Jump to content

uncommonprofits

Member
  • Posts

    158
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by uncommonprofits

  1. BRK and White Mountains have a control position in Symetra (SYA). As for a good capital allocator: White Mountains & affiliates manage both the fixed income and equity portfolios. More info here: http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/investment-ideas/sya-symetra-financial/msg54803/#msg54803
  2. Perhaps the best kept secret in this realm is Glacier Media (GVC.TO). Glacier has been predicting this from the start several years ago and have been concentrating their newspaper portfolio in these types of communities through several acquisitions. The stock is cheap -- I am projecting a conservative FCF yield of 25% for 2012. Disclosure: I own a lot of GVC (18-19% of the portfolio).
  3. Are you saying that the WFC common equity is further ahead than the warrant simply from the fact that they don't have full dividend protection as per BAC warrant terms? Based on today's price of each? At 1x book value upon maturity of the warrant that might be the case - but otherwise I don't see this at all. I have most of my WFC in the common equity also -- but am considering exchanging more for the warrant variety - to me they are getting close to being a screaming buy in comparison. Take a 'supposed' worst case scenario where WFC pays out $0.22/share for the next 4 payouts, then increases this to $0.34/share (without any further increases) for the next 22 until maturity of the warrants (maximum unprotected dividend scenario). Assume WFC's average return on equity is 15%. In favour of the common equity -- I have also added a reasonably generous cumulative return of 15% annually to the base dividends. Without taking into account valuation at maturity, cumulative roe (etc) the results might be a little surprising. at 2x book warrant holders would be almost twice better off 50.41 BV at Maturity 2.0 BV multiple at maturity 100.82 Stock price 34.01 Strike 66.81 10.40 6.4 x <<< Warrant Price and multiple Return 100.82 8.36 109.18 33.30 3.3 x Stock Price and multiple Return (Dividends with no cumulative return) 100.82 13.25 114.07 33.30 3.4 x <<< Stock Price and multiple Return (Dividends + cumulative annual return of 15%) at a valuation of 1.07x bv it starts to favour the common equity 50.41 BV at Maturity 1.07 BV multiple at maturity 53.94 Stock price 34.01 Strike 19.93 10.40 1.9 x <<< Warrant Price and multiple Return 53.94 8.36 62.30 33.30 1.9 x Stock Price and multiple Return (Dividends with no cumulative return) 53.94 13.25 67.19 33.30 2.0 x <<< Stock Price and multiple Return (Dividends + cumulative annual return of 15%) Stretch the multiple to 3x bv - Common equity holders return improves 44% vs a 2x book multiple (4.9/3.4) - whereas warrant holders return improves 76% vs a 2x book multiple (11.3/6.4) 50.41 BV at Maturity 3.0 BV multiple at maturity 151.23 Stock price 34.01 Strike 117.22 10.40 11.3 x <<< Warrant Price and multiple Return 151.23 8.36 159.59 33.30 4.8 x Stock Price and multiple Return (Dividends with no cumulative return) 151.23 13.25 164.48 33.30 4.9 x <<< Stock Price and multiple Return (Dividends + cumulative annual return of 15%)
  4. Another thing to consider, for what it's worth, is that in the event of an emergency, my understanding is that 911 cannot tell where you are from a mobile phone or computer based phone. With a landline, on the other hand, in the event of an emergency all you would need to do is call 911 and let the phone drop (if you couldn't speak for example). They are supposed to immediately dispatch help even if no one is on the other end. Freephone line has this (at least on par with cable operators). When the free phone number (or ported number) is registered it is registered to an address ... and this is also verified with a phone call from FPL (they take the 911 thing quite seriously). As long as you have power (or power back up at the time) and the device stays at the house it was originally registered .... when that phone call goes through to 911, the address will automatically come up for the 911 operator. Where people get into trouble is when they move and don't re-register the new address. This is the case at least for Canada .... I am not sure of the situation in the States.
  5. One that I am seriously considering giving a try is: http://www.freephoneline.ca/ You need to pay a one time charge of $50 - for a config file. Another $50 for a voip phone adapter that plugs into your existing router. Alternatively you can buy such device on your own for a discount or get something with it's own wireless setup -- but you are on your own when it comes to support for configuring. Other costs to consider are $25 to port existing phone number and possibly some kind of battery back up. I have been looking at this on and off but it seems like a one time cost of $100 - $200 and never a cost for your phone thereafter (as long as freephoneline is in business??). Call display and voice mail are free ..... but there could be some long distance charges to cities/countries they don't cover. There is a long thread on it over at RedFlagDeals: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/merged-freephoneline-ca-free-local-soft-phone-line-lifetime-voip-821229/136/ Incidentally, for almost the past year - I have avoided paying for voice mail on my cell phone plan by having my cell (when shut off or unanswered) forwarded to a free phone line number .... which is configured to relay a voice mail to my email address (free phone line numbers are exactly that: FREE). Unfortunately, I cannot set this up with the shaw home phone as they do not allow call forwarding in the basic plan. I left copper several years back and converted to Shaw (so I have been living with the possible electrical outage risk for some time now). But even so I would like to do away with that $15 ($21 with Voicemail) monthly charge if I can. So still looking into this myself.
  6. Thanks for the update on this book. By using a coupon I just bought a digital copy at a further 35% discount from Kobo (my total cost was $8.45 including GST). Various coupon codes can be found by thumbing through the pages in this thread: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115233&page=25 I did something I said to myself I wouldn't do and bought a Kobo Vox (my wife took over my wifi Kobo some time ago) - starting to really enjoy it. Definitely eink is better for reading but Kobo Vox is great for reading various stuff on the net + reading books, etc. Incidentally an ad version of the Kobo Touch (eink) will soon be availabe in the US market for $99 (ads are only seen on the screen when the device is turned off or asleep). http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57323845-1/kobo-unveils-$99-ad-supported-e-reader/ Kobo might still sound like small potatoes to many -- but they are actually aligning themselves well to be #1 globally - and this has been further strengthened by the company being acquired by Rakuten (referred to as 'the Amazon of Japan' by the media): http://business.financialpost.com/2011/11/08/torontos-kobo-acquired-by-japanese-firm-rakuten-for-315-million/ http://m.engadget.com/default/article.do?artUrl=http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/the-engadget-interview-kobos-michael-serbinis/&category=classic&postPage=1
  7. Portability of content in the case of Apple would mean that all your devices must be Apple. No doubt they are developing e-ink screens and such since people will want portability. Expect to pay a premium. Of course you can have more full portability by purchasing your content elsewhere -- Apple just wont make that too easy. Meanwhile, expect the alternative devices to get better in quailtiy - expect them to get cheaper. Watch for consolidation in Android device makers - and watch for others to get involved - for instance Microsoft. Expect cannibalization in AMZNs business model - it is probably already happening.
  8. People are equally happy with their Kobo's and how they sync from device to device..... library is as big and probably a lot larger on a global scale. Zinio is just now being integrated for the first time through the Kobo Vox - also a a streaming music service that dates the iTunes model back into the dark ages. Incidentally, the Kobo Vox should be on display in all Chapters/Indigo stores in Canada this Friday. Might also be in some shops like Best Buy in the US late this week too --- Kobo got a big jump on AMZN on this one as the Kindle Fire doesn't ship until Nov 15. Price is the same as the Kindle Fire .... in fact one can get $10 off using a coupon if you preorder - time is running out though. Coupon code is kobovox10 --- equates to $189.99 for the device. http://www.kobo.com/ereaders/kobo-vox.html Personally, I wonder if a 9 or 10 inch screen would better suit my needs.... and am thinking of waiting for that (iPads are way too much $$ for what I need). The 7 inch Kobo Vox in many ways looks like a better build than the Kindle Fire. It comes with a nicer display and memory is expandable...... if people are planning on using this for more than a reading device I think they might be a little disappointed in the non-expandable memory of the Kindle Fire. Just not sure how that cloud service is suppose to work while away from Wi-Fi. I guess a lot of smartphones have hot spot availability - but that really is a bit of a hassle and does not work anyway when on a plane or in the subway, etc, etc. Anyway, here are the highlights I mentioned for the Kobo Vox when it was announced - still not sure if Android Market is totally open but I guess we will find out more on Friday.
  9. The way around this is through HTML5 web based apps ... both Kobo and AMZN are developing these and they should be out soon (B&N might be out with this sometime too -- but usually lag a bit). The user wont be able to tell the difference -- but would have to go to the web initially to get a similar app icon set up on the device. It will be all web based and therefore bypass the iTunes store completely. I read an article the other day (not sure how accurate), that tablet users prefer to browse rather than use apps. I guess because of the real estate on tablets -- use of apps is significantly less than on smartphones. So this issue would seem more to impact iPhones -- again it can be dealt with via HTML 5 web-based apps but there is no guarantee the user will set it up. It brings up an interesting thought as to whether we might see Kindle and Kobo phones sometime in the future. The smart phone might not be as important to do the actual reading and such - but in the future it will be a very pivotal point of sale device for many commerce transactions. The Android phone in it's full open form is a good concept; however updates are slow at coming - one thing that Kobo thus far has placed a priority on is updates and open architecture.
  10. It was officially announced today, the Kobo Vox - 'The peoples Voice (Vox Populi)" Here are some positives worth noting: - Price matches Kindle Fire at $199.99 - Delivering about 18 days ahead of KF (Oct 28 vs Nov 15) - Comes with an AFFS+ screen which is arguably better than IPS (which both KF and NC use). Note: AFFS+ technology is used in airplane cock pits. - Same on board memory as KF (8GB) - however, KV is expandable to 32GB (KF not expandable at all) - Comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and would seem to have access to Google Market Place (but check this). The open nature of the device would seem to indicate you are not locked into Kobo's store. Might require further clarification - but it would seem they are not locking out other reading apps (Kindle, B&N, etc). KF is locked to Amazon app store. - A gift of 7 newspapers of your choice (I don't know for how long) - 12 Free popular magazines - Available in 4 colours Offsetting the above positives I found one negative: - KV's processor is similar to NC but is slower than KF. KV has an 800 MHZ single core processor vs a 1GHZ dual core for the KF. I guess that is why they are referring to the KV as a reader (not a tablet). So KV would seem more suited for heavy reading but lighter on the media or gaming side (probably something that would suit many requirements here) -- check it out: http://www.kobobooks.com/kobovox http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/10/kobo-vox-tablet-kindle-fire-nook-color.html http://business.financialpost.com/2011/10/19/kobo-wades-into-tablet-wars-with-launch-of-kobo-vox/
  11. It seems pretty evident they are growing digital 'volumes' faster than almost anyone (note under the current agency model it would seem that sales are being reported net rather than gross). But I am assuming you are speaking of the physical store business itself. While it is true that small format SSS have been down 2-3% for each of the past two years -- Superstores have been flat. I don't find anything scary in that. In Q1 both Small format and Superstores were each down slightly more than 5%. That's a little bit more alarming perhaps, but they are on it. The company is well into a 2 year transformational agenda which should build sales and increase margins. Ted Marlow is heading this up (check his bio and the success at URBN). Also note that it is becoming pretty clear that Kobo has lined itself up as the major publishing e-commerce content partner with Facebook (under an open content model as opposed to the current Kindle, Apple and even Nook models that are all locked). My gut feel on it is that Kobo has likely increased in value to the point that at the current price the seller is paying me to take IDG's physical stores.... and giving me $6 of tax loss carry forwards to boot (maybe even some of the balance sheet cash too!). To this point most of their newspapers have not experienced declines like elsewhere in the industry - in fact there has been some orgainic growth. There is a move though to increase their presence in business, professional and trade publications -- also growing digital. The company is growing organically -- not just by acquisition. I think they speak the truth about their newspapers being much less impacted ... but we do live in a fast evolving world. I would estimate that there remains about $0.55 of tax losses remaining as at Q2/11. I figure earnings should be sheltered for a couple years yet at which time I am hopeful organic growth, stock buybacks and accretive acquisitions will more than offset any tax occurrence going into the third year. Yes, the eventuality of incurring tax might limit FCF growth for a bit but even a flat free cash flow yield of 20%+ over the next 2-3 years and growing from there still seems quite attractive. Also keep in mind there is margin improvement potential and such so it is possible they use the tax losses sooner than a couple years but that too would be a good thing -- I view the 20% FCF yield as more of a base -- with growth a few years down the road.
  12. A few very smartly run companies with growth potential - the first one could prove to be the cheapest. IDG - Last financing of digital Book division (Kobo) valued this segment at about $3.50/share. This segment is growing rapidly and probably worth more now. Eventual spinoff seems to be in the cards at a future date. - Close to $3/cash on the balance sheet. - Cash balance would be higher but the company has been purchasing NOL's to shelter future earnings (last purchase at about 11 cents on the dollar). Current NOL balance is about $6/share. - Net out the cash and one is picking up the book/gift retail business at <$1/share. Earnings before current restructuring and digital expansion is well over $1 ... closer to $2 when considering the significant tax free NOL balance. Retail business is being taken to the next level headed by new COO that was key in Urban Outfitter's very successful growth. - The stock is about $3.50 cheaper than the low during the panic in 08/09. Kobo was merely a vision then, while worth $3.50+ now. $6 in NOL's did not exist. - 6% div yield EFH - <.6x BV - Excess cash of at least $3/share - Market hardening. 2012 earnings projected at $1 + ... net the cash out and it's trading at ~ 4x PE. - Recent insider buying. GVC - Growth company, trading at less than 5x FCF - Publishing operation is much less effected by what is going on. - Very intelligent management, Shareholder Friendly. Buying back shares aggressively at this low price. VFF - This one has held up reasonably well - but it is still very cheap. - Turning into a growth story as they start building out their new high yield facilities. Years in front of competitors - somewhat of a moat. - Forecasting FCF for 2013 at about $0.40+/share pretax (3x based on current share price) --- and growing from there. - Insiders buying recently.
  13. I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg would put his name behind the rumoured Kobo Vox tablet launch -- or perhaps a co-effort with other Facebook app partners -- say a Netflix-Kobo Vox. Food for thought.
  14. Dam is their main business getting killed, it's been on my watchlist since Vito Maida disclosed he owns it. I bough books from Indigo and Amazon and Amazon is usually cheaper. Altough if the canadian dollar continues to drop it might change the trends... BeerBaron If you are talking about the last few quarters where they are expending significant amounts rolling out Kobo and transforming bricks and mortar -- I think the payoffs for this will be seen in the future. For Bricks and Mortar business, Ted Marlow was recently assigned the COO position -- Marlow played a significant part in Urban Outfitters outstanding success. As ebook sales cannibalize physical book sales -- it opens up floor/shelf space -- intelligently executed there is an opportunity to bring in new merchandising initiatives at higher margins. For Kobo, E-Books are about 2 years behind in Europe and elsewhere globally. Kobo is moving aggressively into the global market with high expectation of being #1 outside the USA. To execute, they are hiring senior management and partnering with retailers that have strong relations with the publishing industry. Amazon does Not have the jump globally that they had in the US. Publishers hate Amazon - it's kind of funny but I ran across a thread the other day where Canadian Kindle/AMZN customers are blaming IDG for AMZN's poor relations with their publishing suppliers, etc: http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/ref=cm_cd_pg_oldest?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdPage=1&cdSort=newest&cdThread=Tx1ZC9FLDVRU4KV I do not see IDG being killed by anyone - in fact to the contrary. As per the above link, a Kindle is a pretty bad idea if you are in Canada. IDG has a near monopoly on it's home turf. AMZN had perhaps threatened this somewhat with the online sales model - but it's well known that online book sales are at the front line when it comes to sales moving toward the digital realm - so Kobo stands to regain much of the lost business to AMZN over the years. Same goes with the partnerships with Walmart and others. The Cndn moat is currently widening with the Kobo initiative. Smart moves are being made in pursuing the huge global opportunity and they are biting at Amazon's ankles for a higher market share in the US. IDG is a world class company trading at an unbelievable discount.
  15. Everything I have read is the Kindle Fire tablet is locked into the Amazon Market with no access to the Android Market. Something to be aware of. FWIW, Mark Zuckerberg owns a Kobo: http://venturebeat.com/2011/09/27/kobo-pulse-ereaders-social/ Kobo still remains the underdog in this race - but they certainly are being more innovative at this juncture. Kobo was the only e-reading company of significance to participate in the very recent Facebook F8 Live event - obviously their platform is designed better to partner with Facebook and other social media such as Twitter. http://www.livestream.com/F8live As a content consumer one has to think that being device agnostic should be at the top of the list. Kobo Pulse along with the whole platform is very unlike Amazon and Apple's locked models. If Amazon is Apple's nemesis, then Kobo is Kindle's - it's been an interesting first inning thus far. As an investor, I find IDG (Kobo's parent) dirt cheap.
  16. Certainly no GURU here, but I will see if I can help you out. I don't know that one can move (or hide) the 'other bookmarks' folder that is to the right of >> (it might be possible but I don't know how to do it - at least with the version I am using). For the links and folders to the left of >> .... you are only limited by your screen width. When you hit your max screen width -- links and folders get shoved into the >>. On my lap top more of this gets shoved down than when I connect (through HDMI) to my monitor. A trick you can use to fit more links/folders under the address bar is to shorten up the description ... by right clicking on the link or folder. For example, my Weather folder is labelled 'W', my Read Later folder is labelled 'RL' (although I am using Instapaper more now for this purpose.... since it syncs so well with my cheap little android smart phone). To add another favorite, just drag the link you want from the icon at the very left of the address bar down to the link bar ... careful where you put it but you can always drag it around after too. If you cannot see it -- make sure it isn't hiding in the >> due to the link real estate being full (maybe this is where your news link might have disappeared also?). Alternatively if you want a folder in the link section -- just right click and add folder. One other really great thing is you can add a folder inside a folder! As for antivirus protection -- I am using the free version of Avast. It's good for a year and thus far I just renew it every year for free. Certainly no Fort Knox -- but I like it and it works adequately - and does not slow the processor down. Best place to get it is from a reputable download site such as Download.com (it will be the one with a 4.5/5 user rating with 150 million+ downloads!).
  17. - Canadian banks are now much more leveraged than their American counterparts -- particularly so when excluding preferred equity. - Canadian banks continue to lend money on residential real estate that is in a bubble state compared to the US where the risk has dropped significantly on new loans based on significantly depressed property values. Canadian real estate values are being supported by a commodity bubble - if/when this commodity bubble bursts there will be a lot of pain for Canadian banks. - At this point in time it seems to make more sense for a Canadian to buy American dollars than it seems suggested here. The Big Mac Index as of very recently had the Canadian dollar 24% overvalued. So an American buying Cndn $ would be buying a US dollar for $1.24; whereas, a Cndn would be buying a US dollar for about 80 cents.
  18. ROA and leverage were my assumptions - ROE derived from that. I don't think the leverage assumptions can be too far out. ROA however is more of a dart toss. IF BAC can quickly achieve ROA's rivaling that of WFC then it will significantly outperform WFC and be a HUGE winner. But to put that in perspective -- just to match WFC's current under-performance (1.27% ROA in last Q) BAC would currently need to be generating close to $30 billion in net income. Obviously, it will take time -- just throwing the ROA/leverage thing out there as food for thought.... it seems really critical in evaluating this in my opinion.
  19. Something I have not seen mentioned is comparable leverage and return on assets among banks. I own some WFC and have tried to get my head wrapped around this somewhat. Start with leverage. The banks seem to be tied into the basel accord and something that WFC is strongly focused on. Basel can get a little complex but it seems it starts with a base of 7% and works up from there. Depending on a banks size, complexities, interconnectedness, etc -- they are assessed an add-on factor of generally between 1-2.5%. So in basic terms the minimum equity to asset ratio is 8% (seems to exclude preferred equity). WFC indicate they are so far off the chart in terms of them being the opposite of interconnected and complex - so in essence their minimum should be pretty close to the bottom one would think. The banks have a number of years to become compliant, but WFC at Q2 is already at 7.4%. While they are close to being compliant, with WFC's conservative nature, I find it prudent to figure on an average equity leverage ratio of about 10%. To me BAC is more complex and more interconnected -- hence, I think they will need a higher conservative capital ratio -- I am using 11%. ROA. I feel pretty confident that WFC can return to a long term average return on assets of at least 1.5%. Assuming that BAC can achieve net income of $20 Billion by 2015 this would represent around 0.9% return on todays assets but more likely <0.8% on 2015 assets. Things could go better than expected for BAC but on the other hand so could they for WFC. For that matter WFC's return on assets was already at 1.27% in Q2 and showing sequential improvement with more ahead by 2012. But there is more to fix at BAC with further improvements down the road so lets use 0.9% ROA. Over the next decade, I am very confident that WFC can achieve an average return on equity of 15% (1.5 roa /.10 leverage). With BAC, there is more volatility in estimating an ROE of 8.2% (0.9/.11). Based on the above and a present book value of $23/share, over the next 10 years WFC would generate about $70 cash based on a 15% cumulative return (assumes dividends distributed are accumulated at same return) - equates to about 2.45x the outlay based on todays price of $28.58. On the same basis, taking a BV of $20 for BAC, it would generate about $24.00 cash based on an 8.2% cumulative return - about 2.48x the outlay based on today's current price of $9.68. In both cases these figures only include cumulative cash generation -- any adjustment in P/BV, PE, etc are over and above. In my view, I would want a higher return on BAC with what seems additional risk.... I don't see that being the case. If BAC can achieve a higher ROA than I am estimating - it will outperform quite handsomely -- in my view though $20 billion in profit come 2015 does not quite cut it. Doesn't mean BAC isn't cheap -- just that it would need better execution to out perform WFC.
  20. From a Canadian dollar perspective -- I find that WFC is as cheap as it was during the lows last Sept/Oct (maybe cheaper). WFC was hoovering around $24 then while Canadian dollar was $0.94 so about $25.50 cndn. Average price today is about $26.70 with the loonie at $1.015 so about $26.30 cndn. Meanwhile, (over the last 7 or 8 months) I find that WFC has increased in value by more than this 3% premium. I see a situation where WFC looks very cheap and the Canadian dollar somewhat overvalued. I have been buying a little also. About the only large cap of significance I own at the moment.
  21. Kobo beat Warren to it by making an appearance on The Office last January! More info (including a You Tube clip) here: http://www.geardiary.com/2011/01/22/kobo-wants-to-see-your-office/ For Kobo it was more of a two way marketing thing ... for Warren I suspect it is more of just a fun thing. Nice to get confirmation though of Kobo in this instance working with people Warren respects. Incidentally, Kobo is approaching 4 million users and are now in partnership with Rim, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Walmart Canada (and the list continues to grow - real potential for this rapidly growing pure play ebook company to eventually be spun off from Indigo's 51% controlling position): http://gigaom.com/2011/05/08/kobo-rides-the-shockwave-of-interest-in-e-books/
  22. Come June you might be tied into iBooks for reading content -- at least for app type purchases. You could probably still purchase content (such as Kindle, Kobo, WSJ, etc) through Safari; however, you may well have to read it that way too. The app method is of course preferable for purchases and for integrated reading; however, no one knows what is going to happen. Apple could back off on their in-app purchase policy yet - but at the present time there is definite risk of being tied into Apple iBooks. I would wait until at least June when we should have a better idea of where this is all headed. Besides, these tablets are very expensive at this point. You will see prices drop dramatically in the years to come. And you think the iPad2 is thin - wait until epaper technology advances to mainstream use.
  23. uncommon a last option is to get an iPhone "jailbroken". It allows you to install apps and add content to the device without going through the iTunes store interface. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_jailbreaking However, this does make the device less secure and exposes the device to new security risks. Thanks for the suggestion -- but I just can't see myself jailbreaking a brand new phone that I have committed +$1000 for (over the next 3 years) and potentially voiding the warranty in the process. And I am not that tech savvy anyway. If I were to buy an iPhone it would be best to assume being locked in to Apple for content. As things are right now -- one can justify the surfing time as much of the news service is still provided free; however, this is all on the verge of change as the newspaper industry is quickly adopting a paid model. Similar to network television -- the wheels seem to be in motion where in the future you will have 3 or 4 major distribution providers of this e-reading content (books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, etc). Kindle, Kobo, B&N, Sony, Google, Apple (who have I missed?) are all trying to be the major players in this. With Apple shutting out all the others -- it is akin to GE (25 years ago after acquiring NBC) making their television sets in such a manner that they would only receive NBC broadcasts. Of course things have changed very much since then and maybe this is the direction things are going. Kobo is partnered up with Samsung, RIM, HTC and have suggested more partnerships are coming. Kobo is also partnered up with a whole lot of little guys (ie. Archos, Viewsonic, Velocity Micro, Archos, Literati by Sharper Image). Meanwhile Kindle currently has partnerships with HP, Dell & Verizon. The difference with the Kindle and Kobo partnerships though is they are simply pre-loaded -- rather than locked in -- one is still free to chose other options. Such will not be the case with Apple. The other thing to strongly consider is that Apple content is most likely to sync only to their own device (not other devices). Anyone who uses Google Reader and has more than one device know how important syncing between various device brands is -- it's a very big deal. Who knows how this will all play out. Some are suggesting that Sony is already “signaling it’s intention of removing it’s music from iTunes”: http://www.macworld.com.au/news/publishers-must-support-in-app-purchases-by-june-30-24576/
  24. Thanks for the added info Sanjeev. I am from Alberta - presently with Bell. I guess network compatibility would be something to look at. Kind of reluctant to go back to Telus -- finally have them out of our life after being jerked around numerous times. Looks like you get pretty decent battery life -- I could live with that. But this issue of Apple locking the doors seems to be happening right now. Here is a write up on the issue by someone who seems to be in the know. We will find out more come June - but it's looking very likely that 3 out of the big 4 e-book stores will be punted. Of course the only one remaining will be Apple's own iBooks which to date has not provided a very good experience. Kobo has spent a lot of effort in getting to where they are with iOS.... it has been their top priority. I am sure others can say the same. Kindle and many of the publishers are the reason for the iPads success to date. And then you have all the smaller app developers. Without these apps -- Apple would not have sold anywhere close to the number of devices they have. Who knows what apps might be next to go. A consumer or publisher revolt might make this thing pass -- but I wouldn't hold my breath. Anyone considering buying an iPhone in the near future should strongly consider this current development. http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2011/02/22/amazon-bn-kobo-know-their-ios-apps-will-be-pulled-in-june/
  25. What I would really like to do is keep my dumb phone and have a device about the size of the current version of the iPod touch capable of 3G. For me this would be perfect. I would never be without a PHONE and I would not mind carrying a smaller device (such as an iPod touch) for doing the other stuff. As for carrying around an iPad all the time -- no thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...