Barclays raises its Apple target 26%

Anticipating a new family of iPhones in June and a new ultraportable later in the year, Barclays Capital's Ben Reitzes has raised his price target for Apple (AAPL) shares to $143 from $113 -- a 26% increase -- and upped his earnings estimates across the board.

Reitzes has also changed the way he calculates Apple's price targets, which, if it catches on, could make a significant difference in the Street's view MORE

Is the Apple press falling into Microsoft's trap?

Over the weekend, Microsoft (MSFT) unleashed the second TV ad in its "you find it, you keep it" series -- this time swapping handsome, "technically savvy" Giampaolo for perky, red-headed Lauren De Long.

Once again the camera follows a typical budget-constrained buyer on a laptop shopping spree using Steve Ballmer's money. Once again the shopper chooses an HP (HPQ) Pavilion over a Mac. And once again, the Apple (AAPL) press has MORE

iPhone fear and loathing

"The iPhone was charging. Refined, introverted, mysteriously chilled, my new $200 tile of technology lay supine on a side table, gulping power from the wall."

So begins an essay entitled "I Hate My iPhone," set to appear in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. Written by Virginia Heffernan -- a former TV critic for Slate and a lovely stylist -- it meanders for a bit before it gets to heart of the MORE

Group asks FCC to probe iPhone Skype restrictions

It didn't take long for Skype's free application for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone to climb to the top of the App Store bestseller list -- nor for net neutrality advocates to cry foul over the restrictions placed on its use.

In the first two days after its release, the iPhone Skype app has been downloaded more than a million times -- about six downloads per second, according to Skype's official blog.

The application MORE

Apple stock is up 31 percent this year

The stock is not what it was in 2007, when it rose nearly 136% in the space of 12 months, but Apple (AAPL) is off to a good start in 2009.

From Jan. 2, when it opened at $85.88, to April 2, when it closed at $112.71, Apple has gained 31.24% -- easily outpacing the Dow, which is still down more than 9% for the year.

So how is Apple doing relative MORE

Why Boxee loves Apple

Here's an interesting statistic about Boxee, the freeware media browser that makes it easy to find and watch Web video and streaming TV shows on a computer screen.

Of the 370,000 people who have downloaded the free Boxee client since it became available last June,

67% are running it on Macs
25% are running it on Apple TVs
4% are running it on Linux boxes
4% are running it on Windows PCs

This is not the MORE

Windows Net share shrank 3.68% year to year

Microsoft (MSFT) Windows ended the first quarter of 2009 with an Internet market share  -- as measured by Web hits -- of 88.14%, 3.37 points (or 3.68%) smaller than last year, according to preliminary data released overnight Tuesday by the Web metrics firm Net Applications.

In the same period, Apple's (AAPL) Mac OS's Net share grew to 9.77%, up 2.29 points (30.61%) and the iPhone's grew to 0.49%, up 0.34 points MORE

Competitors gaining on the iPhone

Apple's (AAPL) iPhone still has what Net Applications describes as a "commanding lead" in the smartphone search market, but its competitors are gaining fast, according to preliminary data issued overnight Tuesday.

When Net Applications issued its first survey of this market last month, it reported that nearly two out of every three Web searches conducted from a mobile phone in February were made from an iPhone. As Net Applications measures it MORE