Apple

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...

150 young developers have a chance to attend WWDC 2012 free of charge

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2012

If you didn't get the memo or can't afford forking $1,599 for this year's WWDC conference, but are a full- or part-time student over the age of thirteen, Apple's got you covered. The company said it will offer 150 students a chance to win scholarships for WWDC 2012, which includes a free of charge ticket to all conference sessions.

The company will judge applicants on "technical ability, creativity of ideas expressed in products or projects, prior WWDC attendance, as well as technical and work experience". If there is a tie, the most creative applicant has an edge, Apple noted...

The 2012 Apple Design Awards nominations now open, get your apps ready

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 20, 2017

As Apple announced this morning that it will hold its annual WWDC conference from June 11-15 at San Francisco's Moscone Center, they also revealed details about this year's Apple Design Awards. The prestigious award recognizes the best of the best in iOS and Mac app design, innovation and technology adoption.

Developers who intend to have their work included for this year's Apple Design Awards consideration are required to submit their apps by May 1 through Apple’s developer portal. However, even if you don’t submit your app, Apple could still award your work in one of the categories...

WWDC 2012 tickets go on sale: June 11-15

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2012

Confirming speculation, Apple just announced via a press release that its annual developer conference will run this year from June 11 through June 15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, a week after this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo show. Tickets are now on sale, available from $1,599 for conference passes.

If history is anything to go by, WWDC 2012 will sell out in a matter of hours. If you're planning on attending the conference, better get your tickets right now, right here.

Unlike previous WWDCs, however, this time around Apple is mandating that attendees with conference passes be members of one of their developer programs...

ITC judge finds Apple’s products in violation of Motorola Wi-Fi patent

Cody Lee ∙ April 25, 2012

Thomas Pender, of the International Trade Commission, passed down a ruling yesterday that could have some serious ramifications for Apple if the cards fall just right. Bloomberg reports that the ITC judge found the iPad-makers to be in violation of one of Motorola's patents.

Motorola was actually suing Apple over four patents, so the fact that Apple was only found to be in violation of one is a victory in itself. But the patent it is being charged with infringing upon, an invention involving Wi-Fi, is a pretty crucial component for iOS devices...

Tim Cook speaks out on Apple’s patent battles

Cody Lee ∙ April 24, 2012

Along with making announcements regarding its quarterly performance, Apple also uses its financial earnings calls to offer analysts a chance to ask questions. After all, these are the folks that have to essentially guess how Apple will fair over the next few months.

On today's call, there was one particular question that was both interesting and relevant: "In terms of flexibility in cash and providing more color, how should we think about opportunities regarding patent disputes? Any thoughts about settling vs ongoing litigation?

And here's how Tim Cook responded...

Interesting stats from Apple’s earnings call

Cody Lee ∙ April 24, 2012

We just finished listening to Apple's quarterly earnings call for Q2 of this year, and we managed to pick up some interesting statistics.

As we reported earlier, Apple had another record-breaking financial quarter over the last three months. But it also hit several other high points...

Apple reports record second quarter results: 35M iPhones, 11.8M iPads

Cody Lee ∙ April 24, 2012

We've got just a few minutes here until Apple's quarterly earnings conference call starts, but the company has already released its sales numbers for the past three months. And as usual, they are record-breaking.

Apple posted $39.2 billion dollars in revenue for the quarter, netting close to $12 billion dollars in profit. This was led by sales of 35.1 million iPhones, and 11.8 million iPads. Keep reading for a full breakdown...

In Japan, the iPhone outgrows Android as both now account for 95.6% of smartphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

With just one device family, Apple's iPhone has managed to outgrow Google's Android platform in Japan over the past three months, gaining market share, a survey note out today from research firm comScore indicated. While we've known for awhile that Japan's iOS-Android duopoly is a sign of things to come, the numbers are nonetheless eyebrow-raising.

Together, the two platforms accounted for a staggering 95.6 percent of all smartphones sold in Japan, where still just one in five own a smartphone.

Low smartphone penetration rate in Japan, compared to the one-in-two smartphone penetration rate in the U.S., actually bodes well for Apple. As more folks in Japan upgrade their dumb phones, they are likely to consider the iPhone 4/4S and especially a sixth-generation model that Piper Jaffray's resident Apple analyst Gene Munster deemed "the mother of all upgrades"...

Government officials say Proview owns iPad trademark as court mediates a settlement

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

The rights to use the iPad moniker in the 1.33 billion people market of China belong to the bankrupt display maker Proview, a Chinese government official told Reuters this morning.

The official quote indicates that Chinese government is very much interested in helping Proview prevail by gently pushing Apple into a court-moderated mediation leading to a possible settlement.

The mediation was first hinted by IDG News Service last week. Should Apple continue its court fight with Proview to lose the case, it could face a big fine plus a country-wide ban on iPad sales in China...

AT&T activates 4.3M iPhones, representing 78% of Q1 smartphone sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2012

Carrier AT&T announced quarterly earnings this morning, revealing they activated 4.3 million iPhones during the first quarter of this year, with 21 percent new to AT&T. The figure represents a substantial decrease over the 7.6 million iPhones the company activated during the holiday quarter of last year, when the iPhone 4S launched in the U.S.

On a more realistic annual basis, it's a healthy 19 percent growth. And with three out of four smartphones sold in the quarter being iPhones, the nation's second-largest wireless operator definitely remains the iPhone network no matter how you look at it.

Also notable, AT&T's quarterly iPhone activations easily beat the 3.2 million iPhones Verizon activated during the first quarter of 2012. Apple is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings today after the markets close, at 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific. The company will webcast the earnings call and we will be at hand to relay important tidbits as they happen...