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Apple ending rebates on MobileMe and iWork, updates to follow?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Rumors, Software,
Apple has inexplicably ended two long-offered rebates for MobileMe and iWorks, fueling speculation that it will launch revamped versions of both software suites any day now.
"The 'Buy a Mac and Save $30 on iWork' and 'Buy a Mac or iPad and Save $30 on MobileMe' promotions will both end on April 18, 2011. Resellers must remove any reference to these promotions by close of business on that date," Apple wrote in an alleged letter to resellers obtained by 9to5Mac.
You can still download a free 60-day trial of MobileMe or pay $99 for the annual subscription; iWork is free for 30 days and $79 to purchase thereafter.
Apple MobileMe remotely stores your files and photos, and pushes email and calendar updates to your iOS device or Mac desktop. It launched in 2000 and was last updated in 2008 during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), held every June.
In December 2010, an Apple fan emailed Steve Jobs to complain about MobileMe, and Jobs reportedly replied, "Yes, it will get a lot better in 2011."
Click to continue reading Apple ending rebates on MobileMe and iWork, updates to follow?
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Deal of the Day: iPod touch 8 GB for $184 shipped
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Hot Deals, Portable Audio / Video,
If you're in the market for a 4th gen iPod touch, you'll wanna run over to eBay with the quickness right now - for the next 20 minutes, they are selling them for $184, shipping included. That's $45 off the normal price, and these are brand new units. 1 per customer!
Be sure to keep an eye on our Deal of the Day posts for more awesome stuff, and also check out our Newegg Promo Code thread for even more hotness.
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The Blank Screen: How Apple Outsmarts Competitors
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Home Entertainment, Software,
When the iPhone was launched in 2007, I met with Phil Schiller, SVP of World Wide marketing for Apple, and Greg Joswiak, the Apple VP in charge of marketing the iPods and iPhones. During the meeting they showed me the iPhone's many features and shared their goals for the device, which has now become a major business for Apple.
During that meeting, they made a comment that I believe is really the heart of Apple's secret sauce and the cornerstone of how it continues to outsmart its competitors. They laid the iPhone on the table, with it turned off, and asked me what I saw. I told them I saw a 3.5 inch blank screen. They said that from Apples point of view, the "magic" of the iPhone is strictly in the software. And, they de-emphasized the hardware.
Yes, the iPhone was a slick smartphone with a great screen and, at the time, it broke new ground in smartphone design, and Apple was very proud of that. However, with the iPhone turned off, it had very little value. But once it was turned on, the iPhone's OS and apps turned it into a completely different device. While it was a phone, the software made it much more—it became a vehicle for applications. It also had another component that really made it sing and dance; it was also an iPod and was tied directly to iTunes. Now it morphed into a much broader multi-purpose device. It was a phone, a vehicle for apps, and an iPod, which made it a great personal mobile entertainment system.
Click to continue reading The Blank Screen: How Apple Outsmarts Competitors
Jesse Jackson Jr. calls iPad a job-killer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds,
What a difference a month makes. In March, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) was pushing for the federal government to provide every student in the U.S. with an Apple iPad. This week, Rep. Jackson complained that iPads were "probably responsible for eliminating thousands of jobs."
Somewhere along the line, he seems to have discovered that iPads are manufactured in China, not in the U.S.—a;nd; it had him hopping mad (see video below). Here's what Rep. Jackson said Friday afternoon on the House floor:
"In the 112th congress, unemployment is at 9 percent. And not a single piece of legislation considered by the 112th congress has done anything to address 13 million unemployed Americans.
"A few short weeks ago I came to the House floor after having purchased an iPad and said that I happened to believe, Mr. Speaker, that at some point in time this new device, which is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs ... now Borders is closing stores because, why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes & Noble? Buy an iPad and download your book, download your newspaper, download your magazine.
Click to continue reading Jesse Jackson Jr. calls iPad a job-killer
Apple releases 11A430e update for Lion Developer Preview 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Apple just released a Lion Developer Preview Update through Software Update for testers running Lion Developer Preview 2. The download for the update to the Preview of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is almost 1 GB in size, but (at least at first glance) doesn't seem to incorporate any obvious new features. We're guessing this is just an update to squash some bugs. In fact, we now find that a bunch of apps that previously crashed almost immediately after launch (like Chrome and Evernote,) now run normally as expected. Now if only they'd fix the weird multiple monitor blank screen startup issue that forces me to unplug 2 of my 3 displays whenever I boot into Lion...
iOS 4.3.2 now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Apple just released iOS 4.3.2 for download, a small update that aims to fix a couple of annoying bugs that some have been experiencing:
- Fixes an issue that may have caused blank or frozen video during FaceTime calls
- Resolved the problem preventing some international users from connecting to 3G on their iPads
- Includes all the latest and greatest security fixes
The release works with GSM iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, 3rd and 4th gen iPod touch, and both iPad and iPad 2. For whatever reason, CDMA iPhone 4 owners on Verizon still have no iOS 4.3 update. If you update and find any other additions, let us know in the comments!
White iPhone 4 set for April release?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Rumors, Videos,
Perhaps having exhausted all the iPhone 5 rumors, it's back to the fabled white iPhone. Reuters reports that Apple suppliers have started production on white iPhones, which could be available within a month.
Apple has not yet made any annoucements; Reuters cited people familiar with the situation. Foxconn's Hon Hai Industry Co. would assemble the devices, the report said.
Chatter about the white iPhone 4 got reignited last month after Apple released the white iPad 2, with no iPhone version in site. Phil Schiller, senior vice president for worldwide marketing at Apple, later tweeted that the white iPhone would be available soon.
"Hi Eric. The white iPhone will be available this spring (and it is a beauty!)," Schiller said in response to a follower's question about where he could get the white iPhone.
Click to continue reading White iPhone 4 set for April release?
With iPhone 4 demand still high, iPhone 5 production not yet started
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Rumors,
Speculation is growing that Apple won't release the iPhone 5 this summer as expected. In fact, according to a Digitimes report, Apple hasn't even released a production roadmap to component suppliers yet.
Citing "sources at Taiwan-based touch panel makers," Digitimes said part of the reason Apple isn't releasing a next-generation phone is because demand for the iPhone 4 has been consistently strong. Parts shipments have also remained constant, and Apple hasn't given manufacturers a timeframe for when production of the iPhone 4 will wind down.
Apple could release a slightly modified version of the iPhone that isn't a full update, as it did with the iPhone 3GS about two years ago. It's likely that Apple wants to continue riding the momentum of its hugely popular iPhone 4 smartphone, especially as Google's Android platform gains ground. However, the company could skip releasing any kind of phone at all. The rumors, at least, suggest it's highly possible.
Click to continue reading With iPhone 4 demand still high, iPhone 5 production not yet started
Hack uses front-facing camera adds 3D display to iPad 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks,
No, it's not an iPad 3 rumor. Rather, some innovative people from the Engineering Human-Computer Interaction Research Group have rigged the 2D display of the Apple iPad 2 for a glasses-free 3D perspective.
Using a feed from the front-facing camera coupled with some clever software hacks, the group was able to create what it calls the Head-Coupled Perspective (HCP).
"It is based on [an] efficient head-tracker that uses the front-facing camera of the device," said a description on the group's Web site. "We use an off-axis projection in order to adapt the perspective of the 3D scene according to the head's position of the user. Such spatially-aware mobile display [is able] to improve the possibilities of interaction."
Click to continue reading Hack uses front-facing camera adds 3D display to iPad 2
iSteve, official Steve Jobs biography coming in 2012
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple,
There are many unauthorized biographies of Steve Jobs and even a TV movie (below), but the Apple chief has agreed to team up with Walter Isaacson for an authorized biography that will hit bookstores (and presumably, iBooks) next year.
Simon & Schuster will publish the book, humbly titled "iSteve: The Book of Jobs," in early 2012, the publisher said in a Sunday statement. It will draw from three years of "exclusive and unprecedented" interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs. Isaacson has also interviewed Jobs's family members, colleagues, and Apple competitors.
"This is the perfect match of subject and author, and it is certain to be a landmark book about one of the world's greatest innovators," Jonathan Karp, publisher of Simon & Schuster, said in a statement. "Just as he did with Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson is telling a unique story of revolutionary genius."
The news was first reported by the AP.
Click to continue reading iSteve, official Steve Jobs biography coming in 2012
