Ed Sutherland - page 50

European Union regulators are now looking into Apple’s ban on Adobe Flash on its iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The EU would join an earlier-announced probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into the Cupertino, Calif. firm.

According to the New York Post, which first reported the June FTC investigation, the EU’s European Commission probe could stretch another four to six weeks. “According to a source, the European Commission recently joined the FTC probe into whether Apple’s business practices harm competition,” the newspaper reported Tuesday.

It is only three words, but it was enough to get speculation revved-up: Is AT&T admitting it’s iPhone deal is coming to a close? In a late-Friday filing with the Security and Exchange Commission, Apple’s U.S. partner told regulators exclusivity contracts on ‘a number of attractive handsets’ are about to end.

Although Apple’s iPhone was not mentioned by name, the oblique reference had analysts scurrying to connect the dots. For some time, rumors have floated that Apple is preparing to introduce a CDMA version of the iPhone, potentially for AT&T rival Verizon. While neither firm has spoken directly on the issue, AT&T’s statement is just the latest piece in the puzzle.

As college students prepare to return to the classrooms, many of them are carrying an Apple laptop. An Apple MacBook is favored by 47 percent for those college students who’ve yet to purchase a computer and 27 percent of students who already own a laptop are fans of the Cupertino, California company. As Fortune points out, this is a complete turn-around from 2005, when 47 percent of laptop buyers chose Dell.

This year, Dell is the No. 2 (24 percent) laptop brand chosen for college dorms, followed by HP with 15 percent of the college market and Toshiba with 10 percent, according to research firm Student Monitor, a New Jersey firm who has been doing these surveys for nearly a quarter century.

We wrap up another week with three hardware deals. First up is an 8GB iPod touch for $149. Next is a 24-inch LED Cinema Display for $709. Our last highlighted deal for the day is a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with two years of AppleCare for $1,598 from Expercomm.

Along the way, we’ll also check out new software for your iPhone and Mac. As always, details on these and many other items are available after the jump.

If you’ve wondered why there isn’t a smaller iPod nano or a cheaper MacBook Air notebook, someone at Apple must have read your mind. The Cupertino, Calif. company may unveil those new products in September, according to a prominent analyst.

BMO Capital’s Keith Bachman expects Apple will unveil two new iPods – a new Touch and a new Nano. The Nano will be “much smaller” than previous versions and will omit the track wheel, according to the analyst. The introduction of a small Nano may mean we’ll be waving goodbye to the Shuffle.

Nearly a year after the iPhone’s introduction in China, Apple’s telecom partner in the Asian giant will begin offering a Wi-Fi version. China Unicom announced it will begin selling Monday the 8GB iPhone 3GS with Wi-Fi.

The 16- and 32-gigabyte non-Wi-Fi versions of the 3GS will also still be for sale.

Another Foxconn worker has died. While all deaths should be mourned, the death of a 22-year-old female apparently happened in a factory known to package and ship the Apple iPod touch device. Foxconn, recently dubbed the largest electronics parts maker, announced the death “was not worker related.”

Although Foxconn denies this latest death is work-related, local police are reportedly investigating the incident.

We start the day with two hardware deals. Expercom has a deal on a 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo 27-inch iMac, bundled with three years of AppleCare for $1,599. The Apple Store has a number of unibody MacBook Pros, starting at $929 for a 2.26GHz model. We round out our featured deals with the latest crop of App Store freebies, including “Made in USSR: Merry Cook,” a game and watch-style LCD game.

We’ll also check out a couple iPhone protectors, an alarm clock that also serves as a dock, and software for your Mac. As always, details on these items and many others can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Sometimes analysts release numbers and information speculators take them and turn them into headlines, such as those we saw when Canalys released figures suggesting Android was outselling the iPhone. Often, the real story is buried in the details – or comments, as the case was today.

Aside from headlines declaring Google’s Android sales were beating Apple about the head and shoulders, Canalys analyst Horace Dediu put the figures in perspective. “Android is mostly competing with non-consumption and not iPhone. Android buyers are not choosing between it and an iPhone but between it and a dumb phone,” he writes on the asymco.com blog.

The Android platform is on fire. Phones based on the Google operating system are being activated at a rate of 200,000 per day – and have eclipsed Apple iOS sales. Google CEO Eric Schmidt points to the Verizon Droid X for the rapid rise.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday night at the Techonomy Conference, Schmidt said the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet giant still has a soft spot for its rival iPhone.

It doesn’t take much to get rumors flying. For example, the news Verizon’s CEO will deliver the keynote speech at CES 2011 in January. Naturally, this points to the oft-rumored CDMA iPhone. Maybe.

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg’s speech could have a number of meanings. It could be a sign of the rise of the cell phone as a key component to consumer electronics. It could be an opportunity for Verizon to talk about its leading role in advancing Android-based handsets. However, it is unlikely Seidenberg would upstage Apple CEO Steve Jobs, given the Apple co-founder’s penchant for controlling the message.

We start off the day with three hardware deals. Are you looking for an affordable MacBook, perhaps as a gift? Why not a 1.83GHz MacBook for $490? If not, how about a desktop machine? The Apple Store is offering a number of Mac minis, starting at $719 for a 2.66GHz unit. Or maybe you need more power and mobility? Check out some MacBook Pros, starting at $929 for a 2.26GHz version.

If you’re not in the market for hardware, we have plenty of accessories, including pre-orders for Apple’s recently-announced Magic Trackpad, deals on skins for your iPhone 4 or cases for your iPad. As always, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

The German government announced Wednesday several Apple iOS devices have “two critical weak points for which no patch exists.” The warning from Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security advises users of iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices to avoid opening PDF files and visiting unfamiliar websites. Apple is already investigating the issue which appeared earlier this week.

The issue appears to be with iPhones using iOS 3.1.2-4.01, iPads using iOS 3.2-3.2.1 and iPods touch devices using iOS 3.1.2-4.0, according to the German statement. Earlier this week, hackers built “JailBreakMe”, an exploit of how Safari handles PDF files. The exploit “jailbreaks” the devices.

Although we’ve known for several months Google would like an Android tablet, Tuesday we learned more details: Motorola’s the manufacturer and Verizon appears to be the carrier. An Android-based tablet could appear later this fall, the Financial Times reports.

Motorola already makes the set-top boxes used for FiOS. The tablet is expected to be unveiled in the fall, about the same time as Android 3.0, codenamed “Gingerbread” is also thought to be released.

Although voices heard earlier this week indicated Apple’s cloud-based music service may be delayed and be “limited it scope,” it appears the Cupertino, Calif. company may have quietly launched streaming music via its Mobile Me iDisk App.

iDisk, similar to Microsoft’s SkyDrive and Google Docs, was upgraded last month to allow stored music to be played via the MobileMe iDisk App.

Apple is edging closer to introducing its iPad to China’s growing legion of fans. Monday, the government’s Quality Cerification Center gave its much-desired safety certification to the tablet device. Although the Cupertino, Calif. company is mum on its intentions, the iPad would make the second product Apple exports to the Asian giant.

“The iPad is a top tier device and the Apple brand has a great deal of influence among consumers,” iResearch analyst Liu Liang said. Carrier China Unicom has expressed interest in selling the iPad, as well as the iPhone 4, the Wall Street Journal reported in July.

Today is a mix-bag of deals. First up is several Mac minis from the Apple Store, starting at $499 for a 2GHz Core 2 Duo version. Next is a pack of three $10 iTunes gift cards for $25. Finally, how about a game? Sentinel 2: Earth Defense for the iPhone and iPod touch is free – a $2 discount.

Along the way, we’ll also check out other iPhone apps, Apple’s annual back-to-school specials, and more hardware deals. As usual, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

We start another week with three new deals in the spotlight. First is a bargain on a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook for just $850. Second is a deal on the Home and Student version of Microsoft Office 2008 for the Mac – just $100. We wrap up our top trio with SquareTrade’s iPhone two-year warranty – $90.

Along the way, we’ll also check out other deals, including the Sony speaker/dock clock radio. As usual, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Although the number of iPhone owners currently dwarfs the iPad, a new study reveals Apple’s tablet has a promising future. The tablet device is both more involving for users, as well as potentially more lucrative for developers.

Like the iPhone, games are the largest category of applications downloaded by iPad users, according to a study released Monday by mobile advertising exchange network Mobclix. Games comprise 20 percent of all applications, the study says. But iPad owners spend triple the time with the games as iPhone users, according to the numbers.

Could Intel be inside your next iPhone? That’s a possibility as the chipmaking giant is reportedly on the verge of acquiring Infineon, Apple’s sole baseband supplier for the iPhone.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Intel is “close to a deal” to buy Infineon for $2 billion. The possible acquisition is a reminder of the rocky road the two Silicon Valley companies have recently had. Apple decided to go with Intel rival ARM for its smartphones, then acquired chipmakers PA Semi and Intrinisity to build the A4 processor based on the ARM and now used in the iPad and iPhone 4.

If the iPad is considered a mobile PC (as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer views the Apple tablet), the Cupertino, Calif. consumer electronics company jumps from a seventh-place mobile PC maker to No. 3, according to Deutsche Bank. Adding tablet devices to the portable PC mix means Apple passes several more traditional notebook makers, the analyst says.

“When including the iPad as part of the NB [notebook] market, writes Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore, “Apple leapt over Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell in terms of global market share.”

We close out another week of great deals with a bargain on previous generation iMacs, as well as a couple deals on iPad items. First up, following the recent introduction of a refreshed line of iMacs, the Apple Store is offering price cuts on older iMacs, including a 21.5-inch model for $1,099. Also, we have an accessory kit for your iPad, along with a number of freebies from the iPad App Store.

As usual, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave Apple a left-handed compliment Thursday, telling analysts the Cupertino, Calif company has “sold more than I’d like them to sell. We think about that.”

But Ballmer, who in 2009 infamously described Apple increasing Mac sales as a “rounding error” implied there is room for more players in the tablet market. Referring to the iPad, the Microsoft executive said “I don’t think there is one size fits all,” according to a transcript by Business Insider. “I’ve been to too many meetings with journalists who spent the first 10 minutes of the meetings setting up iPad to look like a laptop,” he added.

We scan the globe for news about the iPhone 4. Today we visit Australia and France, two countries bringing Cupertino a mixed message about its latest handset. In the land down under, a large newspaper gives the iPhone 4 a big ‘thumbs-up’ while France’s carrier SFR warned iPhone 3GS owners the iOS4 update could slow them down.

“The iPhone 4 is not just a slight improvement over the iPhone 3GS, it is a massive jump,” writes Stephen French, a technology columnist for Australia’s The Daily Telegraph. Although French managed to lower his reception quality by employing the “death grip,” he wrote calls were still unaffected. “I even managed to watch a YouTube video over 3G while in the ‘death grip,’ he told readers.

If the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference was centered on the iPhone and iPad, could next year’s gathering by Apple focus on the Mac? That’s the implication made Friday by one report. Apple is now seeking help to build “a revolutionary new feature” within the core of Mac OS X, the Cupertino, Calif. company writes in a job posting.

While the Mac OS X was mostly overlooked at this year’s WWDC in San Francisco, that could change next year as Apple continues to battle Google for the consumer tech spotlight.