Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
Apple Launching Larger, Low-Cost iPhone for Emerging Markets Late This Year?
Digitimes reports that Apple is planning to launch a new low-cost iPhone during the second half of this year, targeting emerging markets such as China with a new design and larger display.Apple will roll out a low-cost version of the iPhone for China and other emerging markets in the second half of 2013, according to supply-chain sources.
Some sources claimed that they have seen the sample of...
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AT&T Pre-Announces 'Best-Ever' iPhone Sales in 4Q 2012
Ahead of its official earnings release for the fourth quarter of 2012 later this month, AT&T today announced that it sold over 10 million smartphones during the quarter, including "best-ever" sales of both iPhone and Android devices.“We had another incredible quarter of smartphone sales as the mobile Internet continues to drive strong growth in wireless,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and...
Tim Cook Heads Back to China as Retail Presence Nearly Doubles
Bloomberg reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook is in the midst of a return trip to China, some ten months after his last trip to meet with government and business leaders.Cook today met Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to talk about the development of China’s information technology industry, global mobile communications and Apple’s business in China, according ...
CES 2013: Belkin Drops eSATA Support for Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock, Cuts Price Back to $299
Way back in September 2011, Belkin quietly showed off a prototype of its Thunderbolt Express Dock, a desktop docking station offering users a broad array of connectivity options through a single Thunderbolt cable. By CES 2012, the product had evolved in design and received a September 2012 launch date with a $299 price tag.
By June of last year, Belkin had decided to add USB 3.0 and eSATA...
CES 2013: Griffin PowerDock 5 Charges and Organizes Up to 5 iOS Devices
Griffin yesterday announced (via Engadget) the forthcoming launch of its PowerDock 5, a $99.99 charging station that organizes up to five iOS devices in the space otherwise taken up by one iPad laid flat.PowerDock 5 is the ultimate space-saving, countertop charging and storage solution for up to 5 iPads. Designed for convenience and efficiency, PowerDock 5 contains five charging bays large enough ...
A Look at Apple's Possible External and Internal Options for Next Retail Chief
With retail chief John Browett having departed Apple just months after his arrival, the company clearly acknowledged that he was not a good fit for the company. Browett's departure was preceded by staffing controversy within the company's retail division amid reports that Browett's focus on profits over customer satisfaction was having a negative impact on both employees and customers....
Apple Announces 40 Billion App Store Downloads, Nearly 20 Billion in 2012
Apple today announced that the App Store has reached another milestone, passing 40 billion downloads since its launch in 2008. The pace of downloads continues to accelerate, with nearly half of those downloads coming in 2012.
Apple now has 500 million user accounts for the App Store, and set a record with over two billion downloads during the month of December.“It has been an incredible...
Best Buy Complains About Walmart's iPhone 5 Holiday Sale, Claims $65,000 Profit Loss in One Day
The Wall Street Journal notes that several retailers including Best Buy and Toys "R" Us have complained to attorneys general in a handful of states about advertising practices of Walmart. Generally, the complaints stem from comparison ads by Walmart in which competitors assert that Walmart is using inaccurate pricing or non-equivalent items to claim that it offers the lowest pricing.
But...
Netbook Industry Shutting Down After Being Squeezed by iPad and MacBook Air
As noted by The Guardian earlier this week, the netbook industry will be winding down in the first quarter of 2013, as major players Asus and Acer will be shutting down production of the tiny notebooks.Actually, the number sold in 2013 will be very much closer to zero than to 139m. The Taiwanese tech site Digitimes points out that Asus, which kicked off the modern netbook category with its Eee PC ...
No Deal in Sight for Apple to Acquire Waze
Yesterday, TechCrunch reported that Apple was interested in purchasing Waze, the social turn-by-turn navigation company. According to the report, Apple was offering approximately $400 million plus an additional $100 million in incentives, but Waze was holding out for closer to $750 million.
TechCrunch's MG Siegler now reports that there is no deal in sight.And while Mike Butcher also claimed...
18.5% of U.S. Mobile Phone Subscribers Now Using iPhones
comScore today released the results of its monthly rolling survey of U.S. mobile phone users for the September-November period, finding that 18.5% of U.S. mobile phone subscribers are now using an iPhone, up 1.4 percentage points from the June-August period. Samsung continues to lead the market at 26.9% on 1.2 percentage point growth, while the remainder of the top five vendors all lost share.
...
Apple Reportedly Strikes Deal with Broadcom to Add 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi to 2013 Macs
TheNextWeb reports that Apple has struck a deal with wireless chip firm Broadcom that will see high-speed 802.11ac 5G "Gigabit Wi-Fi" come to the company's Mac lineup later this year.While it’s believed that Apple’s 2013 Mac lineup will feature the same designs as their late-2012 counterparts, they are set to include a range of updated internal features and hardware. We’ve learned about one ...
Apple Interested in Purchasing Social Turn-by-Turn Navigation Company Waze? [Updated]
Citing "rumours flying around", TechCrunch reports that Apple appears to be investigating the possibility of acquiring Waze, the popular social turn-by-turn navigation company. Waze, which takes advantage of real-time info from users to help others keep up-to-date on the latest road and traffic conditions, is already a partner in Apple's new Maps app, and an acquisition could help Apple beef up...
Next-Generation iPhone to Launch in More Colors, Multiple Sizes?
Following up on a report last month from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek claiming that the next-generation iPhone could launch in the middle of this year with as many as 6-8 colors, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White has issued a report today indicating similar information. White also believes that Apple could offer the device with multiple screen sizes.Our checks indicate that the next...
iPhone5mod Launches Ultrathin Keyboard and Game Controller for iPhone 5
Over the past several months, we've been following the progress of iPhone5mod, one of several companies that have developed unauthorized versions of Apple's new Lightning connector, allowing them to launch a number of accessories, adapters, and cables for customers frustrated by the slow pace of development on official solutions.
iPhone5mod is now launching an interesting new product today...
TSMC to Begin Trial Production of Apple's A6X Chip This Quarter
AFP reports on claims from Taiwanese newspaper Commercial Times indicating that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is set to begin trial production of Apple's A6X chip sometime this quarter. The chip is currently used in the fourth-generation iPad introduced in October.The Taiwanese company has been contracted to manufacture the A6X chip, which drives Apple's iPad4 tablet, with...
Hackulous Shuts Down, Taking Down Popular Pirated App Source Installous
As noted by iDownloadBlog, popular iOS pirated app community Hackulous has announced that it is shutting down, taking down the Installous jailbreak tool used to install pirated apps on iOS devices. A statement from Hackulous reads:We are very sad to announce that Hackulous is shutting down. After many years, our community has become stagnant and our forums are a bit of a ghost town. It has...
Increase in iPhone and iPad Thefts Accounts for Rise in New York City Crime Index
The New York Times reports that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg today released crime data for the city as 2012 draws to a close, noting that a slight increase in the overall major crime index for the city can be entirely accounted for by an increase in iPhone and iPad thefts.As of Monday, the Police Department recorded 3,484 more major crimes in 2012 than for the same period last year. The...
Apple's Supply Chain to Work Through Chinese New Year Holiday Amid 'Insatiable Appetite' for iPad Mini in China
Brightwire summarizes a report [Google translation] from Taiwanese news site United Daily News claiming that Apple's supply chain partners will continue working through the traditional Chinese New Year holiday in order to keep up with demand for the popular iPad mini and iPhone 5. The holiday falls in mid-February in 2013, with many workers traditionally returning to their homes for two weeks or ...
Efforts by Apple and Foxconn to Improve Electronics Industry Labor Conditions Starting to Take Hold
In the latest installment of its "iEconomy" series, The New York Times takes a look at the advances made by Apple and Foxconn to improve working conditions at the Chinese factories churning out Apple products since a major push began earlier this year. The report details many changes such as wage increases and shorter working hour limits that have previously been disclosed, but also takes a peek ...
