The Apple ‘halo effect’ is all about iPads and iPhones now, NPD says

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

According to a new study out today from research firm NPD Group, based on a poll of more than 3,000 United States consumers in February 2012, one out of four Apple customers in the United States chose the iPad as their first-ever Apple product.

Moreover, the iPhone and iPad combined account for one-third of first-time Apple purchases since 2010. In a way, the iPad is the new Apple gateway drug with universal appeal and strong pull.

The device lures first-time buyers to the Apple ecosystem. Once in, they live happily in that ecosystem and purchase additional gadgets over time, namely the iPhone...

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What Google’s smartphone looked like before the iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ April 26, 2012

Thanks to his biography, Steve Jobs' feelings on Android are fairly well known. The late-CEO famously said, "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

Considering that Apple is involved in a number of lawsuits around the globe with Android manufacturers, it's easy to see that Jobs' remarks weren't totally unfounded. But did Google actually steal anything?

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Cheaper iPad 2 could help Apple make major headway into education market

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Nobody was surprised when Apple announced that it was going to continue selling its one-year old iPad 2 at a discount alongside its new tablet last month. After all, the Cupertino company pulled the same thing with the iPhone 4 and 4S.

Considering that Apple has sold more than 70 million iPhones over the past two quarters, it's safe to say that keeping the older iPhone around is paying off in spades. And it looks like keeping the iPad 2 around will yield similar results...

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New concept video shows multiple iPad apps running on screen at once

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 25, 2012

This isn't exactly what I envisioned when I created a concept for MultiLayer iPad app functionality a few weeks ago, but it's certainly a start.

After speaking at length with iOS developer Kyle Howells — the brains behind the awesome jailbreak tweak CardSwitcher — he graciously agreed to compile a specialized version of said tweak, which allows users to interface with multiple iPad apps on the same screen.

This means that it's entirely feasible to play games while watching your Twitter timeline, or check your stock prices while browsing the web via Safari — all from the same iPad.

Running multiple apps on-screen simultaneously has been a dream of many iPad owners. We've seen similar concepts from Kyle in the past, so I'm confident that if anyone could pull this off, it would be him. Check inside for a demonstration video of the concept tweak in action...

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Turn your iPad into a MacBook Air with this keyboard case

Cody Lee ∙ April 25, 2012

If there's one thing that the iPad accessory space isn't short on, it's keyboard cases. There are a number of them available from several top-notch manufacturers including Zagg, Logitech, and Kensington. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for one more.

Meet the Brydge, an aluminum bluetooth keyboard case for your second generation or third generation iPad. Made from the "highest quality materials," the accessory makes your tablet look (and function) an awful lot like a MacBook Air...

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How to reliably unlock your iPhone with the updated SAM tool

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 25, 2012

If you haven't had much success unlocking your iPhone with the SAM tool, then perhaps this will be of interest to you.

The developer of the SAM tool has updated it to make unlocking much easier than before. In fact, it only takes a few steps in most cases.

You don't need iTunes, you don't need the original SIM that you device is locked to, SIM ID's, or anything like that.

Check out our full how to inside...

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Facebook reportedly still working on a smartphone with HTC

Cody Lee ∙ April 25, 2012

Late last year, some rumors started circulating that Facebook was working on its very own smartphone. Code-named "Buffy," the handset was to be built by HTC, and feature a forked version of Android with core-level integration of the social network.

Today, DigiTimes is reviving the rumor with a new report regarding the mysterious device. Quoting "industry sources," the site says that Facebook is set to release the smartphone as early as Q3 of this year, shortly after the company goes public...

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Ferrari CEO had sit-down meetings with Apple’s boss and heads of Google

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2012

Don't hit the comments yet, this is nothing like the false Valve rumor. A surprising report straight from Ferrari's website has it that Apple CEO Tim Cook along with heads of Google sat down for a two-hour chat with Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo.

Remarking Cooks' "openness and availability", the car maker wrote that the sit-down meeting occurred during di Montezemolo's trip to Silicon Valley last week, where he also gave a speech at Stanford University.

What did the two men talk about if not world-class industrial design and their common penchant for creating great products with the utmost attention to detail?

Ferarri wouldn't reveal the agenda of the two-hour face-to-face meeting with Cook, but they did state the obvious - that the car maker and the iPhone maker share the same "maniacal attention to technology, but also to design"...

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Confirmed: Sprint to keep unlimited data, whether or not iPhone 5 is LTE

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2012

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has finally addressed concerns that the carrier might drop its unlimited data plans for an upcoming sixth-generation iPhone. Speaking to CNET's Roger Cheng, Hesse said his company has little interest in changing unlimited data plans by the time the next iPhone hits the market later this year, whether or not it is LTE capable.

Sprint is the only major United States wireless operator still offering an all-you-can-eat data plans to smartphone customers. This, as Hesse often puts it, remains the carrier's "distinctive differentiator"...

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Cook on toaster-refrigerator dilemma and why iPad and MacBook won’t converge

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2012

Apple reported its monster first-quarter earnings yesterday and CEO Tim Cook updated investors on a conference call with various tidbits.

He also addressed the upcoming Windows 8 operating system which was designed to scale easily from tablets to notebooks to desktop systems.

Even as the likes of Huawei allegedly jump on the Windows 8 bandwagon, Cook thinks the operating system won't succeed at uniting the two worlds.

Specifically, Cook likened Microsoft's strategy to a toaster-refrigerator convergence that would never work.

Fielding a question from Citigroup's Richard Gardner, Apple's boss said that yes, even though iPad and MacBook could converge, such a combination would never work because of the many tradeoffs customers would not be willing to put up with.

Plus, he said it would make little sense as the two products cater to different needs and consumers use them differently...

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Whoa, WWDC 2012 sells out in two hours

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2012

This is insane: tickets for Apple's WWDC 2012 conference, which was announced earlier this morning, sold out in mere two hours. Nevermind the $1,599 price tag, tickets went on sale at 1:30pm GMT and by 3:30pm sold out.

In a way, Apple - itself based on the West Coast - screwed developers on the West Coast who woke up to the news that the year's most important event has already sold out. Here's to the hoping they put into effect a staged ticket roll-out on a per-region basis next year so all United States-based developers get fair treatment.

This year's WWDC, which runs June 11-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, looks to be Apple's most popular developer conference yet. I wonder if monster quarterly stats released yesterday and speculation of an iOS 6 preview could have anything to do with such a high interest...

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