Archive for April, 2011
Apple Released 3rd Build of Mac OS X Lion Preview 2 - What's New
This Friday Apple has released a second update for Preview 2 of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. A 1.22GB download is recommended for all users running Mac OS X 10 Lion Developer Preview 2 and is available via Software Update. The version of the latest build is reportedly 11A444d.
So what's new?
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Celebrate the Royal Wedding with the Royal iPhone Collection
To celebrate the big wedding, Goldgenie brings to you the Royal Wedding iPhone collection. The 32GB Royal iPhone is available in three versions – Platinum, 18 Ct. Gold and Rose Gold and includes a solid a Platinum rear with VS1 8.50 ct. diamond and stunning sapphire bezel and embellished Apple logo. According to Goldgenie, the bezel is set with quality sapphire and diamonds similar to the late Princes Diana’s wedding ring. Only 50 pieces will be offered for sale. The Royal iPhone Platinum, Gold and Rose gold are priced at £23,050 ($38,400), £20,050 ($34,150) and £20,100 ($33,500) respectively.
Newspaper thinktank predicted the iPad in 1994
In 2007 the Paleofuture blog posted the video below, where Roger Fidler and his team at Knight-Ridder describe an electronic newspaper running on what might as well be an iPad. But the video was shot in 1994.
"We may still use computers to create information, but we will use the tablet to interact with print, video and other information," the video explains. It also goes on to describe personal "profile pages," "interactive maps" and sharing links with friends. It even seems like Fidler is channeling Steve Jobs at some points, saying "Nobody needs a manual for their daily newspaper". Amazingly, he even seems to describe iAds.
Check the video below:
Samsung Doesn’t Give Up, Counter-Sues Apple In The United States
Bloomberg reports that Samsung now countersues Apple in the Unites Stated. Samsung already sued Apple in Europe and Asia for patent infringement in technologies like power conservation and 3G data transmission, in response to Apple’s lawsuit accusing Samsung of coping iPad and iPhone design with its Galaxy series devices.
In the U.S. complaint, Samsung accuses Apple of violating patents that “relate to fundamental innovations that increase mobile device reliability, efficiency, and quality, and improve user interface in mobile handsets and other products.”
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Apple Beats Microsoft in First Quarter Profit
Six months ago Apple’s quarterly revenue for the first time in approximately 15 years was higher than the Microsoft’s one. But Microsoft was unbeatable with its high profit margins that the company achieved thanks to its software sales. The situation changed in the past fiscal quarter. Today Microsoft has announced net profit of $5.23 billion for the first calendar quarter (third fiscal quarter) of 2011. Apple last week reported profits of $5.99 billion over the same period, which corresponded to the company's second fiscal quarter of 2011. It seems that Apple finally surpassed its longtime rival in almost all position. Moreover Apple’s market cap is now nearly $100 billion higher than Microsoft's.
The White iPhone Is Actually Thicker Than The Black iPhone
The long-awaited white iPhone 4 started selling yesterday. At first glance it looks like the regular black model. While Apple doesn’t list any size difference in their Tech Specs page, Ryan Cash of Marketcircle notes on his personal blog that the white iPhone is actually slightly thicker (0.2 mm) than the black iPhone. It’s not the steel enclosure that’s thicker on the white version; it’s the plastic (see the photo above). Ryan came to that result then he’d experienced some problems when trying to fit the white iPhone in older iPhone cases. Though the difference is very minimal and visible only when comparing the devices, and not so many cases will probably have this problem.
Three Foxconn Employees Arrested for Leaking iPad 2 Design
Before the release of the iPad 2 various Chinese and Taiwanese sources provided us with several “leaked” case designs that gave us indication of what the device would look like. These cases were all based on the same design principles such as tapered edges, thinner body and flat back, clearly suggesting manufacturers had access to the same design documents that were quickly spreading across the tech industry.
Several online shopping retailers in China were able to sell iPad 2′s protective case products before the iPad 2 was even launched, leading Foxconn to suspect that there might have been some employees leaking the design of iPad 2 which it reported to the local police.
Jobs Gave an Interview to Clarify iPhone Location Tracking Issue
Ina Fried of The Wall Street Journal yesterday
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"Mystique" of White iPhone 4 Could Add 1-1.5 Million Sales
Brian White, an analyst at Ticonderoga, believes the delay in the white iPhone’s release and its “mystique and scarcity value” could drive sales to 1-1.5 million units per quarter. White said:
The purchase of consumer electronic devices is not always a completely rational decision, and people buy Apple products for many different reasons, including status, aesthetics, functionality, quality and the ‘cool factor.’ In our view, this delay has created a certain mystique and scarcity value around the white iPhone 4 that we believe could drive incremental iPhone 4 purchases in the range of 1 million to 1.5 million units per quarter until the iPhone 5 potentially comes to market in September.
Three reasons Apple might ship the iPhone 5 in the fall
We still don’t know whether Apple realizes or not the iPhone 5 until September or early fall. But we’ve tried to sum up all possible reasons why Apple might officially launch the iPhone 5 this fall. First of all, Apple announced Verizon iPhone only in February and the white iPhone’ has stared selling today. An October shipping date of new iPhone would give Verizon and the white iPhones time to enjoy their purchases without temptation from the next model of Apple’s smartphone. The second reason is that Apple typically updates the iPod line in late summer/early fall. This encourages back-to-school sales and jump-starts the all-important Holiday shopping season. By bringing the iPhone into line with its iPod refresh cycle, Apple could better position new iPhone sales so that giving an iPhone for Christmas doesn't feel like you're committing to last year's technology. And the last reason is firmware update. The iPhone 5 and iOS 5 may be presented simultaneously showing us more revolutionary than evolutionary changes.
Apple Purchases iCloud.com for $4.5 Million
GigaOM reports that Apple has acquired the iCloud.com domain, used for online data storage, for $4.5 million.
My source, who is familiar with the company, says that Xcerion has sold the domain to Apple for about $4.5 million. Xcerion hasn't responded to my queries as yet. At the time of writing, the Whois database showed Xcerion as the owner of iCloud.
The purchase of iCloud.com could be a sign confirming Apple’s intention to rebrand MobileMe. With Apple’s new cloud services preparing for launch, the purchase of iCloud.com could indicate that new services from Apple may be arriving sooner than later.
Apple Is Already Testing iOS 5.0
A third party iOS developer FutureTap has
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White iPhone 4 Sales Officially Begin
Apple has finally begun selling the rumored white iPhone 4 after a 10-month delay since the original unveiling at the WWDC 2010. Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller told in an interview to Mobilized’s Ina Fried that the white iPhone was really “challenging” to make because of “unexpected interactions” of the white color with several internal components. Moreover, the white model of iPhone 4 indeed has a different proximity sensor than the black one.
Apple Senior Vice President Mansfield Sold His Stock And Gained $13.7M
Recently Fortune discovered that according to Form 4 filing with the Securities Exchange Commission Bob Mansfield, who is Senior Vice President at Apple, sold 38,863 shares of Apple stock. Average price stock was $351.89, thus he got almost $13.7 million. Currently Mansfield owns 501 shares of Apple, which is roughly 1% of his Apple portfolio.
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Apple Officially Responds On Location Tracking Issue
After a week of discussions around the discovery that the iPhone has an inbuilt algorithm of keeping track of users' locations in unencrypted file, Apple finally shed light on the subject.
Before we repost the company's
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