Apple has updated the list of products it considers “vintage” or “obsolete” and will no longer provide service, parts or documentation for as of next month.
The Cupertino crew defines “vintage” as products discontinued over five but less than seven years ago. (One notable exception: California residents can still get service and parts from Apple Service Providers in the state).
Obsolete products are any product discontinued over seven years ago, no exceptions.
Hit the jump for the complete list of the walking dead, updated from the last list published in February.
New and updated iMacs, as well as Mac minis could turnaround sagging Apple desktop sales, providing a “tailwind” heading into the all-important December quarter, Wall Street analysts told investors. Desktop sales were down 16 percent during the quarter ended September 30, the Cupertino, Calif. company announced Tuesday.
In a note to investors, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster said the new iMacs is helping desktop sales reverse course. “The headwind that existed in the Sept. quarter due to aging Mac desktops has now been turned into a tailwind for Mac units in the December quarter.
Condé Nast announced that it will launch a digital version of men’s mag GQ on November 18 in tandem with the print issue.
The digital version available on iTunes will cost $2.99, half of the newsstand price, and there’s no word on whether snail mail subscribers get a discount. Condé says digital GQ be a perfect clone of the dead tree GQ, right down to the ads.
Our mock-up of what GQ might look like, from their online gallery.
The beat goes on in the emerging battle between Internet giant Google and Apple. The latest volley comes in the form of a report claiming the Mountain View, Calif. company is preparing an iTunes rival possibly called “Google Audio.”
Google has spent the “last several weeks securing content for the launch of the service from the major music labels,” claims TechCrunch, citing several unnamed sources.
Philip Dow, the developer behind Journler, has announced that work on the app is at an end. While he will continue to provide support for users, there will be no new releases.
In a brutally honest and open blog post, Philip spells out precisely what brought an end to Journler – its own success.
Apple has added a faster processor, a bright LED display, a big new built-in battery that adds two hours of extra life (Apple claims) and an improved Bluetooth antenna that promises to improve reception. The MacBook also has a space-age heat sink to cool the faster chip.
But Apple giveth, and Apple taketh away. Gone is the FirWire port and IR sensor, making it the only shipping Mac portable with no remote control.
Gone also are the two fake screws on the left side of the old MacBook that Steve Jobs insisted on to make the machine look symmetrical.
Announced today, the new MacBook costs $999, the same as the machine it replaces.
Apple does an excellent job of making all its products look beautiful, and these latest new products are no exception. Even the inside of the new MacBook is lovely.
Canon Tuesday released its EOS-1D Mark 4, a $5000 DSLR aimed squarely at Nikon’s line of D3 pro shooters. The central attraction for the EOS-1D Mark 4: video. The camera can capture either standard or high-definition video at 50 or 60fps. Nikon’s equal-priced DS3s only shoot 720p video using jpeg files.
Also of interest, 39 of the 45 autofocus points are low-light sensitive compared to 15 of the DS3’s 51 AF points.
Apple has created a video showing the new multi-touch Magic Mouse in action. Check it out below.
The mouse looks incredibly easy to use. It has several gestures built-in, including clicking, right clicking, zooming and swiping to backwards and forwards in Safari and iPhoto.
Apple has upgraded its current line of Mac mini computers, plus added a server version. The base mini ($599) gets a slightly faster Core 2 Duo processor (2.26GHz versus 2GHz), double the previous memory (2GB, up from 1GB) and a beefier hard drive (160GB versus 120GB.)
If you want to meet with Apple tech evangelists to discuss your iPhone apps — get a move on.
Dates for the second iPhone Tech World Tour were announced yesterday; spots are already scarce.
The full-day conferences, free but with a limited number of participants, kick off in San Jose on October 29.
There’s still space in Silicon valley, but London (Nov. 11) New York (Dec. 1) and Tokyo (Dec. 15) are already full.
Sessions include user interface design essentials, working with core data, testing and debugging your iPhone app and something new: adding “in app” purchase to your app.
To end your day with Apple, there’s even a wine and cheese wrap-up. (If you go, send us pics.)
You’ve still got a chance to hobnob with Apple and other devs in Seattle, Toronto, Bejiing, Paris and Hamburg.
Two days after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said it would launch an investigation into iPod battery issues, Apple updated its support document on battery overheating.
Here’s the main update:
iPod nano (1st generation): Rare cases of battery overheating
Apple has determined that in very rare cases, batteries in the iPod nano (1st generation) sold between September 2005 and December 2006, may overheat and prevent the iPod nano from working and deform it.
Apple has received very few reports of such incidents, and the issue has been traced to a single battery supplier. Additionally, there have been no reports of such incidents with any other iPod nano model. If your battery shows signs of overheating, such as discoloration or deformity, stop using the iPod nano immediately and contact AppleCare as soon as possible for further assistance.
It’s an acknowledgment, but just, that comes two months after the EU announced it was going to investigate exploding iPods — and iPhones.
And what about the advice? Easy enough to spot an overheating device (as it melts and changes color) in hand, but if you’re jogging or have it in your back back, good luck.
Apple, often in the vanguard of coolness, is just now catching up with Internet social-networking. The Cupertino, Calif. company since March has joined the ranks of a multitude of companies seeking to boost awareness through Twitter. Apple is using Twitter to promote iTunes movies, music and podcasts. The oldest account, iTunesTrailer, has gained 1.2 million followers, reports said Tuesday.
Apple’s Twitter presence also includes iTunesMusic, iTunesMovies, iTunesTV and iTunesPodcasts. The Twitter accounts have made only a few tweets and attracted “thousands” of followers, collectively. One of Apple’s latest tweets, in iTunesMovies, promoted “Away We Go,” a movie by “Where the Wild Things Are” co-screen writer Dave Eggers.
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Apple has settled claims with state regulators who allege the company mishandled electronic waste. Photo: Thomas Dohmke
Don’t get out the party hats and sparklers yet, Apple may not have a big announcement today or tomorrow. At least that’s the word from an anonymous source claiming to know Cupertino’s intentions.
“Nope,” was the one-word comment Stuff got when the site attempted to confirm or refute the various rumors swirling online of some hardware announcement.
Photo by geishaboy500 on Flickr, used under CC licence
I’d like to add my congratulations to those of the many TidBITS readers who’ve wished Adam Engst and his team all good wishes on reaching their 1000th issue this week.
I’ve been reading TidBITS for as long as I’ve used Macs, and consider it one of the finest, best-written, and most useful Mac publications around.
What separates it from the crowd is the way each and every article is carefully and lovingly assembled. Much thought is given to every detail, and there’s plenty of detail to think about because TidBITS articles never skimp on covering a news item or a software review from every possible perspective.
You know, when you start a TidBITS software review, that it will be balanced and well researched. You know that when you’ve finished reading it, you’ll have a good idea of that product’s potential value for you or your business.
There’s also a feeling of genuine warmth from the TidBITS writers and readers alike; discussion there is reasoned, sensible debate. Forum users will go out of their way to help one another. It’s a breath of fresh air.
So congratulations to all at TidBITS on 1000 issues of your superb email newsletter; here’s looking forward to the next 1000. And 1000 more after that.
Jabra’s new Stone headset is the first non-dorky Bluetooth headset I’ve ever seen.
Actually, it’s the second. The first was a Secret Service-style single earbud from Hong Kong that clipped to your shirt. Trouble is, it sounded awful.
The Stone should have no such trouble: it supports A2DP (good for music, even though it’s a single earpiece) and has nice, clear noise-canceling microphone. Volume controls are handled by the surface of the Stone, which is touch-sensitive – how cool is that?
It’s called the Stone because when docked into its portable charging dock, the pair look like a polished stone.
But boy, does it need that charging dock. Battery life is a skimpy two hours talk time, according to Jabra (and less than an hour according to one early review). The charging dock is good for three charges of the headset before it too has to be recharged. Standby is 12 hours.
Jabra’s Stone costs $130 and will be available exclusively from AT&T in early November. Might be worth the price for the cool touchscreen volume controls — and for not making you look like Lieutenant Uhura.
Apple’s COO Tim Cook says competitors are still trying to catch up with the original iPhone, which was launched more than two years ago.
During a conference call discussing today’s Q4 earnings, Cook was asked about competition hotting up for the upcoming holiday season. How will Apple maintain momentum and differentiation?
“We feel very confident,” Cook said. “People are still trying to catch up to the original iPhone, and we’ve long since moved past that.”
Ouch. Take that Google and Palm. And although it wasn’t mentioned by name, the question was clearly referring to the upcoming Droid phone from Verizon and Motorola, which is based on Google’s Android.
Verizon has launched a weird iDon’t advertising campaign that supposedly highlights all the things the iPhone doesn’t do — like run simultaneous apps. But while the Droid is getting early notice for being very thin (even with a slider keyboard), there’s still no sizable library of apps for it to run — and that’s what Cook is referring to.
The iPhone is a true mobile platform, not just a nice piece of standalone hardware. And a platform is something that takes years to build.
It’s going to be a big day for Apple stock tomorrow if after-hours gains stick. Apple’s stock was up to as much as $204 in after-hours trading. The company reported record profits on blockbuster sales of Macs and iPhones — all during one of the worst economic downturns this century.
Apple’s sales defy logic,
Apple has settled claims with state regulators who allege the company mishandled electronic waste. Photo: Thomas Dohmke
“Recession? What recession?” said Steve Jobs and co. on Monday as Apple reported record sales and near-record revenues for 2009’s fourth quarter.
While Wall Street and most of the technology industry limped along for the last three months, Apple’s fourth quarter revenues rose to a whopping $9.87 billion — the second best quarter ever after last Christmas.
Apple sold a record 3.05 million Macs during the quarter (17% year-on-year increase); 10.2 million iPods (down 8%); and 7.4 million iPhones (up 7%).
“We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs in a statement. “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”
The results do not reflect the new accounting rules that recently went into effect allowing Apple to realize iPhone and Apple TV sales, which are currently spread over two years. If these sales were taken into account for the quarter, revenue would have been $12.25 billion, Apple said.
The company is a runaway profit machine. Gross margins were up to an unbelievable 36.6%, which rocketed profits 46% to $1.67 billion for the quarter. Yeah, that’s a lot of cash. Companies like Dell and HP are lucky if they can squeeze 5% profits out of their products.
When Apple’s recently reported in-app feature was unveiled, it was largely taken as a way to head-off piracy. However the ability to let users of free apps easily upgrade to paid versions may instead by seen as a way for Apple to keep developers in an increasingly competitive arena.
Unlike in the past, developers can permit owners of a free iPhone app to upgrade to a paid version within the application. Previously, upgrading to a paid version required a second trip to the App Store, another download and more hassles for iPhone developers.
As we recently reported, PCalc recently added calculator censorship, protecting fragile little minds from seeing the word ‘boobies’ (and others) more or less spelled in old-fashioned upside-down numbers.
James Thomson, PCalc’s creator, states that the 1.8.1 upgrade is at least three times as draconian, now filtering ‘words’ punctuated by a decimal point, and those in languages other than English.
But wait! A hero looms on the horizon: the self-same James Thomson has rallied against iPhone calculator censorship and calculator-based freedoms, taking a stand against his “cruel paymasters” at TLA Systems, the evil umbrella corporation responsible for DragThing and PCalc, owned by evil, dictatorial James Thomson.
Get your calculator boobies back with PCalc 1.8.1
Now you can nip into PCalc’s advanced settings, scroll to the bottom, flip your device and turn off iPhone censorship, shortly before reverting to a five-year-old, typing 5318008, and never getting any work done again.
Hurrah for James Thomson and PCalc, freeing us from the calculator tyranny imposed by James Thomson and PCalc!
Has Verizon lost all hope of gaining access to Apple’s profitable iPhone? That seems to be the message in the aftermath of the carrier’s advertising blitz promoting the upcoming release of the Motorola-built Droid cellphone using Google’s Android 2.0 operating software.
Verizon takes dead aim at the iPhone with its “iDon’t Droid” advertising campaign kicked off over the weekend:
iDon’t have a real keyboard
iDon’t run simultaneous apps
iDon’t take night shots
iDon’t allow open development
iDon’t customize
iDon’t run widgets
iDon’t have interchangeable batteries
Everything iDon’t
DROID DOES
Unsaid but very clear is that the commercial burns any bridges Verizon might have had to offer the iPhone.
Handicapping Apple earnings reports has become a bit of a hobby for Wall Street investors. As the Cupertino, Calif. company readies release of fourth-quarter sales figures later Monday, the latest round of three-piece tea leaf-readers are projecting Apple will report a 13 percent jump in earnings on revenue between $8.7 billion and $10.5 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters Financial foresee Apple earnings reaching $1.42 per share, higher than Apple’s own public expectations of between $1.18 to $1.23 per share, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2008, Apple reported earnings rose 26 percent to $1.14 billion during the fourth-quarter ended September 30.
The second in a series of five t-shirt giveaways, correctly name this mystery Apple item and you could win a T-shirt.
Not just any T-shirt: choose from the Apple-inspired designs at might tees, which include the I Love Lisa we wrote about, a retro-style logo and Steve Jobs in typeface.
