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Posts tagged with "apple"

Back to the “iWallet”, Apple Allegedly Considering A BOKU Acquisition

According to a rumor published by TechCrunch, Google and Apple are keeping an eye on mobile payments startup BOKU, which allows users to complete online transactions by simply entering their phone number and confirming the purchase with a text from their phone. A simple and unobtrusive system that could really eliminate the need of credit cards and banks online: charges will be added to your wireless monthly bill. Boku has closed deals with carriers worldwide, including AT&T in the U.S.

Apple seems to be really committed to turning the iPhone into a digital wallet-like device you can use to buy stuff on the go and / or online, as we speculated in rumors surfaced earlier this year. Yesterday, Cult of Mac reported Apple not only wants to develop an “iWallet” based on NFC technology – they’re aiming at remote Mac controlling as well. Read more

Apple Silently Cuts Mac Mini Prices Outside The U.S.

If you live in Europe or in any other market outside the United States, here’s a nice surprise for you: Apple cut €100 off of the price of the Mac Mini, which is now available at €699 in the standard configuration with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB memory, 320GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics. The price cut is also available in the UK Store, where the Mac Mini is now priced at £599.

Prices in the US remain unchanged at the moment of writing this. I assume these prices cuts in Europe are likely connected to Dollar - Euro conversion rates, or maybe Apple just wants to sell more Minis in the holiday season in Europe.

AppleCare Protection Plans Now Transferable To Any Device

According to the latest report by BGR, Apple changed its policy regarding AppleCare Protection Plans and transferability:

Starting immediately, an Apple customer will have the ability to transfer AppleCare Protection Plan coverage to a new device without having to cancel the current plan and purchase a new one. Though no formal announcement has been made to the public, Apple notified its employees of the new procedure on Monday.

This new system simplifies the purchase experience for customers and makes AppleCare even more relevant. Yeah, because in case you’re wondering – you need AppleCare.

Apple Settled Lawsuit Over “iAd” Trademark In July

When Steve Jobs announced the “iAd” program in April, a few people claimed they had seen that term somewhere else before. As CNET reports, Apple indeed settled a lawsuit in July over the “iAd” trademark with company innovate media, which had been using the “iAd” term since 2006 and was even granted two trademarks in 2008.

The interesting part is not the amount of the settlement (that we’ll likely never know), but rather the history behind the disclosure of this settlement. Consor, intellectual asset management company, posted a release on their website detailing how four of their clients managed to close favorable settlements over trademark lawsuits they had filed. In the release, they mentioned: “iAds, a 7-figure settlement from Apple Computer in a trademark infringement case.” Read more

Apple’s Next Macintosh OS→

Apple’s Next Macintosh OS

Compare the bulldozer approach to what Apple did when it designed the A4, the “dark inside” of the iPad. Apple’s next Mac processor could be a multicore (or multi-chip) ARM derivative. And the company has proven time and again that it knows how to port software, and its support of the Open Source LLVM and Clang projects give it additional hardware independence. We all know the Apple Way: Integration. From bare metal to the flesh, from the processor to the Apple Store. Hardware, OS, applications, distribution… Apple knows how to control its own destiny.

And indeed, they’re committed to making a centralized integrated ecosystem the bet on their destiny.

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Apple Grabs 26% Of U.S. Smartphone Market, Google Leads With 44%

According to Canalys’ latest report, Apple grabbed 26% of the U.S. smartphone market (still considered the biggest and most relevant in the world) but Google, thanks to its multitude of devices running Android, is still leading with nearly 44%.

The numbers, which refer to Q3 2010, also show that Apple really took the lead from RIM, stuck at 24%. Nokia is still leading the worldwide share with a resonant 33%, and Google’s share is expected to increase as more devices running Froyo and the future Android Gingerbread ship.

In the meantime, Apple somehow managed to obtain a 50% worldwide profit share with the iPhone. Not bad.

The iPhone 4 Becomes Japan’s Best Selling Cellphone In October

According to the latest numbers by GfK Japan (via Analytica1st), the iPhone has become Japan’s best selling mobile phone. The numbers refer to the week October 18-24 and are the result of a survey across 4,000 point of sales.

As you can see, the iPhone, both in the 16GB and 32gB edition, is the only Softbank device in the chart, which includes cellphones by NTT DoCoMo and KDDI au. The iPhone 4 came out in Japan on June 24th, but Apple –as usual – hasn’t released country-specific numbers of units sold.

“Jobs at Apple” Page Updated With New Positions, Introductory Video

Apple updated its “Jobs at Apple” mini-site to include additional information about the carrier possibilities at Apple Retail, new jobs positions and a video introduction to Apple’s retail philosophy.

Join us at the Apple Retail Store, the unique gathering place where people come to discover Apple products. Show your passion and expertise as you connect customers with our products and help integrate products into their lives. Be a part of our team and change the way our customers work, play, create, and communicate.

Both the revamped page and video focus on detailing the incredible experience that is working at Apple, being part of something that can “actually change people’s lives” and that can “connect customers with Apple products”.

The main page also features recently opened retail stores with positions available: El Paseo Village - Palm Desert, CA; Boise Town Square - Boise, ID; River Park Square - Spokane, WA; Summit Mall - Akron, OH; University Park Mall - South Bend, IN.

VLC for iOS May Soon Be Gone From the App Store Due To Videolan’s Complaint

VLC, the popular media player for Windows, Mac and Linux that landed on the iPad in September and on the iPhone last week, may soon be gone from the App Store. Rémi Denis-Courmont, one of the primary developers of VLC, explained that Videolan sent a formal notification of copyright infringement to Apple regarding the way VLC for iOS is distributed in the App Store. VLC for iOS is developed by French 3rd party studio Applidium.

Basically, here’s the problem: VLC is an open source program distributed under the GNU General Public License (also known as “GPL”) while VLC for iOS is, as you may guess, distributed under Apple’s iTunes Terms and Conditions, which don’t allow users to install both free and paid apps on more than 5 devices. This restriction is also known as “DRM” which stands for Digital Rights Management. So even if VLC for iOS is free, Videolan can’t accept the fact that Apple’s DRM goes against the original GNU license VLC’s code is based on. Read more