Is Apple Out To Buy EA and Twitter?

Rumors are buzzing about Apple planning to buy the struggling gaming publisher Electronic Arts and the popular micro-blogging utility Twitter. I can speak volumes about how I doubt Apple is going to stay on top of its game for long, or how its disdain for open-source will be its downfall, but the fact remains -- when Apple talks, people listen.

Apple-related rumors are always the juiciest and most prolific ones to circulate the blogosphere simply because Apple's innovations have all been massive industry shakers and game changers in the past. This time, rumors have it that Apple is on the way to plant its popular logo in the gaming and micro-blogging industries. How true can these be?

Knowing Apple and its relatively successful 2009 Q1 returns, it certainly CAN buy a huge chunk of Electronic Arts if it wanted to. Similarly, they can also very easily afford the rumored $700 million price tag for Twitter. The only question is perhaps whether or not it WOULD.

The EA rumor seems rather unrealistic, since Apple already has the platforms that various publishers and developers already actively develop games for. The only reason it would buy a chunk of EA would probably be to give the gaming publisher a bit of leverage -- EA has struggled with relatively lower sales figures over the past two quarters. So a deal of some sort MIGHT be in the works, but a majority-stake buyout seems very unlikely.

Unless of course Steve Jobs likes having The Sims on his iPhone so much. I mean, we all know when The Steve loves something the whole world stops to listen, stocks in the financial markets get suspended, and whale mating season begins. Now moving on to Twitter:

They've said time and time again that Twitter isn't for sale, but for goodness sakes -- you'll need to monetize this thing if you want it to stick around! Simply putting ads on Twitter pages will easily generate millions. But even that recourse would pale in comparison to what an Apple logo can do.

Here's what I think will happen if Twitter DOES become "iTweet" down the line:

• Twitter will enjoy a new, established user base.
• Apple will have a new major selling point for the iPhone. (native iTweet capabilities... aherrmmm)
• Perhaps instead of depending on online ad revenue, Apple might make Twitter part of the .Mac/MobileMe service (Yikes! You mean now I gotta' pay to tweet? Arrckk!).
• Apple might tap Twitter's real-time news result capabilities and establish a new search engine that can leave Google and its spiders at least two to five hours behind.
• The image of the Twitter bird pulling a worm out of the Apple logo. (iLOL.)

That said, it would be pretty interesting to see which one of the big names will be the first to leverage Twitter. It doesn't have to be Apple, but if you ask me, I can however (with mild hesitation) tell you that Steve Jobs' company currently has the most capable hands in the world today.