Source: Economic Times

Almost a year after upending the mobile-phone world with its first wireless handset, the iPhone, Apple unveiled a souped-up second version of the device, the iPhone 3G. ( Watch )

Introduced by Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs in a June 9 keynote address in San Francisco, the iPhone 3G will sell for $199 for an 8GB version and $299 for a 16GB version. The new prices represent a departure from a year ago when the first devices sold for $599 on the upper end. The iPhone 3G will be available in 22 countries beginning July 11, and will eventually be sold in 70 countries in all.

The new phone derives its name from the faster Internet downloads available on advanced, or third-generation (3G), wireless networks. Jobs told the audience the new iPhone downloads Web pages as much as 36% faster than comparable phones from Nokia (NOK) and Palm (PALM). The new phone also sports a feature that lets users know their location using GPS satellites. Phones that run GPS technology are able to access an array of location-aware applications, including mapping within address books. Other improvements over the original device include improved audio quality on phone calls.
Improvements to the first version of the iPhone—the lower price in particular—will likely generate greater demand for one of Apple’s most successful products to date. “If anyone needed proof that Apple was ready, willing, and able to go after lots of mobile-phone users, they got it today,” says Gartner (IT) analyst Mike McGuire. “Apple is showing itself to be really serious about the phone market.” Apple has sold 6 million units since the iPhone was introduced at the end of June, 2007. “More people desired to buy it, but they couldn’t afford it,” Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook says.

Demand for the iPhone also stands to benefit the wireless carriers on whose networks the device runs—although Cook says the lower price reflects a subsidy that will be absorbed by the service providers. The official iPhone provider in the U.S. is AT&T (T). “The launch of 3G iPhone will be another opportunity for [Apple's] exclusive providers to boost [revenue per user] and market share gains, continuing what 2G iPhone started,” UBS (UBS) analyst John Hodulik wrote in a research report.

Source: Economic Times

 NEW YORK: Billionare financier Carl Icahn, who launched a proxy battle in May to replace the board of Yahoo Inc in the wake of its failed deal to be acquired by Microsoft Corp, said on Sunday the subsequent deal Yahoo forged with Google “might have some merit.” “While the Google deal is not the same as an offer of $34.375 per share for Yahoo, I am continuing to study it, and it might have some merit,”

Icahn said in his first public comments since Yahoo disclosed the Google ad-sharing deal on Thursday. Icahn declined to comment on whether he would continue to press his proxy battle to replace the board of Yahoo in light of the fact that the company has done a deal with Google. The pact comes with extensive “change of control” provisions that allow Google or Yahoo to terminate the deal in the event that Yahoo is acquired or if a majority of its board is replaced at its upcoming annual shareholders meeting in August.

Thus, if Icahn wins his proxy battle and changes the board of Yahoo, Google has the right to walk away from a deal that Icahn favors as an alternative to an all-out acquisition. Ichan hinted that the change of control provision might be sufficient reason to pull back on his campaign to replace the Yahoo board. Alternatively, Icahn could accept minority board representation which may not prompt Google to walk away.

The investor, who holds about 59 million shares, or more than 4 percent of Yahoo, said that a Google deal was preferable to having Microsoft take control of Yahoo’s search operations as the software company proposed after Yahoo rejected its $47.5 billion bid to acquire the whole company. “I continue to be extremely disappointed with the Yahoo management, but the Google deal might have some merit and seems to be better then the alternative deal proposed by Microsoft,” said Icahn in a telephone interview.