Apple Page -- April 15, 2015; Apple Trouncing the Competitors; Some Are Partnering With Apple

Macrumors is reporting:

Apple's App Store increased its revenue lead by 10 percentage points over Google's Play Store in the first quarter of 2015.

The App Store's revenue was also almost 70% higher than the Play Store, despite Google Play receiving 70% more app downloads during the three-month period ending March.

24/7 Wall Street:

Argus reiterated its Buy rating for Apple raised its price target to $145 from $135, implying upside of 15%, without including the dividend. The firm has another more forward-looking price target, via a two-state discounted free cash flow model, that gives a value for Apple north of $200. 

I was having trouble with my Apple MacBook Pro. It's a workhorse and I use it a lot. It's "fixed" but it still gives me a few hiccups.

I bought the least expensive MacBook Air to ensure that I always had a computer. I was not aware how incredibly the MacBook Air really is. I would have argued that among Apple laptops it provides the best bang for the buck. I asked one of the local Apple employees that I've known for awhile, what he thought, was the best Apple, bang for the buck. His answer: "the retina." All flash drive, no moving parts; and "the retina" with the least amount of memory if one is talking "bank for buck." All flash drive is incredible.

The least expensive MacBook Air was about $850 -- I was eligible for a discount, which surprised me. I was not aware that Apple gave discounts except for students, and I wouldn't qualify for a student discount.

So, let's see what the least expensive "retina" is -- I haven't looked at these in a long time. $1,300 for 8GB/128GB 13-inch retina. I have to agree.

Also in Apple news: Samsung has created a team of 200 employees who will work exclusively on Apple products. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Samsung is relying more on its display and semiconductor units after falling into a tie with Apple for leadership of the global smartphone market. Relations between the companies thawed after they dropped all lawsuits against each other outside the U.S., and Apple is now the biggest external customer for Samsung components.

If you haven't seen the innards of an Apple computer, now's the time. Link here. The comments are particularly helpful for newbies. There are two huge story lines: Apple has never, never designed computers for individuals to tweak; you get what you buy, and that's it. And second, a newer story line: the battery may be getting to be the long pole in the tent regarding cost -- folks may find it more cost effective to simply buy a new computer when the battery needs replacing, which occurs 3 - 5 years out. I doubt most Apple computer batteries last five years with heavy use. My MacBook Pro battery lasted about 2.5 years with very heavy use.

A third trend which Microsoft pioneered, but Apple will eventually be the gold standard: same IOS on all products -- from the tablet to the desktop. And yes, all with touch screen.

I Don't Want To Talk About It, Rod Stewart and Amy Belle 

This is not as good as the original posting, but this video is subject to being removed from YouTube which usually means progressively worst versions will be posted. Whatever. It's funny how the mind works. While watching this I had a flash memory of a little pie shop in Newell, South Dakota. Makes no sense whatsoever. No connection.