Showing posts with label report. Show all posts
Facebook has no near-term plans for WhatsApp, report says
AppId is over the quota
Mark Zuckerberg says he's not yet sure how he plans to see a positive return on his massive investment in the messaging service.
If Facebook has a plan for WhatsApp, it's not telling just yet.Facebook is in no rush to monetize WhatsApp and see a return on its whopping investment, according to a new report.
Speaking in India on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company has no near-term plans for how to make money off WhatsApp, according to Reuters, which was in attendance. While Zuckerberg stopped short of saying that Facebook isn't sketching out ways to monetize its WhatsApp acquisition, at least in the short term not much will change.
Facebook on Monday closed its WhatsApp acquisition, the largest deal ever for the social-networking giant. The acquisition, originally valued at $19 billion, includes cash and stock, and because of the rise in Facebook's share price, the value has swelled to $22 billion. Facebook reassured US regulators that WhatsApp would remain a standalone app and not find its way into the social network.
With over 600 million users, WhatsApp is by far the most popular messaging app in the world, heavily used for sending messages to and from mobile devices. When Facebook announces plans to acquire WhatsApp in February, analysts questioned how the company would find a way to generate enough cash to justify its hefty price. It appears at this point that Facebook hasn't settled on a plan just yet.
But with the closing of the acquisition, Facebook is now in a better position to get its hands around the company and see how it can improve its financial performance. Expect Zuckerberg to have more to say to shareholders about monetizing his massive acquisition at some point soon.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares in Facebook are down less than 1 percent to $77.20 in premarket trading on Thursday.
Don Reisinger Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications. See full bio iPhone 6 Plus pushes back launch of bigger iPad, report says
AppId is over the quota
The rumored large iPad likely won't be available until early next year as suppliers must worry about producing enough iPhone 6 Plus units.
Apple went larger with the iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6 Plus. So when will the iPad finally get supersized? Apple
The iPhone 6 Plus, boasting a 5.5-inch screen, is pushing back any chance for Apple to launch a larger-screen iPad this year, according to a new report.
Apple has plans to build a larger iPad featuring a 12.9-inch screen, but won't get going on that until early next year so its suppliers can focus on increasing output on the iPhone 6 Plus, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's supply chain efforts. Those sources told the Journal that Apple is facing major demand for the iPhone 6 Plus and that output so far has proven "unsatisfactory" on the larger device.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new iPhone models debuted in September. The iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus features a 5.5-inch display. It's possible in some cases to find an iPhone 6 Plus on store shelves, but it's exceedingly more difficult than getting the smaller phone. As of this writing, Apple's online store lists the iPhone 6 Plus lead time as three to four weeks. The iPhone 6 will ship in as little as a week.
Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple is planning to boost the size of its iPads. The iPad Mini has a 7.9-inch screen size, which likely won't change, but the iPad Air features the same 9.7-inch screen Apple has offered since the original iPad's inception in 2010. As an increasing number of devices from other tablet makers hit store shelves featuring larger screens, the onus is on Apple to respond with a larger tablet of its own. The 12.9-inch model could be just that.
According to the Journal's sources, the larger iPad was set to go into mass production in early December. The stronger demand and lower-than-expected production on the iPhone 6 Plus, however, has pushed that timetable back at least a couple of months, though the sources didn't say exactly when mass production might begin.
Apple is planning to hold a press event next week, likely announcing new iPads. It's unclear whether the company is going to announce the larger iPad at that event.
Don Reisinger Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications. See full bio HP to split into two businesses -- report
AppId is over the quota
Hewlett-Packard plans to separate into two businesses, one focused on PCs and printers, the other on corporate products and services, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman has said there's renewed interest in traditional PCs over tablets in business. Getty Images
Hewlett-Packard may be ready for a breakup.
HP, the world's second-largest PC vendor behind Lenovo, plans to separate its PC and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing "people familiar with the matter." The company could announce the move as early as Monday, according to the Journal's sources.
HP declined to comment.
The split is apparently one HP and its investors have been contemplating for a long time, said the Journal. HP's printing and personal systems group, which includes PCs, tablets, printers and other accessories, pulled in revenue of $55.9 billion during the company's 2013 fiscal year, almost half of its total revenue.
If true, the split could in part be an attempt to help HP move quickly to regain its position atop the global PC market -- it fell to the No. 2 spot behind Chinese computer maker Lenovo last year -- as the decline in that market shows signs of slowing.
"We're gradually shaping HP into a more nimble, lower-cost, more customer- and partner-centric company that can successfully compete across a rapidly changing IT landscape," CEO Meg Whitman said after the company's second-quarter earnings were released in May. Whitman had previously said the company is seeing renewed interest in traditional PCs over tablets in business.
Even so, HP as currently constituted doesn't have "enough focus on any one area to really dominate," wrote Larry Dignan at CNET sister site ZDNet, in a look at why a breakup of HP would be a good move. Meanwhile, he continued, the "printer and PC division [are] fighting for innovation spending with the enterprise side of the house. That's a lot of hands in an R&D pie that equates to about 3 percent of revenue."
Whitman will be chairman of the new PC and printer business and chief executive of the separate "enterprise company," one source told the Journal, while board member Patricia Russo will be chairman of the enterprise company. Don Weisler, the current executive vice president of HP's printing and personal systems group, will step in as CEO of the PC and printer business, according to the Journal.
This isn't the first time HP has attempted to jettison its PC business. In 2011, former Chief Executive Leo Apotheker tried to spin off the company's PC-making division. Investors rejected the move, and Apotheker was forced out. Whitman reversed the decision when she took over as CEO and began a "multiyear journey" to revive HP.
Update, 12:20 p.m. PT: Adds background on HP.