Here are some things going on this morning in your world of tech:
If it’s Tuesday, which it is, it must be time for everyone to dial back their expectations for Apple‘s (AAPL) iPhone�sales.
Canaccord Genuity’s Mike Walkley cut his estimate for Apple’s sales of the iPhone 4S after conducting “channel checks” that showed “gradual market share loss,” though the phone is still “the top selling smartphone in the U.S.” He posits the imminent arrival of an “iPhone 5” as the reason.
Likewise, ThinkEquity’s Mark McKechnie this morning wrote that there will be a “pause” in iPhone sales “as consumers will start to either wait for the iPhone 5 or an iPhone 4S price break.”
McKechnie also cut his 2012 and 2013 estimate for Qualcomm (QCOM) to reflect that pause.
Speaking of Apple, Topeka Capital’s Brian White�this morning writes that his sniffing around the Computex exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan has yielded further clues about an “iPad Mini,” which would be good for schools, and “offering a lower price point to attract more price sensitive consumers, while also offering a smaller, lighter product that may be more appealing to certain customers.”
Speaking even further of�Apple,�The Wall Street Journal‘s Jessica Vascellaro and Amir Efrati�this morning dig into what they call the expanding rivalry of�Apple and�Google�(GOOG) over mapping technologies. �Apple is preparing to remove Google’s Maps service from Apple’s iOS devices, the authors write, citing current and former Apple employees. “Mobile map technology is about to become the latest battleground in the two tech giants’ escalating war.”
Apple shares are down $1.49, or 0.3%, at $562.80.
(Speaking of Google, don’t miss�Business Insider‘s�Matt Lynley and Nicholas Carlson‘s rundown of the secret division formed by Google founder�Sergey Brin, known as “Google X,” where there are ultra top-secret projects going on, such as indoor maps.)
Netflix (NFLX) late yesterday nnounced�it will supplement its use of commercial bandwidth providers for streaming video by constructing a partnership of Internet service providers, called “Open Connect.” The whole scheme of the “open connect” network that Netflix is building is explained here.
That seemed to immediately cause a problem for content-delivery networking�(CDN) pioneer Limelight Networks (LLNW), which is 18 months into a three-year contract helping Netflix stream, writes Jefferies & Co.’s Aaron Schwartz this morning. Limelight shares are down 25 cents, or 9%, at $2.45 in early trading. Limelight’s competitor, Akamai Technologies (AKAM), is down $1.41, or 5%, at $26.95:
Netflix shares, however, were up 49 cents, or 0.8%, at $65.49.
Update:�The press release issued this morning by�a hardware partner in Open Connect,�Intequus, a maker custom computers, was not issued by Netflix, Netflix has informed me. While that release is largely accurate, it contains some false data on the scope of the Open Connect initiative, and inaccurate subscriber numbers for Netflix, the company says.
They’re at it again:�The�Starboard�Value LP�fund, the 5% owners in AOL�(AOL), which has been proposing changes on the company’s board to try and correct what it sees as massive losses in display ads, has disseminated a “Proxy Paper” prepared by shareholder advisory service�Glass Lewis, and published last night, that says AOL management has been disingenuous. Glass argues AOL is trying to take Starboard’s suggested changes and act as if they’re AOL’s own, writing, “We find the Company’s response to Starboard, including the presentation of several Dissident ideas as key contributions of the current management team, is a point of particular concern, and may be indicative of a retrenched board.”
AOL shares today are up 3 cents at $27.42.
Facebook�(FB) shares start another market slightly lower, down 3 cents at $26.87. are actually in the green, despite a weak open for the�Nasdaq. FB is up 25 cents, or almost 1%, at $27.15, reversing pre-market losses.
Update:�FB has not been able to hold the gains, and is now down 28 cents at $26.62.
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