What's Important in the Financial World (3/25/2013)

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has bought WiFiSlam, a company with technology that allows mobile devices to show the location of their owners. Some press outlets believe that Apple will use this technology to fix its broken map software so it can better compete with Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google Maps. But skepticism seems to have trumped the belief that this plan will work. According to ZDNet:

This acquisition though, is not expected to have significant impact toward Apple as the Cupertino-based company is still struggling to recover from its “Maps fiasco”, Loo Wee Teck, Euromonitor’s global head of consumer electronics research, observed.

And:

A large part of the battle is also determined by the smartphones on which the maps will be loaded and utilized, Loo added. Android-based smartphones’ “unassailable” lead over iPhones will not change with Apple’s acquisition of WiFiSlam, he added.

New T-Mobil Plan

T-Mobile runs well behind Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Sprint-Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) in the race for wireless customers in the United States, despite its upcoming marriage with MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS). The division of Deutsche Telekom means to change that with a revolutionary plan that will allow customers to buy phones that do not carry the two-year subscription packages that its rivals have. Many consumers consider these plans onerous because they are a financial block to buying new phones and moving from carrier to carrier without large penalties. To thwart its larger rivals, according to SlashGear:

T-Mobile’s new contract-free value plans have just gone live. All of the new plans will have unlimited calling and unlimited texting included. The cheapest plan available is the $50 unlimited talk, text, and 500MB of data plan. If you want to increase your data limit, you can do so for an accumulative $10 charge. So for the 2GB plan, you’ll have to pay $60, 4GB you’ll have to pay $70, etc. After you reach your data limit, your data will be throttled to 2G speeds. All of the tiered data plans come with free Mobile Hotspot, so you can tether your phone to your laptop or PC.

Early sales will show whether this convenience will trump the brand loyalty that Verizon Wireless and AT&T have taken so many years to create.

Windows Blue Leaked

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) must have realized that adoption of its Windows 8 operating system has been undermined by features that potential customers do not like. According to The Verge:

An early build of Windows Blue, the next version of Windows, has leaked online on the same day that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer celebrates his 57th birthday. Build 9364, a partner version that was originally compiled on March 15th, has been made available on file sharing sites and includes some of the new changes that Microsoft is building into its significant Windows 8 update.