Apple

T-Mobile buys airwaves from Verizon, John Legere crashes AT&T’s CES 2014 party

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

As first hinted back in November, Deutsche Telekom-owned Un-carrier, T-Mobile USA, just bought $3.3 billion worth of spectrum from Verizon Wireless, the nation's top wireless carrier announced yesterday. The newly gained 700MHz spectrum licenses from Verizon should allow T-Mobile to take advantage of the low-band airwaves in nine of the top ten U.S. markets and 21 of the top 30.

What's in it for you? Think better 4G coverage in rural areas and inside buildings. T-Mobile paid $2.36 billion in cash and $950 million worth of spectrum, by the way.

Oh, and T-Mobile's CEO John Legere trolled AT&T’s CES 2014 party like a boss and got thrown out in the process. More on that right below...

Apple confirms January 10 ‘Red Friday’ sales event in major Asian markets

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 7, 2014

Apple has announced that it will be holding a one-day special sales event in a number of key Asian markets this coming Friday, January 10.

The promotion known as Red Friday is in celebration of the Lunar New Year, which refers to the beginning of the year in several calendars across Asia. The shopping event actually takes place three weeks before the Lunar New Year.

Red Friday is akin to Black Friday in the United States, the Friday following Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday of November) which unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the States.

And what surprises and discounts does Apple have in store for its customers in Asia? Read on for the full reveal...

Apple announces record-breaking App Store stats: $10B revenue in 2013 and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 7, 2014

Apple has just announced via a press release this morning that customers have spent north of $10 billion in the App Store in 2013, including over an astounding $1 billion in sales in December alone.

It was the best year for the App Store business thus far. The more than $10 billion in 2013 revenue should be music to developers' ears as Apple's platform continues to lead in terms of user engagement, stickiness, profitability and other metrics that matter.

And how much money did Apple pay to its "incredible developers," as the company put it, since the App Store's inception nearly seven years ago? Fifteen billion dollars (not a typo) - and that's after its customary 30 percent cut!

The company said developers really took advantage of the new iOS 7 APIs to overhaul their apps and mentioned successful App Store developers such as Evernote, Yahoo, Pinterest and a few others. The company also cast spotlight on some surprise 2013 hits such as Ellen DeGeneres’ Heads Up and hit games from international developers like Clumsy Ninja and Candy Crush Saga, which reached half a billion downloads in just a year...

Apple to discuss holiday sales in January 27 conference call

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

According to the Apple Investor webpage, the company will hold a conference call on Monday, January 27, to discuss financial results of its first fiscal 2014 quarter. The call is scheduled at 2:00pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern Time.

Apple typically announces quarterly earnings via a press release issued half an hour ahead of these calls and we'll be providing around the clock coverage to make sure you're up to date on all matters concerning the company's business metrics.

The upcoming earnings report should be interesting on many levels as it will cover the all-important holiday season sales data for the iPhone 5s/5c, the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display...

iBeacons arrive to 200 grocery stores, including Safeway and Giant Eagle

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2014

By all accounts, 2014 should be the year of iBeacons, a Bluetooth 4.0 powered indoor micro-location technology that Apple created and the industry readily embraced. I mean, the CES itself is running a promotional scavenger hunt utilizing iBeacons, how's that for an endorsement?

And chip maker and Apple supplier Qualcomm is rolling out its own inexpensive iBeacons platform called Gimbal, another vote of confidence to the cross-platform nature of Apple's technology.

And now, inMarket announced the roll-out of iBeacons to about two hundred grocery store locations, including Safeway and Giant Eagle locations in Seattle, San Francisco and Cleveland. What sets apart inMarket's implementation of iBeacons to others is the multi-retailer approach.

Although the system would only work with inMarket's own apps, the company plans to roll it out to brand partners and independent developers in the future, ensuring the consistent user experience across multiple retailers and coupon/reward apps...

Apple amends corporate bylaws following criticism over lack of female leaders

Cody Lee ∙ January 6, 2014

Bloomberg is reporting today that Apple has come under criticism from some of its major shareholders over the absence of women on its board and throughout its executive team. Specifically, Trillium Asset Management LLC and the Sustainability Group have engaged the company on the issue.

The shareholders have met with Apple a number of times over the past few months to address the its lack of diversity in top-level ranks. They intended to bring the issue to a vote at the February shareholder meeting, but Apple agreed to address the issue via new language in its corporate charter...

Sephora teaches Apple how promos are done right with notable iOS freebies

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

Apple's 12 Days of Gifts promotion has come to a close today with Day12 gift: an extended play from the legendary English rock band The Rolling Stones. Judging by your comments, Apple's gifts are - shall I put it politely? - lacking in many respects.

Now, of all companies, makeup retailer Sephora has launched a similar promotion in the United States through its free Sephora to Go iPhone and iPad application offering continually changing freebies such as apps, movies, songs, books and more.

Unlike Apple's rather embarrassing gifts, Sephora is currently giving away an eight-song playlist for free, in addition to such notable programs as journaling software Day One, art creation app Silk and djay 2 for the iPhone and iPad, to name just a few...

CES 2014: iPhone glass maker Corning launching new antimicrobial Gorilla Glass

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Living tissue on your hands already contains a plethora of germs and more pathogen organisms get picked up whenever you're in contact with dirty surfaces, which is pretty much all the time. And when you pick up your iPhone and bring it to your ear, these germs get transferred to your face where they enter your immune system through the moist mucous membranes of your eyes, mouth and nose.

Specialty glass maker and primary iPhone cover glass supplier Corning thought of that, too, and at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas announced an antimicrobial version of its Gorilla Glass which uses ionic silver to prevent growth of bacteria and other pathogen organisms...

CES 2014: Google’s in-car plans unmasked as Open Automotive Alliance reveals itself

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2014

In a long-rumored move, the Internet giant Google hopes to repeat its success with Android on smartphones and tablets by announcing Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), a take on its Open Handset Alliance, but for in-car Android integration.

With Apple's iOS in the Car initiative conspicuously failing to materialize yet, Google decided to waste no time and at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas flexed its muscle by signing up car makers Audi, General Motors, Honda and Hyundai, along with chip giant Nvidia.

OAA aims to accelerate auto innovation with an approach that offers openness, customization and scale. If Android's success in mobile is any indication, Apple should be worried...

CES 2014: Parrot unveils new iOS-controlled toys: MiniDrone and Jumping Sumo

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2014

There's a flurry of app-enabled toys being announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show that's currently underway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cody already told you about Orbotix's second-generation Sphero 2B and I myself did a quick post on a smart electric toothbrush that wants to game-fy your dental care.

That's just scratching the surface as Parrot, the maker of the famous app-controled AR.Drone, has announced an expansion of its product lineup with two new gadgets, the MiniDrone and Jumping Sumo. Read on for the full reveal...

CES 2014: Kolibree unveils world’s first app-enabled wireless toothbrush

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Last year's CES brought us the Hapifork smart fork from Hapilabs and this time around the French startup Kolibree is bringing what appears to be the world's first app-connected sonic electric toothbrush. Yup, you read that right.

The eyebrow-raising announcement aims for better dental care by game-fying your daily tooth-brushing habits with scores, leaderboards and more.

Designed to “outsmart your dentist,” co-founder Loic Cessot promises his company's product will “reinvent oral care”. Read on for additional tidbits and a video...

CES 2014: Griffin unveils wireless PowerMate, new KaZoo gadgets, StudioConnect HD and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Our coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 continues with a slew of new product announcements by the accessory maker Griffin. The company has shown off a wireless variant of its iconic PowerMate knob, the first-ever iPhone protective case with storage for Square's credit card reader, a multitrack version of the StudioConnect iPad music box and a brand new line of iPad protective cases, including a Papernomad iPad Air case, to name a few.

The Nashville, Tennessee based company has expanded its Kazoo-branded lineup with a matching iPad mini case, a stylus and a wall charger featuring fun animal graphics. There are also new app-controlled car and helicopter toys to check out, along with a range of iDevice cases in a variety of bold prints and colors to accent any style.

The monster breakdown is right below the fold...