of 129.3 million wireless users at the end of January, including 38.7 million 3G subscribers.

Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 in the U.S. exclusively with AT&T Inc. (T) and added a second carrier partner last year in Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)
Pelting Eggs

Apple chose not to make a phone with China Mobile because the operator had a unique 3G standard called TD-SCDMA, even after the Chinese company’s Chairman Wang Jianzhou met with the then Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs in early 2010. Wang told the company’s annual meeting in May that he didn’t expect Apple to introduce an iPhone until the carrier rolled out the fourth- generation TD-LTE network by end of this year.

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (762) was the nation’s first carrier to offer the iPhone with a service contract in October 2009.

Even though Apple trailed Samsung, Nokia Oyj (NOK1V), Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp (000063) in China’s smartphone market, people still crave an iPhone.

Apple’s oldest store in China was pelted with eggs from a crowd of customers on Jan. 13 when the shop, in Beijing’s Sanlitun district, failed to open on the first day of sales for the iPhone 4S. After police sealed off the area to remove more than 500 people, Apple said it would suspend sales of iPhones at all its stores.
‘Didn’t Bet High Enough’

The maker of iMac computers and iPad tablets underestimated the “staggering” demand for the iPhone 4S when it started sales in China in January, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said. “We thought we were betting bold,” Cook said Jan. 24. “We didn’t bet high enough.”

The iPhone 4S has been “an incredible hit” with customers around the world, Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said in an e-mail. Apple “can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers in China,” Wu said, declining to comment further on the company’s handset strategy in China.

Samsung’s approach to China is “the same” as other markets, Juha Park, senior vice president of product strategy, said in an interview in Barcelona.

“We make product innovation and make our brand very desired in the market,” Park said. “That’s what we do to become a major player. We have been doing quite strong growth in the China market.”
Unlocked IPhone

Even without an agreement with Apple or a device that’s compatible with its high-speed 3G network, China Mobile still has 15 million iPhone users, spokeswoman Rainie Lei said. Those China Mobile users buy unlocked devices and surf the web at slower 2G speeds, or else connect to Wi-Fi hotspots for a faster connection.

China Telecom projects that the iPhone will “significantly enhance its long term sustainable growth and value creation despite the short term pressure on its profitability,” spokeswoman Lisa Lai said in an e-mail.

“For China Telecom, its 4S launch comes late and the low- hanging fruit may already be exhausted,” said Lisa Soh, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd.

The egg pelting also resulted in Apple losing one advantage it had over Samsung -- its own retail stores stopped selling iPhones. Apple said at the time the move was “for the time being.” Apple’s Wu said the phones remain available through Apple’s online store in China, and declined to provide an update on when the shops would resume sales of the devices.

That leaves Samsung free to further widen its gap.

“It’s just one country, but it’s such a big market and its portion in the global market is huge, so Samsung is trying to act fast to capture the market,” said Kim Young Chan, a Seoul- based analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp. “Dealing with different network standards will give them a pretty valuable competitive edge.”
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Anonymous Got Hacked While Hacking

Anonymous might be the pre-eminent group of hacktivists on the internet, but they aren’t immune to a little hacking themselves.

Security software company Symantec discovered that a piece of Anonymous-recommended DDoS software called Slowloris contained an insidious Trojan that was stealing financial info from people using it.

Anonymous recommended the software during the fallout from the Jan. 20 raid on Megaupload, and the beginning of one of the biggest DDoS sprees in the group’s history, hitting The Universal Music Group, The Department of Justice, the FBI, the RIAA and more.

DDoS software is easy to use without much computer knowledge., meaning that an untold number of people could have opened up their info to the hackers. Anonymous’ wide open way of crowdsourcing DDoS attacks might be an extraordinarily effective way of remaining moving targets and blending into the internet, but it might be getting people into games a little tougher than they’re ready to play.

Writes Symantec:

Not only will supporters be breaking the law by participating in DoS attacks on Anonymous hacktivism targets, but may also be at risk of having their online banking and email credentials stolen. The joining of malicious financial and identity fraud malware, Anonymous hacktivism objectives, and Anonymous supporter deception is a dangerous development for the online world.

Egg on your face comes off with a little soap and warm water.
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Anonymous Members Arrested Worldwide

Interpol has announced they managed to arrest two dozen suspected members of the Anonymous hacking outfit in 4 countries.

Anonymous has long been known for creating an international network of Internet activists engaged in global hacking attacks on governmental and non-governmental online services in sign of protest against people oppressing free speech and endangering freedom of the web. This hacking outfit has, of course, been under police scope from the very start, and now Interpol reports that it took some action recently.

Interpol report says that Anonymous has received a hit after police from Latin America and Europe has arrested twenty-five suspected members. The joint effort of the authorities from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Spain led to numerous raids and multiple arrests of people between the age of 17 and 40. The police have also confiscated 250 items of equipment and cell phones.

The operation in question was carried out in response to recent DDoS attacks on the online services of the Colombian Ministry of Defence, it presidency, and Chile’s National Library and the Electric Company Endesa. Four people were arrested in Madrid and Malaga, two of them remained in custody, while the other two, including a minor, were bailed. Spanish interior ministry also revealed that one of the four is suspected of being a manager of the hacking group’s computer operations in Spain and Latin America region.

Aside from these facts, one should consider that Anonymous is developing and its main weapon isn’t hacking any more – it’s awareness, because more and more people are awakened to it and embrace it every day online, willing to play a major role in the movement.
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European Commission clears Google, Motorola merger

Google is one step closer to acquiring Motorola Mobility, the smartphone maker, after it cleared the hurdle of the European Commission this afternoon. It is also expected that U.S. antitrust regulators will approve the deal, following the lead from European authorities.

The executive body of the 27 member states falls within its deadline of ruling by February 13th.

The Commission said: “it would not significantly modify the market situation in respect of operating systems and patents for these devices.”

It also acknowledged that Google would be unlikely to “restrict the use of Android solely to Android”, which is a “minority player” in Europe.

“The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it”.

Google said today that the decision was an “important milestone”, but acknowledged it has further hoops to jump through. “We are now just waiting for decisions from a few other jurisdictions before we can close this transaction.”

Google, the search giant and maker of the Android mobile operating system, set out its proposals to acquire Motorola Mobility last year for $12.5 billion.

Not only does it create a stable ecosystem for Android devices, Google is set to receive over 17,000 patents which would bolster its portfolio, and help protect itself from patent disputes.

The Commission has not asked for any further details from the two companies, nor has it decided to open up an antitrust investigation, two decisions that could have been widely damaging to the two companies.

Earlier this week, Google pledged to license Motorola patents on ‘fair, reasonable and reasonable’ (FRAND) terms to other mobile manufacturers, even competitors, should the deal succeed.

“The Commission’s guidelines on horizontal cooperation agreements adopted last year make clear that commitments to license on FRAND terms are crucial to ensure access to standardised technology for all interested parties,” a statement from the Commission said.

However, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that it would “continue to keep a close eye on the behaviour of all market players in the sector, particularly the increasingly strategic use of patents”.

Often in cases such as this, high cost mergers or acquisitions, the U.S. antitrust authorities — as the home turf of many of these companies — work closely with its European counterparts to secure a similar or identical resolution. A European decision was necessary due to Google and Motorola both having a presence in the region, and having European customers.

But regulators in Israel and Taiwan have not yet ruled on the decision. While it would not be impossible to go ahead with the deal — with Europe as the second greatest hurdle after U.S. authorities, which are expected to rule this week — it would be a complication that the three parties would have to reach an agreement on.

Chinese authorities must also clear the deal. Google does not have a permanent base in the country since it pulled out of the region over claims the Chinese government hacked into its networks. But Motorola has an invested future in the region, with much of its supply chain coming from China.

There is little speculation on what the Chinese could do in such a situation. They may veto the deal, which would cause logistical nightmares for Motorola particularly, but Google alike, and may force the two companies to postpone the merger altogether.

ZDNet’s Hana Stewart-Smith, based in Tokyo, reports that China has flaunted its power over Western brands within their territory before. As we’ve seen with the ongoing Apple ‘iPad’ trademark dispute, even the largest Western companies are making considerable concessions to get to the coveted Chinese market.

As for Google’s relationship with China, they have recently expressed an interest in pushing back into the country. Despite its withdrawal, Google is still popular with the Chinese, and Motorola is one of their biggest mobile sellers.

Stewart-Smith understands the Chinese authorities would not go so far as to actually veto the deal, but nevertheless does not think they will make it easy either. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they hold back the merger and delay a decision to keep Google and Motorola guessing,” she said.
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Google pulls content in India

Google Inc. has agreed to remove some content in India that is considered offensive by political and religious leaders in the country, the Mercury News reports.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) was complying with a court order in the latest twist in legal fights over Web censorship around the globe.

Google pulled content from its search service, its YouTube video site and its Blogger blogging site.

The move comes after weeks of Indian government pressure on 22 Internet companies to remove photos, videos and text considered to be "anti-religious" or "anti-social."
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