margins

Apple's long been at the top of the heap when it comes to making money on one key aspect of its portable devices: storage.

That trend continued with this morning's announcement of a 128GB model of the iPad, a device that costs just a steak dinner short of a full-blown Mac notebook.

The new models ring in at $799 for the Wi-Fi only, or $929 for the version with 4G LTE connectivity. That's $100 more than the 64GB model, which is $100 more than the 32GB model, which is -- you guessed it -- $100 more than … Read more

Google's first branded tablet was bound to rouse the interest of analysts across the globe, as well as appeal to consumers. Combine that with a bargain-rate price of $199 and curiosity becomes surprise.

Can Google make a fair profit margin on the device, which was announced last week for preorder? Or is the price tag on the Internet giant's first tablet model, the Nexus 7, based on gaining a customer base rather than profit margin?

This is where hardware specialists come in. Research firm UBM TechInsights recently came up with a preliminary cost estimate of $184 per device, … Read more

Hewlett-Packard said today that it is spinning off its PC unit as it tries to escape the financial throes of the increasingly low-margin PC business.

On top of confirming it is in talks to acquire Autonomy and essentially shuttering its WebOS operations, HP said its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for its PC business, the Personal Systems Group (PSG).

"HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction," the company said. HP expects that … Read more

PALM DESERT, Calif.--Since the beginning of time, or at least since the beginning of the Web, we've all used Web sites in solitude, regardless of how many social tools were available.

But thanks to an application called Marginize, that dynamic may soon change. At the Demo Spring conference here today, Marginize talked about how, for what may well be the first time, social and collaborative Web browsing is finally here.

The idea is actually quite simple. Using either a browser add-on--for Firefox, Chrome, or Safari--or a native application on sites whose publishers have opted-in, Web surfers can now … Read more

The iPad, we can all agree by now, has been a hearty addition to Apple's product stable.

Many who closely watch Apple figured sales would be pretty good, but no one predicted Apple would sell a whopping 7.33 million of the touch-screen tablets during the last three months of 2010, as the company announced last week. That's close to doubling the number of Macs the company sold during the same time, a fairly amazing feat when you consider the time both have been on the market. The iPad landed in April, while Apple's been making Macs … Read more

Tech, media, and telecom companies in emerging markets and those considered "digital innovators" are among the world's tops in providing value to their investors, according to a new study from the Boston Consulting Group.

Out today, the report "Swimming Against the Tide: How Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Companies Can Prosper in the New Economic Reality" found that seven of the top 10 telecom performers, five of the top 10 media performers, and four of the top 10 technology performers are in India, Taiwan, Mexico, China, and other emerging markets. But global companies tuned into the … Read more

Apple added more than 12,000 employees to its ranks in the past year--a reflection of its sharp revenue growth and expanding retail presence.

As of late September, Apple had 46,600 full-time employees, as reported in a 10-K statement it filed yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That figure reflects a healthy surge from 34,300 workers in 2009 and 32,000 in 2008, according to Reuters.

Most of those gains came in Apple's retail stores, which now employ 26,500 people--10,000 more than last year. The company currently has 317 retail outlets--233 in the U.… Read more

Nokia expects market conditions to impact its annual and second-quarter financial results, forcing the company to trim its sales outlook.

The handset maker said Wednesday it now anticipates second-quarter sales for its mobile devices and services division will be at the lower end of, or slightly below, its previous forecast of 6.7 billion euros to 7.2 billion euros ($8.2 billion to $8.8 billion). Samsung attributed the revised forecast to lower-than-expected average selling prices and volumes for its mobile phones.

Operating margins for the second quarter will also be at the low end of, or below, the … Read more

Updated at 3:10 p.m. PDT: adding comments from CEO Paul Otellini and CFO Stacy Smith.

Intel's third-quarter revenue jumped $1.4 billion over the second quarter, though year-to-year revenue and profit comparisons were down.

The world's largest chipmaker is struggling to lead the PC industry out of a brutal downturn that saw demand collapse earlier in the year.

Revenue came in at $9.4 billion, beating Wall Street expectations, which hovered at just more than $9 billion. Revenue, however, was down from the $10.2 billion reported in the year-earlier period.

On a year over year … Read more