19
May
2009
NewLaunches: Looks like the camera fever has caught up with the iPods too! There is a rumor that Apple might be considering to put in cameras on their best selling portable media players.
The Apple iPods can do a lot of things and it would be cool to have a digital camera too where you can take pictures where you go. But personally, is a camera really needed in an iPod?
30
Apr
2009
CNet: In the yet-to-be-released iTunes 8.2, Blu-ray gets a mention on the ‘About iTunes’ splash screen.
For those not well-versed in the world of Apple computers, Mac machines currently don’t support Blu-ray discs. Although you can install a third-party optical drive in the Mac Pro, you’ll still need to boot into Windows to read Blu-ray media. But, if iTunes is going to allow ripping from these discs, we might finally see Macs and MacBooks with fully integrated Blu-ray support and drives.
Back in October, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs famously called Blu-Ray and its licensing process “a bag of hurt”, implying that it was too expensive and too complicated for Apple to add Blu-ray drives to Macs. Jobs, however, is notorious for downplaying certain technologies right up until the day Apple includes them in a product, as was the case for years with video-playing iPods.
All this is just speculation for now. But, if there is going to be any announcement of Blu-ray support, it’ll probably be at Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, held in San Francisco from 8 to 12 June
23
Apr
2009
Guardian: Apple continued to shirk off the recession by posting some of its best-ever results, despite the heavy toll that the financial crisis is taking across Silicon Valley.
Announcing its latest quarterly results today, the Californian technology giant posted profits of $1.21bn (£836m) – up 15% from the same time last year.
Although some analysts had been concerned that Apple’s focus on expensive products would struggle as consumer spending dropped, the company said its quarterly revenues increased to $8.16bn, compared to $7.51bn in the first three months of 2008.
“We are extremely pleased,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial offer. “These results exceeded our expectations. While the company’s Macintosh computer line saw a 3% decrease in sales, it sold more than 11 million iPods – with sales particularly strong in countries including the UK, France, Germany and Japan.
The real success story however was the iPhone, which sold more than 3.7m units worldwide – up 123% from the same time in 2008. Revenues from iPhone sales were valued at $2.2bn, while income from mobile phone networks and other associated services rose to $1.52bn. At the same time last year, the same was just $378m.
31
Mar
2009
Gizmodo: Here’s one from left field: you know how your car’s navigation console locks itself when in motion, whether or not there’s a passenger to safely operate it? Apple, of all people, wants to fix that.
In a patent filing recently published and dug up by Apple Insider, Apple lays out various methods, including weight, proximity and biometric sensors, for detecting a passenger in the front seat, and then allowing he or she to operate the nav while the car is in motion.
It goes even further, though, by specifying means for the system to identify exactly who is touching it via biometric sensors, and then grant them access or not depending on pre-set safety settings.
So if you don’t want your 16 year old kid using the nav at all while in motion, just thumbprint him and program your Apple GPS.
Wait, what, Apple GPS? While apple has patented numerous techniques for pairing gadgets to cars, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one that was so specifically geared toward an in-car device. Innnnteresting.
Although this could obviously describe a way for a turn-by-turn iPhone 3.0 app to behave in-car. So like all patent filings, which are written in a language so obscure as to make reading and parsing by anyone who is not a patent lawyer, take this with some skepticism. But as a concept, sounds kind of interesting—is the real iDrive coming?
30
Mar
2009
T3: UK-based Apple owners have been putting the ‘i’ into iPhone, accessing the internet and email in far greater numbers than other smartphone users.
That’s according to market reseach company ComScore. According to figures collated in January, a massive 93 per cent of iPhone owners accessed mobile media, with 75 per cent using the handset for checking and sending email.
That’s apparently double the smartphone average. And it’s big news for news too, with 80 per cent of users catching up with world events via the Safari browser, four times the rate of other mobile users.
It’s not just the built-in software that’s being used either – over 50 per cent of users have downloaded apps for reading news and information on the handset, compared to just 22 per cent of other smartphone users. And 37 per cent of iPhone owners have downloaded games.
The comparitive figure on other phones is hardly worth mentioning. While these numbers are high, they’re certainly not surprising. A healthy data allowance and free Wi-Fi is certainly going to encourage users towards mobile media. And let’s be honest, is there an easier handset to use for web-friendly fun right now than the iPhone? We think not.
18
Mar
2009
BBC: Apple has unveiled what it calls a “major update” to the operating system that drives the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Some of the 100 new features included in the update replicate those already offered by other smart phones.
The new functions include cut, copy and paste, long demanded by iPhone users, picture messaging and an in-phone search feature, but not Flash video.
“The upgrade is a big big deal and will help persuade consumers to stay with Apple,” said Gartner analyst Van Baker. “While things like copy and paste and multi-media messaging (MMS) are things they have needed to do for a while, other features will in essence stop consumers buying other smartphones and raise the amount of money people spend on the iPhone, ” he said.
Analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray agreed that the upgrade was a major step forward. “We believe Apple addressed key issues that were leading some consumers to competing devices for multimedia messaging and enterprise email.”
Some of the other main features Apple highlighted for consumers include a voice memo and stereo Bluetooth. A new search tool called Spotlight to allow users to search files and applications on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
13
Mar
2009
CNet: Apple has pressed play on iTunes 8.1, the latest update to its music player and store. The biggest change is that the old party shuffle feature, which creates a random playlist from your music, is now called iTunes DJ.
The basic concept is still the same, but now double-clicking a track in the list jumps it to the top without affecting the rest of the order. Party shuffle used to jump to that point in the list, which meant it you saw a duff patch of songs coming up you could skip the whole selection.
Apple has also added support for the Remote app on the iPhone and iPod touch. Enable the feature, and anyone with the free app installed can request songs to be added to the playlist, as well as voting for which choon to play next, all via their handsets.
So that not every passing Tom, Dick and Harriet with an iPhone can monkey with your music, you can require a password as well as setting a welcome message.
Other new stuff includes Genius sidebar for films and telly, support for the happy-talkin’ new iPod shuffle, AutoFill for manually managed iPods, and parental controls for the iTunes Store.
Parents can stop their kids from caning the credit card by blocking the Store, but still leave access to iTunes U, the educational section packed full of free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks and other stuff that we probably should have paid attention to back in skool.
12
Mar
2009
CNet: The Apple Store was down earlier, and that means a new product: it’s a redesigned, fourth-generation, 4GB iPod shuffle!
It’s absolutely tiny, and is claimed to be the first talking iPod. It’s smaller than an AA battery. Being that wee, there’s no room to add a screen, so Apple has come up with the VoiceOver feature, which allows the shuffle to tell you the title and artist of the song or playlist you’re listening to.
It’ll even tell you status information, such as battery life, and how great your bum looks in those skinny hipster jeans, presumably all in that soothing Cupertino drawl.
This isn’t entirely new: VoiceOver began as a Mac accessibility feature, and iTunes already adds speech information to tracks for the nano, to help blind and partially sighted users.
Interestingly, Windows and Mac users will get slightly different voices, with a predictably more mellifluous lilt for Macheads and a grating metallic tone for the rest of the world.
Have fun with language at the VoiceOver page, where there are samples for your listening pleasure. The shuffle’s 4GB memory will hold up to 1,000 songs, according to Apple, and has 10 hours of battery life. It also speaks 14 languages, kind of.
09
Feb
2009
Stuff.tv: Time to forget all that talk of a slick new iPhone for a minute. Because Apple lovers are now turning their attention to plans for an iTunes integrated HDTV, putting the current Apple TV box right into your gogglebox.
It’s not the first time we’ve heard about such a device, but now the rumour has gained more credibility, with analyst Gene Munster suggesting a DVR–packing telly, with similar styling to Apple’s LED monitor, could be heading our way in 2011.
According to NetworkWorld.com, the device would allow you to sync TV shows wirelessly with your Mac, iPhone or iPod, taking whatever you’d recorded either off regular TV or downloaded from the iTunes store.
24
Nov
2008
CNET News: Faced with strong competition from Apple and Research In Motion, as well as economic headwinds, Palm has decided to lay off some workers.
Valleywag reported that the layoffs could involve as many as 10 percent of the company’s 1,050 employees. A Palm representative confirmed that layoffs were taking place but did not comment on exactly how many people were affected.
“There have been some layoffs as a result of challenges facing our company and the industry, and we’re restructuring our worldwide operations to better position ourselves for profitability and long-term growth,” said Lynn Fox, a Palm spokeswoman. She declined to comment on exactly where the cuts would come, but she said Palm has decided to “focus our efforts more effectively.”
The layoffs will have no bearing on Palm’s plans to release a new operating system next year, Fox said.
21
Nov
2008
Gizmodo: Apple has patented a new display technology that will allow their iPhones to have always-on displays with almost no battery cost whatsoever.
This doesn’t mean the whole display would be lit at all times.
In reality, only part of it would be activated using a secondary backlight system located under the main one.
According to Apple, the objective is to give feedback to the user at all times, even when the main display is turned off.
05
Nov
2008
Phones Review: As the Apple iPhone 3G is such a huge hit, and Apple has put so much into its promotion, one would presume Apple would be shelling the iPhone 3G out like peas from a pod in the run up to the festive season…but they aren’t.
Apparently, according to a report by Craig Berger, an analyst for Friedman Billings Ramsey, “recent checks” on the component suppliers for the Apple iPhone 3G show that it looks as if Apple is pulling back iPhone 3G production to up as much as 40% in Q0 of 08.
Although, any production slowdown by Apple doesn’t reduce any demand, and could simply mean previous production have give adequate stocks of the Apple iPhone 3G for now.