Laura Goldman is infamous for putting a “Sell” status on Apple shares after the iPhone introduction. “I am putting a sell on Apple, the company that created the iPhone.” Laura Goldman wrote for McClatchy-Tribune News Service in 2007. “Now that the future of Apple is the iPhone, Apple’s valuation might start to trade in line with other mobile handset makers like Nokia, Motorola and Sony-Ericsson,” she continued.
We’ve seen analysts make mistakes, be dead wrong, and overall make cooky claims concerning Apple. But this was just complete insanity. Goldman will never be able to live down the ridiculous “Sell” she put on Apple and how utterly WRONG she was. (Seeing as how the stock has nearly doubled in the last few years)
So now you know a little bit about Laura Goldman. She also happens to write for the NakedIsraeli’s Weblog.
“Israel, aka Silicon Wadi, considers itself the second most important tech center next to Silicon Valley. As self respecting techies, many Israelis need or at least covet an iPhone. Although Apple signed selling agreements with more than 70 countries including our Arab neighbors, it did not sign one in Israel.” Goldman reports.
She continues to explain how “Thousands of Israelis have banded together on Facebook to protest to Apple. In my opinion. they are protesting to the wrong corporation. I suspect that the two major cellphone providers in the country, Cellcom and Partner, have refused to make a deal with Apple because they do not want to subsidize the cost of the iPhone.”
“The problem with living in a county with no competition and many oligopolies is that service and new product introductions suffer. Each of them has more than 30% of the nation’s mobile phone calls. The iPhone probably will not bring them much more.”
Additional thoughts: Israel is a tiny, tiny country, yet it’s very dense with technological advancements and a rapidly booming economy. MacBlogz gets a press release from an Israeli dot-com startup at least once every couple of weeks. Fring is an Israeli startup that has a nice product. With all of the technology booming in Israel and cities like Tel-Aviv especially, the lack of Apple support is very surprising. I have traveled to Israel with my Apple computers and iPods and my iPhone. Everyone I met knew exactly what they were and how to use them. Regardless of Apple’s marketing not focused on targeting Israel, the country still knows everything that’s going on with Apple and its products.
Laura Goldman states that the absence of Apple’s iPhone might have more to do with the carriers than it does Apple. However, I strongly disagree with this. Carrier’s in other countries are doing everything they can to acquire and sell the iPhone on their networks. Israel is very adept at noticing emerging technological trends, and having the iPhone (without needing to unlock it) seems only fitting for a country referred to as Silicon Wadi.
Apple clearly knows about the booming technology sector in Israel. Events like the Mashable Tel Aviv and Israel Media Tour have drawn global coverage, with many of Apple’s core technology partners participating in the event. Yet still Apple support in Israel remains lacking. At this point, either one of two things could be preventing the iPhone from being available in Israel: 1) Apple cannot come to a solid agreement with either of the two major carriers in Israel - although this seems hard to believe seeing as how Apple is bending their revenue earning rules to gain acceptance in other global markets. or 2) Apple is knowingly planning (or ignoring) strong presence in Israel and wants to wait until it is supported in Israel (with retail stores maybe?) before releasing a major breakthrough product like the iPhone.
Out of the 70 countries lined up to receive the iPhone, Israel not being on the list leaves me utterly confused.
Via our friends MacDailyNews
