iPad becomes Apple’s hard-to-take tablet

Original article by John Davidson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Jul-14

Apple’s iPad tablet computer is under competitive pressure as Samsung, Microsoft, Sony and Google are experiencing expanding sales of their products. Demand for iPads is so disappointing that Apple CEO Tim Cook decided not to include the device in a statement of quarterly sales for the three months to 28 June 2014. In contrast, sales of iPhones remain strong. The company sold 35 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2014, compared with 31.2 million in the previous corresponding period

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APPLE INCORPORATED|GOOGLE INCORPORATED|SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY LIMITED|MICROSOFT CORPORATION|SONY CORPORATION|INTELLIGENT BUSINESS RESEARCH SERVICES PTY LTD|TELSYTE PTY LTD

Firms urged to ride $10bn internal tech wave

Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 23 : 18-Jul-14

A new report argues that Australian companies could generate about $A9.3bn worth of extra value each year via greater use of "collaborative" technologies. These include popular social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The survey, which was undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics on behalf of Google, shows that 50 per cent of respondents have yet to implement a collaborative strategy

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DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, KOGAN TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED

3P Learning flunks first day on ASX – down 14pc

Original article by Paul Smith, Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 26 : 10-Jul-14

The initial public offering of 3P Learning on 9 July 2014 was a disappointment. Stock in the Mathletics and Reading Eggs educational software provider had been issued at $A2.50, but opened at $A2.39 before closing at just $A2.15. The 14% drop compared with one of 1.1% for the S&P/ASX 200 Index for the day. The float had been the second-largest ever in the Australian technology sector, and the eighth-largest overall for calendar 2014 so far. CEO Tim Power says 3P will concentrate on further expansion and innovation rather than the ups and downs of its share price

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3P LEARNING LIMITED – ASX 3PL, FREELANCER LIMITED – ASX FLN, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, PACT GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX PGH, GDI PROPERTY GROUP – ASX GDI, COVER-MORE GROUP LIMITED – ASX CVO, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Mining still dragging the chain on big data

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 4-Jul-14

The Australian mining sector is slow to adopt digital technology. WorleyParsons CEO Andrew Wood said that better use of data in design and construction can significantly reduce the cost and time of new projects. He said that project times could be cut by 20 per cent. The cost of design could be reduced by up to 70 per cent by re-using data from other projects. Total capital costs could be reduced by up to five per cent

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WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, THE MELBOURNE MINING CLUB, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Former Toyota chief to float car radio app firm

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 2-Jul-14

Connexion Media aims to raise between $A3 million and $A6 million, before listing on 24 July 2014. The company owns the Miroamer internet radio application, one of two selected by General Motors for use in web-enabled vehicles in Europe and the US. Former Toyota Australia chairman John Conomos will become chairman of the Connexion. He said that car component makers need to become part of the global supply chains of the major automobile makers

CORPORATES
CONNEXION MEDIA LIMITED – ASX CXZ, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, FORD MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, PHILLIP CAPITAL LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Banks still protected from start-ups

Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 6/19/2014

Banks have spent billions on technology, but they are still vulnerable to competition from start-ups in the field of new banking technologies. The issue was discussed at a forum held in Sydney on 17 June 2014. Paul Bassat, co-founder of SEEK and Square Peg Capital, said that start-ups were particularly active in developing new technologies that facilitate payments and peer-to-peer lending. The position of banks is however so strong that disruption in the banking sector is not an immediate issue

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, SQUARE PEG CAPITAL PTY LTD, ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, KOGAN TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, TYRO PAYMENTS

Atlassian co-founder cools down IPO hype

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 18-Jun-14

Australian software developer Atlassian was valued at $US3.3bn ($A3.5bn) in April 2014. Co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has downplayed ongoing speculation about a sharemarket float, saying an IPO may occur when the time is right. He adds that he and co-founder Scott Farquhar may choose not to pursue an IPO at all. Cannon-Brookes has defended the decision to relocate Atlassian’s headquarters to the UK, saying this would make it easier to seek a US listing than if it remained in Australia

CORPORATES
ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED, DRAGONEER INVESTMENT GROUP LLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX