Global Macro Monitor

Back in January 2011 we posted the following about Apple:

It’s our sense that in five years Apple may well have reinvented itself into a mobile medical company, where an iPhone/iPad-type device becomes a medical clinic in, say,  a rural village in Africa.   Remember folks, we are at the elbow of the exponential tech curve.

Apple desperately needs a new product to show the market that it is once again on the leading edge of innovation.   Note the relative performance of Google’s stock over the past few years as the market rewards Google with nice innovation premium.  

We hear whispers Apple is about to introduce a new iWatch that is not just a gadget, such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear,  to check your facebook and tweet from, but one that resembles something more of a medical clinic and super charged fitness tracker 

The New York Times reports Apple execs have been meeting with the FDA,

Apple has signaled strong interest in health-monitoring technology, which could wind up in a widely anticipated smartwatch. A group of senior Apple executives met with directors at the United States Food and Drug Administration in December to discuss mobile medical applications, according to the F.D.A.’s public calendars that list participants of meetings.

We’re excited about mobile medical technology and have posted several pieces on the subject.   See here, here, and here. 

The Qualcom Tricorder XPrize website sums up our excitement:

Imagine a portable, wireless device in the palm of your hand that monitors and diagnoses your health conditions. That’s the technology envisioned by this competition, and it will allow unprecedented access to personal health metrics. The end result: Radical innovation in healthcare that will give individuals far greater choices in when, where, and how they receive care.

The competition for the $10 million Qualcom XPRIZE includes 34 teams that are developing precision diagnostic technologies that will help consumers make their own reliable health diagnoses:

The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE is a $10 million global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic technologies, helping consumers make their own reliable health diagnoses anywhere, anytime.

The dire need for improvements in health and healthcare in the U.S. has captured the attention of government, industry, and private citizens for years. But a viable solution has yet evaded one of the most technologically advanced, educated and prosperous nations on the globe. Integrated diagnostic technology, once available on a consumer mobile device that is easy to use, will allow individuals to incorporate health knowledge and decision-making into their daily lives.

We think Apple’s new iWatch will push the envelope of these new technologies and provide  a nice entry for the company into the $2.8 trillion health care industry.

We also believe the market will like it and combined with the Tim Cook buyback put, the stock looks compelling here.   Could be wrong.  Always with a stop.

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