Legion of Angels News Archive

First the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg jumped the gun, publishing his online review of Apple’s new iPhone 3G on Tuesday night, more than a day before his usual Thursday column appears.

Then, about an hour later, the New York Times responded in kind, posting their own review, by David Pogue, on the NYTimes.com front page. Like Mossberg’s, Pogue’s review is datelined Wednesday, July 9.

About the same time (we’ve lost track of the sequence), America’s third national paper, USA Today, followed suit, posting a review by Edward C. Baig.

And so Apple (AAPL) fans eager to hear if the new iPhone is worth buying get their answer — or rather three answers — well before they have to decide whether or not to stand in line.

Once again, Steve Jobs has tightly controlled the initial wave of critical commentary by handing out advanced copies to his favorite reviewers — two of whom make a nice living publishing books about Apple products (Pogue writes “Missing Manuals” and Baig writes “For Dummies” books).

But if he sought to curry special favor — or control the timing — Jobs was only partly successful. Although Baig’s review is quite enthusiastic (”two thumbs up”), Mossberg’s and Pogue’s are what is known in the theater as mixed positive.

The money quotes:

Mossberg: “If you’ve been waiting to buy an iPhone until it dropped in price, or ran on faster cell networks, you might want to take the plunge, if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life. The same goes for those with existing iPhones who love the device but crave faster cellular data speeds. But if you already own an iPhone, and can usually use Wi-Fi for data, you probably should hold off and get the free software upgrade before deciding whether it’s worth getting the new hardware.”

Pogue: “So the iPhone 3G is a nice upgrade. It more than keeps pace with advancing technology, and new buyers will generally be delighted….But it’s not so much better that it turns all those original iPhones into has-beens. Indeed, the really big deal is the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, neither of which requires buying a new iPhone. That twist may come as a refreshing surprise to planned-obsolescence conspiracy theorists — and everyone who stood in line last year.”

Baig: “Extra, extra: iPhone 3G: The Sequel, is worth the wait….It’s cheaper, faster and a lot friendlier for business. Apple’s blockbuster smartphone already had nifty features such as visual voicemail, a splendid built-in video iPod and the best mobile Web browser I’ve ever used. With GPS newly added to the mix, this handheld marvel has no equal among consumer-oriented smartphones.”

Source — CNN

ST. LOUIS (AP) – After weeks of public bickering, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.’s board is likely to accept a sweetened buyout offer from the Belgian-based brewer InBev SA as early as this weekend, a published report said.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both cite unnamed sources in reports Friday that the talks have become friendly.

The Journal reported that InBev has boosted its takeover offer for the St. Louis-based maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers by $5 a share to $70. It said the Anheuser-Busch board is likely to accept the offer this weekend.

That would be a stunning turnaround from the often heated rhetoric between the two companies over the past several days.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Anheuser-Busch (BUD, Fortune 500) shares rose $4.55, of 7.4%, to $65.76 in morning trading.

InBev announced a $46 billion takeover bid on June 11. The Anheuser-Busch board rejected it as too low. But InBev pushed ahead.

Escalation: On Monday, InBev’s takeover effort escalated to a hostile bid when the maker of Stella Artois and Beck’s announced through a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it would attempt to remove all 13 members of the Anheuser-Busch board. Anheuser-Busch responded by saying InBev sought a “hand-picked board” to buy the company at a discount.

At the time, InBev said it took the action because Anheuser-Busch had refused to talk about its offer. Anheuser-Busch released a statement saying it “would be open to consider any proposal that would provide full and certain value to Anheuser-Busch shareholders.”

Carlos Brito, InBev’s chief executive, has said he strongly prefers to negotiate with Anheuser-Busch. He has previously noted that InBev’s $65 a share offer is well above the $50 per-share price of Anheuser-Busch stock before its value was inflated by market speculation about InBev’s offer.

Anheuser-Busch’s board has laid out its own plan for earnings growth that would cut costs and increase prices to boost the stock’s value over the next few years. Brito earlier cited “significant execution risks” with the plan, saying it failed to tackle the problems Anheuser-Busch will face as prices soar for transportation and key ingredients.

Local opposition: The deal has been widely opposed by Missouri politicians, worried it would create a near-monopoly in the U.S. beer market and hurt the state’s economy. Anheuser-Busch employs about 6,000 workers in St. Louis.

Many St. Louisans fear the loss of the iconic brewer that is heavily involved in charitable and civic endeavors. A Web site, SaveBudweiser.com, claims to have nearly 60,000 signatures from merger opponents.

InBev has promised to keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch’s U.S. breweries, and to keep the company’s North American headquarters in St. Louis.

The beer industry has been consolidating in recent years amid rising costs for transportation fuel and key ingredients.

Source — CNN

NEW YORK - The NFL Network and Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN are in talks about forming a partnership, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

A deal could end a long standoff between the league and cable carriers, some of whom said the NFL was asking them to pay too much for its programming.

The NFL’s discussions with Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) are being led by Steven Bornstein, the head of the NFL’s cable network who is also a previous chairman of ESPN and president of the ABC network, which is also owned by Disney, the Journal reported.

ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys declined to comment on the report but said the network has “a long-term and extensive relationship with the NFL and to that end we are always in discussions with them about mutual projects.”

NFL Network spokesman Dennis Johnson also declined to say whether those specific talks were occurring, saying the company was “in talks with ESPN and our other broadcast partners all the time on a wide range of issues.”

The NFL Network is carried on the satellite broadcaster DirecTV (nyse: DTV - news - people ), but the network clashed with major cable providers like Time Warner Cable (nyse: TWC - news - people ) Inc., who said the league was demanding exorbitant carriage fees.

The NFL had tried to enhance the appeal of its own cable channel by withholding a number of live games from traditional broadcasts and reserving them for its own network.

Source — Forbes