Ed Sutherland - page 56

We start off the day with another deal on MacBook Pros. ExperCom is offering a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo with 17-inch screen for $2,147. Next is a number of iPods, including a 4GB iPod nano for $69.99. Our last top deal is the latest batch of freebies from the iPad App Store, including “Air Guitar HD,” which simulates an actual instrument.

Along the way, we check out some new case for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3 and iPhone 3GS. Also up is the latest App Store price reductions for iPhone and iPod touch users. As always, details on these and many more items are available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

T-Mobile — not Verizon — is more likely to get the nod when Apple is expected to expand it U.S. iPhone carriers as early as this fall, one analyst suggested Thursday.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors the likelihood that Apple will add a second iPhone carrier in the U.S. to augment the currently exclusive arrangement with AT&T is “closer than reality than ever.” Additionally, “we continue to believe that T-Mobile USA is the most likely candidate given its use of similar cellular technology as AT&T,” he wrote.

Such a deal would have advantages both for the carrier and the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker. “We are picking up that T-Mobile views the iPhone as a key in winning back lost customers and as such could be more likely to agree to Apple’s terms,” according to Wu. Verizon and Apple reportedly have been at odds over the iPhone’s price. Apple wants Verizon to pay $700 per iPhone, while the carrier is paying $400 per Droid, an Android-based rival, according to analyst Maynard J. Um.

Also, Apple sees expanding the iPhone’s availability beyond AT&T as a way to counter the growth of such handsets as the Droid. Google has taken advantage of the single source for iPhone owners to offer its Android platform on a number of U.S. carriers. The tactic has propelled the iPhone rival from 0 percent of the market to 9 percent.

“Our sources also indicate that one of the key reasons why Apple is more open to adding U.S. carriers in the 2011 is to attack Android more directly,” Wu told investors. “Looking at industry data, Android’s wins have been where iPhone isn’t available and that could change dramatically if the iPhone were available on more carriers,” the analyst adds.

Another point in T-Mobile favor is technology. T-Mobile’s 3G service operating at 1700MHz and 2100MHz, which closely matches the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS’ 2100MHz 3G. AT&T supports 850MHz and 1900MHz frequencies.

[via AppleInsider]

Apple’s decision to restrict what companies can serve ads to iOS-based mobile devices has caught the eye of federal regulators who reportedly have opened an investigation into the practice. The Cupertino, Calif. company plans to launch its iAd service July 1.

Although its unclear whether the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission would lead the investigation, regulators have “taken an interest in Apple’s actions,” according to the Financial Times, which cites two unnamed sources. The probe seems centered on an iOS developer agreement that limits user data to “an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads.” Rivals argue the language blocks Google’s AdMob, as well as Microsoft’s advertising service.

Are you looking for a new laptop; maybe a Mac mini or a leather jacket for your iPad? You’ve come to the right place, because those are our top picks of the day. First up is another round of MacBook Pro offers, this time starting at $1,099 for a 2.4GHz 13-inch model. There is also a deal on Mac minis, starting at $679 for a 2.53GHz version of the desktop computer. Finally, get a leather book jacket for your iPad. This cover-all also converts to a stand – all for less than $20.

Details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

An application built for The Financial Times newspaper was named the best iPad or iPhone application designed, according to organizers of Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. The WWDC Wednesday released the 10 winning designs for 2010, the first year without a Mac OS X category.

The 10 winning entrants were evenly split between iPad and iPhone designs. The winners were picked from among more than 225,000 App Store possibilities. Designers earned more than $1 billion so far from Apple’s software application store.

Although much talk about Apple’s recent announcement revolves around the new iPhone, CEO Steve Jobs had some interesting news concerning its long-standing competition with Amazon over the future of publishing. The iPad has spurred 5 million e-book downloads since the tablet device was introduced 65 days ago, giving the Cupertino, Calif. company 22 percent of the e-book market, Jobs claimed.

While Gartner slammed those numbers as being produced by “some sort of voodoo algorithm,” they prompted one writer to suggest Amazon needs to take another tact in selling its Kindle e-reader: an electronic version of the paperback book. The Seattle-based Internet bookseller should cut the Kindle’s price to $49 – or even give it away – to combat the iPad, Seth Godin wrote at his blog. Godwin told the Wall Street Journal Amazon cannot directly take-on Apple’s hardware. “If all Amazon does is try to come up with something sort of like an iPad but less colorful, they are going to fail,” he said.

Coming off Monday’s big announcement, we have the iPhone 4 as our top deal. The 16GB model is $199 and the 32GB is $299 with a two-year AT&T contract. We also have a number of unibody MacBook Pros, starting at $929 for a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo version. Also, if your internal SuperDrive is dead, you might want to check out this deal on the USB External Drive designed for the MacBook Air for just $50.

Along the way, we’ll also check out more iPhone software and other Mac-related gadgets. As always, details on these and many more items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page, starting after the jump.

Despite the leaks and purported advance photos of Apple’s new iPhone 4, analysts found enough in Monday’s presentation to tell investors the new handset likely means greater profits for the Cupertino, Calif. firm. High profile analyst Gene Munster Tuesday declared the iPhone 4 “significantly more advanced than the next best alternative.”

By including features such as videochat normally found elsewhere, such as computers, “the iPhone is taking unit and dollar share from other device categories,” Munster wrote. The new iPhone means Apple likely could beat Wall Street’s expectations for 8.7 million devices sold this quarter, the Piper Jaffray analyst said.

We start out the week with some freebies for the iPhone and the iPad. For handset owners, the App Store has several free items, including “Zombie Parade,” a tower defense game. For iPad owners, try your hand at “MakePanic,” described as a “panic-inducing game.” We round out our top deals with a new t-shirt. If your “I went drinking with Gray Powell and All I Got Was This Lousy iPhone Prototype” tee getting a little frayed? Take a look at the “Slide to Unlock” baby doll t-shirt for women.

Along the way, we’ll check out a solar charger for your iPhone, some deals on used Macs, plus plenty of software for your favorite device. As always, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

AT&T is reportedly easing upgrade restrictions on when customers can upgrade their handset, a move reportedly in anticipation of Apple announcing a new version of its iPhone. The changes allow iPhone customers — who may not have been eligible — to upgrade without paying early termination fees.

Customers of the carrier can go to the AT&T website and click on “Check Upgrade Options.”

Apple retail sales in the UK jumped 31 percent to around $894 million through September 24, reports said Monday. The increase came from MacBook, iPhone add-ons and the iPod touch.

Despite operating at a net loss, Apple’s UK arm opened three retail locations during the timespan with plans to create two more, according to papers filed with the UK’s Companies House, a government registry of businesses operating in Britain. The Cupertino, Calif. firm has 27 stores operating in the UK.

We close out a Memorial Day-shortened week with more hardware deals. First up is a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro for $1,098 from Expercom. Next is a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini for $799 from the Apple Store. (Apple may introduce a refreshed model of the desktop machine during next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Calif.) We round out or top bargains with a MacBook Core 2 Duo running at 2.4GHz for $999 from the Apple Store.

Along the way, we also check out speakers from Macally and Sony, a clock radio for your iPhone or iPod, and the latest batch of App Store freebies, including “Word Droppings,” a word-base action game.

As always, details on these and many other bargains are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

We start off the day with yet more deals on MacBook Pros. This one comes from Expercom: a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook with 13.3-inch screen for $1,098. Next, we have some free iPad applications, including “Bumper Boats HD Premium,” a puzzle game. Another crop of iPhone app price-cuts have arrived, including TomTom USA.

Along the way, we also check out new iPhone cases, speakers and Mac software. As always, details on these and many other items are available at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

You can now search for iPhone apps when using Google’s mobile search page. The feature, announced earlier this week, displays matches at the top of search results on the Google site.

Selecting an app takes users to Apple’s App Store, permitting users to view that application’s listing, along with the name of the app’s creator and user reviews. The searches can be conducted either from an iPhone or Android handset.

The feature, which the Mountain View, Calif. company plans to roll out for other phones and more countries, is currently available only in the U.S. for the iPhone and Android-based phones.

Was AT&T’s recent decision to drop its unlimited data plan for iPhone customers a signal the carrier prefers RIM’s BlackBerry over Apple’s handset? The move could turn the tide against the iPhone and in favor of BlackBerry customers comfortable with operating using fewer network resources, one analyst said Wednesday.

“In Canada and Europe, price-sensitive smartphone customers already do more on BlackBerry under data caps,” RBC Capital Markets’ Mike Abramsky told investors. At just 50MB per month, BlackBerry users require one-tenth of the resources of iPhone owners, who can consume between 250-500 MB per month, Abramsky said.

Today is a MacBook and MacBook Pro bonanza. Our top three picks include new MacBook Pros, starting at $1,099, along with a $759 2.26GHz MacBook and a 2.88GHz MacBook Pro for $1,899.

We’ll also check out a $929 unibody MacBook Pro, the latest crop of App Store freebies (including the multiplayer action game “Finger vs. Finger”) and deals on iPod shuffles and others.

As always, details on these and many other items are at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page, which starts right after the jump.

Apple TV remains just a hobby, the Cupertino, Calif. company’s chief executive said in a Tuesday interview. The problem: the cable industry.

Cable operators “give everybody a set-top box for free, or for $10 per month,” Steve Jobs told an audience at the All Things Digital conference. “That pretty much squashes any opportunity for innovation, because nobody’s willing to buy a set-top box,” he said.

“My God, we can build a phone with this.” That was Apple CEO Steve Jobs reaction when a designer at the Cupertino, Calif. firm turned an early version of the iPad into what later became the iPhone. “So we put the tablet aside and we went to work on the iPhone,” Jobs said, recalling the moment in an interview Tuesday during Wall Street Journal’s D8 technology gathering.

Jobs initially had the idea of a glass display permitting people to to type with their fingers. Within six months, Apple engineers created the display. In an ironic twist, the iPad outsold the iPhone’s debut, when the tablet device was finally introduced in April. Apple sold one million iPads in 28 days, a milestone that took the iPhone 74 days to reach, the company announced in early May. (The Cupertino, Calif. company recently announced it sold more than 2 million iPads in less than 60 days.)

I hope our U.S. audience had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. For everyone else, let’s get straight to today’s deals. First up is an Apple Store deal on unibody MacBook Pros, starting at $929 for a Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz machine. Also: the latest batch of App Store price drops, including “Robin Hood – the Return of Richard.” Pretty soon, we’ll be finding iPod Shuffles in our boxes of Cracker Jacks. Until then, the next best thing: a 2nd generation 1GB Shuffle for $39.

Along the way we’ll take a look at other Apple software, such as NAVIGON’s MobileNavigator software for the iPhone and MacCleanse 2 to erase sensitive data. As always, details on these and many other items are available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

It appears many analysts couldn’t get the word out fast enough after Apple announced over the Memorial Day holiday how well the iPad is selling. Analysts increased predictions on how many tablets Apple would sell and how high the Cupertino, Calif. company’s stock would rise.

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster told investors Monday he expects Apple will sell 6.2 million iPads during calendar 2010, up from the 4.3 million he had previously projected. Despite warning investors to “keep iPad expectations in check” due to international and domestic iPad supply problems, Munster also boosted to $330 his target for Apple shares, up from $323.

Well, Apple has shuttered LaLa, its streaming music service. The sign appeared early Tuesday morning, but while the closure comes as no surprise, what is unsettling is the dead air that replaces the web-based music application. What’s more, don’t bet the farm LaLa will be reborn as some streaming version of iTunes.

“I have a hunch we’re not going to see one soon,” opines Peter Kafka at the Wall Street Journal‘s All Things Digital. Although it could be just a teaser for Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ appearance tonight at the All Things Digital conference, Kafka notes web-based music services are on life support and the music industry’s legal eagles control the oxygen supply.

Apple has sold more than two million of its iPads in under 60 days, a sign demand for the tablet device is not slowing. The Cupertino, Calif. company also acknowledged it was having difficulty keeping up with the fast-moving sales amid reports of short supplies.

“Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do,” CEO Steve Jobs announced Monday. “We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”

We close out the week with a deal on a MacBook Pro, a game and the current iPod nano. For $1,499, you can get a MacBook Pro with a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor and a 15-inch screen. If you’d like to try your hand at a bombing run on your iPhone or iPod touch, you can check out “Bombardier Guilds” for free. Finally, there is a $120 deal on 8GB models of the current iPod nano.

Along the way, we’ll check out other bargains on gadgets for the Mac, iPhone and iPod. As always, details on these and many more items are available on CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

For readers in the U.S., we hope you have a safe and fun Memorial Day celebration.

With the cover blown on a next-generation iPhone, how might we expect Apple to surprise Mac fans at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco? One analyst suggests the Cupertino, Calif. company may use the platform to introduce a cloud-based version of iTunes, as well as updates for the Mac Pro and MacBook Air.

“Other announcements we are picking up that could potentially be made are iTunes.com, a web-based version of [Apple’s] iTunes client, and new Mac refreshes with faster processors and graphics, namely the Mac Pro and MacBook Air,” Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors Friday. The Mac Pro and MacBook Air were last updated in March and June 2009.

The iPhone has always been seen as a consumers handset. But now comes word 40 percent of iPhones are purchased by business. “Four out of 10 sales of the iPhone are made to enterprise users,” Ron Spears, head of AT&T’s Business Solutions, told a Thursday conference.

When the iPhone first appeared in 2007, business users were disappointed because it didn’t match the security of a BlackBerry. The word on the street, according to Spears: “‘Oh my God, it’s not BlackBerry secure. This is not going to work on the enterprise space.'”