Ed Sutherland

Chitika: iOS 7 responsible for over half of iOS web traffic in just first week

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 26, 2013

The beat goes on for Apple's iOS 7. The latest: in just a week the new mobile operating system now represents 52 percent of all online iDevice traffic, according to one Internet measurement firm. Indeed, in just 24 hours following its September 18 release, the new software for the iPhone, iPad and some iPods accounted for just over 18 percent of Apple's web traffic, reports ad network Chitika.

By comparison, Apple's previous iOS 6 required three days to top thirty percent of web traffic and not until February of 2013 did it attain 83 percent of online activity. Why has iOS 7 taken the tech world by storm, just yesterday being crowned the most user friendly mobile operating system?...

Apple wins right to use iPhone name in Brazil

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

A Brazil judge Wednesday ruled that Apple can use the iPhone name, clearing the way for the tech giant to compete in South America's burgeoning smartphone market. The ruling reverses an earlier finding that gave a Brazilian company exclusive rights to the iPhone trademark. In his ruling, the judge declared Apple and IGB Electronica must share the iPhone name, writing the U.S. company had built a well-known line of iDevices...

iOS 7 user experience beats Android and Windows Phone, survey says

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

After being available for just one week, Apple's new iOS 7 is making daily headlines. The latest kudo to the revamped mobile operating system is a win for best user experience. Measuring how iOS 7 performs for everyday users, the software handily defeats Android, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10.

Apple's mobile software rated 73.25, placing it far ahead of Google's Android with 57.25. The version of Android available on Samsung smartphones ranked third, just behind Apple's previous mobile software, iOS 6...

France probes Apple’s iPhone contracts with carrier partners

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 25, 2013

Apple is yet again under investigation. An arm of France's finance ministry is probing how the iPhone maker contracts with French cell phone carriers.The examination comes less than a week after Apple released two new smartphones, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the administrative section of the country's finance department is "investigating the terms of contracts between cellphone suppliers and French phone operators for the sale of devices such as the iPhone."...

80 percent of iPhone purchasers in China are picking the iPhone 5s

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

It seems Apple's release of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c is chock full of surprises aside from the humungous 9 million units sold during the first weekend. Remember the iPhone 5c, first expected to be Apple's cheap iPhone, then forecast to win over emerging markets, such as China? Neither is true.

New analytics show more than 90 percent of the new iPhones sold in China this past weekend were the iPhone 5s. That's even higher than the 78 percent of global sales average the iPhone 5s enjoys on average...

Boeing rolls out iPad app suite for airplane maintenance crews

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 24, 2013

Up until now, airlines mostly tapped iPads to either shrink the size of flight bags carried by pilots and other flight crews or relax restriction on how passengers can use tablets. Tuesday, aircraft maker Boeing announced a suite of iPad apps designed to help maintenance crews find, fix and get airplanes back in service with the least delays. Yes, there are now iPad apps to service those huge jumbo jets.

How cool is that?

BlackBerry to sell itself in $4.7 billion deal

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated December 29, 2016

Canadian phone maker BlackBerry - once the undisputed enterprise giant that used to be synonymous with smartphones and whose iconic BlackBerry handsets with their clickety-clack keyboards and real-time, secure push email were considered the real work machines - is now entertaining a $4.7 billion offer from its largest shareholder, a move that would take the free-falling phone company private.

Fairfax Financial Holdings, which already owns 9.9 percent of the Waterloo, Ontario firm, would pay $9 per share, a 3.1 percent premium over last week's share price. According to a statement by Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa, the private company will "focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world."...

Pricier iPhone 5s’s popularity triple that of iPhone 5c

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 23, 2013

We've already heard field reports suggesting the iPhone 5s was outselling the colorful iPhone 5c. Now comes hard after the first weekend of sales for Apple's two new iPhones. The new flagship 5s smartphone is more than three times as popular as the less expensive 5c, according to one analytics firm Monday.

While both of the handsets represent 1.36 of all activated iPhones in the US, the lion's share goes to the iPhone 5s, with 1.05 percent of all Apple smartphones activated by the country's top four wireless carriers. By contrast, the iPhone 5c is far behind in adoption, representing just 0.31 percent of activated US iPhones...

On iOS 7 launch day, Internet traffic spiked 112%

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

As part of its announcement of the nine million iPhone 5s/5c sales during the opening weekend, Apple also mentioned this morning that 200 million customers have upgraded to iOS 7 since its release last Wednesday. In fact, the mobile operating system has experienced such a rapid adoption that it may have been responsible for a spike of up to 112 percent in last Wednesday's Internet traffic.

Among traffic hotspots were the US and UK, which have the highest rate of iPhone usage. Just how much traffic are we talking about? Some 2.2 terabytes of data per second spread over 6.3 million downloads per hour, according to one estimate...

U.S. Senator Al Franken challenges Apple on Touch ID privacy implications

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

What are the privacy implications of the iPhone 5s fingerprint sensor? U.S. Senator Al Franken wants Apple CEO Tim Cook to answer that question and more. In a published letter to Cook, Franken writes that "important questions remain about how this technology works." In addition, the senator wants the Apple chief to explain how the Touch ID sensor may be used in the future.

In response, Apple published online a document explaining that fingerprints obtained by the new iPhone 5s are walled-off from the iOS software and application developers...

Loyalty: almost all iPhone 5s buyers apparently own an iPhone

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Remember the days when Apple or Android hoped to snag a customer from the rival camp? You can file that dream alongside winning the Super Ball lottery, because nearly all of the people lined up Friday to buy one of Apple's new iPhones already owns an iPhone.

According to one Apple observer, 90 percent of people lined up in New York, San Francisco and Minneapolis are upgrading from an older iPhone. The finding reflects both the loyalty of Apple users as well as a U.S. smartphone market where few consumers switch from one handset brand to another.

The 90 percent upgrade figure tops that of the iPhone 5, when 83 percent of those purchasing the handset in 2012 said they already owned an iPhone...

The launch: “incredible” demand, Tim Cook & Co. at Palo Alto store, line vids the world over

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

If it is Friday, you must be standing in line for the new iPhones. As the iPhone 5c officially hits stores and the iPhone 5s opens for both pre-sales and retail customers, Apple describes the rush to own the new smartphones as "incredible." From a Silicon Valley appearance by CEO Tim Cook to Hong Kong's own gold rush, talk of a down-and-out Apple is forgotten amid the lines and excited iPhone fanatics.

Acknowledging to AllThingsD that some models of iPhone 5s are "sold out or in limited supply," Apple reportedly is asking its suppliers to increase production by a third.

Gold is in - particularly when it comes to Apple's just-released iPhone 5s...