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Eddy Cue Receives Another 100,000 Shares of Apple Stock [Mac Blog]
Nov 04, 9:18PM
At Apple's present stock price, the stock would be worth $40 million, although the final value will be determined as of the dates that the different portions vest.
This is the second such grant Cue has received since being promoted to senior vice president for Internet software and services two months ago. The first batch of 100,000 restricted stock units was awarded on September 2nd following his promotion, and those units will vest in two equal portions in August 2013 and August 2015. Cue also holds a number of other restricted stock units that he had been awarded prior to his promotion.
Cue has been at Apple for 22 years, and played an integral role overseeing the iTunes Store and App Store. His role has significantly expanded over the past year or so, adding oversight of Apple's iCloud service and iBookstore. Just this past August, Cue also took over leadership of the iAd program following the departure of Andy Miller.
Winamp Finally Comes to Mac, Bringing Easy Android Music Syncing [Mac Blog]
Nov 04, 6:59PM
Winamp by Nullsoft, now owned by AOL, was a major media player back in the MP3 sharing heyday -- and is still the preferred media player for a large number of Windows users.
Last week, the Winamp team launched Winamp for Mac Sync Beta, the first Winamp application for the Mac. Winamp was rumored to be coming to Mac as far back as 2001, but the software was never released.
The main focus of the release is wireless and wired sync of music for Android phones and their Winamp for Android app. Winamp for Mac also happens to import and automatically syncs playlists from iTunes and acts as a basic music player, but many other features are presently absent. Nullsoft, however, reports that many more features are coming soon and promises a "new long-term commitment to the Mac OS platform."
Winamp for Mac Sync Beta is a free download directly from Winamp's website.
Over 10% of U.S. Mobile Phone Users Now on an iPhone
Nov 04, 6:55PM
comScore today released the results of its latest survey of mobile phone usage in the United States, noting that Apple has reached a milestone in surpassing a 10% share of the U.S. mobile phone market. As has been the recent trend, Apple again led the major phone manufacturers in growth between the three-month period ending in June and the period ending in September, growing by 1.3 percentage point to hit 10.2% of the U.S. market.
Narrowing down to smartphones, Apple's iOS took 27.4% of the market, up 0.8 percentage points since the previous three-month period but trailing Android's 44.8% share and 4.6 percentage point growth. Apple stood at 9.8% of the overall mobile phone market and 27.3% of the smartphone market in last month's release of the firm's rolling three-month data sets.
comScore's data tracks installed user base rather than new handset sales, making it more reflective of real-world usage but slower to respond to shifting market trends than some other studies. With today's released data covering the period of July through September, it is also important to note that it does not include any surge from the iPhone 4S launch, which took place in mid-October.
Apple Seeds iOS 5.0.1 Beta 2 to Developers
Nov 04, 5:49PM
Just two days after seeding the first beta of iOS 5.0.1 to developers, Apple has already pushed out a second version for testing.
The new version, known as build 9A404, comes as Apple is working quickly to deploy the update to address battery life issues and bring several other enhancements to devices running iOS 5. The latest build is available as an over-the-air update for those with the first beta of iOS 5.0.1 installed on their devices.
U.S. Cellular Turned Down iPhone over 'Unacceptable' Terms from Apple
Nov 04, 5:21PM
FierceWireless reports on comments from U.S. Cellular CEO Mary Dillon, who claims that the mobile phone carrier turned down a proposed deal to offer the iPhone because it considered Apple's terms to be "unacceptable". The decision is not final, however, and U.S. Cellular could offer the iPhone at some point in the future if a deal can be struck.
U.S. Cellular turned down Apple's iPhone because it did not make sense for the company economically, CEO Mary Dillon said on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call.U.S. Cellular, headquartered in Chicago, is the sixth-largest mobile phone company in the United States with over 6 million subscribers. Behind the top tier of Verizon, AT&T;, Sprint, and T-Mobile USA lies a group of so-called "super-regional" carriers led by MetroPCS, U.S. Cellular, and Cricket. Interest in the possibility of these super-regional carriers being able to offer the iPhone was sparked by last month's announcement from C Spire Wireless that it had landed a deal for the iPhone. C Spire ranks at the lower end of the super-regional group, with under a million customers on its network.
Dillon said that the carrier had the opportunity to sell the iPhone but that Apple's "terms were unacceptable from a risk and profitability standpoint." Dillon added that the potential strain on the company's network was not a factor in the decision, and that U.S. Cellular remains open to carrying the iPhone in the future.
Earlier this week, the Czech arm of Telefonica/O2 announced that it would be dropping the iPhone entirely after it was unable to reach a deal with Apple for the iPhone 4S. The company cited Apple's "business terms" as the reason for the discontinuation, and U.S. Cellular's disclosure today adds further evidence that some carriers simply don't see the economic advantage to offering the iPhone even as other carriers are working hard to land the device.
Global Security Chief John Theriault Reportedly Leaves Apple
Nov 04, 5:07PM
9to5Mac reports that Apple's vice president of global security John Theriault has left the company, marking yet another key executive departure this year.
While the reasons for Theriault's departure and his destination appear to be unconfirmed, speculation naturally turns toward this summer's loss of another iPhone prototype. Apple has received some criticism over its handling of the case, which involved Apple security personnel being escorted by San Francisco police to a home to where the device had been traced. Apple's security personnel conducted an unsuccessful search of the home, with the homeowner claiming to have believed that they were police officers and not private security agents.
John Theriault's LinkedIn profile
Theriault, a former FBI agent and Pfizer vice president, was profiled just two months ago for his role overseeing Apple's anti-counterfeiting efforts. That work has taken on increased importance with the proliferation of fake Apple products and even fake Apple retail stores popping up in a number of countries. The most publicized location for these counterfeiting operations has been China, where Apple has been stepping up its anti-counterfeiting efforts in support of its own increasing presence in the country.
Apple Continues to Take More Than Half of Mobile Phone Industry Profits
Nov 04, 3:22PM
Despite a sequential drop in iPhone sales in the third calendar quarter of 2011 as customers held out for the iPhone 4S, Apple once again seized over half of the profits generated by leading mobile phone manufacturers during the quarter, according to a new research report by Cannacord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley and shared by Forbes. According to the study's estimates, Apple raked in 52% of the overall profits during the quarter, down slightly from 57% in the second calendar quarter but up from 47% in the year-ago quarter that also had the then-new iPhone 4 on the market.
In an epic reversal of fortunes, Mr. Walkley pointed out that in 2007, Nokia had 67% of operating profits while Apple had just 4%. Today, while Apple has 52% of industry profits, Nokia has been relegated its rival's former position with just 4% of operating profits.As noted in a report from AllThingsD on the same research note, Walkley predicts that the launch of the iPhone 4S will spur even further growth for Apple, pushing the company to take over 60% of industry profits in the final calendar quarter of 2011.
Walkley is not the only observer to routinely release estimates of mobile phone manufacturer profit shares, as asymco's Horace Dediu performs a similar analysis each quarter. Dediu's numbers have typically come in 5-10 percentage points higher for Apple than Walkley's estimates have, but the trends seen by each analyst are certainly consistent: Aside from some natural ebb and flow due to iPhone release cycles, Apple is continuing to increase its dominant share of mobile phone industry profits despite shipping only a small fraction of total units.
Update: Dediu has just posted his Q3 estimates, pegging Apple at 56% of industry profits.
Apple Seeds Safari 5.1.2 with PDF Viewing Fixes to Developers [Mac Blog]
Nov 04, 1:48PM
Apple yesterday pushed out a pre-release version of Safari 5.1.2 to Mac developers. The update addresses several issues related to the viewing of PDFs located within frames on websites while also asking developers to test plug-in interaction and printing. From the seed notes:
Inline PDF SupportApple documents one known issue which could cause Safari to crash using certain Safari Extensions.
Safari 5.1.2 fixes issues where PDFs in frames were not displayed in the browser. Please test this build with websites that display PDF documents inline such as banks and document management systems. Please also test saving and using context menus with PDFs in frames.
Plug-Ins
Please test mouse and keyboard interaction in plug-ins with input fields.
Printing
Please test printing web pages. Printing web pages to PDF is sufficient.
Safari 5.1.2 is available to developers in versions for OS X Lion, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and Windows.
European Commission Opens Investigation into Samsung's Patent Threats Against Apple
Nov 04, 1:32PM
The patent dispute between Apple and Samsung has certainly been well-documented as it has expanded to encompass numerous lawsuits and other complaints filed by both sides in a number of different countries. The offensive portion of Samsung's case has centered on 3G-related patents that it owns, but Apple has argued that those patents are essential to basic device operation and must therefore be licensed under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms. Apple's lawyers have also argued that Samsung's proposed licensing terms for those patents have so far not been made in compliance with FRAND standards.
As first reported by FOSS Patents, a new legal filing by Apple in a U.S. case has revealed that the European Commission is indeed investigating Samsung over potential abuse of FRAND-related patents. From the filing:
Samsung has launched an aggressive, worldwide campaign to enjoin Apple from allegedly practicing Samsung's patents. Samsung has sued Apple for infringement and injunctions in no fewer than eight countries outside the United States. Indeed, Samsung's litigation campaign and other conduct related to its Declared-Essential Patents is so egregious that the European Commission recently has opened an investigation to determine whether Samsung's behavior violates EU competition laws.Reuters also reports that the European Commission has issued a statement acknowledging the investigation, noting that it has requested information from both Samsung and Apple as it enters the early stages of a potential antitrust inquiry.
"The Commission has indeed sent requests for information to Apple and Samsung concerning the enforcement of standards-essential patents in the mobile telephony sector. Such requests for information are standard procedure in antitrust investigations to allow the Commission to establish the relevant facts in a case. We have no other comments at this stage," the EU executive said in a statement.Apple has won a number of injunctions against Samsung over claims that several Android-based tablets and smartphones infringe upon Apple's design patents. Samsung initially adopted a primarily defensive stance against Apple, but has recently gone on the offensive to assert its 3G patents in an attempt to strengthen its hand in the courts and any potential settlement talks. But with some observers and Apple having argued that Samsung's asserted patents are subject to FRAND terms and judges and regulatory authorities beginning to agree with or at least consider that position, Samsung's efforts may yet backfire on the company.
Apple's New Fifth Avenue Store Cube Fully Revealed [Update: Video]
Nov 04, 12:48PM
While Apple's Fifth Avenue retail store in Manhattan is not set to reopen until 10:00 AM this morning, crews have completed their work on the revamped glass cube, fully revealing the streamlined design for the first time.
MacRumors reader Vincent sent along these photos of the new cube, which utilizes only 15 panes of glass rather than the 90 used in the original cube. The new cube is also "seamless", doing away with nearly all of the hardware that previously held the panes of glass together.
In addition to the new cube, Apple has also upgraded the plaza, refreshing or installing new water drains and pavers while removing the small bollards that had previously surrounded the cube.
Update: YouTube user patjem2 has posted a brief video showing the new cube and a growing crowd of customers just prior to the store's reopening.
A second video also shows the first customers entering the newly-reopened store through the updated glass cube.
How Apple Uses its Supply Chain as a Strategic Weapon
Nov 04, 3:16AM
According to more than a dozen interviews with former employees, executives at suppliers, and management experts familiar with the company's operations, Apple has built a closed ecosystem where it exerts control over nearly every piece of the supply chain, from design to retail store.Apple's well known to be a master at operations with much of that credit going to now CEO Tim Cook. Businessweek's profile gives many examples of how Apple has managed to stay ahead of the competition, with much of it being the ability to predict needs and also secure the necessary pieces by exercising their enormous $81 billion cash hoard.
Even as far back as the launch of the Bondi blue iMac in the late 90s, Apple's Steve Jobs paid $50 million to buy up all available holiday air freight space at a time when most of its competitors were shipping by sea. This reportedly handicapped rivals such as Compaq who later wanted to book air transport.
Similarly for both the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 launch, Apple bought up so many suppliers and machines needed for assembly, they squeezed out the competition who needed the same resources.
The tactic ensures availability and low prices for Apple—and sometimes limits the options for everyone else. Before the release of the iPhone 4 in June 2010, rivals such as HTC couldn't buy as many screens as they needed because manufacturers were busy filling Apple orders, according to a former manager at HTC.Apple's level of efficiency and control extends into launch day where factories work for weeks building hundreds of thousands of devices. Electronic monitors are placed in part boxes to discourage leaks and completed products shipped in non-descript boxes to avoid detection. Even in their retail stores, they can monitor demand by the hour and make supply chain adjustments as necessary.
CBS Turned Down Apple TV Subscription Service Deal
Nov 04, 2:41AM
As reported by GigaOM:
When asked about CBS's appetite for striking deals with new streaming providers that might not have the money to pay cash upfront to license its content, Moonves said that CBS had decided against joining an Apple TV service because it was based on an ad split.Apple has been long rumored to be working on some sort of TV subscription service over the past few years. A Wall Street Journal article from December, 2009 described one possible iteration of the service:
The proposed service by the maker of iPhones and iPod music players could, in at least some scenarios, offer access to some TV shows from a selection of major U.S. television networks for a monthly fee, according to people familiar with the discussions.Such a service, of course, has never launched. But it's not clear if that particular plan was canceled or is awaiting the arrival of a full Apple television.
Rumors of a full blown Apple TV set were recently revived after Steve Jobs' biography quoted Jobs as saying he had "finally cracked" the problems standing in the way of an Apple television set.
Apple to Unveil New 5th Avenue Apple Store at 10am Friday
Nov 03, 9:28PM
As we'd previously reported, Apple appears to be preparing to unveil the new 5th Avenue Retail Store for Friday.
MacRumors reader Will submitted this photo which shows construction workers starting to remove part of the white covering from the store's new glass panes.
Apple's $6.6 million renovation started back in June and involved replacing the cube's 90 glass panels (Photo of old design) with a much simpler 15 glass panel design (Artist rendition).
Will reports that today they've torn away much of the white covering along the bottom of the store. This area remains hidden from the street level view due to the surrounding construction barriers. Workers have been power-washing the ground, presumably in preparation for the grand unveiling.
We'll post more photos as we get them, readers can submit photos to us via email.
As noted on Apple's 5th Avenue Retail page, the store will be closed from 10pm to 10am:
We'll be closed starting at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 3 and will reopen at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 4.
Thanks Dries
Photo by ElevatorView.com
Siri Experiencing Significant Outage
Nov 03, 8:41PM
While Apple's new Siri personal assistant for the iPhone 4S experiencing a few hiccups in availability just after the device's launch last month, a new widespread outage appears to be the most significant one since those first few days. The Siri problems have been ongoing for at least three hours, with only intermittent service available over that time. In general, users have been faced with error messages in which Siri reports being unable to connect to the network.
Apple has labeled Siri as a beta service and is no doubt continuing to refine the technology and infrastructure behind the feature. Apple has rapidly rolled out the iPhone 4S to nearly 30 countries already with another 15 set to come online next week, although Siri currently offers support only in English (US, UK, and Australia), French, and German.
Batman: Arkham Asylum Arrives On the Mac App Store [Mac Blog]
Nov 03, 8:03PM
Batman: Arkham Asylum has arrived on the Mac, two years after it was released on consoles and the PC.
Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.Feral, the company that released the Mac port of the game, recommends users have a 2.8Ghz Intel processor with at least 4GB or RAM and 512MB of VRAM. Check Feral's website for complete system requirements to ensure it will work on your system.
Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is available on the Mac App Store for $39.99. [Direct Link]
Case-Mate Introduces Tank, A "Military-Grade" iPhone Case [iOS Blog]
Nov 03, 7:06PM
Modeled after motorcycle helmet engineering, Tank is designed with a hard, impact resistant exterior and a shock absorbing interior. A shatter resistant, polycarbonate hard shell combines with the thick, silicone cushioned interior.
The retractable screen shields from impacts, cracking and condensation, fully protecting the iPhone screen. The Tank exterior is made of a premium, soft grip texture that slides easily in and out of your pockets. The Tank tests number one in impact resistance against the leading brand, and meets or exceeds US military standards.
The Tank is $60 and comes in four colors. It's available from Case-Mate's online store.
Jawbone's UP Wristband Tracks Activity, Movement and Sleep [iOS Blog]
Nov 03, 5:59PM
Bluetooth headset manufacturer Jawbone has released the UP wristband to track users activity, sleep, and food intake to "encourage healthier living". The water-resistant wristband, which is designed to be worn constantly, has a built-in motion sensor that tracks movement (steps, distance, calories burned, pace, intensity level and active vs inactive time) and sleep (hours slept, time to fall asleep, light vs. deep sleep and sleep quality).
The UP connects to an iOS device (iPhone 3GS or higher, iPad, or iPod Touch 4th generation or newer) via the headphone jack to transfer data. There is no Bluetooth connectivity, curious from Jawbone which specializes in Bluetooth devices, but the UP skimps on wireless to save on battery life. Jawbone claims the UP's battery should last up to 10 days.
The wristband is "made of a spring steel frame encased in durable, sweat-proof, water-resistant, hypoallergenic rubber" and is water-resistant up to 1 meter -- basically, it can be worn 24/7, even during workouts or taking a shower, but don't go swimming with it.
The wristband's companion app, UP by Jawbone, tracks activity, sleep and meals with elaborate and polished charts -- the UP's internal vibrating-motor can even wake users up with a gentle vibration at the ideal time:
Within 30 minutes of your desired wake up time, the band will intelligently interpret your sleep graph identify the best moment in your natural sleep cycle so that you feel as refreshed as possible. For example, if you were to set your wake up alarm for 7:30am, the band would vibrate at the best time between 7:00am and 7:30am based on your sleep cycle.
The wristband tracks jogging runs as well and, when paired with an iPhone, displays users running routes on a map. There are also "challenges", health goals and competitions that UP users can join on their own or with friends. Challenges include walking 100,000 steps in 10 days, climbing 1,665 steps (the same number as in the Eiffel Tower), or sleeping for 10 straight hours to get a good night's sleep.
Finally, the app allows users to create a "photo journal" of what they eat and it sends a push notification a few hours after a meal to ask how they feel. The goal is to help users discover which foods make them feel best.
The UP by Jawbone is $99.99 and goes on sale in the US on November 6, the UK on November 17th for £79.99, and worldwide by the end of 2011. It's available from Jawbone's online store, the Apple Store, Best Buy, AT&T; and others.
The UP by Jawbone app is a free download, available for the iPhone or iPad. However, it doesn't do anything without the wristband itself.
iPhone 4S Users Complaining of Audio Issues: No Audio on Outgoing Calls, Echoes, Static
Nov 03, 4:50PM
When using the Apple hands free headset with the phone during a call, I get an echo problem. It does not occur immediately. It can very from 30 seconds into a call and as far up to 9 mins in before it begins the annoying echo. If I unplug the headset it goes away but will return when I plug the headset back in. I have tried 3 brand new iphone 4s headsets with the same problems. So far I have tried rebooting, and also restored phone back to factory original settings as a new phone and still no resolution. I have been told by the other person on the line a screech sound is made then the echo begins.Users seem to be having some success in fixing the issue by briefly toggling the speakerphone option on and off when the echo begins.
A potentially related issue of static on iPhone 4S calls is also being documented in its own lengthy thread, with the issue affecting both incoming and outgoing calls and some users reporting the issue occurring on multiple handsets as they've exchanged devices at Apple retail stores in attempts to address the problem.
Finally, a third issue being tracked in a nearly 300-post thread involves users experiencing no audio on a subset of outgoing phone calls.
Picked up a Verizon iPhone 4S - 32GB and on about 1 in 10 calls I get no outbound audio when dialing. Call shows the timer counting as if the call is progressing but absolutely no ring back and cannot hear the party on the other end when they answer.As with the echo issue, some users have reported that toggling the speakerphone option may fix the lack of audio on a given call, but others claim that the tactic does not always work. For its part, Apple support staff have been unable or unwilling to specifically diagnose the issue as either a hardware or software problem. At least one user has reported that the first developer beta of iOS 5.0.1 released yesterday does not fix the issue.
Avid Launches Media Composer 6, Symphony 6, NewsCutter 10
Nov 03, 4:34PM
Avid today announced new versions of its flagship video editing software products, Media Composer 6, Symphony 6 and NewsCutter 10.
Media Composer version 6, Symphony version 6 and NewsCutter version 10 are rebuilt from the core on an entirely new open, 64-bit architecture that raises the bar for performance, flexibility and productivity. With this version, Avid is also introducing a sleek, new User Interface—designed to speed workflows while simultaneously preserving the same functionality that so many professionals have built their careers on.- Media Composer 6.0 starts at $2499 with upgrades starting at $299.
- NewsCutter 10 starts at $2499 with upgrades starting at $499.
- Symphony 6.0 starts at $5,999 with upgrades starting at $499.
- Nitris DX starts at $5,499 USD.
Media Composer Academic 6.0 starts at $295 for educational institutions and students.
Avid continues to offer a discount to Final Cut Pro (not FCP X) users who switch to Media Composer. The company is offering Media Composer 6 plus free online training to help users move from FCP for $1499.
The company says it is "investigating" the Mac App Store as a distribution point for its software, but has nothing to announce yet. Media Composer 6, Symphony 6, and NewsCutter 10 will be available on November 15.
Apple Welcomes Kindle Fire Tablet and More Android Fragmentation
Nov 03, 3:01PM
Business Insider shares a portion of a research note issued today by Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes, who recently visited with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer in a meeting that included discussion of Amazon's new $199 Kindle Fire tablet based on Android.
According to the executives, Apple welcomes the entry of the Kindle Fire to the market for its ability to further fragment the Android ecosystem. While the Kindle Fire does utilize Android, it has been heavily modified by Amazon to integrate specifically with Amazon's products and services.
While the pricing at $199 looks disruptive for what seems to be the iPad's most important rising challenge, the Amazon Fire – it is important to note that it could fuel further fragmentation in the tablet market—given it represents yet another platform. While compatible with Android, the Apps work with Amazon products. The more fragmentation, the better, says Apple, since that could drive more consumers to the stable Apple platform.Reitzes notes that he believes Apple will eventually lower pricing on the iPad, but will not compromise on quality and customer experience to approach or match its competitors' pricing.
Apple and Amazon are approaching the tablet market from opposite perspectives, with Apple achieving significant profitability on the hardware while selling content and services at near break-even prices. Conversely, Amazon is said to be taking a loss on sales of the Kindle Fire, using the device to attract customers into its content and product ecosystem.
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