MacRumors

At the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, tech companies often take the opportunity to unveil new products. Well-known data storage company Seagate is no exception, and is introducing three impressive new products at the show.

The new 500GB Seagate Wireless portable hard drive is the company's latest HD designed specifically for use with tablets and smartphones like Apple's iPad and iPhone, introducing additional storage at affordable price. Available in five bright colors (lime green, cool blue, slate gray, fire-engine red, and white), the hard drive offers a nine hour battery life and the ability to store media like photos and videos, which can be streamed directly to an iOS device through the Seagate Media app.

It includes a new auto backup feature for making a secondary copy of photos and videos, and it can be used for storing documents and other file types. Because it has built-in Wi-Fi, the Seagate Wireless does not need an existing network connection. The Seagate Wireless will be available in January for $129.99 from the Seagate website and through retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.

Seagate's second product, the Seagate Personal Cloud, is designed to offer an alternative to traditional server side cloud-based storage. The Personal Cloud allows users to backup their computers (with the Seagate Mobile Backup app) and store content securely on a dedicated hard drive that's located within the home rather than on a server.

Content can be accessed outside of the home much like any other cloud-based storage option through the Seagate Media app, and as a home media storage option, it can stream video and play full HD content with no buffering or lag.

Seagate Personal Cloud demystifies the often frustrating process of finding, accessing and enjoying photos, videos and music on the device of your choice. Once connected to a wireless router and after a free download of the Seagate Media app, users will be treated to an intuitive, media-rich browsing experience that makes playback of content an effortless and enjoyable experience.

The Seagate Personal Cloud can be used with any device that's supported by Seagate Media apps, including Smart TVs from Samsung and LG, many consoles, streaming media players like the Chromecast and Apple TV, and smartphones and tablets like Apple's iPad and iPhone.

The Seagate Personal Cloud can also be set up with a secondary backup to other popular cloud services, like Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more for additional offsite protection. There's also a Seagate Personal Cloud 2-Bay option available with two internal drives for duplicate storage.

Seagate's Personal Cloud will begin shipping to retailers in January, in 3TB, 4TB, and 5TB capacities with pricing starting at $169. The Personal Cloud 2-Bay will be available in 4TB, 6TB, and 8TB capacities as well.

Seagate's most notable product this year is the Seagate Seven, which the company is calling the world's thinnest 500GB portable hard drive. At just 7mm thick, it uses Seagate's latest mobile hard drive technology and is aimed at tech enthusiasts who want the thinnest devices. With a steel finish, the hard drive is ultra portable and is, according to Seagate, the culmination of 35 years of experience.

The Seagate Seven will be available at the end of January for $99.99 from the Seagate website and from retailers like Amazon.

Seagate is also debuting several new LaCie products, including the designer LaCie Mirror hard drive and the LaCie Rugged RAID thunderbolt hard drive.

Paid music downloads, which have dominated the digital music market for years thanks in large part to Apple's iTunes Store, showed accelerating weakness in the United States last year as music streaming services like Spotify and a resurgence of vinyl record sales exploded in popularity.

According to Nielsen SoundScan (via The Wall Street Journal), streaming music grew a remarkable 54 percent in 2014, moving from 106 billion songs in 2013 to 164 billion in 2014. That growth contrasts with traditional song downloads that dropped off significantly from 2013. Paid downloads for full music albums declined 9 percent in 2014, with individual song downloads seeing an even larger 12 percent drop-off. Overall, according to SoundScan, Americans bought 257 million albums in 2014, 106.5 million of which were downloaded digitally.

Amid the digital shift from individual downloads to streaming, an older technology also saw a resurgence in 2014 with vinyl record sales at their highest levels since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. Nielsen's tracking shows 9.2 million vinyl records sold, representing a 52 percent overall increase in sales from 2013.

With lackluster overall digital music downloads mirroring a similar drop in iTunes Store sales, Apple has been looking at ways to improve its positioning in the music market. Apple's initial effort with iTunes Radio to offer a Pandora-like experience that also seeks to drive iTunes Store purchases has had a less-than-stellar reception with availability in only the United States and Australia. That weak entry likely spurred Apple to pursue last year's acquisition of Beats Music for a full-fledged subscription streaming service.

Recent reports have indicated that Apple will be pursuing a major revamp of Beats early this year that may see prominent integration of the paid streaming service into iOS and iTunes, perhaps including a rebranding under the iTunes name.

With luxury watchmakers turning their attention to the smartwatch market ahead of the Apple Watch launch later this year, Montblanc is one of the first to announce specific plans. As noted by aBlogtoWatch, Montblanc's initial foray is an "e-Strap" accessory band for traditional watches that connects wirelessly to a smartphone.

The Montblanc e-Strap incorporates a small 0.9-inch wide screen into a high-quality leather band that attaches to a traditional analog watch. The screen lays flat against the underside of the wrist, allowing users to receive notifications, count steps, and control music playback on a connected smartphone. The band connects to an iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth and offers up to five days of battery life.

How impressive as a connected wearable device will the e-Strap's electronic module be? It will have a 0.9 inch monochromatic OLED touchscreen display with a 128x36 pixel resolution. That isn't exactly industry changing, but this is more than just a mere notification device. Montblanc has made it clear that in addition to basic calls, texts, e-mails, calendars, social media, and reminder notifications, the e-Strap will function as an activity monitor/tracker with a pedometer and accelerometer to measure data that feeds into an included iPhone or Android phone app.

The e-Strap will reportedly sell separately for 250 Euros and will also be available initially as an option with select Timewalker Urban Speed watches. The band will, however, apparently be compatible with all 42-mm or 43-mm wide Timewalker watches.

Montblanc is one of several luxury watchmakers adding smartwatch-inspired products to their 2015 portfolios. Timex and Fossil reportedly are partnering with Qualcomm and Intel, respectively, on upcoming smartwatches, while Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is exploring partnerships and acquisitions in order to jumpstart its own smartwatch projects.

With the new year, Apple has made a few price adjustments to its products and services, led by an increased yearly fee for the company's developer programs in a number of European countries, as first noticed by German blog Apfelpage [Google Translate].

The Apple-focused blog reports that German developers are now facing a €99 ($119) per year subscription charge for Apple's various developer programs, up from a previous €80 ($96) subscription fee. The price changes presumably affect all EU markets, as Apple typically has consistent pricing across member countries except for occasional differences due to variations in tax rates. Apple's developer programs are priced at $99 per year in the United States.

The price increase is also in effect for the UK, where the price has been adjusted from £60 ($92) a year to £79 ($121) as noted by 9to5Mac. Across the board, the European developer program has been about on par with or slightly above the cost in the U.S. when adjusted for currency rates. Following the weakening of many world currencies compared to the U.S. dollar in recent months, however, Apple's price increases in those countries will help reset the company's desired pricing matrix but increase costs somewhat for developers overseas.

Elsewhere, the prices of Apple physical products are seeing slight hikes in a few countries. Apple Toolbox reports Apple has increased the price of products like the Mac, iPhone, and iPod in Turkey, a country where the company's products are already among the highest priced in the world. And the increase in prices may not stop there, as the Turkish Minister of Economy recently announced a plan to gain favor for products made in Turkey by introducing taxes on imported smartphones, computers, and tablets.

A MacRumors reader has also pointed out that the Norwegian people will be facing higher prices for Apple products, with the new iMac with Retina 5K Display and iPhone 6 seeing 8.3 and 12 percent increases respectively. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display received the biggest price jump, going from 10,790 kr to 12,590 kr, roughly a 14 percent increase in the cost of the device.

Apple has been known to adjust the price of its products alongside fluctuating currency values, most drastically just last month when the Russian ruble saw a sharp drop in value, causing the company to temporarily shut down its Russian online store and return with significant price hikes days later.

Though far less dramatic, these price inflations seen in other parts of the world appear due to the weakening of the Turkish lira and Norwegian krone in recent months. Even so, it's not entirely clear why the company instituted the price change to these select few foreign markets, and whether or not other countries could see a similar price hike in the future, as many other currencies have also been weakening against the U.S. dollar.

Apple's retail locations in Japan have begun sales of the "Fukubukuro", also known as a "lucky bag", which offer an assortment of products at a steep discount. Japanese blog Mac Otakara (Google Translate) was present at the Apple Store in Nagoya to discover the exact content of the various bags among customers, with some shoppers receiving big-ticket items like iPads and MacBooks.

This year's lucky bags sell for 36,000 yen ($300) and come in four different configurations, with common items including an Apple TV, a 4000 mAh Mophie Powerstation external battery pack, an Incase Icon backpack, an iTunes gift card, and Beats by Dre Powerbeats2 wireless earbuds. For the most valuable Fukubukuro bag, Apple included an 11-inch MacBook Air with a Power Support Air Jacket and a Twelve South PlugBug dual charger along with the common items.

Other variants of the bag offer a fifth-generation 16GB iPod touch, a 16GB iPad mini 3 or a 16GB iPad Air 2 alongside the common items. The iPad lucky bags also feature Logitech's UE Boom portable speaker.

Apple's grab bags are sold as is, and returns are not allowed unless a product is defective. The promotion is limited to Apple Stores in Japan, although they are usually met with long lines of shoppers hoping to purchase their own lucky bag.

Thanks to the iPhone 6, the iPad Air 2, the iPad mini 3, OS X Yosemite, and iOS 8, 2014 was a major year for Apple. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus brought new screen sizes and a radical redesign, while iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite introduced deep integration between Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems.

The past year has seen an impressive display of innovation and new ideas, but upcoming product releases and rumors suggest that 2015 may be an even more monumental year for Apple.

Along with the Apple Watch, which Apple has said will launch in early 2015, we will likely see major updates across the Mac lineup due to the availability of Intel's next-generation Broadwell chips. An Apple TV update has long been in the works and could see a 2015 debut, and as it has done every year, Apple will undoubtedly update its iPad and iPhone lineup, along with releasing new versions of iOS and OS X.

As we did last year, we've highlighted Apple's prospective 2015 product plans, outlining what we might see from Apple over the course of the next 12 months based on current rumors.

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Earlier this week, Apple debuted a new "Start Something New" campaign on its Japanese site, showcasing individuals using its latest products and creative apps to make art and capture photos.

As of today, the company's new campaign has been expanded to several other countries, including the United States and many locations across Europe and Asia.

The "Start Something New" micro site includes a gallery that features art made with Apple products like the iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iMac. A range of photography, painting, and sketching apps like Procreate, VSCO Cam, iDraw, Waterlogue, and Brushes 3 are also featured on the site.

Apple also highlights individual creator stories, sharing the tools that each person uses to create their pieces. Japanese artist Nomoco, for example, uses an iPad Air 2 and the Brushes 3 app to make paintings.

Nomoco's approach to making art is organic and tactile. She is inspired by movement and light, and even the way an ink drop splashes can guide her next move. So when she painted digitally for the first time, it was natural for her to use her fingers. With iPad Air 2 and the Brushes 3 app, Nomoco was able to create this ethereal series exactly as she had imagined it.

Other artists, like Marcelo Gomes and Jingyao Guo use various photography and sketching apps to make stylized photos and drawings. Several photographers like Jared Chambers and Christian Weber use popular photo editing app VSCO Cam to edit photos, and Apple apps like iMovie and Final Cut Pro are used by videographers Matt Pyke and Thayer Allyson Gowdy.

Several iOS tools are featured as well, including Exposure Control, Burst Mode, and HDR, which various photographers use in the art creation process. Apple's "Start Something New" campaign follows in the footsteps of its previous "Your Verse" iPad campaign, which demonstrated the many ways people have incorporated Apple's iPad into their daily lives.

Several iPhone 6 owners on Apple support forums and in MacRumors forums are reporting an issue with Apple Pay after making changes to the their phones that automatically reset the Apple Pay service (via 9to5Mac). These activities include restoring a phone, logging out of iCloud and possibly removing a passcode from the device.

Following such changes, Apple automatically removes the associated credit cards from Apple Pay as a security measure to protect a user's sensitive financial information in case of loss or theft of the phone. Users are then required to repeat the setup process and re-add their credit cards to the mobile payment service. It is during this restoration step, however, that the process fails for some users.

Upon failure, users are greeted with an alert advising them to contact their card issuers. Subsequent calls to banks confirmed the cards not associated with the Apple Pay service, but the phone still fails to accept the card information. Apple support is typically unable to fix the issue and, in many cases, Genius Bar technicians have replace the phones with new or refurbished units in order to restore Apple Pay functionality.

The issue likely involves the secure enclave on the iPhone that stores the Apple Pay information. It is possible that the automatic removal of Apple Pay information does not clear the enclave properly, leaving behind details that block the addition of credit card information. This apparent glitch in the service appears to only affect users who made changes that disabled Apple Pay and removed cards automatically. Users who manually remove their cards are able to add new and previously used cards back to Apple Pay without an issue.

It is not clear how many iPhone 6 owners are affected by this issue. It could be a system-wide glitch affecting all Apple Pay users or an issue with only a small number of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets. Not surprisingly, Apple has yet to comment officially on the matter.

A new class action lawsuit was filed against Apple on Tuesday in a U.S. federal court, alleging the company's newest version of iOS doesn't properly inform its users just how much storage space it will occupy once downloaded.

As reported by Siliconbeat, the lawsuit is claiming that iOS 8 can take up as much as 23.1 percent of the overall storage capacity of an iOS device, but that fact isn't actively advertised when customers purchase a new Apple product, or go to download the new software update. The plaintiffs point to personal moments akin to sporting events or weddings where users are desperate for more storage as Apple preying on consumers for more profit.

"Using these sharp business tactics, defendant gives less storage capacity than advertised, only to offer to sell that capacity in a desperate moment, e.g., when a consumer is trying to record or take photos at a child or grandchild’s recital, basketball game or wedding," alleges the plaintiffs in the case.

William Anderson, the plaintiffs' attorney of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, seeks both damages and changes to Apple's policies specifically under California state law.

"We feel that there are a substantial number of Apple consumers that have been shortchanged," Anderson said in a statement. "And we’ll be pursuing the claims vigorously."

Anderson continued to sound off support not only for consumers facing storage issue following the download of iOS 8, but those who purchased an iPhone or iPad with iOS 8 already installed.

iOS 8 launched back in September, including a bevy of new features like Continuity and allowing third-parties to access Touch ID and its keyboard functionality. A few days after launch, problems such as battery drain and slow Wi-Fi began cropping up for some iOS 8 users. Apple's further attempts to remedy the rocky launch with steady updates caused even larger problems with cell service outage and spotty Touch ID issues.

A late-October update brought much-anticipated support for Apple Pay, amongst other features, and began putting the service back on track. As of early November the newest operating system was installed on 60 percent of active iOS devices.

Despite the company's continued efforts to address iOS 8 bugs, the plaintiffs of the new class action are attempting to use Apple's own branding of iOS 8 - "The biggest iOS release ever" - as a hidden piece of subtext hinting at the hefty amount of storage the operating system requires.

PDF reader app GoodReader has removed a number of operations related to iCloud Drive to comply with Apple's guidelines. Specifically, developer Good.iWare has disabled GoodReader's ability to create and delete new folders inside iCloud along with the ability to move iCloud files. The developer called the iCloud usage policy "mandatory" and also included VoiceOver compatibility along with a big fix for opening iCloud containers.

Important iCloud functionality change:
- to ensure the compliance to Apple's iCloud usage policy, the following operations have been disabled: creation of new folders inside iCloud, deletion of folders inside iCloud, moving of files and folders inside iCloud.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but the iCloud usage policy is mandatory.

The changes to GoodReader come a week after Panic's file management app Transmit was forced to disable its send to iCloud Drive feature which also led to the removal of all Share Sheet file transfers to other third-party services. However, Apple later reversed its course on Transmit as the app reinstated its sending feature in an update shortly after.

While Apple introduced a number of new features with iOS 8, a number of developers have been forced to remove key features from their apps for reasons that are unclear. For instance, Notification Center widget Launcher was removed after the launch of iOS 8 in September, and Apple has also asked apps like Drafts and Neato to remove widget functionality. Apple also asked calculator app PCalc to remove the calculator functionality from its Notification Center widget, but later reversed its decision.

GoodReader is a $4.99 download for the iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Update: Apple has quickly reconsidered its decision and allowed GoodReader to restore iCloud Drive functionality with version 4.8.1.

The city of New York is considering new measures (PDF) that would allow drivers to pay their parking tickets with alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, PayPal, and Bitcoin, reports MarketWatch. Currently, the city says it is collecting roughly $600 million in parking ticket revenue each year, as the region's Department of Finance is looking for a "convenient way for motorists to expeditiously pay their parking tickets via a smartphone or mobile device."

The primary objective of this RFI is to identify and assess mobile platforms that support the payment of parking tickets and learn about their current use and future viability. A secondary objective is to identify existing mobile platforms that support the request for a hearing of parking tickets and learn about their current use and future viability.

New York City's Department of Finance also outlined its requirements for the new payment system, noting that it should allow users to take a picture of a ticket or scan it in to see the details of a parking violation. The city also notes that the graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile payment system should be "simple" and allow for quick payments that meet payment-industry standards for security.

New York City drivers are currently able to pay for tickets online, via mail or at a courthouse, but the current online system is incompatible with mobile devices and subjects credit and debit card payments to a 2.5% fee. The city hopes to gain more knowledge on a new mobile parking ticket payment system by January 15 through its formal Request for Information, but there are no definite dates as to when the new measures would be implemented.

News reports and rumors have gone back and forth multiple times over whether Samsung or the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will produce the A9 chips designed for use in next-generation iOS devices as the two companies compete for Apple's business.

In December, a report suggested Samsung had already begun production on the A9 chips, but a new analyst prediction shared by the Taipei Times suggests that TSMC, not Samsung, may be Apple's main A9 chip supplier due to its more favorable production yield.

"The two companies' technological capabilities are similar, so the key factor will be whose mass-production yield is better," MIC director Chris Hung (洪春暉) told reporters on the sidelines of the event. Hung added that the chances of TSMC remaining the main supplier are higher because of its better yields.

While one company will win the right to produce the bulk of Apple's next-generation chips, Apple may spread orders of the A9 processor across multiple suppliers in order to cut down on risk. The best yield results in the lowest price for Apple, so the company that manages to produce the most usable chips from a single wafer (a semiconductor material) will likely win the bulk of orders from Apple.

The continually shifting Samsung vs. TSMC rumors reflect the ongoing competition between the two chip manufacturing companies and demonstrate just how important Apple contracts are to suppliers. As we saw with GT Advanced and its failed sapphire deal with the Cupertino company, manufacturers will go to great lengths to secure lucrative partnerships with Apple.

In 2013, Apple signed a multi-year deal with TSMC to produce A-series processors for Apple devices as the company made an effort to move away from Samsung, but while TSMC produced the bulk of Apple's A8 and A8X chips for the iPhone 6 and the iPad Air 2, Apple has not been able to entirely cut ties with Samsung due to its chip production expertise and reliability.

As chip technology advances, it becomes more and more difficult for companies like Samsung, TSMC, Intel, and others to pack transistors onto an ever-decreasing surface area, which is why Apple has likely made moves to diversify its supply chain lineup in recent years. More suppliers gives the company a backup solution should one run into production difficulties that could result in potential delays.

Apple today was awarded a new patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that concerns a new type of digital stylus that translates a user's handwritten note into a digital version when connected to a smartphone, tablet, or any "digital computing device" (via Apple Insider).

The patent also details various exchangeable tips for the stylus, including actual ink, markers for a whiteboard, or a rubberized nub akin to most popular tablet styli. The stylus activates when various motion-sensing hardware, including accelerometers, detects when the pen is picked up out of its dock, pressed to a writing surface, or simply turned on manually.

Thanks to motion sensors able to detect a 3D plane, the stylus uses an initial zero point to transmit the movement and flow of handwriting as varying changes in position to the desired computing device. This technology also means an actual surface isn't needed to transmit data -- simply writing notes in the air would suffice. The patent even details ways for users to choose how the data is transmitted, including continuously or at chosen intervals, allowing battery life to be preserved.

As noted by Apple Insider, there are many practical solutions for Apple's new patent. The pen allows a user to display their writing on multiple displays, a possible solution for work meetings and classrooms. It could also be a digital solution for note-taking, as the user would take notes with the pen on a paper tablet, and a digital copy would be sent to a phone or tablet tucked away in a bag. The automatically produced digital backup could then be more easily edited and shared.

The patent isn't exactly new, being initially filed nearly five years ago in January of 2010, and is by no means a confirmation that Apple will be moving forward with a smart stylus of any kind. But, like most patents, it is an interesting glimpse into what possibilities the company is looking into for the future.