Apple is expected to announce its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2010 later today. Many professional analysts are predicting blow-out revenue for the Cupertino, Calif. company, particularly for iPhone sales. However, will this be another case where unofficial estimates are closer to reality?
Although a poll of professional analysts affiliated with a financial research firm largely agree that Apple will report $18.86 billion in quarterly revenue, the consensus of unaffiliated analysts forecast $20.37 billion. The numbers are somewhat more in agreement on product sales. Wall Street expects sales of 11.38 million iPhones (versus 12 million for the blogger-analysts), 9.54 million iPods (versus 9.74 million for the unofficial analysts), 3.78 million Macs (compared to 4.01 million by bloggers) and 4.73 million iPads (compared to 5.52 million for the bloggers).
It's going to be Mac OS X 10.7, nicknamed Lion. Naturally, we're hoping Apple licenses Leo the Lion from MGM for a new start-up screen.
There’s very little information about Apple’s next big update to OS X, 10.7 or “Lion,” which may be previewed at Steve Jobs’ special “Back To The Mac” press event on Wednesday.
People are very excited, though, and they’re letting their imaginations run away with them. Among the features that have been suggested are an App Store for the Mac, multitouch controls, and iOS apps instead of the little-used Dashboard.
It’s an interesting list, but some stuff there that just isn’t going to happen… Here’s what is going to be in 10.7:
Apple's new MacBook Air will be thinner, lighter and boxier than the current model. Mockup exclusively for CultofMac.com by Dan Draper.
On Wednesday, Steve Jobs will likely introduce a redesigned 13.3-inch MacBook Air with a bigger battery and more ports — yet thinner and lighter — than the current model, CultofMac.com has independently confirmed.
Apple will probably also add a second, smaller 11.6-inch “Netbook” version, according to our well-placed source.
Our information independently corroborates recent reports by AppleInsider, and Engadget, which ran a picture of a purported prototype over the weekend.
The new model is also apparently much snappier than its underpowered predecessor. “It boots so fast, it’s unbelievable,” our source says. “It’s amazing how fast it boots up.”
If you can't be bothered to read the article, the short version is that Killer Edge Racing is back on the App Store! Hurrah!
Cult of Mac readers with long memories will remember our reports on Tim Langdell’s battle with Mobigame. In essence, Langdell claimed ownership over the word ‘Edge’ for videogames (and a bunch of other products) and set about suing anyone that infringed on these rights. The problem for Langdell is that many claimed his marks weren’t valid and that he’d doctored submissions to the USPTO.
Langdell then sued EA (over Mirror’s Edge, due to the title being similar to Langdell’s ‘Mirrors (a game by) Edge’—seriously), waking a sleeping giant. In tandem with the ChaosEdge project, set up to assist Mobigame, EA set about dismantling Langdell’s arguments via some savvy lawyers; luckily for all concerned (bar Langdell) the judge that dealt with the case was equally savvy, and he stripped Langdell of his marks (Joystiq), and he’s now been booted out of the IGDA as well (Pocket Gamer).
But Mobigame wasn’t the only indie that suffered due to Langdell’s actions. Nalin Sharma had created the game Killer Edge Racing (see this Pocket Gamer interview for more), a fun, arcade racer that had rapidly evolved from a tech demo. Naturally, Langdell figured the game was passing off his ‘famous’ brand and would confuse gamers worldwide, who wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between an indie iOS game and Langdell’s own Edge Racers (in reality a redressed PC game called Voltage, as outlined by ChaosEdge).
In a word: gah.
But this tale has a happy ending. Sharma contacted us the other day to note that his game is back on the App Store. “Given the EA ruling, I thought I would take a chance, and in four days, it has done 6000 downloads and was the #15 racing game in the USA on Saturday,” he says.
Want to pick yourself up one of Sanho’s amazing HyperMac batteries, which will allow you to recharge your MacBook, iPhone or iPad for dozens or even hundreds of hours on a single charge?
Well, better get moving: Sanho has just sent out a notice saying that they will soon stop selling their line of HyperMac products due to their current legal woes with Apple.
If you had a PC in the 1980s, you might have fond memories of playing Sierra’s line-up of classic adventure games: King’s Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest, etc.
You’ll probably be delighted to learn, then, that these retro classics will soon be coming to the iPad, courtesy of Sarien.net. Best of all, they’ll be free.
It seems like just the other day that the App Store hit 200,000 apps, but the juggernaut just never stops, and sometime over the weekend, Apple rolled the speedometer over to 300k.
The numbers aren’t official yet, but according to Mobclix, their data shows that Apple added the 300,000th app to the App Store sometime on Saturday.
Is that old iPod Classic just not doing much since you got your 64GB fourth-gen iPod Touch? Wondering what to do with the old clickwheel? Head on over to Toys ‘R’ Us and trade it in for a Voltron or He-Man or Alien Goo Blaster or something. You can get up to $100 in gift cards for your old iPod, depending on how crappy it is.
That one programmer slaving away on Apple’s iOS Remote app has been working overtime, lately: he’s just issued an update to the app, fixing a number of bugs that showed up after the last major revision.
When the iPhone 4 launched in the Middle East — specifically in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar — it did so without support for FaceTime. Needless to say, this prompted some speculation. Why would Apple have dropped theFaceTime capability only from Middle Eastern iPhone 4? Was it a carrier restriction… or was Apple trying to sidestep Middle Eastern governments getting interested in regulating the new video chat standard?
It now seems like the real explanation probably has more to do with carrier restrictions than anything else. According to iRamadah, FaceTime works in the Middle East on the new iPod Touches, despite the fact that even on the iPhone 4, FaceTime is a WiFi-only standard. Seems at this point more likely that the carriers kicked for whatever reason than anything to do with Big Brother.
Two of the richest men in America met a couple of weeks ago to swirl brandy about the translucent skulls of Peruvian albinos and toast evil, say sources.
Well, actually, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg probably just discussed Ping when the Facebook CEO was invited over to Jobs’ house for dinner and a walk. Close enough.
Earlier this year, Etymotic began a new program that allows purchasers of pretty much any of their products — earphones, Bluetooth headsets, whatever — to own custom-molded eartips for an extra $100. Etymotic offered to let me try a set of these custom eartips (full disclosure: on their tab) with the hf2s I tested, and off we went.
Featured in our favorite iOS applications this week is the free content sharing app from Posterous that lets you post any mix of text, photos, and videos instantly to the web, directly from your iPhone.
Phoster is also featured in our must-have application list this week: it’s a universal app for both iPhone and iPad that lets your create stunning posters and invitations. With loads of templates to get you started and various effects and decorations, you’ll be able to produce stylish results in no time at all on your iOS device.
We also have the new T3magazine app that delivers the world’s greatest gadget magazine to your iPad. Buy and download the T3: iPad Edition every month and access content exclusive to the touchscreen device.
As I noted the other day, I recently completed a near-endless trip around the world, and I used my iPad for pretty much everything while on the plane. And the more I think about it, the more it’s clear to me that I will never again go on vacation with a laptop.
Here are my top 10 reasons why:
10. Though heavy, iPads weigh less than any hardcover and most paperbacks. A lot of people, me included, spend a lot of time whining about how heavy the iPad is. But at 1.5 pounds, it’s a lot lighter than any edition of every single book in Oprah’s club.
9. Endless battery life makes a lack of power outlets irrelevant. Whether with my iPhone or my MacBook, I can’t count the number of times that I’ve started watching a movie on a plane only have the power give out partway through. I seriously can’t imagine how that would ever happen with an iPad. Depending on the task, I’ve gotten well over two hours of battery life after getting the 20 percent warning.
In 2005 Apple responded to mounting pressure from environmental activists by announcing a free recycling program for its iPod digital music players. Fast forward to 2010, five years later, and this wonderful program is still in existence. I thought I should remind you about it, because I nearly forgot about it when my 80 Gb iPod started to act flakey this month after years of service.
The program is a win-win for customers, like myself, that are interested in recycling electronics (an effort to save the Earth), upgrading to a new iPod, and saving 10 percent on a replacement.
The program allows you to bring an iPod that you no longer want regardless of whether or not it is working to any Apple store in the U.S. for free environmentally friendly disposal. The person dropping off any model of iPod will receive a 10 percent discount on the purchase of a new iPod, excluding the iPod shuffle, but you can turn in a shuffle for a 10% discount on a Nano, etc.
All iPods collected for recycling will be processed domestically in the U.S. and no e-waste or hazardous material is shipped overseas.
This is only a small part of Apple’s recycling program which also accepts mobile phones, computers, and monitors. In some cases even these have some monetary value that Apple will convert into a gift card towards the purchase of a new computer, etc.
More information about Apple’s worldwide recycling programs is available at Apple’s environmental website.
Maybe it’s my (only somewhat) jaded inner journalist, but bubbly marketing language almost never rouses me. So naturally, I dismissed the phrases “rediscover your music” and “stunning mobile music fidelity,” printed on the box of Etymotic’s microphone-equipped hf2 earphones, as standard advertising blather.
After a few hours of listening to music through the hf2s I went back and read the box again, this time with wider eyes — because damned if for once some outfit’s marketing department hadn’t made a claim that was actually spot-on accurate. In fact, the thought crossing my mind as I gleefully ripped through my music collection, trying to see how many tracks would give me goosebumps, was that maybe those marketing peeps had even been too subtle about the hf2’s performance — that maybe the box should have just been plastered in wild neon stickers bearing candid phrases like “THESE ARE *&@#$ AWESOME!!” (and that’s why I wouldn’t last long in marketing).
The must have jailbreak utility, TinyUmbrella, a tool written by Semaphore that assists you in saving your iOS devices SHSH Blobs has been updated with new features and a completely redesigned user interface.
Among our favorites game this week is a great new simulator from Kairosoft Co. called Game Dev Story that puts you in charge of your own game company, with the aim of creating a multi-million dollar hit!
We’ve also featured the brand new Dextergame for iPad – an awesome adventure game with stunning HD graphics that fans of the show will love!
We also have the latest game in the Scene It? series, Clickgamer’s new addictive bow & arrow game, and one of the most enjoyable golf games in the App Store yet! Check out the rest of our favorites after the break…
Yahoo Messenger is a popular chat client with millions of users. It is available on most popular desktop and mobile platforms. So this week when I read fellow Cultist, Eli Milchman’s, news post about the big app upgrade that brought video calling over 3G or Wi-Fi I was excited about trying it out. However, that excitement quickly died off after Eli and I started to test it out. Needless to say today there is one less Yahoo Messenger user than there was before.
That user is me and you can find out why by reading the rest of my review.
As New York Times reporter Kate Zernike notes in her new book “Boiling Mad,” a good portion of the Tea Party movement is composed of youthful, tech-savvy hipsters — so it really shouldn’t be surprising that the movement has its own iPhone/iPad app.
The app features top news of interest to members of the movement, polemics from 11 conservative bloggers, Tea Party videos, and wouldn’t be complete with a feature called “Outrage of the Day.”
We can now easily jailbreak the iPhone 4 running iOS 4.1 using Geohot’s Limera1n along with the easy How To written by fellow Cultist Sayam Aggarwal. Once you’ve completed the jailbreak your iPhone 4 can be customized in many ways. However, more importantly you have the ability to add features via apps that Apple doesn’t endorse. You won’t see these apps in the regular iTunes App Store on your iPhone 4. Instead you’ll have to download or purchase these apps like Frash, an app that puts Adobe’s Flash player on your iPhone 4, from the Cydia store instead.
Today, I will show you how to add Flash playback to your jailbroken iPhone 4 in three easy steps using an app called Frash by Comex.
It doesn’t do much — no fancy vocal wizardry, just adjusts the pitch of the user’s voice up or down — but Devil Voice looks like the first instance of a real-time voice-changing app, without the need to record a user’s voice first before playback — though it can, if desired.
The app is a dollar, and comes out just in time for Halloween; see our forthcoming Halloween Guide for examples on how to duct tape it and attached speakers into a Darth Vader mask and whatnot.
We wrap up the week with two iMac deals and an app for making international phone calls. Up first is a number of Core 2 Duo iMacs, starting at $680 for a 2.16GHz desktop machine. Next is i-Hoot, an app for your iPhone which permits pay-as-you-go international dialing. Finally is a 27-inch iMac with quad i7 processors running at 2.8GHz. The package also includes three years of AppleCare all for $1,699.
Along the way, we’ll also take a look at a number of other items and apps for your iPhone or iPod. Like always, details on these and many more deals can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
