Ed Sutherland

Apple sold 2 million iPhone 5 in first 24 hours, ‘shattering’ iPhone 4S record

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Another confirmation this morning just how fast the new iPhone 5 is selling: Apple says it sold 2 million of the new handsets in just the first 24 hours of availability with demand outstripping supply. Preorders for the slimmer, faster iPhone "have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S," Apple's marketing head Philip Schiller announced.

Indeed, demand is so off the scale that the Cupertino, Calif. company said the "majority of preorders" will be delivered to buyers on Sept. 21 with new purchases set for delivery in October. Earlier today, AT&T said it set a "sales record with iPhone 5 over the weekend, making it the fastest-selling iPhone the company has ever offered".

iPhone 5 to cost carriers $10B in subsidies

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 14, 2012

If there was a frenemy to carrier profits, it could be Apple's iPhone. While iPhone users were rejoicing over the iPhone 5, U.S. wireless providers could pay $10 billion in subsidies to sell the new smartphone, according to one analyst. Indeed, AT&T and Verizon were downgraded just days after the new iPhone was announced.

The iPhone's success is a double-edged sword for US carriers. Although a new Apple phone can draw new subscribers like a magnet, the Cupertino, Calif. company is aware of its power, costing carriers $425 per handset in subsidies. Couple that high cost with the early sale of the device and carrier margins for the last half of 2012 will be slimmer than the iPhone 5, writes Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King. King told investors AT&T and Verizon could be over-valued and downgraded both companies to 'hold.'

Apple just scrapes past Amazon in JD Power’s tablet satisfaction survey

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 11, 2018

Apple's iPad is once again ranked as the No. 1 tablet in the United States. However, the company's lead over Amazon's Kindle Fire is as razor-thin as its products. According to customer satisfaction researcher JD Power, Apple scored 848 points with Amazon close behind with 842 out of 1,000.

The Cupertino, Calif. firm can be thankful that US consumers found the iPad tops for performance and ease of use -- categories heavily weighed in the survey -- while Amazon hit it out of the ballpark in price, an area carrying just 16 percent of the final score...

Everything you need to know about today’s iPhone 5 event

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The iPhone 5 is finally here.

After Apple in 2011 unveiled the iPhone 4S -- when everyone and his mother expected the iPhone 5 -- the wizards of Cupertino introduced a smartphone for everyone. Want something smaller? Check. How about a big screen? Got you covered. Need power? No problem. Although this was the first post-Steve Jobs iPhone rollout, there was enough technology and geekitude on display today that even the Man in Black would have had a tough time fitting in just one more thing.

Most of the rumors about the iPhone were confirmed. The iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch (1136 x 640) display enclosed in an aluminum and glass shell. That larger display is becoming defacto on smartphones. Not to be outdone designwise by Android, Apple pushed suppliers to use an in-cell manufacturing technique that embeds the technology used in an edge-to-edge touchscreen, eliminating the need for a separate layer.

Report: iPod touch upgrade to include new colors, GPS and enhanced camera

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Not all of today's news centers on Apple's much-awaited next-gen iPhone. The iPod touch, seen as the 'gateway drug' for the iPhone, is also expected to debut with a wider palette of colors, global positioning and a better camera. Indeed, one analyst is calling the 2012 iPod touch the "biggest upgrade ever."

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the most noticeable change will be an expanded choice of colors beyond the current black or white.

Apple to launch Russian iTunes Store with tracks under $0.99

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

Apple is planning to open an iTunes store in Russia later this year or early 2013, a local business journal reports. The Russian iTunes Store could offer music cheaper than in the US. While licensing deals are still underway, the Cupertino, Calif. digital music giant is expected to unveil tracks costing under $0.99, the newspaper says.

The supposed deal could prop up flagging Russian sales of digital music. While physical music sales are in free-fall, even digital music purchases -- which have been growing elsewhere -- dropped by 40 percent to levels not seen since 2009. The chief reason: "a culture of copyright infringement," according to music industry group IFPI. The nation's leading music service is operated by vKontakte, which also offers file-sharing, according to the IFPI.

Apple’s chief counsel is ‘field marshal’ in Android battle

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

If Apple's "thermonuclear war" on Android had a leader, it would be Noreen Krall, chief litigator for the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker. Indeed, Bloomberg's profile of Krall describes her as Apple's legal "field marshall."

"Krall has become a familiar sight in courtrooms around the world as Apple’s chief litigation counsel," Bloomberg writes. Even before Apple won a $1.05 billion patent-infringement decision (now being appealed) against Samsung, Krall thanked junior members of the legal team for all the hard work...

Studios see Amazon as Netflix alternative

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Amazon, hot off of Thursday's Kindle Fire HD announcement, is downplaying a report the Internet retailer is being courted by some studios to take on Netflix. Studios would love Amazon to spin-off the video-streaming portion of Amazon Prime, according to one report.

"Some content owners I've talked to say they like the idea so much that they'll compel Jeff Bezos to do it whether he wants to or not," reports All Things Digital's Peter Kafka. However, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is playing hard-to-get...

Wall Street: Amazon’s new Kindle Fire unlikely to hurt iPad Sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Should Apple be nervous following Amazon introducing the Kindle Fire HD Thursday? No, says Wall Street. However, Google and Microsoft could be sweating bullets, analysts are telling investors Friday.

"Apple still rules the tablet world," writes Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets. Indeed, the expected release of a 7.85-inch 'iPad mini' will expand the the company's customer base, "potentially even surpassing sales of the regular-sized iPad." In short, Apple investors should relax...

Report: Malware targeting Russian smartphones 40 times more than US

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 22, 2018

All smartphones are not created equal -- at least in the eyes of malware authors. A smartphone in Russia is 40 times as likely to be infected by malware than the same iPhone or Android handset in the U.S., according to security researchers.

Product manager Derek Halliday of mobile security expert Lookout tells All Things Digital the 40-to-1 difference represents "a pretty massive gulf."

Apple tops JD Power’s smartphone satisfaction survey again

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 11, 2018

For the eighth time in a row, Apple is ranked with the highest customer satisfaction. The iPhone received 849 points out of 1,000, according to J.D. Powers and Associates. HTC ranked second with 790 points and Samsung earned 782 points, below the 783-point survey average.

The iPhone "performs well in all factors, particularly in physical design and ease of operation," the ratings firm announced Thursday. The company measured smartphones for performance, physical design, features and ease of operation.

AT&T expands 4G LTE network ahead of new iPhone launch

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

With just days before Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone, AT&T Thursday announced its 4G LTE network is expanding into nine new US markets. The carrier also said it expects to add 43 more markets for the high-speed network by the end of 2012.

Although Apple's not talking ahead of the Sept. 12 media event, observers expect the Cupertino, Calif. company to introduce a new iPhone that supports the faster LTE networks. The new iPhone would join the latest iPad as two iOS devices compatible with LTE.