Month: April 2012

A month after it pulled out of print, Encyclopedia Britannica hits iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

As you know, Encyclopedia Britannica announced in March plans to stop printing its iconic multi-volume book sets.

The decision to kill the dead-tree edition, following 244 years of publishing, has stunned folks who prefer credibility over availability and the old-fashioned types who enjoy that lovely feeling associated with flipping through the real pages.

Fortunately, fans can sigh a collective breath of relief as Encyclopedia Britannica goes digital, releasing their inaugural app for the iOS platform.

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FCC launches online ‘bill shock’ tool as carriers implement overage alerts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Despite best efforts to keep tabs on your wireless usage habits and keep that monthly bill within self-imposed limits, some of us continue to experience so-called 'bill shock', over and over again.

Thanks to a new online tool by The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and an agreement between major wireless operators and The CTIA Wireless Association (CTIA), you can now get information about carriers’ billing policies.

It also lets one check out the state of each carrier’s implementation of free alerts related to one's data, messaging, voice and international roaming usage.

So, is this going to suffice or are some of us going to continue getting bill shock’d each month?

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Online availability eases as iPad rolls out to 12 new countries today

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2012

As announced, the new iPad is expanding today to twelve additional countries. Meanwhile, availability of the device further eases in the United States, with the company's online store now showing 5-7 day deliveries, an improvement over previous delivery times of between 1-2 weeks.

Today's expansion to twelve markets and an additional roll out to nine countries later this month will improve iPad availability to a total of 57 countries.

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Rumor: Apple could use in-cell touch panels for thinner, lighter future iPhones

Cody Lee ∙ April 20, 2012

DigiTimes is out with a new report today claiming that it has learned that Apple is looking to adopt in-cell touch panels for future iPhones — possibly even this year's model. As usual, the information in the report is attributed to supply chain chatter.

Why is this a big deal? Well, if it's true, it could make future iPhones significantly thinner. Unlike on-cell panels, which Apple uses in its current handsets, in-cell panels combine touch sensors and color filters into one layer, making the touch panel much thinner...

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As it turns out, Tim Cook didn’t visit Valve’s headquarters

Cody Lee ∙ April 20, 2012

Last week, a report made its way around the blogosphere claiming that Apple's CEO Tim Cook was spotted at Valve's headquarters. This sparked all kinds of speculation regarding the nature of Cook's visit, and the company's future plans in the gaming space.

But alas, the story has been proven to be false. Valve head Gabe Newell debunked the rumor himself during an interview on the weekly Seven Day Cooldown podcast yesterday. And apparently, tech sites weren't the only ones fooled by the report...

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Inside JailbreakCon’s massive 13,500 square foot venue

Cody Lee ∙ April 19, 2012

As most of you know, JailbreakCon, the world's largest jailbreak conference, will be taking place in the USA later this year. Hackers, developers and enthusiasts will all gather in San Francisco on September 29th to talk about, what else, jailbreaking.

And for those of you that are under the impression that this is going to be just a tiny get-together, think again. The WWJC (WorldWide Jailbreak Convention) crew just posted a video of a tour inside the convention's massive 13,500 square foot venue...

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Apple’s marketing honcho Schiller stops using Instagram because it went to Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 19, 2012

If you couldn't believe those hipsters who stopped using Instagram just because it sold out to Facebook for a staggering $1 billion, wait 'till you hear this.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president, apparently stopped using Instagram because the photo sharing service recently expanded to Android.

It's hardly a surprise, if you think of it. Schiller, a prominent figure in Apple's public presentations, has been a member of the company's executive leadership team since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997.

Being in charge of worldwide marketing at Apple and an active Twitter user, Schiller would be foolish to continue supporting a hugely popular service that up until recently used to be an iOS exclusive...

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Rare earth elements, another reason why Apple has its heels stuck in Chinese mud

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

We explained earlier today how producing millions of iPads that'll eventually be discarded negatively affects our environment.

And even though Apple is doing what it possibly can to forgo toxic materials in iPad manufacturing, green technology requires a significant amount of difficult-to-mine elements.

And these green earth elements are yet another reason why Apple cannot pull out of China and move manufacturing to other countries.

True, some iPhones are being made in Brazil. The problem for Apple and other electronics makers is the fact that companies can only be exempt from China’s rare earth export quotas by manufacturing within the country...

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How the iPad affects our planet

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2017

Since Apple unveiled the first iPad back in January of 2010, it has completely dominated the tablet space. In just two years, the company has sold more than 50 million slates, garnering more than 60% of the market.

But with great power, comes great responsibility. Producing 50 million tablets, which will eventually be discarded, can have seriously negative effects on our environment. Want to know more? Keep reading...

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On carriers putting iPhone in its place, Apple doomsayers and crazypants analysts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 3, 2017

Today's first-quarter earnings from Verizon include 3.2 million iPhone activations. That's down 1.1 million units, or 24 percent, from the 4.3 million iPhones they activated in the holiday quarter, when Apple sold a whopping 37 million iPhones.

Still, iPhones continue to make up over half of Verizon’s smartphone sales, easily beating the 2.1 million 4G LTE smartphones the carrier shipped.

Now, finance boss Fran Shammo hinted during a conference call with investors that Verizon could reconsider the iPhone subsidy and said they are "fully supportive" of Microsoft because the industry needs a third mobile platform.

It was enough for naysayers to come out of the woodwork and spell doom for the iPhone, the Apple stock and the company itself. You too must have seen sensationalist headlines lately that disseminate an anti-Apple sentiment.

So... Should Apple really be worried? And what the heck is up with Apple doomsayers and their crazypants analyst peers?

Here are my two cents...

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Apple Stores see 17 times more sales than the average retailer

Cody Lee ∙ April 19, 2012

We've always known that Apple's retail stores see crazy amounts of foot traffic. In fact, all it takes is a quick glance in your local Apple Store to see that. It seems like they are always busy.

Well today, research firm Asymco published an interesting report regarding the performance of the Mac-maker's worldwide retail chain. And the results are staggering...

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