Apple

Apple is doomed…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 21, 2017

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNklg_Hg98c

OMG, Apple is doomed, run for the hills! Yes, the stock is taking some beating, but business fundamentals look as good as ever. Apple is doing just fine without Steve Jobs and remains the most profitable technology company out there - and by a large margin, too.

That's why I'm glad comedian Bill Maher mocked some media outlets for insisting on a negative spin to their Apple reporting. "What does it take to make people happy in this economy?", he asks rhetorically. "This is our problem, nothing is ever good enough."

He nailed it. Arianna Huffington (rightfully) blames the stock market. Apple should give stock manipulators a finger and just follow in Dell's and Amazon's footsteps and go private again. At least Tim Cook & Co. would no longer have to wear the straight jacket of what these crazypants analysts are expecting. All of Wall Street runs its spreadsheets on Apple devices, by the way...

Microsoft and Samsung try to patent Apple’s already patented pinch-zooming

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2013

In a 'how low can they go' moment, both software giant Microsoft and the South Korean conglomerate Samsung have moved to patent the pinch-zoom concept that Apple popularized (and patented) on mobile devices with the introduction of the iPhone six years ago, as if Apple's technology never existed.

Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs reportedly hit the roof after HTC in early 2010 launched a handset with pinch-to-zoom functionality, but the two companies recently settled their patent disputes. On the strength of its iPhone patent portfolio, Apple even forced Google to agree to disabling multitouch on early Android devices sold outside the United States.

Now, Apple claims a specific software implementation that's different than that Google used in Jelly Bean, Android version 4.2. Be that as it may, it's funny both Microsoft and Samsung patent filings now suggest pinch zooming was their invention...

Legendary Atari 2600 gaming console finds new life as iPhone speaker dock

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2013

I've always been a huge fan of video games, ever since my earliest days, and the Atari 2600 was my first childhood gaming console (yup, I'm that old). After seeing the other day this 35 years old system finding a new life by becoming a retro-inspired iPhone speaker dock, it immediately brought back fond memories of gaming sessions shared with my friends after school.

A fan tore a broken Atari 2600 apart, making a few clever changes to turn it into an app-enhanced stereo speaker dock. The Atari dock will recharge an iPhone or iPod touch while allowing you to listen to your music or an FM radio. The mod also features six equalizer settings, comes with a remote control of its own and has a 3.5mm jack to connect other audio sources...

Tim Cook may be asked to testify in e-book pricing fixing suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook may be required to testify in an antitrust lawsuit the United States Department of Justice filed against it and major e-book publishers over an alleged price fixing of e-books. Cook's eventual testimony might be risky and could be potentially damaging to his company, now the main target of the suit after all named publishers had settled with regulators.

On the other hand, the CEO could take the opportunity to make a public case for a so-called agency model that the government claims has had anti-competitive impact. The agency model regulates the relationship between Apple and digital content owners who get to pick their iBook prices freely as long as they agree not to offer lower pricing to competitors than they do to Apple.

Business-wise, publishers prefer Apple's policy over Amazon's wholesale model where the online retailer sets prices as it sees fit, often hurting publishers' bottom line by engaging in selling books at a loss just to draw shoppers to its online store...

PayPal button coming to your favorite apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2013

If you're a heavy PayPal user, good news: the company last Friday at SXSW 2013 announced a software development kit for Apple's registered iOS developers to integrate PayPal's mobile payment solutions into their apps for iPhones, iPods and iPads. As a result, those developers who choose to implement the new PayPal SDK will be able to provide a PayPal button for frictionless payments. And if a user wishes to use her or his credit card, they will be able to scan it in-app to make the payment...

Judge green-lights Apple’s Siri case against Samsung

Cody Lee ∙ March 9, 2013

Apple and Samsung are still battling it out in post-trial hearings left over from last fall's high-profile infringement trial. And they have another one coming up this year that involves a whole new range of devices.

But there's alway room for another case in the world of patent lawsuits. And Judge Lucy Koh just gave Apple permission to move forward on a third lawsuit with Samsung here in the States involving its Siri patent...

Apple rules the skies: 84% of in-flight Internet use comes from iDevices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

In-flight Wi-Fi provider GoGo yesterday released an interesting infographic based on its real-world data on what devices passengers are using to access its service and what they are doing online. Apple's iPhones and iPads dominated 2012 with a commanding 84 percent share, which sounds about right even if the figure is a bit higher than Apple's other web usage stats.

Android is gaining some ground in the air, so to speak, and in 2012 accounted for sixteen percent of in-flight Internet use, sharply up over just 3.2 percent in 2011. Apple's share in 2011 was 96.8 percent so clearly the company lost some ground to Android.

Five Apples for every Android on Gogo's networks is in stark contrast to other surveys highlighting Android's unit sales lead. Nonetheless, this is a real-world data point, therefore suggesting that either other market share estimates are inherently flawed or that Android-totting passengers are just not as fond of using their devices on a plane as their Apple peers are...

Apple wireless charging rumors abound again

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Despite Apple's traditional reluctance to implement wireless charging on iOS devices, the dream continues to live on. The notoriously unreliable DigiTimes, an Asian trade publication, has revive the rumor Friday morning, reporting that Apple is planing to implement the technology for its "flagship models" of smartphones in 2013.

Unlike the Qi inductive charging method, an interface standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium for inductive electrical power transfer over distances of up to 4cm (1.6 inches), the iPhone maker is said to be working on its own wireless charging technology. At the very least, that does sound a lot like Apple...

Social apps become the third highest App Store category in terms of revenue

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 8, 2013

Last year saw the rise of social networking apps. While not as dominant as games, apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype helped revenue for the category skyrocket nearly 90 percent, compared to the previous year. Likewise, social networking apps flew to third place on Apple's App Store, behind only games and productivity. That's a notable jump from 2011, when social apps ranked only twelveth.

Revenues for the category on the App Store jumped 87 percent year-over-year in January 2013, with a 30 percent rise in monthly downloads now accounting for fiver percent of total downloads. On Google Play, social networking apps became the number one category, besides games, an app research firm announced Friday...

For Samsung, even March 2014 is too early for Galaxy S3 suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 8, 2013

After Apple last September filed a motion to add the then a few months old Galaxy S III to its ongoing patent lawsuit against Samsung, and six more Galaxies on Black Friday, it was reported that a trial in that patent infringement case had been scheduled for March 2014. Needless to say, by the time this suit wraps up, Samsung will have sold plenty of flagship devices included in the suit.

Indeed, the Galaxy S III was introduced in May 2012. Samsung is now set to unveil its successor at New York City's Radio City Music Hall as early as next week. But apparently even March 2014 is too early for Samsung as it now knows the hearings are postponed until it has a chance to exhaust appeals related to the $1.05 August 2012 verdict...

Judge orders Apple to reveal app review process

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Are reviewers of entries to Apple's App Store being threatened with death? That is the implication lawyers for the iPhone maker gave a California federal court earlier this week.

Despite the allegation, a judge overseeing a privacy lawsuit against Apple ordered the company to reveal how it reviews submitted apps, as well as condemned a three-month wait for internal documents.

Today is the deadline for Apple to turn over to U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal its process for gathering documents it must submit to plaintiffs. Attorneys for the plaintiffs charge the firm with collecting location data of iPhone owners without their permission. Earlier this week, Grewal issued the order, writing he cannot rely on Apple to turn over documents first requested in November 2012...

Apple trailed 2012 tablet shipments in India – that is, if you counted phablets

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 8, 2013

Many observers view India as the next China. There is huge potential waiting for the smart device player able to offer India's mobile consumers a low-cost, prepaid product. In just the latest example of analysts scrambling for data to define the market, new research coming from India suggests an explosion of tablet sales - until you dig into the details.

According to India-based CyberMedia Research, tablet shipments in the world's second largest market rose to 3.11 million units by the end of 2012. Demand was particularly on fire during the last two quarters with around 1 million tablets shipping. Although Apple was reported in third-place behind Samsung and an Indian manufacturer, there's a question of whether researchers counted tablets or a cross category of smartphones nicknamed 'phablets'...