Wall Street Beat: Product plans get reality check

IT investors this week did a reality check on Microsoft Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. product plans, and gave a mixed response to international moves by telecommunications companies.

Microsoft's dog-and-pony show Thursday in New York, where company Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer talked up the company's new products for businesses, failed to impress Wall Street investors.

The mercurial Ballmer tried to differentiate Microsoft from IBM Corp. by stressing the company's "people-centric" approach toward helping businesses drive revenue growth through software for, among other things, communication and collaboration, CRM (customer relationship management) and business intelligence. He also clarified that the hosted versions of the company's software, being marketed under the "Live" brand, are geared mainly for small and medium-size businesses.

Company shares (ticker symbol: MSFT), however, fell by US$0.09 to close at $27.27 after the event. Microsoft shares have stagnated even though the software giant has some big products, such as the Windows Vista OS, in the pipeline. With the company's traditional markets having reached maturity, it appears that technology investors are taking a "prove it" attitude toward Microsoft's new-product plans and attempts to reach into new markets.

Apple, meanwhile, suffered from a change of heart from leading analyst Andrew Neff of Bear Stearns. At the beginning of the week, Neff joined analysts from several other brokerages who issued optimistic reports on the company. The common wisdom on the company is that Apple machines will remain the best way to manage digital music and other multimedia files for at least the medium-term. But Thursday, Neff cut his target price on Apple shares from $103 to $100. Though he still expects share price to rise, he cited concerns about the transition to Intel Corp. chips. Apple shares (AAPL) dropped by $1.92 to close at $64.31.

Otherwise, telecom news Thursday got mixed responses from investors. Among companies making news on the New York Stock Exchange:

-- Though some analysts praised the Thursday announcement by Spain's Telefonica SA to buy the 7.5 percent of mobile carrier Telefonica Moviles, the