Reports that an iPad 3 will be released early next month sent Apple Inc. stock soaring toward $500 per share -- ending up 4.5 percent at $493.17 -- even as the computer giant faced protests over conditions at its Chinese factories and curious Apple addicts pored over late CEO Steve Jobs' unflattering yet chuckle-inducing FBI file.
Apple will announce the iPad 3 at a San Francisco event during the first
week of March, according to the Wall Street Journal, which said the new tablet
will have a faster processor, better graphics and a higher-resolution display
than its predecessor.
"What seems to happen is you get more and more of these rumors, whether
it's the iPad 3 or an Apple TV," Morningstar analyst Michael Holt told the
Herald as Apple shares were taking off. "They tend to build up until the
actual release. I think investors are reacting to interesting stuff coming
down the pike."
Cambridge's Michael Morisy, co-founder of MuckRock.com, a website that
digitizes Freedom of Information Act findings, received the FBI files of the
late Apple CEO Steve Jobs after filing the request in October.
The files show details of an FBI background check into Jobs after
President George H. W. Bush considered him for a government appointment. The
FBI talked to Jobs' acquaintances, who told them of his youthful drug use and
his ability to "twist the truth and distort reality." One person told the FBI
that Jobs had the qualities to assume a political position -- because "honesty
and integrity are not required qualities to hold such a position."
Protesters also delivered "Ethical iPhone" petitions from Change.org to
Apple stores around the world yesterday, asking Apple to improve conditions
for its Chinese factory workers, who work long hours for little pay. The
online petition has attracted more than 200,000 signatures.
Morningstar's Holt said the movement is just starting to gain momentum,
but added the whole high-tech electronics industry follows similar practices.
"What's the alternative?" he said.
