Apple has been fined 20 million New Taiwan dollars by the country’s Fair Trade Commission for illegally fixing iPhone prices with Japanese carriers. At only $670,000 U.S, the fine is chump change for Apple, but the allegations are serious.
If you thought that “Think Different” was the last time Apple was going to come under fire from the grammar police, think again!
Finland’s linguistic authorities, the Institute for the Languages of Finland — which rules on correct spellings, loan words and usages as the Finnish, Swedish, Romani and Sami languages develop — has decreed that the correct Finnish usage of iPhone is not iPhone, but rather Iphone or I-phone.
Apple, Google and Microsoft all want to be your phone company. But with both competitors’ communication offerings in disarray, Apple has an opportunity to offer the best, most elegant and integrated communication platform.
All they have to do is keep moving in their current direction, make a couple of key rumors come true and keep Steve Jobs’ promise about FaceTime.
No matter how you feel about Apple and the iPhone, it’s impossible to deny that the device completely revolutionized the mobile industry when it was launched in 2007. Without it, the smartphones of today may have been completely different.
Take Android, for example. It’s the biggest competitor to the iOS operating system that powers the iPhone, and it’s now the world’s largest mobile platform — but the iPhone is the reason Android is what it is today. Google started work on the software way back in 2005, but it scrapped everything and started again the day after iPhone was revealed to the world.
UPDATE: There’s no glass on the front of the Stonestown store. Earlier reports indicated the store was fronted by glass, but it’s actually wide open. It has a big metal gate that is closed at night. “Comes right out of the walls. Pretty nifty,” says one shopper who visited the store.
Apple just reopened its retail store at San Francisco’s Stonestown mall, and just check it out. It’s one long piece of curved glass. spectacular!
Here’s another shot:
Yesterday we reported on the tragic death of a 15-year-old worker at a Shanghai factory belonging to Pegatron — the Taiwanese manufacturing firm who produce the iPhone 5c and iPad mini.
At the time the story was written, Apple hadn’t responded to the reports — or to requests from the New York-based China Labor Watch asking the company to take a closer look at working conditions at its supplier.
Since then, Apple has given its answer: noting that it sent independent medical experts to conduct an investigation at the factory last month.
“While they found no evidence of any link to working conditions there, we realize that is of little comfort to the families who have lost their loved ones,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple’s Stonestown Galleria retail store in San Francisco, will reopen at 8am PST Saturday, December 14 — following an expansion that has increased the size of the location to 7,690 square feet.
Right now, Apple has over $156 billion in its war chest, prompting investors like Carl Icahn to pretty much riot to try to get at some or all of it.
Compared to $156 billion, $16 million is a drop in the ocean of Apple’s money, an amount so small that Tim Cook wouldn’t think twice to even sign the check. But when it comes to Samsung, Apple’s intellectual property arch rival, Cupertino wants to wring out every drop of money it can.
Good news, my friends! If you want to get someone in your life an iPhone 5s in time for Christmas, or just splurge on a new iPhone yourself, good news: in the United States, Canada, and several other countries, you can now get an iPhone 5s shipped to you in just 1-3 business days. Even in gold!
This is Cult of Mac’s exclusive column written by an actual Apple Store Genius who answers all your questions about working at an Apple Store. Our genius must remain anonymous, but other than “Who are you, anyway?” ask anything you want about what goes on behind that slick store facade.
This week our Genius dishes on how to get your iPhone or MacBook fixed by Apple when you’re outside the country you purchased it in. Also, you may have noticed your battery life dipping a bit since upgrading to the iOS 7, our Genius will take you through the steps to troubleshoot your battery issue and eek out every extra minute of juice possible.
Got a question you want the inside scoop on? Send us your questions and the answers will be published first in Cult of Mac’s Magazine on Newsstand. Send your questions to newsATcultofmac.com with “genius” in the subject line.
I bought a MacBook Pro in Hong Kong to use here in the Philippines. The display suddenly blanks one day, and, seriously, it hasn’t met water yet. There are no Apple Stores here and I have an upcoming trip to Canada. Can I bring it to an Apple Store there? What can I expect?
Definitely, take it in. The MacBook Pro comes with a one-year international warranty. Apple’s support page online lists the contact info for each country so check beforehand to see what your options are in that country as they vary from country to country. If you are visiting near an Apple Store make an appointment and take it in.
They will want to scan your MacBook’s hardware and run some diagnostics to find the cause of the issue. Make sure to backup your data before as with any service appointment. If they find a hardware failure they may have to keep the Mac for a couple days for repair. Make sure to plan your trip for an appropriate amount of time.
I got an iPhone in Japan and sadly, I’ve left Japan but I found out that the phone can’t be unlocked even if I jailbreak it. Now that its home button doesn’t work, can I bring it to an Apple Store elsewhere for possible repair or replacement? If it’s still under one year, I’m guessing that it’ll be free, but how much will it cost if it weren’t under warranty anymore? (Let’s say I’ll bring it to the Apple Store in downtown San Francisco, for example.)
The iPhone does not have an international warranty and the warranty varies by country. For this reason, if your iPhone is in need of service, you might have to take it to the country of origin. Remember that iPhones are also different across the world as cellular technology varies. Different countries have different parts and replacement models based on what is sold in that country. Prices for replacements and repair options vary, too.
If you want international coverage for an iPhone, AppleCare+ Service Agreements are international, although certain models might have to be shipped. If you took it to the Apple Store in San Francisco, they might troubleshoot and diagnose the iPhone for you, but they’d tell you that you have to take it to the country of origin for service unless you have AppleCare+.
My iPhone’s battery life seems to have fallen off a cliff lately, what are some things I can do to make it last longer?
The main causes for short battery life, in my experience, are the display, cellular usage, and location services. You can customize your settings for the latter in the Settings > Privacy > Location Services menu and turn off the services for unnecessary apps or disable the services completely. There a lot of system services that can be disabled at the very bottom of the menu. Also, try keeping your brightness in the 50% range and use auto-brightness if desired to keep the display from consuming your battery.
Your cellular usage can also be customized in the Settings > Cellular menu. Turn off cellular data for high consuming apps or disable it completely. You can save a little more by turning off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth when not in use if you don’t have an iDevice with Bluetooth 4.0. Turning on Reduce Motion in the Accessibly Settings along with using static backgrounds as opposed to the dynamic backgrounds may help on models without the M7 coprocessor.
