Archive for the ‘Apple News’ Category

There are Android phones, Android phones, and more Android phones. How many Android phones do you need to compete? How many phones does any company need?

Motorola is placing two new bets on the open-source Android operating system with the release of its Backflip and Devour smartphones. The uniquely designed Backflip began selling through AT&T Wireless late last week, and the Detour is now available from Verizon Wireless.

The 3G/Wi-Fi Backflip, at $99 after rebate and with a two-year contract, is gaining a lot of attention for its unique flip-out QWERTY keyboard, which AT&T has described as “an original reverse flip design.”

People may not like it, but Apple did it right the first time.

Apple ran its first iPad commercial during the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The 30-second advertisement shows the tablet computer sitting on an unidentified man’s lap as he whisks through the features and functions in veteran style.

Apple’s latest computing innovation will hit store shelves on April 3, but the commercial offered a closer look at what Apple CEO Steve Jobs calls “something completely new” and “magical” and “revolutionary.” The iPad will start at $499 and lets users browse the web, read and send e-mail, view and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read books, and more.

“Is Apple cranking the marketing machine? Absolutely. Is this hype? I would say no,” said Avi Greengart, a senior analyst at Current Analysis. “The press release calls this a magical device. The commercial shows off what it can do. Apple believes they have created products that have unique value propositions, and then they create television advertising that shows off those value propositions.”

I can’t say I will be standing in line to buy an iPad on April 3, but I can say I will have one before the summer runs its course.

I’ve just started working on a Mac application as well as an iPhone app. This couldn’t have happened at a better time for me.

If you’ve been interested in becoming an official Mac developer but shied away from high membership fees, this might just be your lucky day.

On Thursday, Apple sharply cut the cost of its Mac Developer Program, dropping the price to just $99 a year. Previously, the only way into the program was by buying Apple Developer Connection Select or Premier memberships ($499 and $3499 respectively). Why the drop in cost? According to Apple, it’s in response to the success of the iPhone Developer Program ($99/year to join) and the potential crossover for those apps into the world of the Mac.

AT&T Inc expects users of Apple Inc’s iPad to mostly connect to the Internet using sort-range Wi-Fi networks rather than AT&T’s cellular network, the Chief Executive of AT&T said on Tuesday.

While AT&T has agreed to prove wireless connections to the iPad tablet computer, Randall Stephenson said he doesn’t expect the device to result in many new service subscriptions for AT&T as consumers will instead use Wi-Fi or prepaid services, where they do not subscribe to a service contract.

What do you think? Are people going to ue Wi-Fi the most?

This doesn’t look good.

That iPhone you adore may have been built by a child.

Nearly a dozen underage teens were working for Apple-contracted facilities in 2009, the company has revealed. The news was posted to Apple’s Web site under a section labeled “Supplier Responsibility.”

The underage workers, Apple says, were at three different suppliers’ facilities. Though the specific locations aren’t disclosed, the report says inspectors visited facilities in China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. The factories in question built iPhones, iPods, and various Apple computers.

I have one question. Were these underage teens working there on their own free-will or did someone exploit them? Many kids lie about their age to get a job. I’m not saying Apple’s contractors are guilty or innocent, all I am saying is it’s possible that they were hoodwinked by the kids themselves.

It kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Apple’s iTunes has sold its 10 billionth tune.

Apple said Thursday that its online music store crossed the threshold Wednesday when 71-year-old Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Ga., bought “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash.

Congratulations, Louie!

Big bold moves. Is’t that what Steve Jobs is all about?

Apple is sitting on $40 billion in cash, which it will use not for revenues but to make “big, bold moves,” CEO Steve Jobs announced at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. He said the company will be aggressive in coming years and its big barrel of cash will provide an important buffer.

“When you take risks, it’s like jumping in the air. When they don’t work out, it’s nice to know the ground is always there,” Jobs said.

If you’re at all a part of the Apple empire, chances are you spend a good amount of time (and more money) downloading music from the Apple store via iTunes. You are not alone, after all. Over 9.9 billion songs have been sold by the company in the last seven years… and number 10 billion is right on the horizon.

In honor of that massive milestone, Apple is offering the 10 billionth downloader of an iTunes song a nice little prize: A $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, enough to keep you in new music probably for the rest of your natural life.

Yes, I hope to time my purchase at just the right moment.

I’m no fan of DRM, but I bet this has no bearing on sales, not initially anyway.

The iBook store, the marketplace for electronic books on Apple’s forthcoming iPad, will sell e-books wrapped in digital rights management software, according to sources quoted in the L.A. Times. Apple phased out DRM songs from the iTunes store a year ago, but a majority of publishers are expected to use FairPlay copy protection software for their e-books.

E-books for the iPad have been the subject of debate since Steve Jobs announced the tablet in late January. First, there was the spat over e-book prices, with Apple’s agency model taking Amazon by storm. Many said that Amazon’s DRM was a drawback, but now reports say Apple will use similar technology for its iBook store.

The one thing I want with any remaining tax refund, is an iPad. I know I am a geek, a nerd, whatever. I spent years trying every one of the acne solutions out there and I still ended up a nerd. A better looking nerd too, mind you.

Walt Disney Co. president and chief executiveRobert Iger said Tuesday that Apple’s new iPad tablet computer may prove to be a “game changer” for the entertainment and media industry.

“We find that the iPad has a lot of potential,” Iger said in a conference call after Disney announced a first-quarter net profit of 844 million dollars, virtually unchanged from a year ago.

“It could be a game changer in terms of enabling us to create essentially new forms of content,” Iger said. “It will be a great device to play games and watch videos because of the quality of the screen.

A game changer. Yep. Contrary to what others are saying, I think it will be too. If it’s not the best device of its kind, Apple will at the very least inspire some really cool alternatives from their competitors.