Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

apple/sony rumor

Apple's social network...

Apple's social network...

I see that if Apple/Steve Jobs is going to buy something it should be Disney just because Steve already sold them Pixar and also has got a seat at Disney board of executives...

Pixar/Disney deal was already successful part of his business life...

Buyout of Disney and Sony/Columbia movie division would make them a kind of Hollywood mogul company for sure...

Adobe deal is also possible option...

And at the end of the story they will buy probably Facebook and incorporate that with iPhone/iPad business that made them so rich...

Apple mostly sells mobile iphones and ipads today and they would need a sort of global social network service to sell even more of those gadgets in the future

and all that means Facebook is a real deal...???!!!
 
That chart is just unbearably stupid wrong. 50 billion to 100 billion in 2 years... that would require them nearly doubling there profits 2 years in a row, for this to happen suddenly the amount of stupid lazy people would have to double and thats just no good.
 
It makes sense to acquire EA, Netflix and Adobe. Getting Sony would net them a huge content library that itunes is licensing and a massive consumer electronics business, but one thats "old model". If Sony is the target, it will make for a very interesting combo.

I think a more compelling argument could be Viacom or News Corp. I don't know if the financials would allow that, they're pretty big. Jobs already has leveraged control at Disney and ABC, throwing them into the Apple basket would prevent him from an Apple acquisition of another Network since the companies are linked only through his personal will at the moment.

I fully expect Apple to get Netflix. Getting Adobe maybe not so much- but they have to develop a response to Photoshop in order to keep their Pro Mac base strategically dependent on the platform.

Apple will deliver our TV alá carte in the future, just as they do our music now, but in order to speed that along, they have to crack the wall of opposition from the networks.
 
Well I enjoy useless conjecture so...

I think Apple will be most interested in another hardware company of some sort... and Sony is a great fit.

For starters Sony and Apple have a great manufacturing partnership going back for decades. Sony used to manufacture a lot of Apple computer components, and even some entire computers in the days before the sugar water guy took over at Apple.

That leads me to my first and simplest point: Sony has mass manufacturing capacity and relationships that Apple needily eyes.

One reason we have not seen a mid range desktop Mac is the volume manufacturing would be a huge challenge for Apple. Apple has publicly stated time and again that they don't know how to build a $799 Mac worth buying.

Sony does know how and they've been making a tidy profit doing so.

Sony manufacturing and hardware engineering with Apple design and OS, that's a win in the market.

Stepping out of the easy fits...

Sony currently makes most of the things Apple has trouble with, but wants to have in their lineup.

Think about it...

A credible games system, that could definitely run iOS or OS X in the PS3, just polish off the PowerPC code that Apple still has engineers maintaining. That could be stunning actually, especially as PS4 evolves.

A viable mobile gaming platform in the PSP, one that could readily support iOS

Going along with both of those they'd gain a games development division, which would obviate the purchase of a company like EA.

Pioneering expertise in 3D & HD, including camera and display systems. Apple has always eyed higher end display systems, but without its own manufacturing and R&D it often follows the pack.

Sony also makes a staggering array of production gear. Mics, wireless, luggable edit systems... all sorts of things that quietly help us deliver, but could use Apple's touch to compliment its existing engineering.

Thinking of all the iOS possibilities already existing in Sony's lineup is staggering. How about a Sony camera designed from day one with iOS powered touch interfaces, instead of the Sony infinitely deep menu systems?

How about an entire home entertainment environment designed for remote control using iOS and OS X systems?

You've heard of GoogleTV? How about AppleTV... but not as a hobby project.

Everyone already pointed out the media outlets Sony owns. Film, TV, Internet and music all have huge Sony presence.

Buying Sony also gives Apple the infrastructure needed to break into difficult markets. Japan and other Asian nations have some very different business traditions and policies. Apple does have a toehold there... but they could use a huge helping hand.

So, Sony would be a great synergistic fit.

The downside to acquiring Sony, is that Apple would have to support a huge number of Windows platforms already in the hands of customers and a huge number of Windows systems already in the shipping pipeline- they'd be selling Windows for most of a year at least, and supporting it for at least half a decade.

That isn't something that would be hard for Apple... but it might be a touch embarrassing to sell huge numbers of a competitors products directly.

They could solve that by spinning off support of these "old" devices into a subsidiary that doesn't use the Sony or Apple name.

The great thing about all these possibilities in an Apple acquisition of Sony from MY perspective... Apple doesn't play the "protect the market" game Sony is so fond of. I think a lot of the gear Sony presently makes would tumble in price while increasing in features. Think of Apple's acquisition of Final Touch, aka Color. The flip side is their acquisition of Nothing Real, makers of the now defunct Shake, but whose technologies were integrated throughout the Final Cut Studio and resulted in Motion. Sony is so huge we'd see some of both these strategies.

The immediate possibilities are tantalizing, but if it happened 10 years down the line would be VERY interesting.

Adobe was mentioned as a possibility.

Adobe would be a fantastic complement to what Apple is already doing in professional software. However Adobe is VERY important to Apple as a third party developer. The thing is that buying Adobe adds only Photoshop and Flash, one of which Apple would surely kill. So the value doesn't seem right- its just not big enough in terms of how it would help Apple do new things. Apple could accomplish what buying Adobe offers them more readily just by adding cash resources to their existing software development.

If this is what they are after The Foundry would be a better buy- but the Foundry seems too niche. If they are interested in such a company look for an investment rather than an outright purchase.

Oracle/Sun would be a very interesting purchase. Apple would gain a great deal of business hardware expertise, but more focused on computers. They'd also gain a lot of UNIX technology and expertise, but they have that in house. One important gain would be a powerful platform able to run on- Sparc with an OS X interface. They could readily replace Darwin with Solaris and both platforms would gain in that integration.

They also gain a huge foothold in government and defense computing- just the sort of thing Apple could use to become a more serious "Enterprise" computer company.

A side benefit is that with this very high end computing business, Mac Pro's should benefit in workstation class features, and Apple should feel more confident about a middle ground computer.

Besides, everyone knows that Apples need Sun to grow. ;)

The Oracle part of that acquisition could be left principally untouched... except to move its focus more towards whatever OS X/Solaris hybrid would emerge.

Netflix... interesting to contemplate... but really Apple doesn't need them. Seriously. Apple has a huge data center in North Carolina, and they already have a huge rental and purchase platform for media in the increasingly misnamed iTunes. Apple does not need Netflix's streaming media expertise because they have their own, or their physical media distribution infrastructure. The only thing they might want is Netflix's subscribed streaming, but if that interests Apple all they have to do is add a new product to the iTMS store.

Like I said, I love useless conjecture... and I could go on and on and on... but I have to batten the hatches due to a tornado watch, and then lock myself at my desk and do some color correction.
 
Apple does not need Sony. Especially for the $20-$30 billion they would cost for a hostile takeover. They can do anything Sony can do, but quicker and better.
But, they could use a smaller electronics company like Pioneer (about $1 billion) that has great products, while not overlapping Apple's own products.
 
Apple desperately needs a software as service/cloud company. If they buy anyone that's my prediction.

People say Microsoft is overly obsessed with the operating system. Look at Apple. They have mobileMe but that's not enough. The iPhone/iTunes/iPad system needs a distributed online system to store all of your photos, apps, files and settings and it has to be built invisibly into the OS.
They also need someone who is aggregating social media sites so that your flickr, photobucket and facebook photos are all in one gallery like iPhoto but on the web.

Apple has almost no web presence. They have to change this ASAP. The quickest way there is to buy up an established player and apply Apple Think to make it work smoothly.

On the AppleTV front they need to move away from apps and towards a more aggregated view. It's very unApple to have 3 different movie stores. It's ridiculous. It should be one library of films with options to Buy iTunes, Rent Netflix or rent iTunes from one movie page. User reviews should be brought together. It should be a single browsing experience. IMDB makes a tempting buy up option but I think Amazon owns them now so that might be a problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top