Apple richer than the US government

Aug 022011
 

If the US government being under debt wasn’t baffling enough for you, news of a US based company having more money than the government might just do the trick. When the whole world is under a shock about the recent crisis in US economy, Apple Inc releases a casual report, reporting to have more money to spend than the US government.

On Thursday, the U.S Treasury had announced to the world that it has $73.768 billion in its cash bag. While Apple Inc., having a massive third quarter, casually reported of having $75.876 billion in its cash reserves (and other cash equivalents). Thanks to the Apple fans, the company is richer by 2 billion dollars from the US government.

Apparently, Apple seems to lead the race among other tech giants by a margin, though the comparison is just based on the amount of cash to spend on. Google which seemed to be minting money has just 39.1 billion (eh, courtesy: social networking). Microsoft used to be somewhere close but now its cash nest is around 40.2 billion and the commitment to Skype will cut it down shorter by another 8.5 Billion.

Apple’s success story re-started with the return of Steve Jobs in 1998, Apple launched the Mac and since then there was barely any looking back. The company has witnessed a tremendous rise of fortune with the launch of iPhone in 2007 and then following it up with a new version every year.

Though it is highly unlikely that the government will ask Apple for help but the tech giant has just enough money to bail out the US government. Apple is the second most valuable public company after Exxon.

Apple’s sales are unlikely to go down any soon and it has also the potential of becoming the most valued company. With the release of the new swanky Macbook Air and the Apple minis, the sale is already on the rise. With the release of the new iPhone coming September, the sales can be expected to touch a record high.

Macbook Air refreshed say bye to the old Macbook Air

Jul 212011
 

Apple Inc. has launched a new generation of Macbook Air notebooks. Apple has equipped the new notebook with a faster processor based on Intel’s Sandy Bridge architecture and has added a new backlit keyboard to the device. The Cupertino, CA Company has also dumped the old Macbook on the same day.

Talks about revamping the Macbbok Air were on for quite a while and were mostly cantered around the new operating system i.e.  the OS- ‘X Lion’. The operating system was released earlier on the same day and from now onwards all new Macbook Air models will ship with this new operating system.

The new Macbook Air comes in two sizes, one with an 11.6-inch screen and the other with a 13.3-inch screen. For both the models, two variants are available, an entry level one and another model with all the top specs. In all, four new models will be available.

Specs of ‘MacBook Air’ vary with the models; Both the 11.6 inch models are powered by a 1.6 GHz processor, RAM of the 11.6-inch entry level model is 2GB while for the high end model is 4GB. The storage capacity is 64 GB and 128 GB for the lower and higher end model respectively. Similarly, the 13.3-inch Macbook Air is powered by a 1.7 GHz processor along with 4 GB RAM. The storage capacity is 128 GB and 256 GB for the lower and higher end models respectively. Users can upgrade to a 1.8 GHz processor on demand.

Another part of the revamp was the addition of Thunderbolt port. The new notebooks don’t have any additional ports but a single Thunderbolt port for connecting to external hard drives and new Apple Thunderbolt display (with a resolution of 2560 x 1600!). Also the power supply is now inbuilt and Apple has provided with a built in speaker for Bluetooth connectivity with other iDevices.

The prices remain in the same range. Earlier the entry price for the Macbook Air was $999, though the good old Macbook Air is gone but the entry price remains the same ($999) for the lower end 11.6 inch Macbook Air. The 11.6-inch high end model, 13.3-low end model and 13.3-inch high end model are available for $1199, $1299 and $1599, respectively.

Fake Apple Stores?

Jul 212011
 
IMG_6527-625x468

Wait what? Okay, get this, see this picture above? That’s not a real Apple Store- it’s fake. How do we know? The store is located in a small village in China which Apple doesn’t have any official presence in. Except, it looks like a real Apple store, no?

 

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, but for China, it’s an industry. This entire Apple Store has been lovingly recreated, from the Apple store geniuses in blue t-shirts, to the shillouettes of people wearing the iconic white earphones. The standard wooden tables, the white surfaces, all here. And of course, liberal splashings of the Apple logo, to ensure that you know which company you’re buying from. Quite impressive, but that’s nothing compared to the deception of the employees themselves. Supposedly, they believe that they work for Apple, even though they are paid in cash… Hmm…

 

The most disturbing thing, is after you’ve seen these photos, and had your share of double and triple takes… this store is one of three in the town itself. Apple’s legal team have not yet commented, but considering the fact that an unofficial Blizzard themed ‘Starcraft/Warcraft’ themepark is actually up and running, perhaps they have realized that this is a hopeless cause.

iOS 4.3.4 Jailbroken

Jul 172011
 

Recently, Apple released an iOS 4.3.4 update to patch a PDF vulnerability that allowed several pirate crews to jailbreak the iPad, iPod and iPhones. The effects on piracy advocates such as Apptrackr was negligible however, with an iOS tethered jailbreak being released by Redmond Pie, a short time after Apple’s update.

This jailbreak enables access into Cydia for all current iOS devices, save for the iPad 2. However, due to the nature of the jailbreak, some users have advised potential pirates to wait for an untethered jailbreak, to prevent the inconvenience of re-jailbreaking one’s phone after every update.

Current users of jailbroken iPhones don’t have much to miss out on though, considering that the only updates in the latest iOS are there to prevent the jailbreaking of iOS devices, except perhaps, the ability to delete and cancel downloading applications.

You can follow the tutorial here if you want to jailbreak your iOS 4.3.4 device, at Redmond Pie.

5th Generation iPOD Touch – What is in store?

Jul 122011
 

Besides, the iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th generation is the next hot thing being discussed in the market. Some leaked images and all the rumours going around have made us curious about what’s in store for us. No one except Apple knows how fake or real they are, but definitely they are worth looking into.

The latest one that is doing the rounds is that the 5th generation iPod will be supporting 3G. This will narrow the line between the iPod and the iPhone. The only difference will be that the iPod will behave like a storage only iPhone. Though, this does sound a little over the top.

Few months ago, a Japanese media site named Macotakara, released info from Apple insiders that fifth generation iPod will come with a Nintendo 3DS-esk screen making the device capable of displaying a 3D image without using the 3D glasses. Though this may sound as a myth but last December, a 3D patent came to light which was filed by Apple in 2006. This had detailed reports about Apple’s glass-less 3D display which can be viewed from any angle.

A few leaked images showed that the physical appearance of this device will be similar to the previous model (which is already advanced enough). The physical design appeared to be the same with those rounded edges, but a major change was in the home button. The home button was replaced by a capacitive touch area. This is looked forward as another move by Apple to part with traditional buttons and adapt to complete touchscreen interfaces.

Also there is news about the storage capacity being doubled to 128 GB which will be a welcome move.  With all these features being added the price is expected to be higher than the fourth generation, strangely rumour mill says the price will hover around $230 mark. No confirmation about the release date has been made but we can expect a model to pop out somewhere in September.

Apple’s iTunes App Store Reaches 15 Billion Downloads

Jul 082011
 

Apple has announced that it’s iTunes App Store has reached an amazing 15 billion downloads. The App Store currently offers more than 425,000 apps for iOS devices, including 100,000 native iPad apps.

In the press release document, Apple claims to have more than 200 million iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users worldwide. However, as pointed out by John Gruber of Daring Fireball, Apple claim to have sold over 200 million iOS devices. But the number of devices and users don’t correlate one-to-one as some users own multiple iOS devices.

According to MacTalk, that’s roughly about 75 apps per user or 833 million apps per month.

“In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

Apple’s App Store has a huge lead over both Google’s Android Apps Market and Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace in terms of number of apps available. To put things into perspective, the Android Apps Market currently has over 200,000 apps available and the Windows Phone Marketplace recently just reached 25,000 apps.

Last month at this year’s WWDC, Apple revealed that 14 billion apps had been downloaded. This means that roughly a billion apps have been download in just a month. Staggering.

Continue reading »

Apple Releases iOS 5 Beta 2

Jun 252011
 

Apple has released iOS 5 Beta 2 to developers. Other releases include iTunes 10.5 Beta 2 and Apple TV software Beta 2. They can be downloaded from Apple’s developer website.

Changes and things to note in iOS 5 Beta 2 include:

  • Wireless WiFI sync (must be enabled in iTunes 10.5 Beta 2 first) Video of Wi-Fi Sync
  • The option to backup to iCloud or the computer at setup
  • iCloud has a new logo in Settings
  • Over-the-air (OTA) software updates have been enabled
  • Notification appears as a bubble at first.
  • If there are no notifications in Notification Center, “No New Notifications” will appear
  • The Stocks Notification Center widget is turned off by default
  • Stock wallpapers are back but still the old ones from iOS 4
  • The version of iTunes that comes with beta 2 cannot sync devices that have the beta 1 software installed.
  • iMessage seed 2 will be unable to communicate with iMessage users on seed 1.

Possible iOS 5 Release Date

Jun 252011
 

iOS 5 Release Date

Now that iOS 5 Beta 2 is out for iDevices such as iPhone and iPad, we have more clear date when iOS 5 release date might be . In the past with iOS 4, Apple had 4 beta releases and then final iOS 4 release, which same thing happened with iOS 3. Most of these beta releases were 2-3 weeks apart which clearly is strong indication that iOS 5 is coming early August.

Possible iOS 5 Beta Release Dates

iOS 5 Beta 1 = June 6th

iOS 5 Beta 2 = June 25th

iOS 5 Beta 3 = July 11th

iOS 5 Beta 4 = July 25th

iOS 5 Final Release = Early August!

My prediction is that iOS 5 release date will be August 8th which is Monday and on top of that iOS 5 Beta 1 is expiring on August 5th so that is clearly indication that iOS 5 will be released in August. When I do predictions I usually nail 90% of them to the date, not even Nostradamus can beat that! :)

 

Apple’s Final Cut Pro X: A Story of Mixed Reviews

Jun 232011
 

Apple’s Final Cut Pro X has arrived and it went live in Apple’s Mac App Store yesterday. This has officially replaced previous versions of Final Cut Pro: both the Studio suite and Apple’s pro-summer Express product. The software is available for $300 at the Apple’s Mac App Store and weighs 1.33GB.

Features worth mentioning are as follows:

Magnetic Timeline: This offers an exceptionally fluid and flexible way to edit. Whenever you drag a clip or item nearby a neighbouring counterpart, the software binds them.  This automatically keeps you from de-synchronizing parts of a project due to user error and is a big plus but when manoeuvring intricate sequences with carefully placed audio and video, this can act as a hassle.

Progress bar: The loop style progress bar placed in the middle of the screen provides you a breakdown of exactly what it’s doing to each clip including rendering, transcoding and analyzing clips. This is a background activity viewer and helps in keeping an eye on what’s going on behind the scenes.

Auto-analysis features: This is able to analyze your footage and determine if there are people in the shot, how many they are, and how close is the camera. The accuracy is a little dicey though, and it can miscount the number of people.

Auditioning: With this you can collect multiple alternative shots at a single location in the timeline and quickly cycle through them in context. You can also use this to create multiple versions of your project for different deliverables and venues.

Export feature: There’s an Apple device-specific export option to send it to an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. You can also preview what it looks like on each device. You can also jump to an individual scene to make sure it is scaled right.

Despite all the new features added, there are still a few glitches. Users are posting threads up on the Mac App Store, complaining about the software not opening up projects made with older versions of Final Cut Pro. Some are unimpressed by the fact that the software is not supporting numerous legacy Final Cut Pro features like multi-cam editing, and external production monitors. Also Apple seems to have removed stuff, moved stuff, and hidden other stuff from a well-established pro tool.

$1 Billion+ Acquisition of Popcap Games?

Jun 232011
 

 

Once, there was a backyard lawn that grew a multitude of plants including, sweet peas, corn, walnuts and sunflowers. However, after an arcane ritual went wrong, causing a devastating plague to sweep over humanity, causing zombification, your plants mutated somehow providing you with a cure against the undead disease as well as becoming your first line of defense against your brain hungry neighbors. In other words, Plants vs Zombies.

The company behind Plants vs Zombies, Popcap Games has been reported by TechCrunch as being under an acquisition process, with offers reportedly reaching over a billion dollars, unfortunately, the possible buyer has not been named yet. Possible suitors by TechCrunch comment that Zynga could have been a possible buyer, but with the Facebook game company’s comparatively low market capitalization, it would certainly be a colossal purchase for them. EA has been hinted at as a possible suitor too, and with its recent purchase of Playfish, EA does seem to be a contender in the acquisition of Popcap Games.

But, with comparatively small market capitalization versus the asking price of $1 billion, it also seems unlikely that EA will pick up the company. That leaves the ‘big 3′ so to say, Microsoft, Google and Apple. Microsoft seems like the most likely purchaser, after all, the massive company already does own an entire console, and the operating system that most games run on. Purchasing Popcap would allow the company to take another step in its plan of gaming domination.

Apple certainly does have the money to purchase Popcap, but it seems slightly unlikely that they would have reason to purchase Popcap Games. Some of the companies products have been released in the App Store anyway, such as Plants vs Zombies anyway. Purchasing Popcap to use as an exclusive application developer seems excessive, considering the huge numbers of willing developers to contribute to the App Store.

And then there’s Google, with their Android devices. Like the other two big companies, money really isn’t an issue here. However, they could use Popcap games to create a ‘killer app’ of sorts, to attract more users to Android phones in general, and embrace the market place. But with the market share of Android phones growing rapidly, it seems that Google won’t feel the need to purchase Popcap games to bolster their already accessible lineup.

Popcap games has refused to comment on these ‘rumors’ at this point in time. But expect a big announcement from the indie games developer soon.

Apple’s Time Capsule arrives with yet another upgrade

Jun 222011
 

Apple’s external storage device has come back with another upgrade. Two years ago, Apple came out with an upgraded 2 TB version of the Time Capsule. During that era, the capacity was believed to be almost infinite. Now in June 2011 another upgrade of the Time Capsule has been launched and this time we get an addition 1 TB i.e. a total of 3 TB of storage and that too at no extra cost.

The Time Capsule is a wireless network-attached storage device combined with a wireless residential gateway router made by Apple Inc. The device has dimensions of  7.7-by-7.7 inches. Apple’s Time Capsule includes a full AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n wireless (now with Dual Band Support), an Ethernet WAN port, three Ethernet LAN ports, and one USB port. There is also a “Server grade” hard drive inside the casing. This provides it an ability to wirelessly and automatically back up contents from your Mac.

While the Time Capsule was updated on Tuesday still you can expect an update of Apple’s AirPort Extreme router in the near future as is evident by a filing made by Apple with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The increase in storage capacity can be considered a gift from Apple Inc. as prices remain the same. The 2TB replaces the 1 TB model and slides into the $299 slot whereas, the 3TB replaces 2TB model and takes over the $499 position. The official site shows that both the models will be shipped within 24 hours but some outlets are yet to receive the product.

Why there will be no iPad 3 in 2011

Jun 222011
 

It hasn’t even been half a year since Apple released the iPad 2. Already, rumors of a possible iPad 3 sometime down the track this year are beginning to circulate.

A few analysts believe that we’ll see a new iPad sometime in September this year. Rumored features include a high resolution screen (possibly 2048×1536 and AMOLED?) and a better processor.

One thing I’m sure of is that there will be no iPad 3 in 2011. It just doesn’t make sense for Apple to introduce an iPad 2 replacement after having just launched it a few months ago. Although competitors are constantly releasing newer and more powerful tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy S II, Apple is not a company that plays a game of ‘match the specs’.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball pointed out a while ago that:

…if I’m right that Apple will make a second iPad product announcement later this year, such a thing would be in addition to the imminent iPad 2 — not a replacement. Like when the iPod family expanded to include the iPod Mini — the Minis didn’t replace the existing iPods, they were an expansion of the product family.

John’s speculation does make some sense. Instead of an iPad 2 replacement, Apple may want to expand the iPad family by introducing an addition tablet. However, I think there are two reasons why this won’t happen.

  • Steve Job’s explicitly said that 2011 will be the year of iPad 2 in his keynote. If another iPad was scheduled sometime later this year, he wouldn’t have said this.
  • The release line for Apple this year has already been quite hectic. Put the earlier releases aside, we still have Mac OS X Lion, iCloud, iOS 5, the imminent iPhone 5 and a refresh for the iPod lineup. All of that will happen in the second half of this year. I just don’t think there’s room for the release of another iPad in 2011.

When is the iPhone 5 Release Date? Rumors Dispelled

Jun 212011
 

So everybody pretty much knows the drill by now, but allow me to just run through it briefly. Apple announces its newest iPod. Now whether we’re talking about the first iPod ever in 2001, the iPod Photo (which was the first iPod with a color screen) in 2004, or even the first iPod Touch in 2007, the story’s the same. A massive number of units are reserved, the AAPL stock jumps and everyone’s on pins and needles until the release day, when stores can’t even keep them on the shelves. So, it’s no surprise that things weren’t any different for the release of Apple’s iPhone except that these reactions were even more exaggerated.

But the really amazing thing about Apple, is that about a year after the current model release date, they consistently unveil the “next generation model”, which is basically the same thing but with slight improvements, year after year after year. This is brilliant from an economics perspective in how it ingeniously plays off of human psychology. Explained by way of consumer behavior, Apple’s releases make the consumer change attitudes, recognize a problem; that their own iPod or iPhone is outdated, pushing them to update by purchasing again. Given that this will be the reason behind the purchase of millions of iPhone 5’s sometime in the near future, I’d like to walk through some of the current predictions for the iPhone 5’s release date.

I recently posted about the iPhone 5 release date on my blog SheBytes.com; since then, there has been overwhelming new buzz, so I thought it would be worthwhile to do a refresher on the rumored release date. There’s been so much activity in fact, that when you Google the letter “i”, iPhone 5 is one of the few drop down choices (not kidding– try it!). Many of these rumors are downright yet unsurprisingly ridiculous; I’ll share a few and then hone in on some sound ideas to build my own perspective:

First, for the ridiculous: there’s a French site called Nowhereelse.fr which rates the probability an iPhone 5 rumor is true. One of the rumors suggests the iPhone 5 will be released between June and July; considering that Apple has announced that iOS 5 will not be released until this coming Fall; this prediction makes little sense. It’s pretty clear that Apple will wait until they’ve fully completed iOS 5 to have it on the iPhone 5. Another absurd rumor about the iPhone 5 hardware suggests the device will come with a built-in 3D Display; albeit the rating of 10% probability reflects how unlikely that is.

And now, for the more serious: According to the International Business Times, “The latest buzz in the market is that Apple will release the much-awaited iPhone 5 in the first week of September…” CNET UK also speculates as to the exact date saying the “iPhone 5 release date is likely to be September 7th 2011.” iPodhistory.com, a sight that tracks…well yea, iPod history, recorded that Apple has previously released its iPod Touch on a relatively persistent schedule. Almost every iPod Touch release has been in the beginning of September, while the iPhone release dates are much more sporadic.

Taking all of this into consideration, I still think that a possible release date of the iPhone 5 will be sometime in early September 2011. Although it is difficult to predict an exact date, September 7th isn’t that ridiculous in that Apple has released many of its past products in the first week of September. But as the old finance adage goes “Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results.” Quite literally: anything can happen.

Are you still waiting for your Verizon iPad 2? – Read on

Jun 122011
 

Verizon iPad 2 Recall

So, you ordered a Verizon IPad2 and it hasn’t reached you yet? Don’t be afraid, it might just be those unfortunate units that were flashed with a duplicate MEID code. In a latest statement given by an Apple spokesperson it has been confirmed that a relatively small number (I wonder what that means hundreds, thousands…) of Verizon iPad 2’s had been flashed with a duplicate MEID code which would render the device useless over the Verizon network. A MEID or Mobile Equipment Identifier is a unique number that helps in identifying your mobile device over a network. Now, the problem is that since it is a unique number so no two devices should have the same number but somehow the Chinese manufacturer of the iPad 2 flashed some units with a duplicate number. If you happen to use such a device over Verizon’s 3G network then you might not be able to connect to the network or your system might just boot off.

Apple has recalled all such devices and in case your shipping status shows return to sender then you know the reason why it has been returned before it even reached you. Apple would replace all such units free of charge but those of you who were eagerly waiting to get their hands on the IPad2 the wait goes on.

Extending iPhone and iPad Battery Life

May 162011
 

One of the improvements of the iPhone 4 over it’s predecessor, the iPhone 3GS, is a slightly improved battery life. Personally, I’m happy with my iPhone 4′s battery life as I can easily get through the whole day without having to recharge. However for some others, this is not the case. This guide will show you a number of ways in which you can optimize iPhone battery life.

There are a number of factors that can contribute to having a poor battery life. The general tips below is a quick check list of things that may help to extend your battery life.

  • Minimize the use of location services
  • Minimize the use of push notifications
  • Fetch new data less frequently
  • Turn off push email
  • Turn off Wi-Fi when unused
  • Turn off Bluetooth when unused
  • Adjust to a lower brightness:
  • Turn off EQ
  • Turn off 3G when a fast data connection is not required
  • Lock Your iPhone or iPad when unused.
  • Use iPhone or iPad regularly – go through at least one charge cycle per month (from 100% to empty)
  • Do not allow your iPhone or iPad to overheat (avoid long periods of direct sunlight)

Multitasking – Closing Apps on iPad and iPhone

iOS devices with software 4.0+ will have multitasking. Although it’s a very useful feature, it’s also one of the biggest battery consumers. By default, an application automatically continues to run in the background when exited. Unfortunately you can’t change this. Double press the home button and you will see a tray of apps that are currently running in the background (swipe right to see more). To completely close apps, press and hold any app icon. Once the icons start jiggling, tap the red minus icon. The thing with the iPhone and iPad is that there are so many cool and useful apps. Without even knowing it, you will have opened a whole bunch of apps. It’s fine to leave a couple running in the background but when there are too many, your battery life will suffer.

Jailbreaking iPad or iPhone

Jailbreaking your iPhone or iPad may also contribute to a poor battery life. The fact that the device itself is jailbroken isn’t really the cause. But when an iPhone or iPad is jailbroken, users tend to install a whole bunch of modifications and utilities from Cydia. It is these extras that drain down the battery.

Monitoring and Usage Statistics

There a number of ways in which you can monitor your iPhone or iPad’s battery life and usage. By default, the iOS shows you only a few statistics such as usage time, call time and  cellular network data usage (to see this, tap the Settings icon on the Home screen and choosing General > Usage). However, there are numerous of apps in the iTunes Apps Store that shows you more information (battery health, how much battery left for varies activities, maximizing your battery life tips. etc)

A few notable paid ones include:

A few notable free ones include:

 Older Entries