News tagged ‘Apple’

The new study entitled iPad Usage Patterns On-the-Go and at Work from the Software Usability Research Laboratory was highlighted on Thursday by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop. A new survey has found that an overwhelming majority of iPad owners (83.65 percent) were satisfied with the iPad, while 62 percent ranked Apple's device as "excellent," 10 percent said "best imaginable," and 21 percent said "good."

The survey was also aimed at finding out how people are using Apple’s tablet. 52 percent of participants reported they carry their iPad only when traveling, while 21 percent carry their iPad every time they go out, and 17 percent only carry it on them for work.

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Last month we reported that Samsung released a revised Galaxy Tab 10.1N design in Germany in order to avoid an injunction over the sale of the device due to design issues. Apple quickly filed suit in an attempt to bar the new design, claiming that changes in the design were not significant. Though, the judge seems not to support Apple’s point of view and may not going to issue a ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1N sales in Germany, giving customers opportunity to choose between Apple’s and Samsung’s tablets. However, the final decision on Apple's request is scheduled to be released on February 9.

The Dusseldorf court that banned sales of the Galaxy 10.1 on Sept. 9 is unlikely to grant Apple an injunction against the Galaxy 10.1N, Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann said at a hearing today. Samsung has changed the device’s design sufficiently to distance it from the iPad, she said, adding that the view is preliminary. [...]

“Consumers are well aware that there is an original and that competitors try to use similar designs, so buyers are vigilant when looking at products,” Brueckner-Hofmann said. “We don’t think that someone buys a Samsung to make his table neighbor at the coffee house believe he owns an iPad.”

Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said in a note to investors on Wednesday that as Apple did not redesigned several major products in 2011, the analyst suggest that significant changes could be made in 2012. Among such changes are said to be redesigned rumored iPhone 5 that is predicted to debut in the middle of 2012, as well as an expansion of the iPad lineup into both lower and higher price points.

The launch of a so-called "iPhone 5" in 2012 would set the stage for outperformance in 2013, in Munster's eyes. He offered two scenarios for Apple's products in 2013. According to the first scenario, Apple will sell 142 million iPhone units, good for an 18 percent increase in revenue. According to the more successful scenario, Apple will sell 162 million iPhone units throughout 2013, amounting to a 35 percent increase in revenue. As for a total revenue growth for Apple in calendar 2013, Munster suggests that the growth will reach 14 percent, but he noted that such estimates are rather conservative. More prospective scenario shows that Apple’s revenue will increase by 28 percent in calendar 2013.

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According to a new study released by market research firm Distimo, despite the proliferation of handsets running Google's Android OS, which now accounts for 53 percent of the mobile smartphone market, Apple's U.S. App Store remains the top marketplace for mobile downloads. But Chinese App Store sales continue to grow and may even bypass Apple's U.S. App Store numbers in 2012.

Over the course of 2011, Apple's iPhone app sales saw a steady decline month-to month, though Distimo blames the lull on the later than usual release of the iPhone 4S. The lowest point of the year occurred in September when anticipation for the 4S was highest, and was followed by a spike upon the handset's debut. Peak revenue for the U.S. App Store came a little over a month after the newest version of Apple's smartphone was released. The same "anticipation effect" was seen in app sales for the iPad, as downloads declined in January and February only to pick up steam after the iPad 2 was released in March.

China now demonstrates a strong increase in downloads through 2011 and may surpass the U.S. App Store in 2012.

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According to a new job application published by Apple this week and discovered by AppleInsider, the company is looking to hire someone for the position of iCloud Application Developer. That means that the company is already looking to improve iCloud service with new applications for the iPhone and iPad. The iCloud umbrella of services was launched in October to replace Apple's previous cloud-based option, MobileMe.

"The iCloud team is looking for a proactive, creative-minded (engineer) to build the next generation of cocoa-based client applications that integrate tightly with a set of cloud based services," the listing reads.

The position requires someone who will develop both new and existing iPhone and iPad applications for iCloud services. Though it offers no indication of what those applications might be, it notes that employees will "build products that people want to use every day."

Apple is expected to add in iCloud a proprietary mapping service from Apple. Moreover, there are a lot of rumors concerning that Apple is building its own mapping and location services for iOS.

We already reported that Apple is working on "HiDPI" modes in OS X Lion for supporting ultra high-resolution displays to achieve image quality that is seen on the iPhone with "Retina" display.

With new claims that Apple is set to release a new 15" MacBook Pro offering a resolution of 2880x1800 early next year, Apple's work on its HiDPI software support has also been gaining renewed attention. By doubling the resolution in each dimension over the existing 1440x900 MacBook Pro, Apple would achieve four times the number of pixels and provide developers with an easy way to scale existing artwork.

Evidence of Apple work on HiDPI was found in developer builds of OS X 10.7.3, with the "Get Info" window for applications seeing the addition of an "Open in HIDPI mode" checkbox, though it is not functional. Despite the fact that with yesterday's release of Build 11D36 to developers, Apple has now removed that checkbox from the "Get Info" window, it indicates that Apple is indeed likely actively working on the feature.

In mid-August Evernote acquired Skitch and released it as as a free program on the Mac App Store. Yesterday the company fulfilled its promise to launch a version of the program for iOS. Skitch for iPad is now available, allowing users to annotate, take notes, edit existing images and more on your Apple tablet.

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Fortune reports that Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs biography, may not yet be finished working on the book. Isaacson currently has several ideas how to expand the authorized biography. Не is going to describe more fully the events surrounding Jobs' death in early October or to add extensive annotations to the existing content.

The author discussed potential plans for expanding the already 630-page book in the future. One possibility is doing an extensively annotated version. Another is writing an addendum that addresses the period surrounding Jobs' death. Fleshing out the details seems like a logical next step, since Isaacson believes the Apple (AAPL) CEO's story will be told for decades or a century to come. "This is the first or second draft," he said, referring to his book's role in documenting Jobs' life. "It's not the final draft."

Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson has already became Amazon's best-selling print book in 2011 and named the company's best-selling new release of 2011 for combined print and digital sales.

A couple of days ago Apple began replacing recalled first-generation iPod nanos with current-generation units. The users are beginning to report in that they are indeed receiving the current models.

Just received our replacement today - Fedex truck pulled up late in the evening. Inside was our replacement for our 1st gen ipod nano that was sent into Apple 1 month ago.

It's a 6th generation ipod nano, serial number shows that warranty has expired. Not sure if that means that it's a refurbished model or if it's a brand new model and they've deactivated the warranty. It's silver.

Initially Apple replaced the recalled first-generation units at risk of overheating with refurbished first-generation models. But the company seems to have run out of first-generation units soon and is now supplying users with current-generation units as replacements.

Apple’s oldest iPod was launched in September 2005. It utilized a click wheel for navigation and contained a 1.5-inch screen. Battery life was advertised at 14 hours of music playback and four hours of photo slideshows with music.

The iPhone Dev-Team has released UltraSn0w 1.25 which brings iOS 5.0.1 support to the unlock for older compartible basebands.

iPhone Dev Team's iPhone 4, 3G, and 3GS software unlock, now with added PwnApple. Compatible with iPhone 4 baseband 01.59.00 and iPhone 3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, 05.13.04 and 06.15.00! Thanks to @sherif_hashim and @Oranav for contributing baseband crashes

UltraSn0w 1.2.5 is now available in Cydia.

If you have one of the supported basebands and wish to update to iOS 5.0.1 you will need to do so with a custom ipsw that doesn't update your baseband.

According to Hebrew-language newspaper Calcalist, Apple finalized its acquisition of flash memory maker Anobit, which is said to have been recently informed their employees about the finalized deal.  The final price remains unknown, but could be in between $400 million and $500 million.

The reported goal of Apple's acquisition of Anobit is to increase the amount of memory in its portable devices, like the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air, as well as to improve the reliability of solid-state memory. Apple is now expected to build a development center in Haifa, where Intel, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Qualcomm also have facilities. The Anobit purchase is believed to be the first acquisition for Apple with Tim Cook as CEO.

Anobit is a 200-employee Israeli fabless semiconductor company that specializes in flash storage. Anobit has about 100 pending and granted patents, and was first founded in 2006. Apple is said to be particularly interested in the company's proprietary memory signal processing technology and planning to build a semiconductor development center in Israel.

Apple executives met with executives from media companies to discuss "their vision for the future of TV," according to The Wall Street Journal. The main aim of Apple was to discuss how users could access content "across phones, tablets and TVs," how Apple would stream content to users in new ways, allowing them to continue watching video across multiple devices like a TV, tablet and smartphone.

"The TV device Apple is working on would use a version of Apple's wireless-streaming technology AirPlay to allow users to control it from iPhones and iPads, according to people briefed on the matter," the report said. "When the company plans to start selling such a device and whether it would receive traditional broadcast or cable signals remains unclear, said these people, who say Apple may change its plans."

Apple is reportedly to have worked on would integrate DVR storage into its existing iCloud service that allows users to watch shows they have bought or recorded on multiple devices.

"The company has also talked to television-service providers about teaming up on new video services for Apple devices, according to people familiar with the matter," the report said. "It has also broached the idea of licensing content directly from media companies for some sort of subscription-TV service, resembling the packages now offered by cable operators, but the talks have been 'exploratory,' according to people familiar with the matter."

Apple TV is said to be launched on the middle of 2012, but some analysts believe that Apple will announce it in late 2012 for an early 2013 sale. We also reported that Apple TV could arrive in three sizes, including 32 inches and 55 inches.

Apparently, Apple and Samsung are not going to stop their war involving numerous lawsuits related to alleged patent and design infringement in their tablet and smartphone products. According to Bloomberg, this time Apple has sent a notice of infringement to Samsung over the company's tablet and smartphone cases. The company plans to pursue legal action

Apple Inc., which on Dec. 9 lost a bid to keep Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet out of Australia, claims the case for the device and cases for Samsung phones infringe its patents and registered design.

Apple issued the notice of infringement to Samsung in Australia over the cases, and will file a statement of claim, Apple’s lawyer Stephen Burley said at a hearing in Sydney today. Samsung’s lawyer Katrina Howard said at the same hearing the company was served with the notice that the cases infringe at least 10 patents.

To be honest, Samsung’s "Smart Case" for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 closely resembles the iPad 2 Smart Cover. The company quickly clarified that the product was not in fact approved by Samsung and was immediately pulled before it had begun selling. Though Samsung offers several styles of cases for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 at that moment, it is not clear which one Apple is considering to infringe its case designs.

Citing findings by research firm GfK, the Financial Times reported on Monday that Apple’s iPhone 4S accounted for nearly one out of every four smartphone sales in the UK during the lead up to the holiday season and retains the best-selling smartphone in the UK.

During the first week of December, five versions of Apple's handset, including the two and a half year old 3GS, ranked as one of the top 15 smartphones sold and took over 37 percent of a smartphone market that nearly doubled in size between Feb. 2010 and Aug. 2011. According to figures from Ofcom, the U.K.'s government-approved regulatory authority for telecommunications, 46 percent of all mobile users are now smartphone owners.

Apple’s rivals are also showing significant grown in sales. The second best-selling smartphone in the UK is Samsung's Galaxy S II and three versions of RIM's BlackBerry Curve all landing in the top ten. Noticeably absent from the top-selling handsets was Nokia. The company's new partnership with Microsoft has yet to bear fruit. The Windows Phone 7-based Lumia line failed to crack the top ten handsets sold in the UK after.

Apple is progressively expanding the capabilities of its Siri voice assistant feature of the iPhone 4S. Wolfram Alpha reports in its blog that it is now enabling its clients to browse Best Buy's electronics and appliances data provides iPhone 4S Siri users a new way to shop and compare products using their voice. The retailer's database includes 35,000 consumer products.

"We’ve taken the strengths we’ve developed in math, science, and socioeconomic data and created something equally unique and useful for online shoppers," the search provider stated.

Using either the web or one's own voice using Siri, users can search for a general product category or a specific product model and obtain a comprehensive report detailing product features, prices and availability, users ratings, price comparisons with similar models.

Users can even shop for products based on their specific needs, such as asking for "the lightest digital camera under $100 with a pixel resolution greater than 12MP,” or compare multiple models. The Best Buy data is currently only available to users in the United States.