Posts tagged with "apple"

Apple Equipping Stores with iPads Running New RetailMe?

Amidst all the speculation surrounding Apple’s all-hands meetings for retail employees and store leaders set for Sunday, May 22, AppleInsider reports this weekend’s retail plans might not be about a new product launch, 10th anniversary celebration or NFC payments, as the rumors suggested, but rather a series of trainings for employees using iPads running the new custom RetailMe software. According to AppleInsider, retail stores have been receiving stockpiles of iPad 2 featuring black leather Smart Covers, with these iPads being meant for on-the-job use by retail specialists.

People familiar with Apple’s retail operations revealed that stores across the U.S. have been stocked with dozens of iPads that are being prepared for use by employees. Training and utilization of the hardware could begin as soon as this weekend.

It’s not clear whether the iPads are destined to replace Apple’s current in-store payment system based on EasyPay and the iPod touch, but it’s likely that they will be used alongside the portable POS system to better showcase products and features to customers. Apple deployed the iPad 1 in its retail operations last year to allow employees to manage and schedule appointments for people waiting at the Genius Bar (I saw one myself at Rome Apple Store); the new iPad 2 shipments, though, might be linked to the internal release of an updated RetailMe software.

The delivery of iPads to stores around the country comes as Apple is apparently prepared to release an iPad version of its proprietary in-house communications client known as RetailMe. The RetailMe service offers information about products and training videos for retail employees.

One person privy to the workings of Apple’s brick-and-mortar stores suggested that the RetailMe software for iPad could turn out to be the be the password protected gigabytes of corporate training data that employees were recently issued. Still, as usual, employees have been kept in the dark, leaving them to put pieces together and draw conclusions based on the available evidence.

Indeed, BGR reported a few days ago employees were asked to download from Apple’s corporate servers a folder called “training” containing GBs worth of information and material. AppleInsider also reported last night this weekend’s meeting could be used to launch the 2011 Back to School program.

Apple Temporarily Freezing In-App Purchase Approvals?

TUAW reports a number of iOS developers have been unable for over a week now to get their in-app purchase content approved by Apple, as the company requires in the iTunes Connect developer portal to test IAP with a test user account, but this account has been offline with no explanation from Apple.

As a matter of policy, Apple requires developers to test in-app purchases (IAP) with a test user account before the application in question can be approved. Unfortunately, this test account has been offline for a week now with no word as to why. If you are a developer, you can see the relevant thread on Apple’s own developer forums here.

Whilst the impossibility to test in-app purchases and thus get the additional content approved may simply be a technical error on Apple’s side, it looks rather curious considering the recent debate surrounding Lodsys and its patent infringement claims against independent iOS developers. As TUAW notes, this can be a simple coincidence that has nothing to do with Lodsys, but The Guardian reported yesterday Apple was “actively investigating” the claims that hit iOS devs, so there’s a chance Apple might have suspended IAP approvals before a decision is made.

If you’re a developer and have encountered a similar error, let us know in the comments. More information is available on the Dev Forums.

Update: the iTunes Connect Developer Guide was updated on 5/11 including some changes to in-app purchases, but we can’t confirm whether these changes are related to the inability of testing in-app purchases with a test user account. The ITC Developer Guide can be found here.

Improvements to In-App Purchase creation and edit flow. The Manage Your In-App Purchases module is no longer available on the homepage of in iTunes Connect. In-App Purchases can now be managed from the app summary page for a specific app within the Manage Your Applications module.

[Thanks, Jason]

Update #2: TUAW reports the issue seems to be resolved.

Parallels Transporter Makes PC to Mac Migration Dead Simple

Parallels, probably best known for its popular virtualization software, has today released a new product that lets you make migration from Windows to OS X dead simple. The product, Parallels Transporter is being offered at a special introductory price of $0.99 on the Mac App Store (it’s regular price will be a rather expensive $39.99) and allows users to automatically transfer music, pictures, documents and more from a Windows computer to a Mac.

Using an external hard drive, wireless network or a Parallels USB transfer cable, Transporter will automatically transfer the data to the appropriate locations the Mac. Whether it is documents in the home directory or bookmarks for browsers, Transporter will do all the work in correctly transferring the users files.

We created Parallels Transporter to be the simplest, most efficient way to transfer everything you need from your old PC to your Mac in just a few easy steps. Now you can move to a Mac without the time-consuming chore of manually moving files and without the expense of hiring somebody to do it for you.

Transporter will even transfer over Windows applications and other files into a virtual machine on the Mac so that if you end up using Parallels Desktop, everything will be set up and ready to go for you – although note that this does require the purchase of Parallels Desktop which isn’t included in Transporter.

OmniVision Introduces 5 MP Sensor With 1080p Video Recording

Earlier this morning we reported on some rumors from DigiTimes regarding the production timeline of the upcoming iPhone 4S and rumoured components that it would include. In their report, DigiTimes claimed that it would contain an 8 MP camera from OmniVision Technologies, and to some degree it makes sense. Sony’s CEO in April made a fleeting comment suggesting that it would be supplying Apple with an 8MP camera for the next iPhone. However, those same comments were later suggested to have been largely “invented” by bloggers attending the event.

OmniVision today introduced a new 5MP image sensor, the OV5690, that was developed to produce the “best-in-class image quality” whilst being an effective solution for slimmer mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers by reducing the size of the camera module. With contradicting reports on whether the next iPhone will contain a 5 MP camera or an 8 MP camera, this new product certainly lends weight to the suggestion that it could have a 5 MP camera. In recent times Apple has been ferocious in crafting its devices to be as thin and light as possible, and this latest component by OmniVision could enable Apple to deliver on that goal with improved image quality (and 1080p video recording at 30 fps) whilst fitting into a smaller package.

With industry sources placing 5-megapixel CMOS image sensors at more than 15 percent of the overall sensor market today, we view 5-megapixel sensors as occupying as a sweet spot in the market. (Emphasis Added)

The iPhone 4 currently sports an older OmniVision camera component that is also 5 MP but only records video in 720p. Apple may well choose to stick with OmniVision and deliver a slightly improved camera in its next iPhone – which may be in line with reports of just small, evolutionary, improvements for the next iPhone. Although interestingly, OmniVision also revealed in early January that it had introduced a 10MP camera sensor that would similarly enable 1080p video recording at 30fps.

Former LG Executive Takes Over As Apple’s Korean Boss

The Yonhap News Agency is today reporting that Apple has recently hired Dominque Oh as its new head of South Korean operations. Oh will move to Apple after working at LG in a number of positions, including most recently as their Vice President of the Smartphone business for the past 13 months. Prior to that he worked as VP of Product Planning and Europe Mobile Business at LG.

Oh has extensive experience from his jobs within LG, where he was required to establish relationships with various operators and partners from across the world and overlook LG’s Android and Windows Phone 7 products, which will no doubt be beneficial in his new job with Apple. Oh will replace the current head of Apple’s South Korean operations, Andrew Sedgwick who held the post for over a decade.

The news comes from a number of “industry insiders” who requested anonymity, but Oh has yet to update his LinkedIn profile, still listing his VP of Smartphone Business at LG as his current job.

[Via TheNextWeb]

iPhone 4S To Go Into Production In August, Apple Reducing iPhone 4 Shipments

Two reports out of DigiTimes today reveal that the next generation iPhone, which they call the iPhone 4S, won’t have LTE capability and will go into production in August. DigiTimes claim that the iPhone 4S was originally planned to be LTE capable but was recently scrapped after it was revealed that Qualcomm was facing problems in producing the chips in large enough quantities for the iPhone.

Instead, LTE capability will likely make its way into the following (sixth generation) iPhone in 2012. A number of carriers, including three top Chinese telecommunication companies will be disappointed after expressing interest in selling an LTE capable iPhone. Despite this, China Mobile, which will have 27 million users by the end of this year, is expected to reach an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone 4S when it is expected to launch in September this year.

With plans to begin production of the iPhone 4S in August, and nearly 2 million iPhone 4s in inventory according to sources, Apple has reportedly lowered its expected shipment volumes for the iPhone 4 (for Q2 2011) to 17.5-18 million units, a reduction of about 2 million units. Around 2 million are expected to be the CDMA version whilst around 16 million 3G models. Apple is however expecting shipments of iPad 2s to increase substantially from 7-8 million units to 10-10.5 million units in Q2, 2011.

The iPhone 4S will reportedly include 3G and CDMA chips from Qualcomm, a rear 8MP camera from OmniVision Technologies and Largan Precision to produce image sensors and the lens. Prior rumors had suggested that this years iPhone would feature some slight design modifications and the support for HSPA+ because of the lack of readiness of 4G chips as DigiTimes is today reporting. It was also rumored that it would also contain an 8MP camera, but from Sony, not OmniVision and Largan Precision.

[Via DigiTimes (1) (2)]

Survey Reveals How Consumers Use Their iPad

When the iPad went on sale just over a year ago, many were unsure of what people would use it for and the uncertainty has largely continued to today, where it is still a little vague as to how a tablet fits into people’s lives. Yesterday however, Business Insider published some fascinating data on a whole range of questions that surround the iPad and how it is used. The data was collated after Business Insider issued an extensive survey, on a wide variety of issues and questions, to more than 850 people.

Their survey revealed that for about 70% of respondents, there was only 1 iPad in their household and only about 23% has 2 in the one household – less than 7% had 3 or more iPads in their household. Nearly 40% had downloaded between 20 and 50 apps, whilst 30% had downloaded more than 50 apps – with few paying for more than 20 of those apps and only 6% paying for none. Below are some of the other more interesting results but jump over to The Atlantic for all the results.

  • 87.4% did not even consider an Android tablet before buying an iPad and 90% would not consider a BlackBerry PlayBook or HP TouchPad
  • The number of people with WiFi-only or the 3G iPad is fairly evenly split (52% to 48%)
  • Only 49% subscribe to a monthly 3G data plan (of those who have a 3G iPad)
  • 40% use the iPad as their primary computer
  • The most cited reasons for use of the iPad are; web browsing (35%), using social or communication apps (22%), watching video (12%), playing games (12%) and using all other apps (20%)
  • For consuming news, 38% would use the iPad’s web browser, 34% would use a news site’s app and 28% would use an aggregator like Reeder or Flipboard.
  • 72% read e-books on the iPad, mostly on iBooks but Kindle is a close second

Reposado, An Open-Source Update Service Independent of OS X Server

Hosting an internal Apple Software Update service involves having to rely on Mac OS X Server to update you various testing machines if you want to test software against various releases of Leopard and Snow Leopard across hardware. Walt Disney Animation Studios, however, have released Reposado, an open-source project founded upon Python that eliminates the need for OS X Server while alleviating some previous limitations.

The open-source benefit of this project is immediately applicable for small businesses. As TUAW’s Chris Ward points out, running your own update solution for businesses allows administrators to economize on bandwidth by downloading the update once, and distributing it internally. For both developers and IT administrators, Reposado takes this a bit further by leveraging what a company is likely to already have available in equipment. It’s a cost effective solution that’s currently available for download via GitHub.

All you need available is a box running an Apache 2 web server and the ‘curl’ binary tool, and provided you already have an old Mac around (such as a Mac Mini), utilizing these tools is incredibly easy. Replicating Software Update catalogs and updates, Reposado is powerful in that it supports deprecated updates. Apple’s course of action only offers and encourages admins to download the latest software, yet testing environments require that software be compatible across multiple iterations of software. With Reposado, you can branch any update to various machines on your schedule, giving you time to test new software before deploying it.

[Managing OS X via TUAW]

Apple Proposes Standard To Make SIM Cards Smaller

According to Reuters, an executive of Orange has confirmed the French carrier is backing Apple’s plans for a new standard to make SIM cards smaller in order to use them in future thinner mobile devices. The proposed standard aims at reducing the size of SIM cards, which are currently implemented as “micro” models in the iPhone 4 and iPad.

We were quite happy to see last week that Apple has submitted a new requirement to (European telecoms standards body) ETSI for a smaller SIM form factor – smaller than the one that goes in iPhone 4 and iPad,” said Anne Bouverot, Orange’s head of mobile services.

“They have done that through the standardization route, through ETSI, with the sponsorship of some major mobile operators, Orange being one of them,” she told the Paris leg of the Reuters Global Technology Summit.

Reuters claims the approval process for such a new standard would take time, with new devices carrying the new SIM models not coming out at least until next year. A rumor surfaced last year indicated Apple was working closely with Gemalto to develop an integrated SIM card that would be embedded in every iPhone to enable users to quickly switch between carriers without restrictions and obligations, but this new report seems to suggest Apple is simply aiming for a smaller chip, perhaps following the opposition from carriers to an embedded SIM that would cut mobile operators out of the retail game.