Headlines: 30 Apr 10
Filed under: 4th Generation iPhone, Apple Corporate, Legal, iPad
9to5Mac: Apple Stores to Close from 4-5 PM Tomorrow for iPad 3G Launch
“Apple has confirmed their official retail stores will be closed for one hour tomorrow, from 4-5 PM, in order to prepare for the launch of the iPad 3G. Since the iPad with only WiFi had a major launch earlier this month, many thought Apple would not try to gather the crowds for the 3G version. Now it seems Apple is doing some preparation, and they are expecting some lines around the country. We are expecting to have our iPad 3G unboxing live tomorrow afternoon for those interested.”
Yahoo: Gawker Media Seeks Legal Reversal in Gizmodo Search Case
“Shortly after Silicon Valley police armed with a search warrant entered the home of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen last Friday and walked out with four computers and two servers, Gawker Media raised the issue of California’s shield law protecting journalists. Gawker chief operating office Gaby Darbyshire called for the “immediate return of the materials” confiscated from Chen’s home.”
Macworld: First Look: iPad Wi-Fi + 3G
“At last, the prophecy has been fulfilled: the second half of the coming of the iPad is upon us. I have in my hands (well, on my ottoman as I write this), an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, which is Apple’s somewhat long-winded moniker for describing an iPad with cellular data access on AT&T’s network (here in the U.S. anyway). Having used a Wi-Fi-only iPad for almost a month, I can safely say that the $130 option for adding 3G is a big deal. But, in terms of how different this new, strange iPad is from the models we’ve already seen, let’s give it a rundown.”
Headlines: 29 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, Apps, advertising, iTunes
WSJ: Apple to Charge a Premium to Put Ads in Mobile Apps
“Setting a high bar for its debut in the advertising business, Apple Inc. aims to charge close to $1 million for ads on its mobile devices this year and perhaps even more to be among the first, ad executives say.
Apple is hitting the road to showcase its new mobile-device advertising capability, dubbed iAd, and has indicated it could charge as much as $10 million to be part of a handful of marketers at the launch, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Ad executives say they are used to paying between $100,000 and $200,000 for similar mobile deals.”
TechCrunch: Apple To Shut Down Lala On May 31, iTunes.com Launch Impending?
“In a brief message that was just posted on the Lala.com website, Apple has announced that the service will be shut down on May 31st, 2010. Apple will not be accepting new users, and existing users will be able to log in only until the end of next month.
Does this mean we can start raising our hopes for iTunes in the cloud?”
Headlines: 28 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, Apple Corporate, Legal
Apple: Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Kicks Off June 7 in San Francisco
“Apple today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 7 through June 11 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. The five-day conference includes the first ever iPad™ development sessions and hands-on working labs for iPhone OS 4, as well as Mac OS X core technology labs.”
CNET: Gizmodo Considers Suing Police After iPhone Raid
“A lawyer for Gizmodo says the gadget blog could sue the sheriff’s office in San Mateo County, Calif., for raiding an editor’s home last Friday as part of a criminal probe into an errant iPhone prototype.
The option of a lawsuit “is available because search is not the appropriate method in this situation,” Thomas R. Burke, a media lawyer and partner in the San Francisco offices of Davis Wright Tremaine, told CNET. He said the search warrant violated a California journalist shield law designed to limit searches of newsrooms.”
Headlines: 27 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, Apple Corporate, Legal
NYT: Apple Buys Intrinsity, a Maker of Fast Chips
“Apple wants the fastest chip for its mobile devices and has bought another chip maker to gain an edge over its competitors.
Apple has acquired a small Austin, Tex., company called Intrinsity, known for making zippy versions of a computer chip often found in mobile devices. The deal, which closed late last month and was confirmed by Apple on Tuesday, shows the company continuing to try to gain an edge in the mobile device market by purchasing technology and chip experts.”
CNET: Journalist Shield Law May Not Halt iPhone Probe
“The criminal investigation into Apple’s errant iPhone prototype took a new twist this week, when Gawker Media claimed that the warrant used by police to search an editor’s home was invalid.
It’s clear that federal and state law generally provides journalists–even gadget bloggers–with substantial protections by curbing searches of their employees’ workspaces. But it’s equally clear that journalists suspected of criminal activity do not benefit from the legal shields that newspapers and broadcast media have painstakingly erected over the last half-century.”
Headlines: 26 Apr 10
Filed under: 3G, 3GS, 4G Network, China, Legal, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
Reuters: Pirates Rewrite Script for Apple’s China iPad Launch
“Just three weeks after the global launch, bootleg versions of Apple Inc’s hot-selling iPad tablet PCs have begun showing up on the shelves of online and real-world shops in piracy-prone China.”
TechCrunch: iPhone Leak Investigation Pauses As DA Ponders Gizmodo Shield Law Defense
“Earlier today news broke that police had raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s home in connection with the iPhone leak last week. Authorities obtained a search warrant and removed four computers, two servers, and more. However, in light of claims by Gizmodo’s attorneys that Chen should be protected by California’s Shield Laws, we have just been told that the authorities are not yet looking through this evidence.”
Review: Congress (and the White House) in Your Pocket — The iPhone at Its Best
The Cohen Research Group has created an excellent series of apps that connect voters with their elected officials.
They’re the sort of apps that were made for the iPhone and, for the most part, they’re a joy to use.
Like all the apps in the series, the two apps reviewed here — Congress in Your Pocket and the White House in Your Pocket — are old fashioned paper directories on steroids. A growing list of related Cohen apps provide government information for individual states.
All versions of Congress In Your Pocket — there are three — include information such as the member of Congress’s first and last name, photo, title or leadership position, state, senior or junior designation in the Senate and District number in the house, political party affiliation, district map, and biographical information.
The apps also include office address, official website link, member contact form, and telephone number. The member’s Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook links are provided where available.
If that isn’t enough, all three versions provide incumbent campaign website and percent of the vote won, name of the top 2008 opponent and website, campaign news, tracking polls where available, and donor information.
Need more? All Congress In Your Pocket Plus and Pro versions include names and email address links to top staff including: chief of staff, legislative director, press secretary or communications director, and the scheduler. Staff salary information is also included for the congressional apps.
Plus and Pro versions also include full committee and subcommittee assignments with applicable chair and ranking member designations, sponsored and cosponsored legislation, earmarks, and overseas trips. There’s also news from Politico and President Obama’s cabinet (from the NY Times). Plus and Pro users get bookmarks and Pro users get specific tabs for committees and subcommittees.
The Pro version is updated year-round and provides more supplementary information than the Plus version.
The Presidential app in this family is similarly equipped as the Congressional apps with an abundance of information.
There’s data on over one hundred of President Obama’s top administration officials and their key deputies. The app lets you learn all about who leads and manages the most important executive branch departments, agencies, counsels, and offices.
You can also search for the bills you want to track and see how much the president raised for his 2008 campaign.
The application includes bookmarks you assign, a link to the THOMAS congressional bill information system, a special tab for new members of the administration, a direct link to the president’s OpenSecrets page, an iPhone-friendly news link to Politico, and more.
I found two shortcomings with the software. The Congressional Pro version provides you with updates on members of Congress throughout the year — but, crucially, it doesn’t tell you what information has been updated, just that the member’s record has been updated. Knowing specifically what the additions are would not only be useful, it’s what you’re paying for and should get.
Another problem, which seems confined to the White House app, is that it isn’t always clear what some links lead to — more information, a website, or a phone number? Several times I found myself calling the White House when I thought I was just getting additional information through the app. This could be solved simply by changing, for example, “Eric Lesser, Chief of Staff” (which dials the number for David Axelrod’s top man) to something like, “Eric Lesser, Chief of Staff (phone).”
These issues are far from deal-breakers. Apart from their usefulness as directories, these two apps contain so much interesting background information about the people and their roles in government, it’s like having a civics lesson in your pocket.
Congress in Your Pocket Basic
$0.99
Version 4.6
App Store link
Publisher’s website
Congress in Your Pocket Plus
$4.99
Version 4.6
App Store link
Publisher’s website
Congress in Your Pocket Pro
$29.99 Annually
Version 4.6
App Store link
Publisher’s website
White House in Your Pocket
Version 1.1
App Store link
Publisher’s website
Headlines: 23 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, AT&T, App Store, OS 3.x, OS 4.x, Smartphone Market, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch, iTunes
Bloomberg: Apple Captured 72% of Japan Smartphone Market in 2009
“Apple Inc. shipped 1.69 million iPhones in Japan in the fiscal year ended March 31, capturing the top share of the country’s smartphone market, MM Research Institute Ltd. said.
The iPhone, offered by Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier Softbank Corp., accounted for 72 percent of smartphones shipped in the country in the period, the Tokyo-based researcher said in a report yesterday. Taiwan’s HTC Corp. was second with 11 percent, followed by Toshiba Corp. with 6.8 percent, it said.”
Headlines: 22 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, AT&T, Apple Corporate, Legal, OS 4.x, Smartphone Market, Steve Jobs, iPad
Daring Fireball: Gizmodo and the Prototype iPhone
“The first question is, how did the phone leave Apple’s campus?
Starting a few weeks ago, some number of iPhone engineers who, because of the nature of their work were already familiar with the details of Apple’s next-generation iPhone, were authorized to begin using late pre-production units outside Apple’s campus. Effectively, they became permitted to use these phones as their daily carry iPhones. Strict provisos govern such units. They must remain in cases designed to render them indistinguishable, at a glance, from an (encased) iPhone 3G/3GS. Such units are not allowed to be demonstrated or revealed to anyone. Not friends, not spouses.”
Business Insider: In Case You Had Any Doubts About Where Apple’s Revenue Comes From
“Apple’s iPhone business, which didn’t exist three years ago, now represents a whopping 40% of the company’s revenue, and has been the company’s biggest revenue generator for three quarters in a row.
During the March quarter, iPhone revenue grew 124% year-over-year to $5.4 billion, or 40% of Apple’s $13.5 billion in total revenue. Because of high profit margins on the iPhone, it’s likely Apple’s biggest profit contributor, too.
Apple’s second-biggest business is its Mac computer division, which grew 27% year-over-year in the March quarter to $3.8 billion, or 28% of Apple’s overall sales.”
AppleInsider: Apple Strikes Back at Adobe, Says Flash is ‘Closed and Proprietary’
“In a rare public comment, Apple’s public relations department responded Wednesday to criticisms from the project manager for Adobe Flash, suggesting his recent criticism of Apple was “backwards.”
In a statement to CNet’s DeepTech, Apple spokeswoman Trudy Miller fired back at Adobe’s Mike Chambers, who revealed this week that his company was abandoning its investment in a feature that would allow Flash applications to be ported natively to the iPhone OS. Chambers also made comments suggesting that Apple’s closed system was restrictive to developers — an allegation that caught the ire of Apple.
“Someone has it backwards — it is HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and H.264 (all supported by the iPhone and iPad) that are open and standard, while Adobe’s Flash is closed and proprietary,” Apple’s Miller said in the statement.”
The Guardian: ARM Boss Pours Cold Water on Apple Bid Rumours After Shares Soar
“ARM Holdings and Apple go way back and on Thursday the market was taking the view their relationship could be about to become even tighter.
Shares in the Cambridge-based chip designer soared to an eight-year high as rumours continued to circulate that Apple may have ARM in its sights as an acquisition target.
But before speculators get too carried away, Arm’s chief executive Warren East reminds everyone to look at the economics. With ARM’s market capitalisation at more than £3bn why fork out a fortune to own it when Apple and others can license the designs at a fraction of that?”
AppAdvice: Google to Bring Free Turn-by-Turn Navigation to the iPhone
“A neat thing about Android (which now also works on the iPhone) is that it comes with a free turn-by-turn GPS navigation app. I mean, TomTom and Navigon are great, but having to drop almost a $100 on them is very painful.
Well, according to MacUser, Google is apparently not planning to keep this as a competitive advantage for its platform. In a press conference this morning, Google announced that it will be bringing its free navigation turn-by-turn sat nav app to UK Android owners, as well as to other smartphone platforms, including the iPhone, although it wouldn’t say when.”
Headlines: 21 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, 4G Network, 4th Generation iPhone, AT&T, App Store, Apple Corporate, OS 3.x, OS 4.x, Smartphone Market, Steve Jobs, iPad, iPod Touch
Daily Finance: “Why Apple Should Sue Gawker Over ‘Lost’ iPhone Story
“How hard must the finder of lost property try to return it to its owner before deciding it’s his to keep or sell? The answer to that question could determine whether Monday’s iPhone scoop results in millions of dollars in legal damages, or even criminal charges, for its purveyors.
Gawker Media has admitted — boasted, really — that it paid $5,000 to get its hands on a prototype of a fourth-generation iPhone for its gadget blog, Gizmodo. The seller of the device told the editors of Gizmodo and other technology blogs that he found it unattended in a bar called Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City, California.
But shortly after Gizmodo published its blockbuster story about the phone, critics began accusing the site of breaking the law by, in effect, purchasing stolen goods.”
ZDNet: AT&T Earnings Propelled By iPhone Activations
“AT&T said Wednesday that it added 1.9 million wireless subscribers in the first quarter as the company continued to benefit from smartphone adoption and a bevy of connected devices such as e-readers, alarms and global positioning systems. In addition, AT&T activated 2.7 million iPhones.”
MacRumors: Apple to Make an Offer to Acquire ARM?
“The London Evening Standard reports that there have been rumors in London’s financial district that Apple may be interested in acquiring ARM Holdings. ARM’s shares shot up today based on the strong financial results from Apple yesterday. ARM provides the CPU designs for Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. ARM, however, also provides the chips for a broad range of mobile phones including Android and Palm devices.”
Headlines: 20 Apr 10
Filed under: 3GS, 4th Generation iPhone, Apple Corporate, OS 4.x, Smartphone Market, Steve Jobs
Gizmodo: A Letter: Apple Wants Its Secret iPhone Back
“Well, how can I explain this? I got some interesting calls today. It was Apple. And they wanted their phone back.
This phone was lost, and then found. But from Apple’s perspective, it could have been considered stolen. I told them, all they have to do to get it back is to claim it—on record. This formal request from Apple’s legal department is that claim. It proves—if there was any doubt in your mind—that this thing is real.”
WSJ: Apple Earnings Surge 90% in Second Quarter
“SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc. reported a strong surge in second-fiscal quarter earnings on Tuesday, thanks mostly to strong sales of the company’s iPhone and Mac computers. For the March period, Apple (AAPL 268.78, +2.31, +0.87%) said net income came in at $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per share compared to net income of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 per share, for the same period last year. Revenue jumped 49% to $13.5 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.45 per share on revenue of $12 billion, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Reuters.”
