Today: Changes this weekend at the Apple (AAPL) Store takecomputer shopping "to the next level," according to one analyst.Plus: Toyota wants you to friend your car. And: Cisco (CSCO), Sony,LinkedIn, Silicon Valley tech stocks.
Using iPads to sell Macs (and other Apple products)
Apple -- the Cupertino maker of Mac computers and "i" devices --rolled out changes at its retail stores over the weekend.
In the most prominent change, Ticonderoga Securities analystBrian White noted in an email today, the Apple Store has replacedthe paper tags next to Macs and other products with iPads."Essentially, product descriptions, specifications, pricing andother information are at a consumer's fingertips with the iPad 2display, taking Apple's legendary retail shopping experience to thenext level," White wrote.
YouTube videos posted over the weekend revealed that customerscould interact with the iPad to find specs and compare products (inmuch the same way as if they were shopping at Apple's online store).
"This initiative will ultimately save Apple money, as the iPad 2product displays can be refreshed much faster and cheaper versusprinting, a concept that other retailers could implement," Whitenoted.
More Mac news: According to a post today on AllThingsD (which hadits own redesign over the weekend), Mac shipments are soaring evenas consumer demand for Windows personal computers fades.
Citing IDC data in a report by analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham,the post said Mac shipments in the first quarter climbed 27 percentyear over year. By contrast, overall PC shipments were down 1.2percent.
More Apple news: Production of iPads may have been disrupted byan explosion at a Foxconn Technology Group factory in Chengdu,China, according to an Associated Press report.
Tragically, the blast killed three people and injured 15.
Apple, of course, has been scrambling to keep up with demand forthe iPad 2 since its launch in March. Analysts have said productionalso may have been affected by supply disruptions after theearthquake and tsunami in Japan.
"Our current view," White noted, "is that this tragedy is likelyto have some impact on iPad 2 production." However, he said, Foxconncould shift some of the manufacturing to its Shenzhen, China, plant -- which also makes iPads.
Apple stock: The shares fell today along with numerous other techstocks. Apple shares finished regular trading at $334.40, down 82cents, or 0.2 percent, from last week's closing price.
Friend your car?
Here in California, many of us have personal relationships withour cars. After all, we spend hours with them on our crowdedfreeways. Toyota today is suggesting we might even want to friendour cars online.
According to our friends at AP, the Japanese auto giant islinking up with San Francisco software-as-a-service pioneerSalesforce and Redmond, Wash., tech megabehemoth Microsoft to set upa "Toyota Friend" social network for Toyota owners.
For example, owners of a plug-in Prius hybrid could use Toyota'snetwork to get reminders to remember to recharge the vehicle.Exchanges could be shared with other Toyota owners -- or on Facebookor Twitter.
"I hope cars can become friends with their users, and customerswill see Toyota as a friend," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said,according to AP.
More tech headlines
Cisco Systems: The giant San Jose maker of networking equipmenthas been accused in a federal lawsuit of selling Internet gear toChina that allows authorities to track members of the Falun Gongmovement.
According to a Merc report, Cisco responded in a statement thatit doesn't "customize our products in any way that would facilitatecensorship or repression."
Sony: The Japanese electronics maker revealed that it expects toreport a $3.2 billion yearly loss, according to AP.
The Tokyo company is struggling after the earthquake and tsunamiin Japan -- and after a hacker attack on its online PlayStationNetwork.
Sony officially is scheduled to report earnings Thursday.
Silicon Valley tech stocks
Down: Apple, Oracle (ORCL), Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC), Cisco,Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), eBay (EBAY), VMware, Gilead Sciences (GILD),Yahoo (YHOO) and most Silicon Valley tech stocks were lower today.
LinkedIn shares dropped $4.79, or 5.1 percent, to $88.30. TheMountain View professional-networking site's stock, you mightrecall, more than doubled in its trading debut Thursday. Today'sdecline is "a natural reaction to the surge in the stock price thatoccurred last week, especially given the market weakness," Benchmarkanalyst Clay Moran told Bloomberg News.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Down 44.42, or 1.6percent, to 2,758.90.
The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Down 130.78, or 1percent, to 12,381.26.
And the widely watched Standard & Poor's 500 index: Down 15.90,or 1.2 percent, to 1,317.37.
Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, asummary of news from Mercury News staff writers, The AssociatedPress, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Frank Russellat 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.
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