The tech sector is outperforming
this morning with the NASDAQ Composite(INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose +6.86 (0.22%) at
3,108.03.
There were a couple of announcements on Tuesday for which the market was
waiting for quite some time.
Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) put out a press release which had the
pricing details of Surface, its debut in the tablet PC segment.
In the release Microsoft said, "Originally unveiled in June,
Surface with Windows RT will initially be available in three SKUs: a 32GB
version priced at US$499, a 32GB version bundled with a black Touch Cover
priced at US$599, and a 64GB version bundled with a black Touch Cover priced at
US$699."
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The company said that a variety of accessories would also be available,
including touch covers in five vibrant colors — black, white, magenta, cyan and
red — priced at US$119.99 so customers can express their personal style.
Customers will also have the option to purchase a type cover in black for
US$129.99, which adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.
Pre-orders for the Surface tablet will start on October 26 at all
Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Surface
will be available for sale online in eight markets across the world: Australia,
Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United
States.
The other announcement came from Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) which sent out
invitations for an event on October 23, at the California Theatre in San Jose.
The invite read, "We've got a little more to show you."
The iPhone maker is expected to unveil a smaller and cheaper version of
its iPad, which the media has dubbed as the `iPad Mini' for a long time now.
There is speculation that along with the iPad, it will also unveil a 13
inch retina MacBook, a new iTunes model and a Mac mini.
That's a lot of stuff.
The
plight of Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK) does not look promising at all
because predictions have revealed that sales will plummet and the company will
lose more market share even though investors are eagerly waiting for the
unveiling of Microsoft's Windows Phone software 8. This launch is supposed to
be the “saving grace” for Nokia’s smartphones.
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Nokia,
which was a cutting-edge brand and a leader in the cellphone market for more
than a decade, could not withstand competition from Apple and Samsung in
high-end devices sector. Now it is also losing customers to Asian makers when
it comes to lower-end devices. Samsung surpassed Nokia and became the world's
No. 1 cellphone maker in the first quarter selling 86.6 million units, in
comparison to Nokia’s 83 million.
The
company dropped from a market share of 40% in 2008 to 29% in the last year.
Reports state that the figures will be extremely dismal at the end of this year
as well. 2nd quarter losses totaled almost $1.7 billion and
overall sales came to 7.5 million at a 19% decline. Investors are hoping that
Microsoft’s liaison with Nokia might strengthen the latter’s position in the US.
Shares
of NOK are up 2.50% after surging 9% in the past two trading sessions.
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