10 billion songs downloaded from iTunes and counting
Friday, February 26, 2010
Apple’s iTunes has reached the milestone everyone has been waiting for – its song download count just reached the 10 billion mark. The Cupertinos have been tracking this milestone for the last couple of weeks. The consumer who downloaded the magical number song will be getting $10,000 iTunes Store gift card.
Apple is yet to announce the name of the individual who is the winner of this promotion. This is great news for Apple’s music store which has been in the mainstream since 2003. This landmark says a lot about the strong and firm position iTunes has in the music industry.
This is not the first milestone that Apple has reached. Its App Store has already provided download for 3 billion apps. I am pretty sure that the game is far from over for Apple and it will continue to touch new levels. How do you see Apple’s latest milestone? How many songs have you downloaded from the music store?
Source:http://www.geekword.net/itunes-10-billion-songs-downloaded/
Apple is yet to announce the name of the individual who is the winner of this promotion. This is great news for Apple’s music store which has been in the mainstream since 2003. This landmark says a lot about the strong and firm position iTunes has in the music industry.
This is not the first milestone that Apple has reached. Its App Store has already provided download for 3 billion apps. I am pretty sure that the game is far from over for Apple and it will continue to touch new levels. How do you see Apple’s latest milestone? How many songs have you downloaded from the music store?
Source:http://www.geekword.net/itunes-10-billion-songs-downloaded/
Labels: Apple, apple apps, Apple Appstore, Apple itunes news
Steve Jobs calls Adobe 'lazy', says Google can't 'kill the iPhone'
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Apple CEO Steve Jobs isn’t holding back with how he really feels about Google and Adobe - at least according to Wired and some anonymous sources over in Cupertino.
According to the Wired piece, Jobs let loose on his Silicon Valley neighbors/frenemies during an Apple employee Town Hall-style meeting.
The highlights of the speech? Starting off with Google,Jobs fired off that Apple “did not enter the search business,” rather that Google “entered the phone business” and “they want to kill the iPhone” with the HTC Nexus One. But Jobs won’t let that happen on his (probably touchscreen) watch.
He then allegedly roared that Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” motto is, well, “bullshit.” (But now that quote is being disputed.)
Then on to Adobe, Jobs just thinks they’re plain “lazy.” And if you ever wondered why your MacBook is crashing, it’s all Flash’s fault, he said, continuing on that HTML5 is the way of the future. (Maybe he’s just upset because everyone made a big deal that the iPad doesn’t really handle Flash and it was so obvious at the press event last week.)
So is any of this true? Maybe some of the language is questionable, but I wouldn’t really be surprised about any of this. It’s just business, not personal, right?
Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=11925
According to the Wired piece, Jobs let loose on his Silicon Valley neighbors/frenemies during an Apple employee Town Hall-style meeting.
The highlights of the speech? Starting off with Google,Jobs fired off that Apple “did not enter the search business,” rather that Google “entered the phone business” and “they want to kill the iPhone” with the HTC Nexus One. But Jobs won’t let that happen on his (probably touchscreen) watch.
He then allegedly roared that Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” motto is, well, “bullshit.” (But now that quote is being disputed.)
Then on to Adobe, Jobs just thinks they’re plain “lazy.” And if you ever wondered why your MacBook is crashing, it’s all Flash’s fault, he said, continuing on that HTML5 is the way of the future. (Maybe he’s just upset because everyone made a big deal that the iPad doesn’t really handle Flash and it was so obvious at the press event last week.)
So is any of this true? Maybe some of the language is questionable, but I wouldn’t really be surprised about any of this. It’s just business, not personal, right?
Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=11925
Labels: Adobe Flash, Apple, Apple iPad, Google News, Google Nexus One
Apple Creates iTunes Preview
Saturday, November 14, 2009
While a strength of Apple's has always been ease of use, direct links to iTunes from a web browser have always annoyingly needed to boot up iTunes before a song could be checked out. Another strength of Apple's has been fixing things, and the simple solution they've created is iTunes Preview.
iTunes Preview works as a website that your browser will go to when you click on a direct iTunes link. The page you're taking to will have all the pertinent information to whatever song or album link you clicked on, from release information to pricing. The page will also have buttons to click on if you do want to open your iTunes and hear some previews or make a purchase.
Like cut and paste for the iPhone, it's been kind mind boggling that Apple didn't have something like this already, but at least it is out there now, helping to save computer processing speed the world over.
Source:http://www.prefixmag.com/news/apple-creates-itunes-preview/34714/
iTunes Preview works as a website that your browser will go to when you click on a direct iTunes link. The page you're taking to will have all the pertinent information to whatever song or album link you clicked on, from release information to pricing. The page will also have buttons to click on if you do want to open your iTunes and hear some previews or make a purchase.
Like cut and paste for the iPhone, it's been kind mind boggling that Apple didn't have something like this already, but at least it is out there now, helping to save computer processing speed the world over.
Source:http://www.prefixmag.com/news/apple-creates-itunes-preview/34714/
Labels: Apple, Apple Appstore, Apple itunes news, Apple News
Apple opens its first retail store in France
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Today Apple opened its second store on mainland Europe at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France. They don't stop there, however; another store in Montpellier, France opens next week on November 14th and one near the Opera Ganier to debut in the summer of 2010.
France's first Apple store opens today at 10AM CET. This is a prestigious location to be sure, right across the famous inverted pyramid inside the Louvre museum
. Just for that it would be worthwhile to visit this store, which spans two floors. 150 employees work in the store to offer the same services, which have made the Apple Store experience a success all over the world. The first 5000 visitors will receive a limited edition t-shirt.
This year, close to 170 million people visited Apple Stores on four different continents. Apple has already opened 277 stores in 10 countries: France, U.S., UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan and China.
Source:http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/07/first-apple-store-opens-in-paris
France's first Apple store opens today at 10AM CET. This is a prestigious location to be sure, right across the famous inverted pyramid inside the Louvre museum
. Just for that it would be worthwhile to visit this store, which spans two floors. 150 employees work in the store to offer the same services, which have made the Apple Store experience a success all over the world. The first 5000 visitors will receive a limited edition t-shirt.
This year, close to 170 million people visited Apple Stores on four different continents. Apple has already opened 277 stores in 10 countries: France, U.S., UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan and China.
Source:http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/07/first-apple-store-opens-in-paris
Labels: Apple, Apple Appstore, Apple iPhone, Apple News
Apple Magic Mouse Hands On
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Apple's Magic Mouse doesn't have anything on its surface. It's an aluminum base topped off with a smooth multitouch panel. It felt weird to use, but leagues ahead of the Mighty Mouse. I may go back to mice.
The strange thing about the Magic Mouse is not how it works. It is that you have different gestures than on a standard Macbook Pro trackpad.
One obvious example: Since you move the cursor by moving the whole mouse with your hand, there's no point in also using one finger to move the cursor, like on the trackpad. Moving your finger on the surface of the Magic Mouse allows you to scroll in all directions, 360 degrees around.
You can also scroll with two or three fingers, if you move them up and down. But if you swipe them from side to side while using a web browser, your browsing history moves forward or back.
Physically, the mouse is beautiful, and feels nice. The top is made of white polycarbonate that matches the keys on Apple's keyboards. It is one seamless touch surface, and, logically, there is no Mighty Mouse scroll nipple.
The surface can also simulate the left and right buttons. Unlike in previous Apple's mice, the two buttons work perfectly. This time they also added physical feedback, so when you click the buttons, you actually get the entire surface to click—like the original clear Apple mouse.
The mouse runs on AA batteries, and Apple claims 4 months of use per set. You can get it with the new iMac or pay $69 separately.
Full Story:http://gizmodo.com/5385834/apple-magic-mouse-hands-on
The strange thing about the Magic Mouse is not how it works. It is that you have different gestures than on a standard Macbook Pro trackpad.
One obvious example: Since you move the cursor by moving the whole mouse with your hand, there's no point in also using one finger to move the cursor, like on the trackpad. Moving your finger on the surface of the Magic Mouse allows you to scroll in all directions, 360 degrees around.
You can also scroll with two or three fingers, if you move them up and down. But if you swipe them from side to side while using a web browser, your browsing history moves forward or back.
Physically, the mouse is beautiful, and feels nice. The top is made of white polycarbonate that matches the keys on Apple's keyboards. It is one seamless touch surface, and, logically, there is no Mighty Mouse scroll nipple.
The surface can also simulate the left and right buttons. Unlike in previous Apple's mice, the two buttons work perfectly. This time they also added physical feedback, so when you click the buttons, you actually get the entire surface to click—like the original clear Apple mouse.
The mouse runs on AA batteries, and Apple claims 4 months of use per set. You can get it with the new iMac or pay $69 separately.
Full Story:http://gizmodo.com/5385834/apple-magic-mouse-hands-on
Labels: Apple, Apple New Mouse, Apple News
Apple Earnings up on strong iPhone, Mac sales
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Apple (AAPL) smashed market expectations for the September quarter with strong sales in its iPhone and Mac lines delivering increased profits.
Mac sales jumped 17% from the same quarter of 2008 to 3.05 million units, 250,000 units above market estimates. iPhone sales rose 7% to 7.4 million, just below the market expectation of 7.5 million units. Notably though Apple said that it was struggling to meet demand for iPhones globally, a suggestion that the figure may be limited by supply as opposed to demand.
Net profit rose to $1.67 billion/ $1.82 a share, up from from $1.14 billion/ $1.26 a share for the September quarter of 2008. The market had been expecting $1.42 a share. Revenue rose 25 percent to $9.87 billion. Gross margin of 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent a year ago.
The figures are a huge boost for Apple after many analysts had expected them to take a bigger hit due to the global financial crisis. Apple’s Mac line, still the biggest earner for the company has continued to steam ahead, despite of (or perhaps because of)its premium pricing.
AAPL shares rose 7.5% to $204 in after market trading,smashing its previous price high of $202.96 in December 2007.
Source : http://www.inquisitr.com/43436/apple-earnings/
Mac sales jumped 17% from the same quarter of 2008 to 3.05 million units, 250,000 units above market estimates. iPhone sales rose 7% to 7.4 million, just below the market expectation of 7.5 million units. Notably though Apple said that it was struggling to meet demand for iPhones globally, a suggestion that the figure may be limited by supply as opposed to demand.
Net profit rose to $1.67 billion/ $1.82 a share, up from from $1.14 billion/ $1.26 a share for the September quarter of 2008. The market had been expecting $1.42 a share. Revenue rose 25 percent to $9.87 billion. Gross margin of 36.6 percent, up from 34.7 percent a year ago.
The figures are a huge boost for Apple after many analysts had expected them to take a bigger hit due to the global financial crisis. Apple’s Mac line, still the biggest earner for the company has continued to steam ahead, despite of (or perhaps because of)its premium pricing.
AAPL shares rose 7.5% to $204 in after market trading,smashing its previous price high of $202.96 in December 2007.
Source : http://www.inquisitr.com/43436/apple-earnings/
Labels: Apple, Apple Appstore, Apple iPhone, Apple News
Apple sold 30 million iPhones, served 1.8 billion Apps, iTunes sold 8.5 billion songs
Monday, September 14, 2009
Apple CEO Steve Jobs arrived at the event was greeted with a long standing ovation from the audience. Speaking about his health experience in the past couple of years, Jobs credited his life to a man in his 20s who had died in a car crash, and was an organ donor.
"I'm very happy to be here today with you all," he said, before thanking Tim Cook and his executive team for the support and how well they ran things in his absence.
Anyway, on to other things. The first revelations include that iPhone's new milestone; it has sold 30 million units in its two years of availability. It's dedicated App Store has 75,000 applications available for the device and has so far served a whopping 1.8 billion downloads. If updates were to be counted too, it would be "a few times higher," according to Phil Schiller.
The iPhone 3.1 OS is also ready, and includes among its features, a port of "Genius", which will now be used to recommend what application you might like. It will be available as a free download from today. The recent rumor about record labels offering pre-made ringtones is also true; over 30,000 pre-made ringtones will be available for $1.29 each.
As for iTunes, the store is now available in 23 countries and boasts more than 100 million accounts with credit card details. It has sold 8.5 billion songs since it was launched.
[Via::http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/19293.cfm]
"I'm very happy to be here today with you all," he said, before thanking Tim Cook and his executive team for the support and how well they ran things in his absence.Anyway, on to other things. The first revelations include that iPhone's new milestone; it has sold 30 million units in its two years of availability. It's dedicated App Store has 75,000 applications available for the device and has so far served a whopping 1.8 billion downloads. If updates were to be counted too, it would be "a few times higher," according to Phil Schiller.
The iPhone 3.1 OS is also ready, and includes among its features, a port of "Genius", which will now be used to recommend what application you might like. It will be available as a free download from today. The recent rumor about record labels offering pre-made ringtones is also true; over 30,000 pre-made ringtones will be available for $1.29 each.
As for iTunes, the store is now available in 23 countries and boasts more than 100 million accounts with credit card details. It has sold 8.5 billion songs since it was launched.
[Via::http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/19293.cfm]
Labels: app, Apple, Apple Appstore, Apple iPhone, Apple itunes news, Apple News
Apple iPod nano: Shoots Video
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Apple unveiled the new iPod nano with upgraded capacities: 8GB and 16GB. Major new features include a video camera that can store H.264 video with a 640 x 480 at 30fps resolution and a larger 2.2-inch LCD with a 240 x 376 resolution (204 PPI). I’m not sure if you can use this video camera to take pictures.I’m guessing it does but there is no mention of it on Apple’s iPod nano site. Other things that are new:- Polished anodized aluminum finish
- FM Tuner
- Nine colors: Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Grey, Silver
- iTunes Tagging: Use the click wheel to tag the song and iTunes creates a list of all your tagged songs so you can preview or purchase them when you sync.
- Live Pause: Want to pause the radio? Now you can. Rewind live radio? Sure, up to 15 minutes.
- VoiceOver: Tells you the title and artist when you click the click wheel or on the new earphones with the controls and mic.
- Voice Memos: There’s a built-in mic, of course, so you can record voice memos now.
- Pedometer: Uses the built-in accelerometer to act as a pedometer and works with the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit.
If the iPod nano can only take videos, this is an interesting development. The nano can take videos but not pictures. The iPod touch can take pictures but not videos. The iPhone 3G can take pictures but not videos and the 3GS can take both pictures and videos. I’m guessing that soon enough Apple will make it so that all the next-generation iPod nano and iPod touch devices will be able to take photos and videos.
News Source:http://www.displayblog.com/2009/09/09/apple-ipod-nano-shoots-video/
Labels: Apple, Apple iPhone, Apple iPod, Apple News
Bringing MMS to iPhone September 25th
Sunday, September 06, 2009
AT&T has announced that MMS will finally be available to US iPhone owners on September 25th, the official news comes after a report that Apple could release iPhone OS 3.1 next week. Despite the announcement of MMS availability AT&T still has no news on tethering support only saying that it will be offered “in the future”.
MMS will be enabled for iPhone 3G and 3GS owners on that day via a software update.
In the press release AT&T also makes mention that it is constantly striving to improve network capacity.
Via:http://news.worldofapple.com/
MMS will be enabled for iPhone 3G and 3GS owners on that day via a software update.
In the press release AT&T also makes mention that it is constantly striving to improve network capacity.
Via:http://news.worldofapple.com/
Labels: Apple, Apple iPhone, Apple News
Vonage iPhone App Blessed by Apple
Friday, September 04, 2009
Vonage announced that Apple has given its blessing to an official Vonage VoIP application to give iPhone users the ability to make voice calls over WiFi, as does the Skype app for iPhone. The app will allow users to use their existing accounts and place calls using their Vonage number from their iPhone. It will give the users better international rates and some additional flexibility.
“Vonage is currently conducting a beta test and general availability will be announced at a later date,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “This new service, along with the recent launch of the Vonage World unlimited calling plan, continues Vonage’s heritage of using innovative technology to create significant value for its current and future customers.”
This announcement arrives shortly after Apple rejected the official Google Voice app and pulled all of the third-party applications for the service from the App Store. It did take a while for Vonage to get approval, but Apple's reasoning was that Vonage needed to fix a few software issues. Apple have previous approved various other VoIP services (as long as they only work over WiFi and NOT 3G). The approval of Vonage is sure to further confuse developers, and to stir up even more ire in Google Voice fans.
A clear limitation of an iPhone Vonage client, however, would be the users' inability to receive Vonage calls on the handset. Since the iPhone doesn't support applications running in the background, a friend calling your Vonage number would not reach you on your iPhone.
“Vonage is currently conducting a beta test and general availability will be announced at a later date,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “This new service, along with the recent launch of the Vonage World unlimited calling plan, continues Vonage’s heritage of using innovative technology to create significant value for its current and future customers.”
This announcement arrives shortly after Apple rejected the official Google Voice app and pulled all of the third-party applications for the service from the App Store. It did take a while for Vonage to get approval, but Apple's reasoning was that Vonage needed to fix a few software issues. Apple have previous approved various other VoIP services (as long as they only work over WiFi and NOT 3G). The approval of Vonage is sure to further confuse developers, and to stir up even more ire in Google Voice fans.
A clear limitation of an iPhone Vonage client, however, would be the users' inability to receive Vonage calls on the handset. Since the iPhone doesn't support applications running in the background, a friend calling your Vonage number would not reach you on your iPhone.
Labels: Apple, Apple Appstore, Apple iPhone, Apple itunes news, Apple News
Apple Confirms Event on September 9th
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Apple announced to host a music-themed event on Sept. 9th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco,the same site where apple already held Worldwide Developer Conference .Apple organize these type of events, usually near September, to show enormous changes to its business.
Apple has started sending out iPod-style invitation which features a woman in silhouette listening to an iPod, and reads “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it.” As expected ,Apple will be refresh iTunes and iPod updates.It looks that this event is purely focused on the music related updates.
SO wait for some new rocking updates on your iPods !Because Apple have a lot to display this year.
Apple has started sending out iPod-style invitation which features a woman in silhouette listening to an iPod, and reads “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it.” As expected ,Apple will be refresh iTunes and iPod updates.It looks that this event is purely focused on the music related updates.SO wait for some new rocking updates on your iPods !Because Apple have a lot to display this year.
Labels: Apple, Apple iPod, Apple itunes news, Apple News
Apple retail news: three new stores opened this weekend
Sunday, August 30, 2009
While all of the attention this weekend was around the launch of Snow Leopard, Apple opened up three new retail stores; two new stores in the US and one in Germany.
First, the company opened a new store in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday, which is now Apple's second store in Germany, after the store in Munich opened last December.
Second, there's a new store in Dedham, Massachusetts at the Legacy Place shopping center. This store will be the ninth store in the state of Massachusetts.
Finally, Apple also opened up a new store at the Stonebriar shopping complex in Frisco, Texas. This store makes it the sixth store in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
If you live in or are near one of these areas, be sure to check out your new Apple Store. As always, we would love to hear your stories of your first visit or see your photos!
Story: http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/30/apple-retail-news-three-new-stores-opened-this-weekend/
First, the company opened a new store in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday, which is now Apple's second store in Germany, after the store in Munich opened last December.
Second, there's a new store in Dedham, Massachusetts at the Legacy Place shopping center. This store will be the ninth store in the state of Massachusetts.
Finally, Apple also opened up a new store at the Stonebriar shopping complex in Frisco, Texas. This store makes it the sixth store in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
If you live in or are near one of these areas, be sure to check out your new Apple Store. As always, we would love to hear your stories of your first visit or see your photos!
Story: http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/30/apple-retail-news-three-new-stores-opened-this-weekend/
Labels: Apple, Apple Appstore, Apple iPhone, Apple News
Apple, Amazon offering Snow Leopard discounts
Friday, August 28, 2009
Mac OS X Snow Leopard arrives Friday and will cost $29 for those who already use Mac OS X Leopard. However, there are some deals out there.
The best of the deals comes from Apple. With its Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program, users can get the new operating system for $9.95. To qualify for that price, they must have purchased a qualifying Mac on or after June 8.
Apple is pretty open with the number of computers that qualify for this offer. Everything from iMacs to its MacBook notebooks is included. Specific model numbers are listed on Apple's Web site.
Apple's deal ends December 26.
For those who don't qualify for that deal, Amazon.com has an alternative one. Amazon is selling Snow Leopard for $25 for upgrades from Leopard. Apple said that Amazon also has reduced pricing--$149--on the Snow Leopard Box Set, which includes iLife '09 and iWork '09, for those upgrading from Mac OS X Tiger. (Amazon specifies that the box set is for those upgrading from Leopard. But Apple's site and an Apple rep said only Tiger users need the box set.)
More Review At : http://news.cnet.com
The best of the deals comes from Apple. With its Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program, users can get the new operating system for $9.95. To qualify for that price, they must have purchased a qualifying Mac on or after June 8.
Apple is pretty open with the number of computers that qualify for this offer. Everything from iMacs to its MacBook notebooks is included. Specific model numbers are listed on Apple's Web site.
Apple's deal ends December 26.
For those who don't qualify for that deal, Amazon.com has an alternative one. Amazon is selling Snow Leopard for $25 for upgrades from Leopard. Apple said that Amazon also has reduced pricing--$149--on the Snow Leopard Box Set, which includes iLife '09 and iWork '09, for those upgrading from Mac OS X Tiger. (Amazon specifies that the box set is for those upgrading from Leopard. But Apple's site and an Apple rep said only Tiger users need the box set.)
More Review At : http://news.cnet.com
Labels: Amazon, Amazon Review, Apple, Apple News
Apple May Be Highest Grossing Fifth Avenue Retailer
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
As vacancies increase and retail sales throughout the U.S. remain a shadow of the decade’s boom, Apple Inc.’s stores are defying the recession.
At Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Ninth Street, the noon-day line on Aug. 11 snaked out the front door. More than a dozen people waited to buy an iPhone, which runs from $99 to $299, plus at least another $70 a month for a service plan. Every computer, seat and station was occupied by a visitor to midtown Manhattan.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, increased revenue at its stores by 2.5 percent in the first six months of the year to $3 billion as the rest of the retail industry suffered. During the same period, sales at all U.S. retailers fell 9.2 percent compared with the first half of 2008, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
Retail sales in New York City have fallen 8 percent to 10 percent from comparable 2008 levels, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book business survey published July 29.
“Even if they are not spending money elsewhere, people are still spending money on technology gadgets,” said Patricia Edwards, a retail analyst and founder of Storehouse Partners LLC in Bellevue, Washington. “It’s both a need and a want. It fulfills that retail-therapy component.”
Apple’s store performance in the last year has been driven by the iPhone, according to Charlie Wolf, an analyst who covers Apple at Needham & Co. in New York. The retail operation saw a 22 percent increase in traffic during the quarter ended June 27, hosting a total of 38.6 million visitors, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on a conference call in July.
By:Allison Abell Schwartz and Oshrat Carmiel
Read Full Story On :http://www.bloomberg.com/apps
At Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Ninth Street, the noon-day line on Aug. 11 snaked out the front door. More than a dozen people waited to buy an iPhone, which runs from $99 to $299, plus at least another $70 a month for a service plan. Every computer, seat and station was occupied by a visitor to midtown Manhattan.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, increased revenue at its stores by 2.5 percent in the first six months of the year to $3 billion as the rest of the retail industry suffered. During the same period, sales at all U.S. retailers fell 9.2 percent compared with the first half of 2008, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
Retail sales in New York City have fallen 8 percent to 10 percent from comparable 2008 levels, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book business survey published July 29.
“Even if they are not spending money elsewhere, people are still spending money on technology gadgets,” said Patricia Edwards, a retail analyst and founder of Storehouse Partners LLC in Bellevue, Washington. “It’s both a need and a want. It fulfills that retail-therapy component.”
Apple’s store performance in the last year has been driven by the iPhone, according to Charlie Wolf, an analyst who covers Apple at Needham & Co. in New York. The retail operation saw a 22 percent increase in traffic during the quarter ended June 27, hosting a total of 38.6 million visitors, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on a conference call in July.
By:Allison Abell Schwartz and Oshrat Carmiel
Read Full Story On :http://www.bloomberg.com/apps
Labels: Apple, Apple iPhone, Apple News, Appstore
Apple launches a New Smartphone : iPhone 3G S
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Apple announced the new iPhone 3G S at WWDC 2009.The new Apple Smartphone is twice as fast, with up to a 3.06GHz processor from Intel. Expandable memory up to 8GB--that brings lots of applause. It can fit up to 500GB inside and starts at $1,699. . In addition, gaming on the new 2009 iPhone has been given a nice speed bump. As the new and faster iPhone 3GS will be able to offer better support for online games, meaning that developers will now be working like mad to have these games made available on the iTunes App Store.
Most MacBook Pro customers have digital cameras today. They prefer popping out SD cards and putting them right into a laptop.There are ports on the sides, instead of an ExpressCard slot, there is a new SD card slot.
Apple is also updating the 17-inch MacBook, which has 2.8GHz of processing power and a 500GB hard drive but keeps the ExpressCard slot. The 13-inch MacBook is also getting an update. It will have seven-hour battery life now, and will also get a new high-color display, as well as the SD card slot now. It can now expand with up to 8GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive, and it has the LED-backlit keyboard.
A new logo has been assigned to QuickTime. It is now "super efficient" and has HTTP streaming. It will work with any Web server. With such a change, Apple decided to change the interface of the player as well. The onscreen controls disappear when you play content in QuickTime now.
With snow leopard you can magnify thumbnails and click through documents as thumbnails, and also play videos as thumbnails. In addition, You can also drag thumbnails into an e-mail message in Mail. By clicking Expose, you can line up all open windows on a cluttered desktop. With Dock Expose, you click and hold, and can see all open windows in each application. You can also draw Chinese characters with your fingers on the trackpad. The mail program is now faster. Users get few extra features in crash resistant, Snow Leopard. The new Safari 4 will ship for Leopard, Tiger, and Windows. Safari 4 is faster for HTML and JavaScript than Chrome 2, Firefox 3, and Internet Explorer 8.
Safari 4 lets the users track the top sites quickly. Get a grid of all the sites you visit the most. Safari 4's full-history search gives a Cover Flow view across all the sites you've visited. It also integrates spotlight search of browser history.
Apple also announced that iPhone 3.0 supports tethering--using the phone's Internet connection to add Web access for your Mac or PC. Tethering will work over USB cord or Bluetooth, and won't require any special software on the computer. The big news, though, is that although Apple has a number of carriers committed to supporting tethering, and AT&T isn't one of them.
You can watch TV shows, and purchase videos and audiobooks. There's also support for iTunes U, Apple's educational service that offers podcasts of university classes. Parental controls will be expanded to include movies, TV shows, and apps in the App Store. It can limit kids to rent G-rated movies, for instance, or only buy age-appropriate apps.
With a huge cheers from the crowd a new stunning feature called Find My iPhone was also launched. Find My iPhone is available only to MobileMe customers, but it will allow you to see on a map where your phone is. You can send an alert tone to your phone that will play, announcing that it's lost. It will play even if you left your phone in silent mode. If your phone is really lost, there's a remote kill switch to wipe your phone of all your data. This feature is pretty cool.
The new iPhone 3G S, where S stands for speed has the same design as iPhone 3G from last summer, but what's inside is entirely new. Messaging apps, games, and attachments all load faster. They've gauged the speeds measured on the iPhone 3G S using OS 3.0 software. The 3G S is ready for AT&T's faster 3G network, Apple says. As expected, there's a better built-in camera too--a 3-megapixel autofocus camera.
Most MacBook Pro customers have digital cameras today. They prefer popping out SD cards and putting them right into a laptop.There are ports on the sides, instead of an ExpressCard slot, there is a new SD card slot.
Apple is also updating the 17-inch MacBook, which has 2.8GHz of processing power and a 500GB hard drive but keeps the ExpressCard slot. The 13-inch MacBook is also getting an update. It will have seven-hour battery life now, and will also get a new high-color display, as well as the SD card slot now. It can now expand with up to 8GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive, and it has the LED-backlit keyboard.
A new logo has been assigned to QuickTime. It is now "super efficient" and has HTTP streaming. It will work with any Web server. With such a change, Apple decided to change the interface of the player as well. The onscreen controls disappear when you play content in QuickTime now.
With snow leopard you can magnify thumbnails and click through documents as thumbnails, and also play videos as thumbnails. In addition, You can also drag thumbnails into an e-mail message in Mail. By clicking Expose, you can line up all open windows on a cluttered desktop. With Dock Expose, you click and hold, and can see all open windows in each application. You can also draw Chinese characters with your fingers on the trackpad. The mail program is now faster. Users get few extra features in crash resistant, Snow Leopard. The new Safari 4 will ship for Leopard, Tiger, and Windows. Safari 4 is faster for HTML and JavaScript than Chrome 2, Firefox 3, and Internet Explorer 8.
Safari 4 lets the users track the top sites quickly. Get a grid of all the sites you visit the most. Safari 4's full-history search gives a Cover Flow view across all the sites you've visited. It also integrates spotlight search of browser history.
Apple also announced that iPhone 3.0 supports tethering--using the phone's Internet connection to add Web access for your Mac or PC. Tethering will work over USB cord or Bluetooth, and won't require any special software on the computer. The big news, though, is that although Apple has a number of carriers committed to supporting tethering, and AT&T isn't one of them.
You can watch TV shows, and purchase videos and audiobooks. There's also support for iTunes U, Apple's educational service that offers podcasts of university classes. Parental controls will be expanded to include movies, TV shows, and apps in the App Store. It can limit kids to rent G-rated movies, for instance, or only buy age-appropriate apps.
With a huge cheers from the crowd a new stunning feature called Find My iPhone was also launched. Find My iPhone is available only to MobileMe customers, but it will allow you to see on a map where your phone is. You can send an alert tone to your phone that will play, announcing that it's lost. It will play even if you left your phone in silent mode. If your phone is really lost, there's a remote kill switch to wipe your phone of all your data. This feature is pretty cool.
The new iPhone 3G S, where S stands for speed has the same design as iPhone 3G from last summer, but what's inside is entirely new. Messaging apps, games, and attachments all load faster. They've gauged the speeds measured on the iPhone 3G S using OS 3.0 software. The 3G S is ready for AT&T's faster 3G network, Apple says. As expected, there's a better built-in camera too--a 3-megapixel autofocus camera.
Labels: Apple, iPhone, iPhone 3 G
Facebook launching an App Directory
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Facebook just launched it Apps Directory which seems very much like Apple Appstore. Are we going to be seeing a full fledged app store in the future. Facebook is rumored to be working on a virtual ecommerce system.
Washington Times - Is Facebook Directory the precursor to a paid appstore
Washington Times - Is Facebook Directory the precursor to a paid appstore
Mobile OS wars: Apple, RIM surge; Symbian still dominant
Gartner’s first quarter smartphone market share statistics show that Nokia’s Symbian remains the dominant mobile operating system, but is losing share to operating systems from Research in Motion and Apple.
To wit (see Gartner statement):
* Symbian’s first quarter smartphone OS share was 49.3 percent, down from 56.9 percent a year ago. But that’s up from the fourth quarter.
* RIM’s BlackBerry OS surged to 19.9 percent, up from 13.3 percent a year ago.
* And Apple’s iPhone OS was 10.8 percent of the market, up from 5.3 percent a year ago.
Gartner’s smartphone unit data echoes the stats from IDC a few weeks ago. Gartner said mobile phone sales were 269.1 million units in the first quarter, down 9.4 percent from a year ago. Smartphone sales were 36.4 million units, up 12.7 percent a year ago.
Read More Here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=18478
Also On: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=985912
To wit (see Gartner statement):
* Symbian’s first quarter smartphone OS share was 49.3 percent, down from 56.9 percent a year ago. But that’s up from the fourth quarter.
* RIM’s BlackBerry OS surged to 19.9 percent, up from 13.3 percent a year ago.
* And Apple’s iPhone OS was 10.8 percent of the market, up from 5.3 percent a year ago.
Gartner’s smartphone unit data echoes the stats from IDC a few weeks ago. Gartner said mobile phone sales were 269.1 million units in the first quarter, down 9.4 percent from a year ago. Smartphone sales were 36.4 million units, up 12.7 percent a year ago.
Read More Here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=18478
Also On: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=985912
Labels: Apple, RIM, Smartphones, Smartphones OS, Symbian
Apple Adds Online Purchase of IPhone 3G for New Customers
Thursday, May 14, 2009
At long last, you can now buy an iPhone 3G via the online Apple Store and have it hand-delivered by your local FedEx guy directly to your domicile--presuming you meet certain criteria.
It's been a long and bumpy road for buying the iPhone 3G online. When the device was first launched in July 2008, the only way to get your hands on one was to go in to your local Apple Store or AT&T outlet. In September of last year, Apple started letting customers use its online store to reserve an iPhone at their local Apple Store; the process worked for both those customers new to AT&T as well as existing subscribers. But you still had to make a trip to your local brick-and-mortar to get your hands on the unit, and availability was not guaranteed.
Last December, AT&T started offering online purchases of the iPhone and since then it has also, from time to time, sold refurbished units. Regardless of where you purchased the iPhone, however, you were still required to sign up for a two-year commitment with AT&T.
By contrast, in 2007 the original iPhone was available for sale online at the same time that it arrived in stores. The was made possible by the ability for customers to activate their iPhones via iTunes at home; with the iPhone 3G, Apple and AT&T in most cases insisted upon activating the unit in the store.
Despite the addition of online purchasing Wednesday, there are still some restrictions. For example, while new customers can have their iPhones delivered, the process doesn't currently accommodate existing AT&T customers; they can go through the sign-up process online, but they will still have to pick up the iPhone at a retail store.
As always, we expect this to provide ample fodder for Apple conspiracy theorists on both sides: those who will claim that this illustrates an attempt to boost unit sales that were down sequentially last quarter, and those who will point to this as an obvious indication that Apple is clearing out inventory in advance of introducing a new model this summer.
While it does seem likely that there's some reason Apple chose to do this now, we're inclined to believe that the wheels of progress grind exceedingly slow, especially when AT&T is in the mix.
Source: www.pcworld.com
It's been a long and bumpy road for buying the iPhone 3G online. When the device was first launched in July 2008, the only way to get your hands on one was to go in to your local Apple Store or AT&T outlet. In September of last year, Apple started letting customers use its online store to reserve an iPhone at their local Apple Store; the process worked for both those customers new to AT&T as well as existing subscribers. But you still had to make a trip to your local brick-and-mortar to get your hands on the unit, and availability was not guaranteed.
Last December, AT&T started offering online purchases of the iPhone and since then it has also, from time to time, sold refurbished units. Regardless of where you purchased the iPhone, however, you were still required to sign up for a two-year commitment with AT&T.
By contrast, in 2007 the original iPhone was available for sale online at the same time that it arrived in stores. The was made possible by the ability for customers to activate their iPhones via iTunes at home; with the iPhone 3G, Apple and AT&T in most cases insisted upon activating the unit in the store.
Despite the addition of online purchasing Wednesday, there are still some restrictions. For example, while new customers can have their iPhones delivered, the process doesn't currently accommodate existing AT&T customers; they can go through the sign-up process online, but they will still have to pick up the iPhone at a retail store.
As always, we expect this to provide ample fodder for Apple conspiracy theorists on both sides: those who will claim that this illustrates an attempt to boost unit sales that were down sequentially last quarter, and those who will point to this as an obvious indication that Apple is clearing out inventory in advance of introducing a new model this summer.
While it does seem likely that there's some reason Apple chose to do this now, we're inclined to believe that the wheels of progress grind exceedingly slow, especially when AT&T is in the mix.
Source: www.pcworld.com
Labels: Apple, Apple iPhone, Appstore
Apple Appstore nearing 1 Billion download
Saturday, April 11, 2009
And so is nearly everything else. On Friday, Apple unveiled a Web page dedicated to tracking the number of downloads for the iPhone and iPod Touch until the company hits a billion downloads. Just four months ago, in January, the company announced it had surpassed 500,000 downloads.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/apples-app-store-nears-one-billion-served/
CBS App Lands In Apple iTunes Store
Saturday, February 28, 2009
CBS is bringing television to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch with a new, free application available in the iTunes store.
The TV.com iTunes app brings a limited number of television shows to the iPhone, including "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Star Trek." App users also will have access to CW shows and six programs from Showtime.
Users can browse through the content that is currently available and keep their eyes open for more content as CBS continues to fill its library.
Customization is possible with keywords creating a personalized feed of content that is delivered directly to the smartphone via the application.
As smartphones and mobile devices continue to mature, pushing television shows to them seems like a natural move for content producers. Hulu.com, devices like the Slingbox and Netflix's oft-discussed move to a streaming video model show that customers are more interested in viewing content at their leisure and on a device of choice.
With the iPhone's Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities bringing television to the device, the question of whose screen is big enough not to make viewing a strain is a no-brainer.
Source:http://www.crn.com/mobile/215400054
The TV.com iTunes app brings a limited number of television shows to the iPhone, including "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Star Trek." App users also will have access to CW shows and six programs from Showtime.
Users can browse through the content that is currently available and keep their eyes open for more content as CBS continues to fill its library.
Customization is possible with keywords creating a personalized feed of content that is delivered directly to the smartphone via the application.
As smartphones and mobile devices continue to mature, pushing television shows to them seems like a natural move for content producers. Hulu.com, devices like the Slingbox and Netflix's oft-discussed move to a streaming video model show that customers are more interested in viewing content at their leisure and on a device of choice.
With the iPhone's Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities bringing television to the device, the question of whose screen is big enough not to make viewing a strain is a no-brainer.
Source:http://www.crn.com/mobile/215400054
Labels: Apple, iPhone App
Apple Wins Patent on Multi Touch
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Cnet reports that Apple has won a patent on Multi Touch and many of the innovation associated with the iphone such as Pinch and Zoom.
This will ring a warning bell for palm, blackberry and of course microsoft which is launching Multi Touch in its New Windows 7 OS. We can expect plenty of court action here as the heavies challenge the patent.
This story was brought to our attention by Richard Sarno, our New York based Iphone Geek. If you are looking to develop an iPhone app, contact Richard and he will take care of you (Ask for Richard).
You can get the full article here: CNET on Apple Multi Touch
Labels: Apple, iPhone, Multitouch, Palm Blackberry
