We wrap up the week with an assortment of accessories for your iPod or iPhone. From black wood-grained cases to slim fit, several deals are available on ways to house or protect your Apple treasures. We also have an 80 percent discount on iPod touch cases. Software is also on the price-chopping block, ranging from Apple’s iLife ’09 suite for $39 to an iPhone app on Asian painting.
For details on these and many more bargains, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
Is Apple taking a more lenient approach to approving App Store developers? After being beaten about the head and shoulders for it penchant to toss violators, the Cupertino, Calif. has approved a number of applications that used private software references. In the latest case, Apple approved iSimulate with only a warning.
“While your application has not been rejected, it would be appropriate to resolve this issue in your next update,” Apple e-mailed developer Vimov. The problem: iSumulate uses a private API to gain access to the iPhone’s multi-touch and accelerometer features.
Apple Friday sued Nokia, claiming the Finnish cell phone giant infringed 13 patents. The countersuit follows an October lawsuit by Nokia which alleged the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker had infringed 10 patents.
“Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s General Counsel and senior vice president in a statement.
Lala, the streaming-music startup Apple recently purchased for a reported $85 million, was just the latest chess piece in a competition between Cupertino and the Internet giant Google. The Mountain View, Calif. company was in “serious discussions” to purchase La La Media prior to Apple’s recent acquisition, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper Friday cited insiders with knowledge of the issue.
Although Apple was the victor in that case, Google had earlier paid $750 million for AdMob Inc., a mobile advertising firm that the Cupertino, Calif. based iPod-maker was also pursuing. The two cases reflect a heated competition between the two companies which are butting heads on a number of fronts. In the case of La La, Google wanted a greater piece of the online music pie (an area in which Apple is already well-entrenched) and Cupertino eyed AdMob as a path to greater involvement in advertising, a lucrative area for Google.
As we approach the two weeks to Christmas mark, yet more deals are on tap. For the budget-conscious, there is a bevy of new MacBooks, starting at $860 for a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo with 13-inch screen. For those preparing to put an iPod under the tree (or in your pocket), there is a 50 percent off sale on iPod nano accessories. To put a bow on all these bargains is a Mac Pro workstation powered by an 8 core 2.26 GHz Xeon processor and 10GB of RAM for $3,577.
For details on these and many more Apple-related items, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
Perhaps with the jeers from selling just 5,000 iPhones during the first days following its launch still echoing in their ears, China Unicom Thursday announced it has sold over 100,000 of Apple’s iconic handsets since Oct. 30. Despite the seeming uptake in interest, experts remain skeptical.
“iPhone sales have been disappointing,” Samsung Securities analyst Paul Wuh told The Wall Street Journal. Selling just 100,000 iPhones with 144 million subscribers won’t help China Unicom’s bottom line, according to the analyst. China Unicom also faces the prospect of competing with its larger rival China Mobile for Apple’s attentions.
Just days after turning out the lights on its London flagship store, cell phone giant Nokia has shuttered its New York and Chicago stores. The move is described as a “realignment” of marketing and only the latest indication Apple’s retail success isn’t easily replicated.
Nokia discovered consumers used its shops for browsing, but went elsewhere to make purchases. “They would use the stores to test out devices and then go home and buy the device they wanted online through Amazon, Newegg, Dell or even the Nokia USA store,” according to Nokia Experts.
Both stores opened in 2006 with a goal to “educate consumers on the Nokia brand.”
The latest shut-downs follow Nokia’s Regent Street closure in London earlier this week. The store closings are only the most recent sign the iPhone is making greater inroads on Nokia’s territory. Apple shipped 7.04 million iPhones during the September quarter, making it the third-largest smartphone maker behind Nokia and RIM, analysts announced in November. Another blow to Nokia was the news Apple had passed the Finnish giant in profitability.
Apple is exploring moving iTunes to the Web, the latest ripple from the Cupertino, Calif. firm’s purchase of streaming music service Lala, a report said Thursday. The switch, which could come as soon as 2010, would let music fans listen to tunes from a Web browser rather than stored on a personal computer.
The new reports could buttress those suggesting Lala’s aquisition may be part of Apple embracing “cloud computing.” Apple has also made tentative steps toward a Web-based iTunes with its Preview service. iTunes Preview removes the requirement that people have the iTunes software installed in order to preview material.
We start the day off with a deal on MacBook Pro laptops. PC Connection has a number of MacBook Pros, including a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo and 13-inch screen, starting at $1,046. Dragon Dictation is offering free iPhone and iPod touch versions of its voice-recognition software from Apple’s App Store. If you need an external battery and case, you might check out HHI’s Apocket 1350 mAh external backup battery for the iPhone or iPod. The $20 deal also gets you a slim case, dock connector and LED flashlight.
For details on these and many other bargains (such as an iPhone 3G/3GS case for $9), take a look at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
Apple is preparing to release a limited beta version of Mac OS X 10.6.3, following just a month after publicly introducing 10.6.2, according to a report.
The update — expected within 48 hours — will include an unknown list of issues and carry a “10Dxx” prefix, the report claims. (When 10.6.2 was detected, it carried a “10B” and “10C” prefix.) The previous update addressed a series of issues, including the notorious “guest account” bug that deleted data when logging into or out of a Mac running the Snow Leopard operating system.
Motorola’s Droid, Verizon’s answer to the iPhone, was ranked the No. 1 gadget of 2009 by Time Magazine Wednesday. Apple’s iconic cell phone finished in fourth place, behind Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader and Dyson’s $300 Air Multiplier fan. Is the Droid winning the buzz war for the hippest handset?
“The Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don’t miss it,” according to the magazine. The entry is praised for its “phenomenally sharp and vivid” touchscreen and its connection to AT&T rival Verizon Wireless. “Best of all, the Droid is on Verizon’s best-of-breed 3G network. It’s Android’s first credible challenge to the iPhone,” said the writers.
Apple’s long-rumored and much-discussed tablet will appear in March or April 2010 with a 10.1-inch screen and a $1,000 price tag, according to an analyst. In what has become a cottage industry, Oppenheimer’s Yair Reiner told investors production will begin in February.
“The manufacturing cogs for the tablet are creaking into action and should begin to hit a mass market stride in February,” noted Yair, citing “supply chain” checks. Such a timetable would put a product launch in March or April.
Let’s start off with a pair of dueling deals on Apple hardware. Whether you are looking for a basic MacBook or one with all the frills, this may be your day. PC Connection is offering MacBooks starting at $850. The basic computer includes a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 13-inch screen. At the other end of the spectrum, Expercom is hawking a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook with 4GB of RAM. Also part of the package: three years of AppleCare for $1,248.
If you are more in the mood for an iMac, the Apple Store has five desktop machines, including a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo desktop with a 20-inch screen for $849. Expercom has a beefier iMac running a 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo with 22-inch screen, 8GB of RAM and AppleCare for $1,403.
Also on tap is a 50-percent discount on iPod touch accessories, plus various hardware and software deals. As always, for details on these and many other bargains, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
Apple paid $17 million for Lala, the streaming music site, according to reports Tuesday. The final purchase price was even lower – $3 million – due to $14 million already in the Palo Alto, Calif. company’s coffers, said TechCrunch.
“Lala had plenty of cash in the bank, but they were burning $500k/month,” according to sources with indirect knowledge sited by the blog. The purchase price is similar to similar media buys, such as MySpace’s $10 million deal for social-music site iLike or the $1 million paid for music site iMeem.
In an unusual move, Apple has removed 1,000 applications sold by Chinese developer Molinker from its App Store. The mass purge follows questions whether the developer had ‘gamed’ the popular iPhone online store. Along with the apps – which amounted to one percent of those sold through the App Store, ratings were also deleted.
“This developer’s apps have been removed from the App Store and their ratings no longer appear either,” Apple marketing head Phil Schiller confirmed to iPhoneography, a blog that originally asked whether a scam might have been afoot.
A group of four magazine publishers and media conglomerate News Corp are expected to announce Tuesday a joint venture aimed at developing new standards for digital magazines, according to a report. The move is seen as preventing Apple or other e-reader developers dictating a new age of digital publishing.
The new company — as yet unnamed — will be jointly owned by Hearst, Time Inc., News Corp., Condé Nast Publications and Meredith Corp., according to The Wall Street Journal.
We start the week with a grab-bag of gadgets, including more refurbished MacBook Pros from Apple. The computers, starting at $1,299, a 2.53 GHz processors and 13-inch screens. Next up is a Star Trek Internet Communicator that works with your iChat, Skype, MSN or AIM account. Finally, if you get chilly while using your MacBook and the mothership hasn’t beamed you up to somewhere warmer, slip on a pair of stylish gloves heated by the USB connection. Along the way, we also check out new iPhone software, earphones and iPod accessories.
For details on these and many other gadgets, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
Remember when Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook described netbooks as ‘junky’ at a time PC makers were flooding the market with the low-cost computers? A new reliability survey seems to defend Apple’s decision to avoid entering the netbook arms race. Apple has earned the top spot as most reliable computer maker, dethroning ASUS, creator of the Eee PC netbook.
Apple’s score of 374 reverses the lead ASUS had in late 2008 and earlier 2009, according to computer repair firm RESCUECOM. “Now that many of the netbooks by ASUS have been out for a while, there is obviously a higher need for service,” said the repair company’s CEO David Millman.
Although officially tight-lipped on details, Apple may use recently-acquired music streaming company Lala to upgrade its iTunes service and potentially other applications, reports suggest Monday.
“Lala gives Apple browser/Web-based technology to access music anywhere,” financial analyst Maynard Um told UBS Investment Research clients. Um believes Apple will combine the Palo Alto, Calif. company with a planned $1 billion server farm to “provide seamless access & mobility of digital content across all of its products, including media-focused content of iTunes and user-generated content of MobileMe.”
The iPod touch, Apple’s game machine, is becoming Cupertino’s way to introduce younger users to the iPhone. The phone-less iPod represented more than 40 percent of the devices running the iPhone OS software sold through September, according to researchers.
The iPod touch is “quietly building a loyal base among the next generation of iPhone users,” announced mobile analysis software firm Flurry. The study also suggested young iPod touch owners are using the device for games and social-networking. Flurry found 42 percent of the iPod touch sessions include social-media while gaming is 49 percent of the device’s sessions.
We close out the week with a deal on a 27-inch iMac. The Core 2 Duo machine runs at 3.06 GHz and includes three years of AppleCare for $1,907. Also on tap: a new batch of App Store Freebies and yet more chances to own a 40GB Apple TV box. Along the way, we look at a Nike+iPod watch remote, an iPhone or iPod docking cradle, and an all-in-one iPod or iPhone FM transmitter.
For details on these and many more bargains, check out CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
Apple UK Friday announced ‘iTunes 12 Days of Christmas,’ a promo offering Europeans daily free music, videos, apps and TV episodes between Dec. 26 and Jan. 6, 2010.
A free download will be available for 24 hours at the itunes12daysofchristmas.co.uk site.
The promotion also includes a contest with a chance to win an engraved yellow iPod nano.
Last year’s promotion features free music from Katy Perry, Lily Allen and The Ting Ting Tings. The pro is sponsored by O2, Ticketmaster, Capital FM, Heart FM and The Times, reports said.
The Droid, the Motorola-made smartphone sold by Verizon, is now taking the iPhone head-on, comparing Apple’s iconic handset to a “tiara-wearing digitally clueless beauty pageant queen.” The new ad, entitled “Pretty” features a blonde woman applying lipstick while walking and admiring an iPhone-looking device.
“It’s not a princess, it’s a robot,” the commercial intones, referring to the Android-based handset. “A phone that trades hair-do for can-do.” Verizon is the rival to AT&T, currently the exclusive iPhone carrier in the United States. Recently, Verizon and AT&T have traded salvos both on-air and in the courtroom.
Companies considering introducing products in China may use Apple’s experience as a textbook on what mistakes to avoid. China, with billions of consumers, would seem to be the perfect market for the iPhone, one of the hottest consumer gadgets the Cupertino, Calif. company sells. However, CEO Steve Jobs and others made a number of unforced errors in China, besides those widely-publicized, according to Forbes.
In a review of the lackluster launch of the iPhone in China, Shaun Rein of the China Market Research Group, details several factors which likely caused Apple to stumble right out of the gate.
Today’s top deals highlight Apple hardware. First up, a $350 iBook 1.33 GHz G4 with 12-inch screen and Mac OS 10.5. Next are MacBooks starting at $749 for 2.1 GHz models with 13-inch screens. Finally, there are several iMac desktops starting at $849. The computers include 20-inch screens and a Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.66 GHz. Also on tap is a MacBook Air for $1,399. The unit includes a 1.86 GHz processor and 13-inch screen.
As always, details on these bargains and more (such as 80 percent discounts on iPod touch cases) can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.
