For the past several hours, the Apple Store has been down, but unlike when we usually say that, Apple’s seemingly not doing just maintenance… instead, store.apple.com seems to have totally crashed.
Making things stranger, the Apple Online Store fell over on a Wednesday, as opposed to the traditional Tuesday maintenance period. Some users have reported in the last hour the usual ‘We’re Updating The Store” message… so could a new product be imminent?
We covered Google’s new Photovine photo sharing app when it first hit the App Store back in July, but it was initially available only to a select few users who were lucky enough to get an invite. But now we can all join in on the fun, because today Photovine is officially open to all.
Apple’s retail stores are famous for their wow-factor, with the iconic glass cube above the Fifth Avenue store in New York City, the rooftop gardens atop the Boylston Street store in Boston, Massachusetts, and the glass cylinder that leads into the Pundong store in Shanghai.
But there could soon be another store to add to our list of the weirdest and most interesting Apple stores on Earth, with plans of a huge new store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica that features a breathtaking glass roof.
Following recent issues with iPad displays from LG Display, which has forced the company to turn to rival Samsung, Apple is said to be considering a $1 billion investment in Sharp to secure touch screens for the iPhone and iPad.
TeamViewer has been steadily updating its free remote-desktop app for the iPhone and iPad with big features ever since it first hit the App Store over a year ago. This big new update adds another meaty treat: the ability to transfer files back and forth between your iDevice and a Mac (or PC).
No, that’s not an electronic Tootsie Roll — It’s Logitech’s brand-new $50 iPad Speaker (actually, they’re calling it the “Tablet Speaker”; because, apparently, there are other tablets out there. Who knew.)
Mac sales continue on a steep upward trend, with Needham analyst Charlie Wolf weighing in on Apple’s Mac sales for June of 2011. As Wolf notes, the Mac saw its 21st consecutive quarter in which shipment growth for the Mac surpassed that of the entire PC market.
Overall, the Mac saw an astounding 14.6% growth in worldwide shipments, while the PC market saw a minimal growth rate of 2.7%. The reason for the Mac’s continued spike in growth? Asia.
The Games category is by far the most popular corner of the iOS App Store, and a new report has surfaced that says most people spend their money on virtual, in-app goods and upgrades in their favorite games.
In terms of Android and iOS users, the ‘freemium’ model seems to be the reigning king of mobile gaming. Users are starting to prefer free games that offer in-app upgrades and purchases to unlock new content.
For all the convenience of the Mac App Store, sometimes buying your software directly from Apple isn’t the best choice if you want to get all the features and functionality an app is capable of.
Why? As the case of Bare Bone Software’s popular text editing program BBEdit makes clear, the devs of some of the best software on OS X have been forced to cripple their apps in order to comply with Apple’s Mac App Store developer guidelines.
Apple has just released the first public update to OS X Lion since the software’s initial release. OS X 10.7.1 is now available in Software Update for Mac users running Apple’s latest desktop operating system.
The main purpose of OS X 10.7.1 is bug fixes, and it’s recommended that all Lion users upgrade.
Those weirdo Taiwanese animators are back, and this time they’re covering the Google-Motorola deal, complete with Steve Jobs in a Darth Vader helmet, swinging a lightsaber at an Android robot.
Well, this is juicy! Following yesterday’s report that Apple was already testing an LTE-equipped iPhone with carriers comes this insider photo, showing that AT&T is secretly installing LTE equipment in at least one retail Apple store. Whoa!
Samsung can sell its Galaxy Tab in Europe, a German court ruled Tuesday. Sort of. When it comes to facing down Apple in court, you take any victory you can get.
In line with their promise to stick to a much more aggressive release schedule, Mozilla has just officially released version 6 of their popular Firefox browser.
According to 9to5Mac, a proven source has told them that Apple’s going to phase out their official Apple Store app in favor of a mobile web version of the online Apple Store.
Android phone maker HTC has sued Apple, charging the tech giant’s devices infringe three patents. The move follows Apple’s own lawsuits against the Taiwanese manufacturer and as Google turns from partner to potential competitor.
If you’ve seen the images of Apple’s upcoming spaceship-style campus, you’ll agree that it look pretty remarkable. New details and drawings of Apple’s new HQ, submitted to the Cupertino City Council on August 14, reveal the new office will have a bigger footprint than the Pentagon.
Now that Google has itself a handset maker and a passel of patents, the Android creator is likely to come gunnin’ for Apple, right? Wrong, say a number of Wall Street analysts, who expect little negative fall-out for the iPhone maker. If anything, the acquisition threatens the chances of any mobile success story outside of the Apple-Android duopoly.
Everyone’s favorite Twitter client from Tapbots just got an awesome update that introduces t.co URL shortening, support for international hashtags, the ability to email direct messages, and some bug fixes. But Tweetbot’s best new feature by far is mute filters, which allow you to ignore the people you don’t want to hear to for a while.
UK wireless carrier O2 has just seemingly confirmed an early September reveal of the iPhone 5.
Despite Steve Jobs’ crank call to one Seattle-based store for 4,000 lattes during the 2007 MacWorld Expo, Starbucks remains an Apple friend — holding a number of promotions that offer free iTunes downloads. The latest will give you a free iPhone app every time you get your caffeine fix.
Somewhat overshadowed by the recent launch of Lion was Bare Bones Software’s release of version 10 of venerable text editor BBEdit.
That awesome MacBook Pro prototype with built-in 3G that we reported on yesterday was removed from eBay at the request of Apple last night, after bidding reached a whopping $70,000. However, its seller has been posting further details of the device on the MacRumors forums, revealing its magnetic MagSafe-like antenna setup.
A fight is brewing among tablet makers, but Apple is sitting this one out, their fists stuffed with cash. Rivals, stuck with too many units and too few buyers are likely to start a price war, competing to see how long can they go, according to a Tuesday report.
The release of Apple’s iPad 3 has reportedly been delayed until 2012 due to a shortage of high-resolution Retina displays. A third-generation device with a much improved display was rumored to launch later this year, but as many of us had predicted a long time ago, that’s not going to happen.