Whoever thought Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) would not give Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) a run for it’s money when it comes to mobile handsets was wrong.  Later this month, Google will be releasing it’s Android operating system on the T-Mobile HTC G1 phone.  All of the preorders sold out, so T-Mobile   tripled their original request order from HTC. 

All of those extra G1s sold out too!  The number of pre-orders sold out combine to be about 1.5 million units.  These orders do not include retail sales.  And the holiday season has not even started yet.  Google is definitely on the right track to compete for the mobile device market.

Fool.com points out that Google’s release on first impression must be flawless, otherwise customers may find themselves wanting to switch to an iPhone without looking back.  Google is working closely with T-Mobile and other hardware suppliers to make sure that the launch is flawless.  Google Android will be connected to an application store called Android Market.  Applications will be built around the G1 features such as WiFi- sliding keyboard, touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G speeds. 

Google Android Market is superior for developers than the App Store for one simple reason: the revenue sharing agreement allows developers to keep all of their application sales money.  The Apple App Store keeps 30%. 

The first impression is always crucial, but sometimes things could go awry.  Apple had a rocky start on the day of launch for the iPhone 3G.  Servers kept crashing which caused the lines of customers to keep growing.  However, that event did not hinder the sales of the iPhone 3G - as I had reported earlier Apple has manufactured 10 million iPhones thus far to meet consumer demand.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is geared to make a new announcement about their MacBook line.  Apple is hosting an invite-only event at the company’s Town Hall in Cupertino, Calif. on October 14.  Everyone seems to have a theory about what will be announced.  Duncan Riley predicts that there will be a new line of MacBooks retailing at about $800.  Piper Jaffray analyst, Gene Munster predicts that the new line of MacBooks will retail for about $899-$999.

Gene Munster is also predicting that Apple will be redesigning the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pro line.  Boing Boing speculates that the MacBook Pro on the invite below is suggested to be 13.3″ aluminum.

I believe some of the speculations are correct.  There will most likely be a new, smaller MacBook for a small price. 

Here is my prediction:
- Apple will introduce the 13.3″ MacBook Pro for about $1,299-$1,5999
- Apple will reduce the price of the current 13″ MacBook from $1,099 to $899
- Apple will reduce the price of the current 15″ MacBook Pro from $1,999 to $1,799 and so forth

Really, Apple?  Really?  I was actually feeling bad for the company because their stock price is taking a hit.  The stock is taking a hit even after they beat analyst expectations.  Apple’s stock was trading at $160.18 about a month ago and now their stock is at around $93.04.  But for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to sue a school over the use of a logo that also has an apple is a new low. 

And this is no ordinary school.  This is a web design school that primarily uses Apple products. 

“It was a total shock,” stated Victoria School of Business and Technology Vice President Christopher Boag. “It was like the small guy was kind of getting blown away and Apple was pushing hard in order to get us to (submit to their demands).”

Boag and his partner Dieter Gerhard believe that the apple is the “traditional representation of education.”  I agree with them.  There is a reason why kids that suck up to teachers are called “apple-polishers.”  It’s not because they like to polish the teacher’s Mac with a clean rag.  Above is what the school’s logo looks like via AppleInsider.

Apple added that they would back out of the lawsuit if the school removes the apple from their logo and just uses the mountain.  The legal letter sent to the school was from Apple’s legal counsel in Toronto, Baker and McKenzie.

“It’s a matter of them trying to push over the little guy, to some degree,” added Boag. “They figure we’re going to roll over and play dead, but we want to be more vocal.”

What are your thoughts?  Does Apple have the right to justify a lawsuit based on the above logo that VSBT uses?  I think if there was actually a bite in the apple itself, then Apple would have the right to object.  Logos just sometimes look like each other coincidentally.  LogoDesignLove.com (LDL) has an interesting comparison of logos that look alike.  Some of the examples LDL gives includes Wayback Machine & Google Blogoscoped, Beats by Dr. Dre & Anton Stankoswki, L.A. Lakes & L.A. Clippers, Applied Materials & Planned Parenthood, Sun Microsystems & Columbia Sportswear Company, and Carrier & Ford.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has done it!  They wanted to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008 and they are already close to reaching this goal.  And this is before the holiday season even started.  It is quite possible that analysts were conservative in their estimates out of fear of the current economic state, but now the company has a reason to celebrate.

This past August, an investor in London (with username Tommo_UK) posted a message on The Mac Observer Apple Finance Board.  The message was a request to have anyone that bought an iPhone post the serial number, date of purchase, and the first 13 numbers of the IMEI number.  From this data, Tommo_UK was able to predict how many iPhones were manufactured.  Since the initiative started, the Apple Finance Board collected 150 IMEI numbers and placed it on a Google Docs spreadsheet.  The last IMEI number that was collected was one that belonged to the 9,190,680th iPhone 3G built. 

With this many already built, Apple is well on their way to manufacturing 10 million iPhones before the end of this month.  Selling is obviously different from manufacturing the devices.  FORTUNE points out that some of them may be stored in inventory distribution centers, loading docks, and store shelves.  But Apple probably knows a thing or two about supply and demand.  They obviously wouldn’t be manufacturing at this fast of a pace if they aren’t expecting to sell that many.

All things considered, Apple’s stock is taking a beating.  When Apple announces their next line of new products, Jobs will have to work his reality distortion field once again.  And the media needs to stop bashing on his health.  I cannot believe someone posted fake reports about him having a heart attack this past week.  I’m glad that the SEC is investigating the matter.

“I’m relieved, optimistic, and grateful to our listeners.”
-Pandora Founder Tim Westergren

The U.S. Senate passed the Webcaster Settlement Agreement on Tuesday.  This allows web radio stations to negotiate a more reasonable royalty rate for streaming songs on the web.  Those prices will be contradictory to that set by Congress last year. 

Now that the bill has passed The House and The Senate, it just has to be signed by President Bush.  And royalty rates will then have to be negotiated between webcasters and the copyright-holding labels.  The deal between the label companies and webcasters then have to be approved by Congress.  The RIAA sided with webcasters like Pandora to push the bill through The House and The Senate.  This is one of the few times I be proud of the RIAA!

“This is a welcome and encouraging development and a sign of the constructive working relationship between the music industry and Webcasters,” stated RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol. “Together, we want to make this marketplace work for both music fans and music creators.”

While webcasters like Pandora are fighting for the Settlement Act, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is currently dealing with an increase in royalty rates, pushed by the National Music Publishers’ Association.  The association wants rates to be increased from 9 cents to 15 cents per track sold on services like iTunes.  Apple responded by threatening to shut-down iTunes.

Apple is using the same strategy as Pandora!  Pandora threatened to shut down their services if the Webcaster Settlement Act passed too. 

“I have no doubt that an increase in the per track price would lower total music purchases at the store,” stated Eddy Cue, VP of iTunes.  Kid Rock boycotted his most recent album from being sold on iTunes because he believes that Apple pockets too much of the artist’s hard work.  I would not be surprised if you see a lot of other artists follow his lead.  Why not offer to sell the DRM-free tracks for $0.99 on your own website and cut out the middle man?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is really starting to prove that they are not a very open company.  Apple wants to keep all of their hardware and software closed within one ecosystem and they have final say on who is allowed in it.  This is especially the case for the App Store where Apple has been notorious for rejecting applications left and right.  Apple’s strongest competitor, the Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android, will not require an approval process for the applications listed in their future application store. 

Apple most recently blocked an application called Podcaster.  Podcaster was a way to play streaming podcasts through a site called Podcaster.fm.  Apple did not approve it for the App Store and stated that “Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes.”  Okay, so Apple did not approve it because of iTunes.  So what does the developer do with all the time that would otherwise be wasted?  The developer decided to distribute his application on his own website, nextdayoff.com.

Apple did not like that either so they blocked new users from being able to add it to their iPhones or iPods.  “Apple has banned me from making new provisions. That means if you signed up before
9/23/2008, you can still install and use the app,” stated the Podcaster developer.  if users signed up for the application before September 23, they can still install it.

MacRumors also points out that Apple is now closing e-mails to developers with a note that says: THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE.  So if you get any e-mails from Apple, you developers better keep your mouth shut.

Piper Jaffray is estimating that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sold about 5 million iPhone 3Gs during the current quarter.  In the opening weekend alone, about 20% (1 million) of this estimate was sold.  Apple will release the formal number of total sold iPhones next month when they report 4th quarter earnings.

Apple hopes to sell 10 million iPhones 3Gs by the end of 2008.  The holiday season is expected to help surge the sales of Apple’s new product line.  The 3G is selling faster than the original iPhone because of the price and because of it’s availability in many other countries.  Another reason why the iPhone sold more units is because the App Store was launched in July 2008.  This gave developers an incentive to find a new way to make money. 

The original iPhone sold about 2.5 million units in the first 6 months.  Though it is ambitious, Apple’s goal for selling 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008 may be hindered by the release of the Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android-powered phones at the end of October. 

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is putting their ad campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld on pause for the time being.  The $300 million campaign will continue to march forward with a new theme.  The new theme is a rebuttal against the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ads, Mac vs. PC.  The new Microsoft ad will start with a commercial that features an engineer that resembles John Hodgman, the actor that plays “PC” on the Apple ads.  The new ad even starts by saying “Hello, I’m a PC, and I’ve been made into a stereotype.” 

Crispin Porter & Bogusky came up with the new campaign idea.  Microsoft is even bringing several celebrities on board as part of the campaign that includes Eva Longoria (Desparate Housewives), Deepak Chopra (author), and Pharrell Williams (musician).  Others featured in the commercials will include 60 Microsoft employees.

“[Apple executives have been] using a lot of their money to de-position our brand and tell people what we stand for,” stated David Webster, General Manager of brand marketing for Microsoft [NYT].  “They’ve made a caricature out of the PC.”  Through this campaign, Microsoft wants to take back the narrative. 

When Microsoft launched the Seinfeld ads, the reviews were 25% positive and 13% negative.  The ads became less negative as time went on.  “It did what it needed to do,” stated Rob Reilly, Partner and co-executive creative director of Crispin Porter. “People who got it, got it.”

The new ad campaign will be beginning tonight.  There is no word on whether Seinfeld will return to additional Microsoft ads or not.  Other clients of Crispin Porter includes Ad Council, Bell Sports, Burger King, Coke Zeo, Compass Bank, Domino’s Pizza, Geek Squad, Giro, International Andy Awards, KNOW HIV/AIDS, Sprite, Volkswagen, and Old Favorites.

Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will always remember the day, September 16.  On this day in 1985, Jobs left the company he founded after losing a boardroom vote.  John Sculley remained as CEO.  Jobs founded Apple in 1978 with Steve Wozniak. 

What happens when you fire a founder?  A rival is created.  On the day that Jobs left Apple, he incorporated a company called NeXT Computer.  During the 10 years Jobs was at NeXT, a top operating system was created called NeXTStep.  Apple bought NeXT for about $400 million in 1996 to use their operating system.

Jobs then stepped in as an adviser for Gil Amelio, Apple’s CEO in 1996.  Around that time, Apple had one of their biggest quarterly losses.  Jobs was asked to be CEO, but he was busy with Pixar.  Around that time Toy Story was just released and Jobs was busy.  After some persuasion, Jobs signed on as the interim CEO on September 16, 1997.  Exactly 11 years after that, Apple is worth $121 billion and is selling consumer electronics by the millions.