Apple has received numerous awards throughout the years for its incredible success in the tech industry, and now Apple has received recognition once again from Forbes.
Forbes Magazine has compiled a list of the world's most innovative companies based on what it calls "the five skills of disruptive innovators."
It was recently announced that the there are now 100,000 apps made specifically for the iPad in Apple's App Store, and there are 500,000+ apps available to iOS users.
On the opposite side of the numbers spectrum, Microsoft just hit 25,000 apps in its own Windows Phone Marketplace. Sounds like there's still a lot of catching up to do...
"How many of you use an iPhone or an Android device?"
When Stephen Elop asked this question, just a few raised their hands. "That upsets me -he continued- not because some of you are using iPhones, but because only a small number of people are using iPhones. I'd rather people have the intellectual curiosity to understand what we're up against."
Stephen Elop is a canadian executive who is now in charge of Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones. They sell millions of phones per day, but the models they sell are low cost devices, sold for the most part in developing countries. In the past few years, Nokia's share of the smartphone market plummeted form 49% to 25% due to the overwhelming growth of both Android and the iPhone.
Now, at Nokia, they are facing the worst crisis they've ever dealt with. They lost 75% of their market value and will be forced to let a lot of their best engineers go...
Microsoft's Xbox 360 Kinect is currently the tech world's darling when it comes to hacking. The device's twin cameras and infra-red sensing abilities mean the Kinect is fully fitted for all kinds of hackery.
Apple's iPad is equally well-liked in the hacking community. A large screen, dual-core CPU, and huge install base make it a great tool for pushing boundaries.
With that in mind, you could be forgiven for thinking that if some clever people found a way to marry the two pieces of hardware together, we could be in for happenings of a cataclysmic nature - human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! (Ghostbusters, for those wondering where that came from.)
Thankfully though, you'd be wrong...
Talk about a change of pace. Instead of the cat-and-mouse game that Apple has been playing with the jailbreak community for years, Microsoft has decided to go the opposite route and actually invite hackers to jailbreak the company's own mobile platform, Windows Phone 7.
ChevronWP7 is doing something unprecedented by developing non-approved apps and services for a closed source OS. Microsoft is allowing this initiative in an attempt to make "Windows Phone development more accessible."
After months of rumors and speculation, Apple revealed the long-awaited iCloud last week. The free service replaces MobileMe for $99/year, and, considering of all the new features, it's expected to be quite popular.
iCloud is available to all Apple account holders, which Apple estimates to be in the 200 million range. So how can iCloud withstand all that traffic? Aside from their massive NC data center and 12 petabyte digital locker, Apple appears to be using rival cloud services...
Apple's iconic Apple Stores are known around the world, so much so that they stand out on the crowed streets even while they're still under construction. Shrouded in black, there is no doubting when an Apple retail location is in the process of being put together behind closed doors.
That is, unless it has a great big Microsoft Windows logo stuck to the side of it...
You can rest easy. Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, has confirmed that the company will "continue to invest in Skype on non-Microsoft client platforms."
As we previously reported, Microsoft has acquired Skype to the tune of $8.5 billion. The technology juggernaut plans on implementing Skype's VoIP technology into its Windows Phone 7 platform, but the company also states that it will continue to support Skype on non-Windows platforms.
In a shocking report, The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Microsoft has purchased Skype in a 8.5 billion dollar buyout. This deal gives Microsoft complete ownership of Skype Technologies SA, and this buyout is one of Microsoft's biggest purchases to date.
Skype has been a key player in the desktop and mobile space as one of the most popular VoIP services in existence. On iOS, Skype has always been a wonderful service for those wishing to make calls (both audio and video) over 3G and Wi-Fi.
Amazon has had an "appstore" developer portal since January; a place where developers can submit mobile applications for approval and then sell them on Amazon's website.
Bloomberg reports that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Amazon Inc. on March 18th over the “App Store” trademark used in their developer portal...
Geohot has been causing quite a disturbance due to his ongoing legal battle with Sony. Geohot jailbroke the Sony PS3 to run unsigned code. Sony is now suing him, and Geohot is under the tech industry's spotlight more than ever.
So, what does all this have to do with Windows Phone 7? Microsoft has shown interest in Geohot before, and the company even reached out to him financially for his legal fight against Sony. Geohot will know be using his hacking skills at an upcoming convention to try and jailbreak Windows Phone 7...
Microsoft has pointed the finger and claimed that it's unfair for Apple to trademark the phrase "App Store." Microsoft claims that the term is too generic, and that other companies should be able to use the phrase for their own mobile marketplaces.
Apple has had enough of Microsoft's wining, and has retaliated by calling out the generic nature of the term "Windows." Bet you didn't see that coming, Microsoft.