The company reported Tuesday that soaring sales of the iPhone, especially in China, helped Apple nearly double its profit in the company’s fiscal second quarter.

Apple said it sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, an 88 percent increase from the period a year ago. It sold 11.8 million iPads, more than double the number it sold in the same quarter last year.

“It was an incredible quarter in China,” Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts. “It is mind-boggling that we could do this well.”

For the quarter that ended March 31, the company reported net income of $11.62 billion, or $12.30 a share, compared with $5.99 billion, or $6.40 a share, in the period a year earlier.

Apple’s revenue was $39.19 billion, up from $24.67 billion a year ago.

Mr. Cook said that Apple’s quarterly revenue from China was $7.9 billion, about 20 percent of total company revenue. Furthermore, that was triple Apple’s China sales in the same period a year ago. In contrast, Apple’s China sales during its last fiscal year were about 12 percent of total revenue. Two years ago, Apple sales in China were 2 percent.

“China has grown from a rounding error to a massive new market,” said Robert Cihra, an analyst at Evercore Partners. “Their premium price point clearly has not been any hurdle to them growing there.”

Mr. Cook said that enormous numbers of people moving into the middle class in China were creating demand for goods including the iPhone. He said Apple was “doing everything” it could to serve the market. The iPhone 4S went on sale in China on Jan. 13, near the beginning of the last quarter, and starts at nearly $800 without a wireless plan, though it is available free with a multiyear carrier contract.

Since becoming chief executive of Apple last fall, Mr. Cook has repeatedly identified China as one of the biggest growth opportunities for Apple. The growing appetite for Apple’s products among Chinese consumers comes at a time when Apple is working with manufacturing partners and parts suppliers to improve working conditions in factories in countries like China, where most Apple products are made.

Apple executives also said demand for the newest version of the iPad, released by Apple last month, was outstripping supply of the product, leading to shortages. They said it remained their fastest-growing business and that Apple had sold 67 million of the device since the first model went on sale in 2010.

Mr. Cook said it took 24 years for Apple to sell an equivalent number of Macintosh computers. In the education market, one of the strongest for the Mac, Apple said it sold two iPads for every Apple computer. In one example, the San Diego school district bought 10,000 iPads during the last quarter, with plans to buy 15,000 more in the current quarter, according to Apple.

Apple previously told Wall Street to expect earnings of $8.50 a share and revenue of $32.5 billion for the quarter. But as they do nearly every quarter, analysts viewed Apple’s official figures as lowball estimates and came up with their own more bullish forecasts. On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Apple to report earnings of $10.06 a share and revenue of $36.81 billion for the quarter.

Investors in Apple had grown increasingly skittish about Apple’s performance in the weeks before the earnings report, sending its shares down from a high of $636.23 on April 9 to $560.28 at the close of regular trading on Tuesday. Among their chief concerns were research data showing weak sales of the Macintosh computer and worries about whether iPhone sales could keep up their momentum.

But immediately after the results from Apple came out, its shares shot up nearly 7.4 percent in extended trading. Even after the jitters of the last several weeks, Apple’s shares are up 38 percent for the year and the company remains the world’s most highly valued company.

Some investors fear a repeat of a pattern from last year, when Apple said it lost some sales of the iPhone because of a steady escalation of rumors about the release of a new model. Those rumors were accurate; Apple announced the iPhone 4S in early October.

There is widespread speculation that Apple will again introduce a new version of the iPhone in the fall and that consumers might wait for its release so they can get the latest gadget. The iPhone has become an engine of Apple’s growth over the last two years, accounting for almost 40 percent of the company’s revenue during the quarter. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, said a slowdown in iPhone sales in the months ahead of an expected fall or summer release of a new version remained likely.

“You can count on that,” said Mr. Munster.

As it does in most quarters, Apple again tempered expectations with analysts. In the company’s current quarter, Apple said it expected to report earnings of $8.68 a share and revenue of $34 billion.

The company also said its hoard of cash and cash equivalents rose to more than $110 billion. Apple has said it intends to slow the growth of its cash through investor dividends and share buybacks.

NFL

The New England Patriots will face the New York Jets in a Thanksgiving-night game on NBC.

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NBC is seeking an ambitious sum for ad inventory in its new Thanksgiving-night NFL broadcast, a signal that discussions for ad time in football could heat up in the weeks leading to the annual upfront haggling sessions between advertisers and TV networks.

NBC will attempt to get "pretty close to seven figures" for a 30-second spot in the game, which will feature the New England Patriots squaring off against the New York Jets, said Seth Winter, exec VP-sales and marketing for NBC Sports Group.

The price tag is bold. Last fall a 30-second ad in NBC's "Sunday Night Football" -- the most expensive program for advertisers at the start of the 2011-2012 TV season -- cost an average of $512,367, according to Advertising Age's annual survey of ad prices in prime time. At near seven figures, the cost of a 30-second spot in the Thanksgiving-evening game would come close to doubling that price.

NBC is certainly trying to make the most of this year's Thanksgiving-night game, which was previously available only on cable's NFL Network. It was added to NBC's schedule this year as part of recent contract talks with the NFL, so its ad inventory is not included in ad packages that NBC may have negotiated previously. "It's a different animal," Mr. Winter said in an interview. "We are looking at it as a unique entity within the broader NFL package."

The network's pitch? NBC believes that families will be sitting at home after dinner, seeking out original content and potentially delivering huge ratings. The game also leads into the biggest season for retail and holiday purchases, starting with Black Friday the following morning and Cyber Monday after the weekend, so it could be opportune for a broader swath of marketers that typically advertise in football.

A price approaching seven figures would be in line with the price NBC has sought in the past for its Thursday-night broadcasts of the NFL season's "kickoff" game, one media-buying executive said. That Thursday-night broadcast has attracted around 27 million viewers in its last two airings, according to data from Nielsen.

NBC's aggressive maneuver puts a spotlight on negotiations for football advertising in the coming fall season. In recent years, with automotive marketers rushing to get ads back on TV after a recession, demand for time in football matches has been intense -- and some sales have even moved in advance of formal May presentations for the upfront, when networks typically sell the bulk of their upcoming ad inventory. Advertisers like the games' ability to draw a broad audience that many dramas and sitcoms cannot match, as well as the fact that a good portion of the viewership tunes in to watch the games live, meaning they can't skip the ads with a DVR.

All the networks that televise NFL football -- Walt Disney's's ESPN, News Corp.'s Fox, CBS Corp.'s CBS and Comcast's's NBC -- are at the very least holding exploratory conversations with advertisers about football packages, according to people familiar with the talks. NBC has sold some time for the fall, Mr. Winter said. CBS has been selling time for the fall season as part of its negotiations with marketers for its broadcast of Super Bowl XLVII, according to several people with knowledge of the situation, but is also selling fall ad time independent of that effort, one of these people said.

There's no reason, however, for marketers to feel irrational exuberance. Most of the current conversations about football adverting appear to come as part of filling schedules for multi-year deals already in place, said the media-buying executive. "Anybody that has got real estate or a big equity position in a network can potentially be having discussions sooner rather than later," the media buyer said. "We'll give them some stuff under their belt, but going into the upfront, I don't see the NFL marketplace moving ahead of prime time."

Can NBC get the price it seeks for Thanksgiving night? Already, the two games broadcast by CBS and Fox on Turkey Day afternoon bring in around 30 million viewers each. The NFL Network's broadcast of a Thanksgiving-night game last year snared just 10 million or so viewers, attributable to that outlet's smaller distribution.

"I think it's going to do a big number," the buying executive said. "Whether the market will bear it out is another story."

NBC's ability to secure top price for its Thanksgiving-night game could hinge on the network's ability to draw retailers who normally don't advertise on football. "How important is that date and that time period to the broader marketplace?," the buyer added. "There might be a couple of categories that find it to be critical, but there are others who won't."

NBC has impetus to get top dollar. The network's parent has in recent months invested heavily in sports, including renewing deals with the NHL, NFL and the International Olympics Committee, and has spent money marketing NBC Sports Network, the cable outlet that replaced the former Versus.

Jonathan Mak Long never thought his tribute to Apple founder Steve Jobs would go viral, much less lead to his spearheading a design for Coca-Cola.

Shanghai bus shelter

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The image by the 20-year-old student from Hong Kong -- two hands in the shape of Coke's iconic white ribbon passing a bottle -- premiered this past weekend in bus shelters and elevators in Shanghai. And the fresh design, part of Coke's global "Open Happiness" campaign, has caught the attention of top executives at the beverage giant.

"It's got unusual, intriguing stopping power," said Stephen Drummond, director-content and creative excellence for Coca-Cola in Asia Pacific. "Everyone's responded with a sense of, 'Wow, that's a different, intriguing spin on something so iconic and so familiar.' Just for that reason it engages people. Of course the message of connection and friendship with the brand at the center comes through very clearly."

The design could be used in markets outside of China, though nothing is confirmed because it's still so fresh, Mr. Drummond said.

Mr. Mak, a second-year communication design student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, described his involvement with Coke as a "happy accident." The design for Mr. Jobs was something he had created and posted to his blog in August 2011, when Mr. Jobs stepped down as CEO. Mr. Mak did not expect it to go viral when he reposted the image, featuring the Apple logo with Mr. Jobs' silhouette making up the "bite," after his death in October 2011.

Graham Fink, chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather China, was on vacation in London when Mr. Jobs died and was captivated by the visual tribute, which was published in several British newspapers. They said only that that it was "designed by a Hong Kong student."

"Because we didn't know the college, it took quite some time to get hold of him," Mr. Fink said. "I had my assistant in Shanghai calling all the colleges in Hong Kong."

After his vacation, Mr. Fink flew directly to Hong Kong to meet Mr. Mak.

"We went through his portfolio ... his book was beautifully simple," recalled Mr. Fink, who said he has a passion for nurturing young talent. "I said to him, 'Look, we must keep in touch. I'd love to help you in any way that I can.' "

In February, Mr. Fink offered Mr. Mak an assignment that he had just presented to his creative team. The brief was simply: "Sharing a Coke."

Jonathan Mak Long

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"I think the way I approached the poster is quite similar to the Steve Jobs Apple logo," Mr. Mak said. "I enjoy making visual puns. ... I don't want to say it's my style, but I do enjoy combining elements together to create a joke almost. It captures people's attention. These kinds of images are quite appropriate to advertising. It takes a second to get, and then there's an 'aha' moment."

Mr. Mak was paid for the work, though he declined to disclose the amount. He's currently on an exchange program at the Cologne International School of Design in Germany and said his friends, who knew about the project, tease him when he complains about the high cost of living in Europe.

Interestingly, the brief was not an official assignment for Ogilvy. Leo Burnett is the Coke brand's agency of record in China, and Ogilvy is one of Coca-Cola's roster agencies, working on several brands, including Fanta.

"Ogilvy took the initiative and totally surprised us," Mr. Drummond said. "Sometimes these ideas pop up out of serendipity, it's very much on-brand and on-brief." Coke wants to be "open to ideas that come from anywhere and everywhere and embrace it," he added.

Martin Murphy, managing director-global brand management at Ogilvy & Mather, Shanghai, said, "We are often thinking about ideas and approaches that could help our client's brands, even those brands outside of our portfolio. This specific initiative came about through some internal brainstorming on iconic messaging."

It's not clear how the staff creatives at Ogilvy China feel about having a student steal their thunder. But Mr. Fink said he considers it a dose of healthy competition.

"The way creative departments work these days, ideas can come from anywhere," he said. "You want anything that makes people work better, faster. There are a lot of great people out there, especially in China. The whole country is learning about [advertising]. ... There's a huge opportunity for us to find these people."

Mr. Mak is focusing on finishing his studies and doesn't know yet whether he will go into advertising. He stressed, though, that he was grateful for the opportunity and hopes to continue working with Mr. Fink.

"I'm still a student, and I'd like to continue to see if there are other areas that interest me," he said. "I just want to do good work that can affect people the way the Steve Jobs-Apple logo did. But my concrete career achievements? I don't want to think about that. I just want to do good work."

Mr. Mak had a message for his Tumblr fans: He's posting again after retrieving the MacBook he left on a German train.

Tim Tebow is so popular he even inspires lawsuits.

Nike filed suit against Reebok on Tuesday, claiming that its competitor is using Mr. Tebow's name without permission on Reebok-made apparel and replica jerseys bearing the quarterback's No. 15 in the wake of his trade to the New York Jets on March 21.

AP

Tim Tebow

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Reebok's 10-year contract as the NFL's official uniform supplied is ending; Nike takes over in a new five-year deal that begins on Sunday, April 1. The suit, claiming a misappropriation of rights and unauthorized and improper use of Mr. Tebow's name, was filed in federal court in New York. Nike is asking for "preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees."

In a statement provided to AdAge.com, Nike said: "We have filed a complaint relating to unauthorized use of Tim Tebow's name on New York Jets related apparel. Nike is authorized and licensed to use Tim Tebow's name on products. We have no further comment at this stage."

Nike claims Reebok has no agreement with the National Football League Players Association to use Mr. Tebow's name, or an agreement with Mr. Tebow himself. The quarterback signed an endorsement deal with Nike in March of 2010 after graduating from the University of Florida.

Part of the complaint read that "Reebok has taken upon itself to illegitimately seize on this unique and short-lived consumer opportunity in order to capitalize on the public's short-lived intense consumer appetite for such products, and to prevent Nike from doing so."

Reebok said it had no comment.

Mr. Tebow had the league's second-biggest selling jersey last year, behind only NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. Last season he played for the Denver Broncos, but was just traded to the New York Jets.

In its suit, Nike noted "the demand for Tebow-identified Jets apparel arising from last week's trade is intense during a normally subdued time period for NFL merchandise sales, and at a time when Nike is going to extraordinary lengths to build up demand for its soon-to-be released NFL product offerings. Based on the upcoming April 3 unveiling of the Nike-supplied official New York Jets uniforms and apparel for use in the 2012 season, demand for Tebow-identified Jets apparel would be expected to continue to increase. However, unless restrained, Reebok's distribution of unauthorized Tebow-identified Jets apparel will preclude Nike and its licensors from fully realizing the unique opportunity presented by the convergence of the Tebow trade to the Jets and the announcement of the new Nike NFL uniform."

Ironically, it still hasn't been determined if Mr. Tebow will wear No. 15 with the Jets since a player whom New York just re-signed on Tuesday, Scotty McKnight, wore the number last year.

Popular mobile photo-sharing app Instagram announced it now has more than 27 million users on iOS, and is hinting the company plans to release an Android app soon. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom showed off a forthcoming Android app, currently in a private beta period, at the music, arts, and tech conference South by Southwest in Austin, TX on Sunday.

Rumblings of an Android version of Instagram, which allows you to easily stylize images, have been circulating for months. But Instagram has yet to make to the jump to mobile platforms other than iOS. But that looks set to change. Systrom didn't specify a release date beyond saying the company hopes to release Instagram for Android "really soon," according to The Verge.

Instagram originally launched in October 2010 and quickly gained popularity as a way to modify and share your photos with your friends and people around the world. Many users also enjoy using Instagram's filters that make your photos look as if they were taken with an old Polaroid instant camera. The new Instagram for Android will feature the usual filters and include sharing integration with other social services such as Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook.

See Related Slideshow: Instagram Your Photos Without an iPhone

Everybody (on iOS) Loves Instagram

By August 2011, less than a year after its debut, Instagram announced its users had taken and shared 150 million photos with the app. Others are also building features and enhancements based around the popularity of Instagram. A recent Kickstarter project, Instaprint, aims to sell Instagram-centric photo printers for use in the home or at public events. Pricing for Instaprint devices ranges from $400 to $1450. There have also been rumors that Facebook was experimenting with Instagram-like filters to enhance its own mobile photo-sharing features.

Despite Instagram's popularity, the company has so far avoided coming to the Android platform. Instead, numerous competitors and imitators have sprung up trying to fill the Instagram void such as Lightbox Photos, PicPlz, and Vignette. Yahoo's photo-sharing site Flickr has also tried to claim Android photo-sharing fanatics with an app featuring filters and social features. And yet all of these Instagram competitors have met with limited success, meaning Instagram could be as dominant on Android as it is on iOS once it finally launches on Google's mobile OS platform.

Connect with Ian Paul (@ianpaul) on Twitter and Google+, and with Today@PCWorld on Twitter for the latest tech news and analysis.

iPhone 5 Coming with 4G LTE

South Asian News Agency (SANA) ⋅ March 13, 2012 ⋅

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Apple’s iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE connectivity, according to a new DigiTimes report. Speculation about the next iPhone is already well underway.

Apple’s next iPhone will support 4G LTE connectivity, according to a new report by DigiTimes.

“A new version of iPhone to be launched in the second half of 2012 is very likely to support LTE as well,” suggested the publication’s March 12 article, which cited unnamed “smartphone makers” based in Taiwan.

While the DigiTimes track record is sometimes spotty when it comes to Apple rumors, the appearance of 4G LTE on the latest iPad is nonetheless a strong indicator that the next iPhone will follow suit.

During the New York City unveiling of the iPhone 4 on Verizon in January 2011, then-Apple COO Tim Cook suggested that adapting the device to LTE would have resulted in “compromises” that Apple refused to make. In the year-plus since that event, Apple’s engineers have presumably wrestled with the best way to install a 4G LTE antenna in a small form-factor without compromising its design or performance.

Although the next iPhone’s release is almost certainly many months away, rumors about the device’s possible features have been drifting around the blogosphere since late last year. In January, Apple-centric blog 9to5Mac reported that the “iPhone 5” would feature a bigger screen and a redesigned casing. That report cited a “reliable source at Foxconn in China,” referring to the factory where iPhones are made.

Over the summer of 2011, analysts and pundits seemed certain the company would release an iPhone 5 with a radically altered design and powerful new hardware. In October, however, Apple executives unveiled the iPhone 4S, whose exterior seemed virtually identical to the iPhone 4. Despite that similarity, a collection of new features—including Siri, a voice-activated “digital personal assistant”—quickly helped the new smartphone become a bestseller.

For its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, Apple reported sales of some 27.04 million iPhones. During the Jan. 24 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed the iPhone’s robust sales numbers to a combination of what he called “breathtaking customer reception” as well as pent-up demand from a particularly long gap between new iPhone releases.

In order to sustain that sort of sales run, inevitably, Apple will need to release a next-generation iPhone capable of matching or surpassing rival devices running Google Android and Windows Phone. That could very well mean the next iPhone comes with 4G LTE support.

http://www.sananews.net/english/2012/03/iphone-5-coming-with-4g-lte/

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iPhone 5 Coming with 4G LTE

South Asian News Agency (SANA) ⋅ March 13, 2012 ⋅

• Share/Save

Apple’s iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE connectivity, according to a new DigiTimes report. Speculation about the next iPhone is already well underway.

Apple’s next iPhone will support 4G LTE connectivity, according to a new report by DigiTimes.

“A new version of iPhone to be launched in the second half of 2012 is very likely to support LTE as well,” suggested the publication’s March 12 article, which cited unnamed “smartphone makers” based in Taiwan.

While the DigiTimes track record is sometimes spotty when it comes to Apple rumors, the appearance of 4G LTE on the latest iPad is nonetheless a strong indicator that the next iPhone will follow suit.

During the New York City unveiling of the iPhone 4 on Verizon in January 2011, then-Apple COO Tim Cook suggested that adapting the device to LTE would have resulted in “compromises” that Apple refused to make. In the year-plus since that event, Apple’s engineers have presumably wrestled with the best way to install a 4G LTE antenna in a small form-factor without compromising its design or performance.

Although the next iPhone’s release is almost certainly many months away, rumors about the device’s possible features have been drifting around the blogosphere since late last year. In January, Apple-centric blog 9to5Mac reported that the “iPhone 5” would feature a bigger screen and a redesigned casing. That report cited a “reliable source at Foxconn in China,” referring to the factory where iPhones are made.

Over the summer of 2011, analysts and pundits seemed certain the company would release an iPhone 5 with a radically altered design and powerful new hardware. In October, however, Apple executives unveiled the iPhone 4S, whose exterior seemed virtually identical to the iPhone 4. Despite that similarity, a collection of new features—including Siri, a voice-activated “digital personal assistant”—quickly helped the new smartphone become a bestseller.

For its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, Apple reported sales of some 27.04 million iPhones. During the Jan. 24 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed the iPhone’s robust sales numbers to a combination of what he called “breathtaking customer reception” as well as pent-up demand from a particularly long gap between new iPhone releases.

In order to sustain that sort of sales run, inevitably, Apple will need to release a next-generation iPhone capable of matching or surpassing rival devices running Google Android and Windows Phone. That could very well mean the next iPhone comes with 4G LTE support.

http://www.sananews.net/english/2012/03/iphone-5-coming-with-4g-lte/

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Mindshare is the latest agency to set up an international hub in India, broadening the scope of its existing mobile practice in Mumbai to service global clients.

Norm Johnston, Mindshare's global digital leader

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Mindshare, part of WPP's GroupM, has had a mobile team in Mumbai since 2007 that currently handles 55% of mobile ad campaigns in the Indian marketplace, including work for Nike, HSBC and Ford, according to Alice Manners, GroupM Interaction chief operating officer, Asia-Pacific.

The group also executed campaigns elsewhere in Asia, but India has been a priority due to its off-the-charts mobile usage. As of December 2011, there were 894 million mobile subscribers in the country, second only to China, driven by a highly competitive mobile market with low rates and handset prices.

Mindshare executives decided they could use the practice to help clients outside of the region scale their mobile offerings, since executing a mobile campaign in India can be one-third of the price of similar work in the U.S. or Western Europe due to labor costs, according to Norm Johnston, Mindshare's global digital leader.

"We're letting all of our global clients access this team to produce high-quality work at a lower cost," said Mr. Johnston. He noted that the 20-person mobile team in Mumbai, which includes developers and graphic designers, could potentially double in the next year, since five global clients are already interested.

"As the need for more mobile content increases dramatically it becomes cost-prohibitive to do it locally," he added.

The Mumbai team was repositioned with a global focus last month. It's intended to have a full-service offering encompassing both strategy and development and to serve as a production hub for HTML5 content, mobile apps, websites and ad units, though there will still be mobile strategists and other practitioners in other Mindshare offices around the world.

Mindshare isn't the first agency to stake out a global presence in India. Sibling WPP agency Ogilvy & Mather has had a digital hub in Bangalore since late 2007, originally to service its global Lenovo account. It now has two other global clients and 180 employees, including creative directors, account executives, production and digital staff, according to Poran Malani, who oversees the hub as president, digital at Ogilvy & Mather Bangalore. About 10% of Ogilvy's Bangalore employees are expatriates from countries like England, France, Australia and Cameroon.

The main imperative for locating the hub in India wasn't cost-cutting, according to Mr. Malani, who said that it happened to be the ideal setup for Lenovo, since India was one of the markets outside of China where the company had been successful with consumers. Lenovo had also set up its own global marketing hub in Bangalore in mid-2007.

"India hadn't done any international advertising, so we had to do it from scratch," said Mr. Malani, who noted that it's been easier to hire and train employees in India than it would have been in other markets since Indians are English-speaking and have a "creative heritage." "We were very lucky to be ahead of the game."