Eddy Cue, who had been Apple’s iTunes chief, has today been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services. Tim Cook revealed the promotion to Apple employees this morning, writing that “Apple is a company and culture unlike any other in the world and leaders like Eddy get that”. In his email, Cook also took time to make note of Cue’s role in the succesful launches of products and services including the Apple online store, the iTunes Store, App Store and iBookstore.

Cue now undertakes the role of overseeing all these online stores and services, including iCloud which is set to launch sometime in the next few weeks. iAds, which had previously been run by Andy Miller (who reported directly to Steve Jobs) will also now fall within Cue’s area of management. With this promotion Cue becomes a member on the Apple Executive Management team and will report directly to Tim Cook, Apple’s recently appointed CEO.

Apple has now updated the Apple Bio’s page to include Eddy Cue. Tim Cook’s email to Apple employees is included below, obtained by 9to5 Mac:

Dear team,

It is my pleasure to announce the promotion of Eddy Cue to Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services. Eddy will report to me and will serve on Apple’s executive management team. Eddy oversees Apple’s industry-leading content stores including the iTunes Store, the revolutionary App Store and the iBookstore, as well as iAd and Apple’s innovative iCloud services. He is a 22-year Apple veteran and leads a large organization of amazing people. He played a major role in creating the Apple online store in 1998, the iTunes Music Store in 2003 and the App Store in 2008.

Apple is a company and culture unlike any other in the world and leaders like Eddy get that. Apple is in their blood. Eddy and the entire executive management team are dedicated to making the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do. Please join me in congratulating Eddy on this significant and well-deserved promotion. I have worked with Eddy for many years and look forward to working with him even closer in the future.

Tim

[Via 9to5 Mac, SplatF]

A new report out today shows that whilst Microsoft may still completely dominate the enterprise landscape in terms of desktop computers, Apple is still making steady progress in the market. According to market research by Forrester, the share of Mac OS X in corporate USA has climbed from 9.1% in April 2010 to 11% in March this year.

Ben Gray, co-author of the report, attributed the increase in Mac OS X’s share of the market because of a shift towards “BYO [bring your own] device programs” that workers were pushing for – workers are now expecting Mac and iOS support. Such “consumerization” of the enterprise has been driven by the popularity of the iPad which has shown some significant penetration in the enterprise market – driven by workers wanting to bringing their own iPad into work.

Nonetheless, as Macworld notes, “Microsoft remains a hegemony in the enterprise – 86.7% of all corporate computers run one of its operating system”.  Windows XP, over a decade old, remains the dominate OS in the enterprise with 59.9% of the market, Windows 7 is next with roughly 21% and then Vista with just 6.2%.

[Via Macworld]

In a lengthy report published earlier today, TechnoBuffalo shares some of the interesting details behind the launch of the Verizon iPhone 4, which went on sale in the United States in February. In the months leading to the launch of the CDMA device, speculation was running wild on the Internet as to whether Apple was really ending AT&T exclusivity to release an updated version of the iPhone to support Verizon Wireless’ CDMA infrastructure; citing a source “close to the action”, TechnoBuffalo says only top executives at Verizon knew about the device, which internally used to be mentioned as “ACME device” to avoid other employees would hear the “iPhone” name and leak information outside of the company. Public testing of the CDMA iPhone 4 began at Apple Stores (and obviously, Apple’s own campus, where Steve Jobs said they had installed Verizon and AT&T towers) six months ahead of the official launch, meaning in summer 2010 shortly after the release of the AT&T iPhone.

Though key employees and executives were in the loop, everyone else at the carrier knew little more than the rest of the public. And it would seem the higher ups wanted to keep it that way. No one talked about the Apple smartphone externally, and even internally, it was still a hush-hush operation. In fact, says the source, the word “iPhone” was never uttered; only its codename was referenced: It was called the “ACME” device.

Between NDAs to sign, corporate secrets and internal discussions about field-testing and cooperation with Apple, the most interesting tidbit details how, rather than installing geo-location software (like Find my iPhone) on the prototypes to make sure they wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands (as the AT&T iPhone 4 did), Verizon testers were required to text a PIN code every 12 hours as a confirmation the device was being used internally for testing purposes only.

Our source describes a unique protocol requiring staffers to text a secret PIN code to a dedicated phone number every 12 hours. This served as ongoing confirmation that the handset was still in the proper hands. So no PIN code, no functionality.

Unlike the original iPhone 4, Apple managed to keep the Verizon iPhone closely under wraps until the official announcement, not even allowing Verizon to tease anything at CES 2011 in Las Vegas a few weeks before. The security measures taken by Apple to ensure devices were only used internally are particularly interesting, and a sign Apple must have reconsidered its testing process after the AT&T iPhone got leaked to Gizmodo.com in Spring 2010, months before the WWDC announcement.

Despite the perception of Microsoft being bitter enemies with Apple it sure seems as if this rivalry is cooling off lately with Microsoft working to provide several services and products to iOS users in particular. From their iPhone apps to additional features in Bing (that won’t even make it to Windows Phone 7 till late 2011), Microsoft is making a concerted effort to be relevant in the increasingly iOS (and Android too) mobile market.

Its latest foray is an enterprise and corporate focused piece of software that will allow IT departments to more easily manage a workplace of iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 mobile devices. Named, in typically superfluous Microsoft fashion, System Center Configuration Manager 2012, it will let those IT departments enforce password complexity and security, remote wipe devices amongst other key functions.

As Microsoft describes it, SCCM can “Streamline operations with a unified infrastructure that integrates client management and protection across mobile, physical, and virtual environments.” The Beta 2 of System Center Configuration Manager 2012 is available for download but it does require registration and only runs on Windows Server 2008.

[Via TUAW]

If you live in a corporate environment these days, chances are your employer has given you an iPad to try out. It is no secret that hundreds of companies are piloting or deploying iPads and iPhones, but when it comes to a machine that’s less than a year old and has created a new category of portable computing, trying to make it fit in your daily workflow can become a problem. What apps do I need to install? What about email settings? What’s the best way to manage my calendar? And Exchange?

Author Dave Caolo provides answers to these questions in his first book “Using Your iPad as a Business Productivity Tool”. The book is available now in the iBookstore for iPad at $5.99, but you can also pre-order it for your Kindle on Amazon. We had the chance to chat with Dave about the background of this book, and why he decided to focus on the iPad, a relatively young device for a business audience.

So head after the break for the full interview, and go download the book for your iPad here. (more…)

So much for the iPad being a consumption-only device. We got it month ago, when we realized that Apple’s latest creation wasn’t meant for consuming content (though it’s great at it) but for creating, too. 11.000 approved apps in 4 months must mean something.

Still, with the iPhone things weren’t that great in 2007, when the device was just released and Apple wanted to persuade businesses and large IT corporations to adopt the device and massively deploy it to their employees. It didn’t happen: there weren’t apps tailored to IT users, there was no Exchange support, no encryption (a strong selling point of BlackBerry devices, or so they say), no possibility to deploy apps developed in house (actually, there was no App Store, either).

Not with the iPad. Businesses are loving it.

(more…)

We begin tonight with a bit of breaking news that we’re sure you’ve all heard about by now: Mark Papermaster, the controversially IBM figure that signed onto the Apple crew back in 2008, has left his position as the overseer of Apple’s mobile devices. The New York Times reports that Papermaster oversaw projects related to the iPhone 4 including the A4 chip and the Retina Display. Though it wasn’t specifically mentioned whether Papermaster was fired or encourage to step down from his position, John Gruber chimed in with a quick comment.

Inside Apple, he’s “the guy responsible for the antenna” – that’s a quote from a source back on July 23. (Another quote from the same source: “Apparently the antenna guys used to have a big chip on their shoulder. No more.”)

Gruber made it clear that Papermaster was axed, and I’m hopefull he’ll have some more to say in the near future. In the meantime, SVP of Macintosh Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield will take over Papermaster’s role as the company moves forward.

[via New York Times & Daring Fireball]

As Apple captures corporate America with the success of the iPad, the highly regarded security of iOS 4 devices has gained Forrester’s go ahead for deployment by enterprise users. Sure RIM takes the cake with the most secure BlackBerry OS, but now that the iPhone meets the basic security requirements, Apple may see some highly valued adoption from our nations most cautious IT gurus.

(more…)