Apple stock hits new high on gadget rumors

Apple’s stock price leaped to a new high on Friday amid rumors the tech giant is poised to hit the market with new versions of iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices.

Shares rose nearly two percent to $648.11 by the end of the formal trading day on the Nasdaq exchange, buoyed by a Jefferies investment bank analyst advising clients that the price could climb to $900.

The share price inched up to $648.85 in after-market trading.

The arrival of the iPhone 5 “will be the biggest handset launch in history,” Jefferies investment bank analyst Peter Misek said in a note raising the target price for Apple stock and giving it a ‘buy’ rating.

Jefferies reasoned that Apple is positioned to take a significant portion of the profit to be generated by hot trends in smartphones, tablet computers, and gadgets linking to the Internet on latest-generation 4G networks.

The Internet has been abuzz with unconfirmed reports that Apple will introduce a new iPhone, perhaps with a larger screen, at a press event in September.

The Cupertino, California-based company is also believed to be readying a smaller version of its market-ruling iPad and a revamped Apple TV box, referred to unofficially as “iTV,” that routes video or programming to televisions.

“We believe the iTV is in full production,” Misek said.

Jefferies raised its forecast for iPad sales from 18 million to 25 million for the third quarter and from 22-25 million to 30 million for the final three months of this year.

Friday’s surge in Apple’s stock price demonstrated the powerful expectations for the next generation of gadgets from the culture-changing company, according to Wedbush Securities managing director of equities trading Michael James.

Investors also see promise in hot new Apple gadgets hitting the market in time for the year-end holiday shopping seasons, when the company’s products typically shine, James added.

Apple has the largest market capitalization in the United States, with its stock giving it a value of about $602.25 billion.

article source: interaksyon.com

Google launches cultural map of Brazil’s Amazon tribe

RIO DE JANEIRO – Google on Saturday unveiled a cultural map of Brazil’s Surui indigenous people, a digital tool that will help the Amazonian tribe share their vast knowledge of the forest and fight illegal logging.

The map, the result of a five-year partnership between Surui chief Almir and the US technology giant, was released online for the first time at a business forum held on the sidelines of the UN Rio+20 conference on sustainable development here.

The map, a collection of pictures and videos mapping historical sites and offering 3-D visualization of Surui territory in the northwestern Brazilian state of Rondonia, is available on the site www.paiter.org as well as on Google Earth.

Donning a multi-colored feather headdress, chief Almir hailed the project that “shows the value of our culture to the world through Google.”

Almir, who proposed the idea of the map to Google during a visit to the United States five years ago, told a press conference that he was particularly proud of the contribution Surui youths made to the project, including narration.

“We really believe that this is ground-breaking, ground-breaking for Google,” said Rebecca Moore, Google Earth Outreach leader. “The Surui people and Google worked together to bring the story of the forest to the global community.”

Almir said his 1,300-strong tribe plans to use the map as well as Android smartphones provided by Google to monitor and denounce illegal logging around its territory.

Moore said that by developing the map Google now had a methodology that can be used to help other indigenous peoples around the world, including in Canada and New Zealand.

Almir said his goal was to raise awareness of the need for a sustainable use of the forests.

“We understand the forest, Google understands the technology and we have established a partnership for the good of the forest,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com