For some it's a lifelong passion, for others, it's something discovered yesterday. We all have things that speak to us. They drive us to get up early and stay up late. Getting lost in the things we love has never felt quite like this.
As always, Apple appeals to iPad usage and emotional response over technical specifications.
Apple's newly launched iPhone 4S has quickly shot up to become the second most popular Cameraphone on Flickr.com. Flickr's Camera Finder page shows graphs of the popularity of both smartphones and Point and Shoot cameras.
The iPhone 4S has beaten out the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and HTC EVO 4G, but still lags behind the original iPhone 4. The iPhone made headlines in 2009 when it became the most popular camera on Flickr, even beating out all dedicated non-smartphone cameras. The iPhone 4S still has a ways to go before dethroning the iPhone 4, which remains the most popular overall camera on Flickr.
The iPhone 4S introduced a number of significant improvements to its camera, drawing praise from many. Arstechnica recently posted a comparison pitting the iPhone 4S camera against several others, and found the 4S with competitive image quality and the advantage of convenience.
Thanks @rogerdodgerTM
As noted by MacStories, Apple has started posting teaser announcements about their Black Friday holiday sale for Friday, November 25th. The teaser first appeared on their Australian online store and will likely be propagating around the world.
The special one-day Apple shopping event. This Friday, November 25.
Mark your calendar now, and come back to the Apple Online Store for the special one-day event. You'll discover amazing iPad, iPod and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.
Apple's discounts are typically relatively small compared to other retailers. Last year, Apple offered $101 discounts on their iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines, with $11-$41 discounts on the iPods and iPads.
BestBuy has posted a preview their Thanksgiving/Black Friday sales advertisement already showing the following discounts on Apple products:
- $45 off an iPad 2
- $150 off $1199 MacBook Pro
- $150 off $1199 iMac
- $10 off $99 Apple TV
- $100 iTunes Card for $80
Apple also typically participates in Black Friday sales with more moderate discounts. Last year, Apple offered $101 discounts on their iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines, with $11-$41 discounts on the iPods and iPads.
Online retailers MacMall and MacConnection also offer similar online sales, typically offering the deepest available discounts. We'll provide more coverage on specific discounts as Black Friday approaches.
Ron Johnson, the architect behind the Apple Retail Stores, has moved on to be CEO of JC Penney. But, he still remembers the lessons he learned while at Apple.
Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Johnson reflects on what makes the Apple Store unique:
People come to the Apple Store for the experience — and they're willing to pay a premium for that. There are lots of components to that experience, but maybe the most important — and this is something that can translate to any retailer — is that the staff isn't focused on selling stuff, it's focused on building relationships and trying to make people's lives better. That may sound hokey, but it's true. The staff is exceptionally well trained, and they're not on commission, so it makes no difference to them if they sell you an expensive new computer or help you make your old one run better so you're happy with it. Their job is to figure out what you need and help you get it, even if it's a product Apple doesn't carry. Compare that with other retailers where the emphasis is on cross-selling and upselling and, basically, encouraging customers to buy more, even if they don't want or need it. That doesn't enrich their lives, and it doesn't deepen the retailer's relationship with them. It just makes their wallets lighter.
Perhaps as a hint toward the direction he intends to take JC Penney, Johnson ends by noting that "the retailers that win the future are the ones that start from scratch and figure out how to create fundamentally new types of value for customers."
According to the German site, ongoing issues with memory leaks are going to require further testing. The site had originally claimed 5.0.2 would be coming this week to address battery bugs that persist in iOS 5.
Apple has frequently promoted how much money has been paid out to developers selling apps via the App Store. The latest pronouncement was during the iPhone 4S introduction when Scott Forstall announced that Apple had paid out three billion dollars for app sales. The point Fostall is making when sharing these totals is that developing for iOS is more profitable for developers than other platforms, most notably Android.
According to analyst Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray, Apple commands 85 to 90 percent of mobile app dollars, with Google's Android Market Place generating just 7 percent of the gross revenue of the App Store. Munster anticipates Apple will continue to hold more than 70 percent of mobile app dollars going forward.
Munster says Apple developers have made more than $3.4 billion since the App Store opened, compared to just $240 million for Google developers. As with all analyst estimates, these numbers should be taken with a little skepticism, but by all accounts the App Store is a tremendous success.
Image courtesy The Verge
SemiAccurate reports that Apple will be transitioning back to NVIDIA from AMD as its graphics chip supplier for the next-generation MacBook Pro models offering discrete graphics. The move comes after Apple just recently completed a multi-year effort to switch its entire Mac lineup from NVIDIA to AMD.
Yes, your read that right, Nvidia has won the next round of Macs, likely starting with the Ivy Bridge models next spring. About three years after the decision to boot Nvidia out of the company was made, and two years after the first ATI/AMD Macs in recent memory hit the shelves, you will see Nvidia macs reappearing. I guess ‘never’ at Apple means single digit years.
The report notes that discrete graphics for notebooks are a shrinking market as notebooks become smaller and thinner and integrated graphics solutions from the likes of Intel and AMD continue to improve.
Graphics performance has indeed been an issue for Apple's smallest machines over the past several years as it has sought to balance both CPU and GPU performance. Licensing restrictions from Intel prevented third-party graphics manufacturers such as NVIDIA from building integrated graphics solutions for Intel's most recent processors, forcing Apple to choose between subpar integrated graphics from Intel and older Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs that could still be paired with third-party integrated graphics.
With Intel's integrated graphics improving significantly over the past year, Apple has finally been able to transition its small notebooks to all-Intel solutions, while its larger notebooks continue to offer switchable graphics using the integrated Intel and discrete AMD options. It now appears, however, that Apple will be moving back to NVIDIA for those discrete options.
As integrated graphics continues to improve, they may also eat into the discrete GPU market in larger machines. Apple is also said to be preparing to launch a thinner 15" notebook, although it is unclear at this time whether it will be positioned as a MacBook Pro revamp or a new MacBook Air size. There is no word yet on Apple's plans for the new machine's capabilities, but it seems reasonable that Apple may at some point begin transitioning larger machines in the thinner form factors that have proven very popular with consumers to integrated graphics alone.
The report from SemiAccurate does not address Apple's GPU plans for its desktop models, which also currently utilize AMD for their discrete graphics after also having been included in the recent transition from NVIDIA to AMD.
From what we have now heard, Apple will be filling the store with stock and applying the finishing touches this week putting the the actual opening of the store on Black Friday or shortly thereafter. The goal all along has been to get the store open for the holiday shopping and to make a big splash with Apple’s new crown jewel of retail.
The store's 300 staff members have been in training for some time now, and are currently dispersed to other New York City stores for final training ahead of the store opening.
Sprint has released a new television commercial for the iPhone, pushing its unlimited data plan as an advantage over its rivals.
There are over half a million apps and counting on the iPhone. Apps that can take you anywhere, do anything. You might say there's no limit to what this amazing device can do. So the question to ask is, "Why would anyone want to limit the iPhone?" We don't.
Truly unlimited data for you iPhone...only from Sprint.
The ad does not specifically promote the iPhone 4S, with the carrier instead opting to focus on the generic iPhone line given that it offers both the iPhone 4S and the new 8 GB iPhone 4 that serves as a low-end option priced at $99 on contract.
Research firm Canalys today noted that Apple appears set to become the world's largest PC manufacturer by volume if the iPad and other tablets are included in the figures. The company already ranks second behind HP by that measure, but Canalys is unsure whether Apple will take the lead in the fourth quarter of this year or if it will require a boost from the iPad 3 launch early next year in order to surpass HP.
“Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9% to 15% in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market – the United States – are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points,” said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. “HP and Apple will fight for top position in Q4, but Apple may have to wait for the release of iPad 3 before it passes HP.”
Apple already ranks as the #1 mobile PC vendor when the iPad is included, but HP's lead over Apple in desktop sales has been enough to hold off Apple in the overall market.
Apple's iPad actually carries a higher average selling price than Windows PCs, resulting in some comparisons between the two in consumers' minds when making purchasing decisions. Apple has acknowledged that the iPad is cannibalizing Mac sales to some extent, but notes that it is happy to make that tradeoff given that PC users in general are undoubtedly making similar decisions to opt for the iPad. Consequently, Apple's relatively small share of the PC market indicates that significantly more Windows PCs than Macs are being left on the shelves in favor of iPads.
With the release of OS X Lion, Apple updated their licensing agreement to allow the virtualization of Mac OS X under programs such as VMWare Fusion and Parallels. This functionality allows you to deploy different sandboxed installations of OS X on a single machine. The change, however, appeared to only apply to OS X Lion and not to previous non-server versions of Mac OS X such as Leopard and Snow Leopard.
So, when the Lion optimized version of VMWare Fusion was released, it allowed users to run additional virtualized copies of OS X Lion, but continued to prohibit running older versions of Mac OS X under Lion.
Those rules seem to have changed a bit in the latest version of VMWare 4.1 which was released on Friday. As first noted by Macworld, VMWare's Fusion no longer strictly prohibits the virtualization of client editions of Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard.
But one big change with this update isn’t documented anywhere: The software has been modified so that it will run the non-server versions of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) and Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). Previously, VMware Fusion supported virtual Macs running Lion, Lion Server, Snow Leopard Server, and Leopard Server.
The change in support, however, is a bit subtle. Instead of prohibiting the use of non-server Snow Leopard and Leopard, VMWare prompts the user to verify that they are licensed to run such copies:
Macworld's Jason Snell confirmed that simply agreeing allowed him to to install and run non-server Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Leopard under Lion. Now, whether end users actually have such a license is less certain. When questioned by Macworld, Apple simply reiterated that virtualization is allowed for Mac OS X Lion, Snow Leopard Server and Leopard Server.
The main advantage for end users of such a configuration is the ability to run older PowerPC-based applications on demand. Apple removed Rosetta PowerPC emulation support in Mac OS X Lion, stranding some users who depend on legacy PowerPC applications. By running Snow Leopard in a virtual machine under OS X Lion, those users could continue to run their PowerPC applications on occasion while otherwise using OS X Lion.
Update: VMware has noted that the Snow Leopard and Leopard client virtualization was made possible by an omission of a server edition check from the new Fusion 4.1 software. WMware will be releasing an update to address the issue.
According to a study by Metrico Wireless, a mobile performance measurement company, AT&T has the fastest iPhone 4S data speeds for both upload and download. Sprint's data speed is roughly five times slower, echoing earlier anecdotal reports of poor Sprint data connections.
In all, Metrico performed 21,000 Web page downloads nationwide with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 over the networks of the nation's largest three carriers. Metrico also ran more than 8,000 data download and upload tests and generated about 6,000 voice calls with recorded human voices. The tests were performed in a certified lab as well as several locations in five unnamed cities that Metrico called "representative of [network] conditions nationwide."
Metrico claims Sprint has the highest voice call quality on the uplink -- when the iPhone owner is speaking -- while AT&T had the highest quality on the downlink.
For dropped calls, something for which AT&T has been consistently criticized, Sprint comes out worst. Metrico claims Verizon experienced a 2.1% call failure rate while AT&T had 2.8% and Sprint was worst at 3.7%.
Computerworld noted that part of the intention of the nationwide study was to show "how performance problems in one city reported by the news media and bloggers shortly after a phone is launched can be less relevant over the entire network over time."
In a curious move, AT&T has raised the subsidized price of its cheapest iPhone to $0.99, up from free.
When the iPhone 4S was announced in October, Apple specifically mentioned in its press release that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS would be available in 8GB capacities for subsidized pricing of US$99 and for free, respectively.
During AT&T's Q3 2011 earnings call with analysts on October 20th, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega twice mentioned the iPhone 3GS's $0 price point, saying during the introductory remarks:
Our lower price plan continues to be a good entry point for many subscribers and now that we offer a free iPhone with a 2-year contract for the first time ever, the iPhone 3GS, we expect to broaden the smartphone base even more.
De la Vega again mentions the 3GS during question-and-answer portion:
I also mentioned in my notes that we have another device that I think is going to dramatically change those people that are on smartphones and quick messaging devices, the 3GS, which is free with a 2-year contract. We've seen a tremendous, tremendous demand for that device even though it's a generation old. And actually, we're getting more new subscribers coming on the 3GS on the average than other devices.
It is unclear why AT&T has elected to raise the price of the iPhone 3GS by a negligible but still notable amount a month and a half after it became free on contract, particularly given the fact that both Apple PR and AT&T Mobility's CEO had specifically touted the free nature of the device. In response to a request for comment on the price increase, AT&T declined to offer a specific reason:
iPhone 3GS is still available at an incredibly low price and we're confident consumers will agree that this remains one of the best deals for a leading smartphone.
For its part, Apple continues to offer the iPhone 3GS, subsidized on AT&T's network, for $0.00 on the Apple Online Store.
Update: MacRumors forum user Metcury46l had one possible explanation for the price change: I work at AT&T, this is being done to help prevent fraud as the 99 cents cannot be billed to your bill. It must be charged to a credit or bank issued debt card. Fraudsters are using stolen identities to steal these handsets ... been an issue since they went free.
(Image courtesy Flickr/MrVJTod)
The Financial Times' web app has drawn more than 1 million readers since June, growing by 300,000 readers since late September. However, the raw numbers don't tell the whole story.
In its press release about breaking the 1 million mark, the FT staff built an infographic with data from its mobile website. 20 percent of FT page views are from mobile devices, and 15 percent of its digital consumer subscriptions initiate on mobile, showing that the paper is having good luck attracting readers to its pricey business-focused readership.
But most revealing is this chart showing the distribution of readership broken out by time-of-day and whether readers were using a smartphone, tablet, or reading on a desktop. As a financial paper, this data reflects the behavior of a higher-income, white-collar readership.
Smartphone and tablet readership spikes in the morning, then drops as readers use their desktops to keep up with the news during the day, then tablet use rises in the evening as users commute and arrive home.
iLounge offers a series of tidbits from its "most reliable source" regarding Apple's product plans for 2012, reporting that the iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro will all be receiving redesigns.
- iPad: The source indicates that the iPad 3 is planned to launch in March and that it will be approximately 0.7 mm thicker than the iPad 2 due to the need to incorporate a dual light bar system for the higher-resolution display. The iPad 2 currently checks in 8.8 mm thick, which would make the iPad 3 approximately 8% thicker than the iPad 2 but still substantially thinner than the 13.4 mm original iPad.
- MacBook Pro: The source indicates that 2012 will indeed see the launch of a thinner MacBook Pro form factor, barring any last-minute problems. We've been hearing for some time that Apple has been finishing up work on just such a redesign, although the company did sneak in one last minor refresh using the current form factor just last month. Recent reports have claimed that an ultra-thin 15" Mac notebook, whether it be a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, is on target for a March launch with small volumes of components already making their way through the supply chain.
FOSS Patents reports that a pending court case in Germany could have significant ramifications for Apple, with a potential injunction shutting down the company's iCloud service there over infringement of a Motorola Mobility patent being pegged as a $2.7 billion risk to Apple.
In brief, Motorola asserted last year that Apple's MobileMe service infringes upon a Motorola patent related to data synchronization. Motorola amended the suit to include iCloud once that service was introduced later in the year. While an official ruling on an injunction isn't due until February, Motorola has already won an initial default judgement involving the patent and FOSS Patents reports that the presiding judge is not looking terribly favorably on Apple's defense so far.
The court doesn't appear to buy any of Apple's defenses at this stage. It may still change mind until the ruling, which is scheduled for February 3, 2012, 9 AM local time, but if it had had to rule today, I have no doubt that Apple would have lost.
If Motorola wins its case and an injunction is granted, Apple could be forced to pull all of its products in Germany that contain the infringing iCloud integration. It is typical in German courts to require winning parties to post bonds in order to guarantee repayment of lost income should the defendant win an appeal of the ruling, and Apple has asked that Motorola be required to post a 2 billion euro ($2.7 billion) bond in this case.
The court was wondering whether that hefty amount truly reflects the economic damages Apple would suffer from enforcement, given that the iCloud is only one Apple offering and doesn't correspond to the entire value of its products. But Apple's lawyers insisted that an enforcement against its product sales in Germany could result in damages of that magnitude.
The judge raised the possibility of Apple developing a workaround for iCloud to avoid infringing Motorola's patent, but Apple's lawyers pressed their case that the risk to Apple's business was indeed still severe.
Apple obviously has a vested interest in setting as high a bond as possible, forcing Motorola to put up a significant amount of money if it wishes to press forward with an injunction. The figure represents a substantial commitment on Motorola's part and makes clear that Apple will move to recover that money should an injunction be granted and later overturned, thus increasing Motorola's own risk in the proceedings. But while Apple may be artificially inflating its risk somewhat, it does still have to justify the figure to the court and is clearly working to do just that.
Childhood classic A Charlie Brown Christmas has made its way to the iPad as an interactive book that Mashable describes as "spectacular" and "like magic".
The app turns the 1965 television special into an interactive children's book, giving kids (and nostalgic adults) the chance to "play Schroeder's piano, finger paint with the gang, go carolling with the Peanuts choir, and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest".
A Charlie Brown Christmas was built by Loud Crow Interactive, an app development firm in Vancouver that specializes in turning book content into interactive digital apps.
This isn't Loud Crow's first experience turning a classic children's tale into an iPad app. Last year, the company created interactive interpretations of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, and William Wallace Denslow's The Night Before Christmas.
Just Got an iPhone 16? Here's how to use all the new features and hardware capabilities.
Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 18, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.
All the new features and lesser-known changes that are worth checking out if you're upgrading.
Updates and enhancements in the latest Apple Watch software that may have gone under your radar.
Completely redesigned with Apple TV-sized form factor, M4 and M4 Pro chip options, and more.
Chip and camera upgrades expected, plus a possible fix for "jelly scrolling" display issues from the current model.
2 days ago by Joe Rossignol
2 days ago by Joe Rossignol
3 days ago by Joe Rossignol
3 days ago by Joe Rossignol
3 days ago by Tim Hardwick
Just Got an iPhone 16? Here's how to use all the new features and hardware capabilities.
Our comprehensive guide highlighting every major new addition in iOS 18, plus how-tos that walk you through using the new features.
All the new features and lesser-known changes that are worth checking out if you're upgrading.
Updates and enhancements in the latest Apple Watch software that may have gone under your radar.
Completely redesigned with Apple TV-sized form factor, M4 and M4 Pro chip options, and more.
Chip and camera upgrades expected, plus a possible fix for "jelly scrolling" display issues from the current model.
2 days ago by Joe Rossignol
2 days ago by Joe Rossignol
3 days ago by Joe Rossignol
3 days ago by Joe Rossignol
3 days ago by Tim Hardwick
