Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"As expected, Apple refreshed its iPod lineup Wednesday, unveiling redesigned versions of its iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle music players. But the company didn't stop there, using its annual fall music event to also announce an update to its iTunes software and an overhaul of its Apple TV set-top box."

Lots of new and improved products from Apple announced today. Almost everything available today, with the exception of the new $99 smaller Apple TV, shipping in about four weeks. Some additional welcomed news: iOS 4.1 will be available shortly and will include bug fixes and GameCenter; iOS 4.2 will be available in November, and will bring the iPad feature-set equivalence with the iPhone, and will also introduce iPad printing. Details can be found here [ link ].

"Patently Apple does a great job explaining Apple's latest interesting patents and today the "Smart Bike" and Mall app have come upon us. The Smart Bike seems like the most interesting bicycle ever, a techie-bicyclist's dream. It will use the various sensors in the bike and iPhone to measure things like altitude, speed, power, heart rate, path distances, and several more."

Apple has applied for a patent for a concept that they're calling Smart Bike (or Smart Bicycle). Using a variety of sensors, links, software, communication, and of course an iPod or iPhone, Smart Bike can display not only information on the bike itself, but information on the rider. In addition, groups of riders can share all the reported information, so imagine a Tour De France team all linked with this gear: "Steve, your heart rate is down, pick it up!" or "Team, there is a 20km per hour headwind, and your heart rate needs to increase to climb the next hills." The underlying story states that this technology is expensive, and probably not for the casual or even semi-serious cyclist, but could be applied to other modes of transportation. As we've seen, costs drop as technology is adopted, so we can probably expect to see this offered on all bicycles sometime in the near future.

"Apple is to launch an official investigation into reports that the iOS4 operating system is having an adverse affect on older iPhone devices, specifically the iPhone 3G."

With ongoing reports of iOS 4 killing second generation iPhone 3G performance, Apple is officially looking into the issue, according to WSJ Blogs. Issues reportedly include slowness, crashing apps, the OS not responding to button presses, terrible battery life, and heat problems. Apple is reportedly readying iOS 4 version 4.1, currently in beta testing, after version 4.01 fixed some, but not all of (or enough of) the current problems. In the meantime, conventional wisdom is now "if you haven't upgraded your iPhone 3G to iOS 4, don't." Wait for V4.1 to (hopefully) fix the problems.

"Apple's commitment to the environment includes finding the most efficient ways to reuse or recycle electronic equipment, including computers and displays from any manufacturer."

Well, not exactly cash but you do get an Apple Gift Card for your trouble via the recycling program set up in conjunction with PowerOn. You can find more details at the exchange website via the Apple Store. Basically you input your details from your old computer, laptop or desktop, and they will tell you the amount you will get in the way of an Apple Store gift card. Pretty simple. Oh and they also do non-Apple displays if you have any of those laying around.

"When congress calls, Apple answers. According to CNet, Apple general counsel and senior vice president of legal and government affairs, Bruce Sewell, has sent two congressmen a 13-page letter detailing the whys and wherefores of Apple's policies and procedures for collecting location-based data."

iPhone users have expressed privacy concerns over Apple's practice of collecting location-based data for use in applications and advertising. Congress was listening, and asked Apple to explain their policies and procedures. Apple's 13-page response described in detail how everything works, including their privacy policies, and how latitide and longitude information is converted to a ZIP code for use by iAds and Apps. In iOS 3.2 and later, information is stored in Apple's own proprietary format using information that they've collected from cell towers and WiFi access points - they no longer use Google or Skyhook Wireless databases. They stressed that personally-identifyable data is -not- stored anywhere. Congress seemed to be satisfied with Apple's responses - for now.

"Research in Motion, Nokia, and HTC hit back at Apple Friday after chief executive Steve Jobs claimed that all smartphones have "weak spots" that could lead to the "death grip" problems witnessed on the Apple iPhone 4."

image source: Mad 4 Mobile Phones

Research in Motion (RIM), Nokia and HTC have all responded to last Friday's Apple claim that all the leading smartphones have "weak spots" leading to the "death grip." RIM's response was that Apple's claim was "unacceptable," and that RIM have used "innovative designs which reduce the risk of dropped calls, especially in areas of low coverage." Nokia's response acknowledged that the problem is real, but that their phones have been designed "... to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand." HTC's response (referring to the Droid Eris) was that "at the end of the day, customers aren't seeing a problem with our device, and that's the ultimate measure." Samsung had not responded at the time of this article. I don't know about you, readers, but I'm not eager to go back to the days of the brick-phone. I'll keep my iPhone 4, thank you!

"Dave Winer-the father of blogging and the RSS-has published this article on Apple's current situation. His prediction: The Reality Distortion Field bubble is "about to burst" and Apple is going to suffer the ugliest shitstorm you've ever seen."

An interesting and thought provoking article, looking beyond a couple hardware and software fixes, or a piece of duct tape on an iPhone 4. "The Golden Age of Apple" may be ending, or at least eroding - they are starting to be seen as just another company selling hardware and software (albeit generally great hardware and software).

Apple has had a great (and uninterrupted) run of success, starting in 1997, but the lack of real adversity in this time has made them incapable (according to the author) of responding to the latest issues as their loyal customers (or journalists) would expect or hope.

Is Apple out of touch? Maybe a bit. Will they survive this crisis (whether real or imagined) and prosper? Only time will tell, but my guess is a firm yes.

"Apple has opened up the Safari extensions gallery for third-party submissions in preparation of opening the gallery to the public. While you can install extensions now, you need to first know where to download them."

I love Safari, but have often wondered why there aren't more extensions (add-ins) to the basic browser. I use SafariCookies to manage "regular" and Flash cookies, but I haven't found much else. And, where are the extensions to sort bookmarks? I use SafariSort (Sortosaurus), but this function should be part of Safari, or at least an extension.

All this is about to change. Apple has announced that extensions to Safari will be officially permitted. Details are rather sparse right now, but it appears that developers will have their code reviewed by Apple, and the extension(s) will then be available to end users for download (we assume directly from Apple). I can't wait for FoxClocks for Safari!

"Fortune magazine has compiled a list of what it believes are the smartest people in the technology industry, and topping the list of CEOs is Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, while designer Jony Ive was named smartest designer."

image credit: wikipedia

Yes. In 1997 Apple was flirting with bankruptcy, and in thirteen (13) years, Steve Jobs has led them to the ranking of the most valuable technology company on the planet with a market capitalization today of about $250 billion. Fortune credits Jobs with changing four industries: music with iTunes, animated films with Pixar, mobile phones (telecommunications) with the iPhone, and mobile (portable) computing with the iPad. Many industry pundits complain about Jobs' dictatorial style, but how can one argue with the success that he's brought to Apple?

I can't even remember the first panelist...

“Right on schedule, today Apple is on its way to reinventing mobile advertising by officially launching its iAd advertising program.”

As promised, Apple has started the promotion of iAds, and examples are starting to appear around the web. As a revenue generator for developers, this seems to be a sound concept, but billing advertisers $2 for each click seems like a decimal point was misplaced somewhere. I wonder where this number came from.

I should have known that when I proclaimed how easy the RAM upgrade on the Mac Mini was going to be, it would turn out to have a bit of a catch - but, overall, Apple did an excellent job with making the RAM upgrade as simple as possible. Big thanks to Kingston for sending me the RAM for this review - the Mac Mini uses DDR3 PC8500 RAM running at 1066mhz, so these are your options from Kingston.

Hi there. My name is Jason, and I just bought my first Mac: a Mac Mini. Here's a couple of videos about my first 18 minutes spent with it.

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the new Mac Mini (2010 model). This Mac Mini [affiliate] has an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU running at 2.4 Ghz, 2 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320 GB hard drive (likely 5400 RPM, though Apple won't say), an 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD and CD burner), AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi (which is compatible with 802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, gigabit Ethernet, an SD card slot, four USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire 800 port, and an NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU. Part two after the break. Read more...

A little editorial on Apple and their attempt, but ultimate failure on being "green" with all their shipping boxes. Not to be taken too seriously...

Just completed the upgrade process on my factory-unlocked 3GS, and the entire process took about thirty (30) minutes, including download time. Apple's servers seem to be handling the load - so far. The first task was to organize everything into folders (In my opinion, folders are the best new feature).

My home screen after the upgrade ... cluttered.

Read more...

"In terms of market capitalization, Apple has now passed Microsoft, making it the most valuable technology company worldwide. According to the New York Times, "As of Wednesday, Wall Street valued Apple at $222.12 billion and Microsoft at $219.18 billion." Exxon Mobil, at $278.64 billion, is the only American company valued higher than these two."

This was first reported Wednesday, but appears to still be true even with fluctuations in the market as the figures above are from Thursday, at around 4pm Easter time. Still holding the lead. What does this mean other than bragging rights? It certainly doesn't help market share, nor does it give you a sense of how strong or weak a company is, however it is a good sense of a trend a market is heading. At least that is what I've been told, because I'm certainly no expert in these matters. What are the thoughts from some of you that have the expertise in this area?

"Basically all of Apple's support servers will be offline this weekend, so "customer support will be limited to basic troubleshooting," according to an internal memo. So avoid all forms of Apple tech support, from Apple Stores to Authorized Service Providers."

Unless you want just basic troubleshooting, otherwise you will have to wait until Monday.

"Apple posted yet another record quarter Tuesday for the March quarter, the company's second fiscal quarter. The company posted revenue of US$13.5 billion and a quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 earnings per share (EPS). The company reported higher Mac sales, and iPhone sales grew 131% year-over-year."

Apple sold 2.94 million Macs, up 33% from the same quarter a year ago, and also sold 8.75 million iPhones and 10.89 million iPods. This of course did not include the iPad, which will end up in the next quarter report, but it was the best non-holiday quarter ever since revenues were up 49% and profits were up 90%.

And in after hours trading, Apple posted an increase of 6.71% to close at $261.01 USD per share based on the strong earnings report.

"It's a sure thing that the iPad will get a camera in its second generation. After all, there's already an empty, iSight-shaped slot in the iPad's frame, and it's pretty much a sure thing that both the next iPhone and iPod Touch will have a camera. It would be absurd if the iPad didn't get one soon as well."

The job listing (posted here) tells the story, in which they say the "Media Systems team is looking for a software quality engineer with a strong technical background to test still, video and audio capture and playback frameworks." Since this is in the iPad Media Department, I'd say the chances are pretty good they are planning to have a camera in the iPad. If they are just now posting the job though, how long will it be before they actually get a camera in the iPad?

"Apple's fortunes just keep improving - literally. The Cupertino, Calif. maker of iconic consumer electronics reached 56 in Fortune magazine's Fortune 500 list, rising 15 spots in the annual ranking of corporate success. Apple's $36.5 billion in revenue for 2009 put it just behind 10th-place HP ($114.5 billion) and 38th-place Dell ($52.9 billion.)"

This moves it ahead of Walt Disney and McDonald's on the profitability list, but Microsoft and Google are still ahead of Apple when it comes to profits. 2009 gave investors a 146.9 percent return rate which left the usual (since 1999) 23.4 percent return in the dust.