SLIDESHOW: iPhone 5S To Break Records, PlayStation TV Deal And More From The Third Week Of August
Surprise, surprise -- Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) just dominated another week of massive headlines.
Between the iOS 7 Gold Master and one analyst's proclamation that the iPhone 5S would be produce the firm's biggest product launch, Apple news has been a hot commodity this week.
Sony (NYSE: SNE) made a few headlines as well, thanks to all things related to the PlayStation brand.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) finally announced when Windows 8.1 will be released.
And Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) became good friends with OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY).
Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this slideshow.
Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ
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iPhone 5S Launch Expected To Set New Sales Record
Trip Chowdhry, the Managing Director of Equity Research at Global Equities Research, has a number of concerns about Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) future.
The iPhone 5S is not one of them.
"The new iPhones will be massively successful," Chowdhry told Benzinga. "This will be the most successful product launch ever in the history of Apple."
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PlayStation TV On Cusp Of Major Partnership
Sony's (NYSE: SNE) mysterious PlayStation TV -- the unconfirmed name of its rumored pay-TV offering -- may have a hefty partner lined up.
The Japanese tech giant has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with Viacom (NYSE: VIA) that could bring a wide variety of films and TV shows to the service.
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Windows 8.1 Launch Date Announced
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced that its long-awaited Windows 8 upgrade will become available on October 17.
The new version (which was once known as Windows Blue) will be offered as a free download.
Those who have yet to purchase Windows 8 will also be able to purchase the upgraded version in store.
Microsoft said that Windows 8.1 notebooks, tablets and desktop PCs will begin to appear at retail on October 18.
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PlayStation 4 Shipments Expected To Reach 10M Units
How many PlayStation 4 units will Sony (NYSE: SNE) ship this year?
The current projection is 10 million units.
That's one million more than the maximum number of Xbox One units that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is expected to ship. Microsoft could ship as few as seven million units.
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Apple Purchased Another Startup
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) recently purchased two mapping-related firms to fix its ill-fated Maps app.
Now the company has acquired Matcha, an online TV guide that attempted to inform its users of all the content that was available to watch online.
Instead of performing a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) search, consumers could use Matcha to view the best video options from Hulu Plus, HBO Go, MAX Go, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and numerous others.
Of course, users could not watch those videos for free -- they still had to subscribe to each individual service. But Matcha gave them the opportunity to collectively see what was there in the first place.
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eBay's PayPal Is Safe -- For Now
When word leaked that Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) wanted to get into the mobile payment business, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) investors became worried.
It turns out that there was nothing to worry about -- for now, at least.
In fact, the online payments giant could prove to be a great ally, not an adversary.
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Icahn Disclosed A "Large Position" In Apple
Famed investor Carl Icahn announced that he and his firm, Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ: IEP), has a "large position" in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
Icahn tweeted a couple comments about the disclosure, including a message about Apple being "extremely undervalued."
He also said that he spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook about his view that a larger buyback needs to occur.
"We plan to speak again shortly," Icahn concluded.
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iPhone Popularity Dropped In China
Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) worldly iPhone seems to be losing ground in China.
In addition to the poor Chinese sales (which declined more than 40 percent), TrendForce released the less-than-favorable results of a Chinese survey.
Long story short, Apple is losing ground to Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) and a number of Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
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OpenTable Joined Forces With Facebook
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) users can now make reservations at 20,000 different restaurants using OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN).
This was already possible with OpenTable.com and its app. But now users don't have to switch apps to book a reservation -- they can do it right from Facebook.
It is a small (but significant) change that will allow OpenTable to reach more customers. It could also boost Facebook's daily usage since consumers are able to perform more tasks with the social network.
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iOS 7 Inched Closer To Release
Those who cannot wait to get their hands on iOS 7 were overjoyed to learn that that the final beta is due next week.
That's not all. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) also plans to release the Gold Master version in time for the unveiling of the iPhone 5S on September 10.
The device is not expected to be available to purchase immediately after the event. Consequently diehard Apple fans may be forced to wait a little longer to test the new mobile OS.
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So Much To See, So Little Time
Don't miss these other stories that rocked the tech industry.
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