Apple - page 12

I wish I never sold my original iPhone. Being seen around town using an iPhone with a brushed aluminum back would make others jealous of my uniqueness. The iPhone 4? Dude, that was so 2010. My original iPhone can’t even create folders or multitask, but no one else has one so it makes me like fifty times more awesome than anyone using an iPhone 3GS.

You’re probably snickering at this ridiculous idea that a unique design completely trumps functionality. I don’t blame you. However, a lot of Apple fans are falling into the trap of this same ideology that claims the looks of the new iPhone are more important than the functionality it will bring with it. Many claim that if Apple “only” releases an iPhone 4S it will be a huge disappointment to fans. “We’ve waited 16 months for a new iPhone and all they’re giving us is a minor spec bump? This is crap!”

What some Apple fanboys don’t understand is the iPhone 4S isn’t “just a spec bump.” The new iPhone, regardless of its physical appearance, will be a significant improvement to the greatest phone ever made.

Of course no one wants to be stuck with an ugly phone that looks five years behind the curve, but before rising up in revolt against the iPhone 4S, let’s consider the current state of technology and where the iPhone 4 currently ranks.

Ho-hum. Another iPhone. Tuesday’s Apple event is going to be boooo-ring, right?

Well, not so fast. I think that from a milestone perspective, Tuesday’s announcement may be among the most important Apple has ever made. 

Let’s be honest, typical email clients (like your old corporate buddy Mr. Outlook) are about as fun as a bag full of dead butterflies.  When was the last time you got excited to use Entourage or Lotus Notes? Probably never.

Luckily, Sparrow glided into the app-scene with a singular goal to make emailing fun. It’s lightweight so its zippy, yet packed with features no other email app has.  The love and energy the Sparrow team put into their app has changed emailing from a dreaded chore into something that is pleasurable and fun.

Yesterday, with great excitement, Cult of Mac launched a new software hub called deals.cultofmac.com. Teaming up with the guys at StackSocial, this new feature will bring Apple fans the best deals on cutting-edge Mac Apps at a price you won’t be able to find on the Mac App Store. We’re starting things off by offering Sparrow, the best mail-app for OS X, for only $6.

To celebrate the launch, we’re giving away 5 copies of Sparrow for free to our readers via a giveaway contest on Facebook. Entering the giveaway is simple, but you gotta play to win.

Here’s how to enter:

If you didn’t hear the news, Cult of Mac hit 100,000 Twitter followers last week. To celebrate, we hosted a huge giveaway yesterday on Twitter. Because some people were sad that they didn’t come away with a prize, we’ve decided to extend the celebration farther into the week and give readers a few more chances to win. Today we’re giving away a Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard for Mac. It’s one of the coolest new keyboards we’ve seen because you don’t have to keep spare batteries on hand anymore. If you want a shot at winning this beautiful thing here are the rules for today’s contest:

If you didn’t hear the news yesterday, Cult of Mac is hosting a huge giveaway on Twitter to celebrate our 100,000 Twitter followers. You can join the fun and win tons of prizes today at 5pm EDT. We’re giving away headphones, iOS games, iPad cases, and  some other cool gizmos. For more info on how you can win, click here.
 

On Thursday Cult of Mac’s Twitterfeed gained its 100,000th follower. We know we couldn’t have hit this big milestone without so many passionate readers who motivate us to provide the best Apple news content on the web. In order to celebrate we want to give back to all our Twitter followers who have supported us, so we’re giving away a treasure trove of goodies as our way to say thanks. We will be hosting a Twitter Trivia Giveaway on Tuesday, September 27th at 5pm EDT. If you’re not going to be available for the Twitter Trivia Giveaway you can still win some prizes by leaving your Twitter handle in a comment on this article and we’ll  enter you in some of our random drawings.

Here’s what you can win:

Domenico Panacea – you may remember him from the LED Apple logo t-shirt –  shot a nice video of the opening of the first Apple store to disembark on the isle of Sicily in Italy at the foot of Mount Etna, the Apple Store Centro Sicilia.

In a single week, Facebook has become not just a competitor to Apple, but the Mother of All Apple Competitors.

Facebook this week announced a series of initiatives and partnerships that the New York Times says makes Facebook a “primary entertainment hub.”

Facebook’s 800 million users will be able to play and share music from Spotify, MOG, Rdio, Rhapsody, Turntable.fm, VEVO, Slacker, Songza, TuneIn, iheartradio, Deezer, Earbits, Jelli, mixcloud and other services, right from their profiles and News Feeds.

Facebook will enable the discovery, sharing, buying and renting of movies and TV shows via Netflix, Hulu, Blockbuster, IMDB, Dailymotion and Flixter.

And just as the iPad is gaining traction as the electronic newspaper of choice, Facebook announces partnerships with the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Slate, the Associated Press, Reuters, Yahoo News and others to make Facebook the default online newspaper site.

Facebook is now more directly threatening to Apple’s business model than Microsoft, Google and Sony combined. 

One of the things Apple really gets right is the streamlined names. Other companies add a bunch of confusing prefixes and suffixes to each incremental product change, but with Apple a MacBook Pro is simply called a MacBook Pro, and not a MacBook Pro 15XRCT. It cuts down on the confusion for some of us simpletons.

So if that’s the case, you might be wondering: what the heck is all this talk of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5? Are they the same device? If not, how are they different from each other? What does it all mean?

Well, it’s not as confusing as you think. Here’s the scoop on what all this talk about the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S is really about.

Two unauthorized Apple stores in Flushing, Queens have agreed to give all of their Apple-related merchandise back to the mothership.

Both stores say they are willing to hand over everything they have in stock with the word “Apple” or any of the Cupertino company’s trademarks – but still maintain they have not violated any Apple trademarks.

Back in 2008, the Malibu Beach Inn billed itself as the world’s first iPhone hotel.

Now apps like that one are helping people get more comfortable (or complain more quickly) in hotels around the world.

The California hotel offered guests loaner iPhones or iPod Touch devices to order room service, set wake up calls, request dry cleaning, extra blankets or replace forgotten toothbrushes, check messages or set “Do Not Disturb” notices plus shopping, eating and cavorting info.

The whole shebang runs on an app called “Hotel Evolution” from Los Angeles software firm Runtriz.

The music options on the iPhone have sure gotten exciting over the last few months. First Apple unveiled iTunes Match, then Spotify launched their app in the US, and now Turntable.fm has brought their amazing social music experience to the iPhone. Earlier this morning Turntable.fm released their new iPhone app that enables users to listen to Turntable.fm DJ Rooms wherever they go.

Christian Louboutin, whose signature red-soled stilettos shod Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City, is a big fan of an iPhone-controlled toy.*

Apple recently launched the iTunes Match beta test, but overwhelming demand caused Apple to shut the program down. Well it looks like Apple’s ramped up the back end so that it can support more beta testers. They’ve re-opened iTunes Match enrollment to more developers in the U.S.

Apple Chairman Steve Jobs has always wanted Apple to “change the world.” Of course it has, but only the wealthy, tech-savvy, privileged part of the world. Despite its incredible success, Apple hasn’t changed the world for billions of poor people.

To date, Apple has changed the world only by solving only first-world problems: “My Windows laptop came loaded with crapware and stickers.” “My PC is noisy and ugly.” “I hate audio CDs and CD players.” “My cell phone is counterintuitive.” “I want to surf the web while watching TV, but my netbook sucks.”

These are the kinds of problems Apple has solved for millions of people.

But there are bigger problems out there that Apple is in a unique position to solve.

In fact, a single solution could help solve five real problems, and change the world in five meaningful ways. It could even accelerate Apple’s phenomenal growth.

I challenge incoming CEO Tim Cook to consider the following proposal.

A few short months ago, we wondered whether the wee ones should be learning their ABCs with iPads.

The answer appears to be yes: Fall 2011 brings a bumper crop of U.S. preschools launching iPad programs. From Maine to Tennessee, kids are saying teary goodbyes to their parents and being greeted in schoolrooms with sympathetic teachers (we hope) and Apple’s magical device.

Since we can no longer carp about people smoking, it would seem we have to find some bone to pick with fellow diners in restaurants.

Case in point: a server in a busy San Francisco restaurant (where else?) wonders if it is a breach of etiquette 2.0 to bring your own mobile entertainment to the table.

Parliamentarians in Western Australia demanded a trial of Apple’s tablet computer, waging the kind of epic battle between users and the IT department that happens in companies around the globe.

The lawmakers it so badly 15 of them threatened “industrial action” if iPads were not allowed on the list of devices for their laptop allowance after being told by the ICT gurus that the device did not yet meet existing IT infrastructure or security standards.

Over the past few months, not a day has gone by that our Twitter feed hasn’t been been bombarded by a consistent string of questions that millions of hungry Apple fans are just clamoring to have answered:

When will Apple announced the iPhone 5?

When will I be able to preorder the iPhone 5?

When is the iPhone 5 coming out?

We think we know. Here’s the complete release timeline of the iPhone 5 we think you can expect, starting from which day we think Apple will send out invitations and continuing to the iPhone 5’s October 7th release date.

An Apple-related tidbit from the Carol Bartz-Yahoo saga that perhaps confirms the iPad’s dominance with corner office types. Her 42-word message about getting fired as CEO (over the phone, ouch) this afternoon ends with the “Sent from my iPad” signature.

Water cooler alert: a new poll names Steve Jobs as the coolest man in tech, helping propel his fellow U.S. citizens to the position of coolest people on the planet.

Social networking site Badoo.com asked 30,000 people in 15 countries to name the coolest nationality. Big win for the red white and blue: America won the top spot.

We are receiving reports from readers that invitations to join Apple’s AppleSeed Software Customer Seeding Program are hitting people’s in boxes today. This comes as rumors are ramping up about the imminent release of iCloud, Mac OS X 10.7.2, iTunes 10.5, ATV updates and the iPhone 4S/5.

This caught my attention over coffee and the Sunday paper (I know! Weekend luddite, is what an affectionate — I think — friend calls me) a book entirely devoted to fonts called “Just My Type” by Simon Garfield.

Your mom or tween daughter might not recognize them, but Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive are both more influential than Lady Gaga, according to Vanity Fair.

The iconic Conde Nast mag just released its 2011 New Establishment list, and this year it is dominated by people who can still probably go to the mall without being asked for autographs.

Following the resignation of  Steve Jobs last week, a host of handy folks got busy making stuff to ride the wave of his popularity. Here is some SJ-related merchandise you could spend your money on, but probably shouldn’t.