Kelly Hodgkins

Earlier this week, a Bloomberg report claimed China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance had prohibited government purchases of Apple hardware. While we acknowledged in our initial report that there was dispute about the reason for Apple's omission from the list, China's Central Government Procurement Centre, the finance ministry, and Apple have all come...

Rumors suggesting Siri will make its way into OS X have been circulating for years, but the personal assistant has yet to debut on the Mac. A new patent application published by the U.S. patent and Trademark Office and spotted by AppleInsider revives these rumors with the description of an intelligent assistant for the desktop that provides features far beyond the current dictation available in...

Former Apple retail employee Sam Sung is using his rather ironic name and job history to raise money for a Canadian charity (via Pocket-lint). Sung worked for Apple in Vancouver's Pacific Centre store as a specialist and recently found one of his old business cards in pristine condition when it fell out of a book. Realizing it may be a desirable memento, Sung is now auctioning the card with "no...

According to Bloomberg, China's National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance have prohibited government purchases of Apple hardware, citing security concerns as the reason for the ban. Ten Apple products were not included on a recent government procurement list from June that governs the spending of public funds, according to anonymous government officials who...

In a commentary piece arguing for users to open up free guest networks on their Wi-Fi access points to the public, Re/code's Walt Mossberg shares the story of how Steve Jobs saw such networks as the future of Internet access, supplementing cellular networks to allow for faster and broader access for users. Mossberg notes that Jobs envisioned the open Wi-Fi networks during development of the...

Apple has been expanding its supply chain, bringing in companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to produce components for its iPhone and iPad devices. This supply chain diversification may benefit Apple, but it is having a negative effect on rival Samsung's chip manufacturing business, reports The Wall Street Journal. Since 2007, Samsung has enjoyed the coveted position of being the ...

Cowen & Co. analyst Timothy Arcuri claims the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will differ in more than just display size, reports AppleInsider. According to Arcuri's supply chain checks, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may include a more powerful processor and a different touch module than the 4.7-inch model. A7 transistor die photo from Chipworks Details on the degree of processor difference between...

Apple today updated its website with a new page celebrating its acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music.Today we are excited to officially welcome Beats Music and Beats Electronics to the Apple family. Music has always held a special place in our hearts, and we’re thrilled to join forces with a group of people who love it as much as we do. Beats cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have ...

Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translate] has published several high-resolution images purportedly showing flex cables from both the 4.7-inch and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6. These latest images add to the growing number of flex cables and other internal components for the iPhone 6 that have surfaced in the past few months. These images include a possible look at the home button cables from both iPhone 6 ...

Apple's content delivery network is now live in the US and Europe, reports analyst Dan Rayburn of Frost & Sullivan (Via ArsTechnica). The CDN may deliver multiple terabits of data per second, allowing Apple to more efficiently to distribute software updates and other content to its customers. Apple's CDN apparently went live recently as current trace routes provided by Rayburn show that OS...

Security research Karsten Nohl of Berlin's SR Labs has revealed a flaw in USB devices that potentially allows hackers to evade all known security measures used by a computer. In a report by Wired, Nohl says his BadUSB exploit is "almost like a magic trick" because "you cannot tell where the virus came from." The exploit takes advantage of a flaw that allows a hacker to tamper with the firmware ...

As spotted by iClarified, Apple is now reminding customers of upcoming "sales tax holidays" that allow residents in several US states to purchase select Apple gear without paying an additional sales tax charge. Customers potentially could save hundreds of dollars by purchasing high-priced items like MacBooks during this annual discount opportunity. If your state offers a tax holiday this...

Thieves last night stole an unknown number of MacBooks in a smash-and-grab theft at the Apple Store located in the Southpoint Mall in Durham, North Carolina. The MacBook units reportedly were display models situated in the front section of the store. The Apple Store is part of The Streets at Southpoint, a shopping destination that includes both an indoor mall and an outdoor shopping...

Details discussed during a recent earnings conference call by Apple supplier TPK Holdings suggest the production of the iWatch is behind schedule, reports UDN via GforGames. According to earlier rumors, the iWatch may debut in late 2014 with the latest report claiming it will launch alongside the 5.5-inch iPhone 6. Based on reports from Asian sources, TPK executives spent a portion of the...

Connected Data today launched an updated version of its Drobo Mini that includes Solid State Disk (SSD) drives (Via ZDNet). The new model offers an 80 percent performance improvement over a similar Drobo Mini equipped only with hard disk drives. The new Drobo Mini with SSDs is a portable storage solution designed for photographers, videographers and other on-the-go media professionals who...

Reports from within Apple's Asian supply chain (via GforGames) again suggest the company is planning to launch the 4.7-inch iPhone separately from the 5.5-inch model, with the latter model entering mass production in September. This staggered launch would allow Apple to debut the highly-anticipated 4.7-inch iPhone 6 early this fall and then follow with the iWatch and the larger iPhone model later ...

The European Commission has approved Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music (Via Engadget). The Commission concluded that merger posed no threat to competition as "the combined market share of Apple and Beats Electronics is low." In its decision, the Commission noted that the Apple and Beats merger would not negatively effect either the headphone or the streaming music...

After announcing its OS X beta program at WWDC in June, Apple yesterday released the first beta version of the operating system to the public amid favorable reviews. For a growing number of people, the early impressions of OS X have not been positive due to a downloading issue that has prevented the installation of the OS. Users in MacRumors forums, Apple support forums and on Reddit have...

Looking at Apple's quarterly SEC quarterly filing, Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley believes Apple's revenue is poised to explode in the coming quarters. Huberty based her prediction on increases in Apple's off-balance sheet commitments, which have a historical correlation with revenue growth. Off-balance sheet commitments are those investments in components and services that are involved in...

China media sources (via GforGames) report that mass production of Apple's 4.7-inch iPhone is underway ahead of the phone's expected fall launch. These same sources claim the 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6 has not entered mass production, further suggesting that the launch timeframe for this larger iPhone model is still uncertain. Besides the iPhone 6, Apple also is preparing the...