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Apple Seeds Lion 10.7.3 Beta to Developers [Mac Blog]
Nov 15, 10:49PM
As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has seeded a beta of OS X Lion 10.7.3 to developers. The beta, build number 11D16, asks developers to focus testing on iCloud document storage, Address Book, iCal and Mail.
OS X 10.7.2 was released to the public in mid-October with iCloud support being its most notable feature.
Apple Names Art Levinson Chairman, Disney's Bob Iger Joins Board of Directors
Nov 15, 9:45PM
Apple today announced that Art Levinson has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors. The former Genentech executive has served on Apple's board since 2000 and has been a co-lead director since 2005. In addition, Disney president and CEO Bob Iger has been named to the board."Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "He has been our longest serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders."Levinson had served on all three of the board's committees, and will continue to serve on the audit committee following his elevation to chairman. Iger will also serve on the audit committee.
"Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board," said Tim Cook. "His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple."
Disney and Apple have a relatively close relationship given that Disney had purchased Pixar back in 2006 when it was owned by Steve Jobs. Jobs had subsequently served on Disney's board of directors and was the company's largest individual shareholder.
New Netflix App for iPad Coming in Next Few Weeks [iOS Blog]
Nov 15, 9:19PM
Netflix today released an updated app for Android tablets, namely the just launched Kindle Fire and the new Barnes and Noble Nook, and says the update will be coming to the iPad in the next few weeks.
The new design is much more immersive and provides greater focus on the growing number of titles in the Netflix catalog. In fact, the new interface displays twice as many movies and TV shows as before, enabling you to discover even more titles you'll love. Also, we've taken greater advantage of the tablet's unique features, inviting you to swipe through rows of titles featuring larger artwork.Netflix for iOS is a free universal app, though it does require a $7.99/month streaming subscription.
Annual iTunes Connect Shutdown Set for December 22nd-29th [iOS Blog]
Nov 15, 9:01PM
As noted by MacStories, Apple has sent out an email informing developers that it will be shutting down the iTunes Connect portal for the App Store over the Christmas holiday as it has the past several years. This year's shutdown will extend from December 22nd through 29th, two days longer than in past years.
We strongly recommend that you do not schedule pricing changes through the interval pricing system in iTunes Connect that would take effect from December 22 through December 29. Pricing changes scheduled to take effect during this date range will not be reflected in the App Store and the app will become unavailable for purchase.Most of Apple's corporate employees in the United States will also be taking all of next week off in recognition of the company's success this year, but the company has made no announcement about whether this will include employees responsible for app reviews and other App Store functions.
We also recommend that you do not schedule any apps to go live during the shutdown. Releases scheduled with a sales start date between these dates will not go live until after the shutdown.
Apple TV Drops to $89.99 at Amazon and Best Buy [iOS Blog]
Nov 15, 8:23PM
As noticed by 9to5Mac, both Amazon and Best Buy have dropped their prices on the Apple TV by $10 to $89.99. Interestingly, Amazon has also added a "2010" designation to its Apple TV title, leading to speculation that the retailers may be making room for a potential update to the device.
Third-party retailers are, however, usually not particularly accurate sources of information on new product releases given that Apple does not generally keep them apprised of its product plans. But despite that caveat and the fact that mid-November is beyond Apple's usual timeframe for new product introductions ahead of the holiday shopping season, the developments may spark some interest among those who have been eagerly awaiting word of a new Apple TV model.
With iOS 5 released back in June opening the door to a 1080p Apple TV and references to a new Apple TV model showing up in iOS 5, it seems that Apple may unsurprisingly be working on a hardware update for the Apple TV, but the timeframe for such a release is unknown. Apple is also said to be working on a Siri-enabled television set, but that product is reportedly not set to debut until late 2012 or 2013 and it is unclear how that product would affect or relate to the Apple TV set-top box.
Steve Jobs Envisioned Using Unlicensed Wi-Fi Spectrum for Apple Mobile Phone Network
Nov 15, 8:00PM
IDG News Service reports on comments made yesterday by venture capitalist John Stanton claiming that Steve Jobs had been investigating the possibility of using unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum as way to bypass carriers in setting up a mobile phone network in the years before the iPhone debuted. While the idea proved to be infeasible, Stanton's description of Jobs' vision fits with the Apple co-founder's overall goal of controlling the entire user experience from end to end.Stanton, currently chairman at venture capital firm Trilogy Partnership, said he spent a fair amount of time with Jobs between 2005 and 2007. "He wanted to replace carriers," Stanton said of Jobs, the Apple founder and CEO who passed away recently after a battle with cancer. "He and I spent a lot of time talking about whether synthetically you could create a carrier using Wi-Fi spectrum. That was part of his vision."According to Stanton, Jobs gave up on the idea by 2007 as the company pursued a more traditional arrangement for the iPhone through existing carriers, but still managed to have a significant influence on eroding the control carriers had previously exerted over the devices on their networks.
"If I were a carrier, I'd be concerned about the dramatic shift in power that occurred," he said.Stanton was one of the early entrepreneurs in cellular technology, founding a small company called Western Wireless that later spun out part of itself as VoiceStream and which became T-Mobile USA following a 2001 acquisition by Deutsche Telekom. The remainder of Western Wireless was acquired by Alltel in 2005, and it appears that Jobs' conversations with Stanton occurred immediately after that time.
Companies like Apple and Google, which develops Android, sell a variety of software and services that capture revenue streams that might have otherwise gone to the operators.
Quickly Upgrade All iTunes Matched Songs to 256Kbps [Mac Blog]
Nov 15, 7:03PM
The first thing many iTunes Match users will want to do upon purchasing the service is to upgrade all their matched music to the 256Kbps. Unfortunately, there is no push-button ability to do this, but it is possible with a few simple steps -- but make sure you've already turned iTunes Match on and it has finished running its initial match.
>From Macworld:
Make a Smart Playlist Create a Smart Playlist with the following attributes:Once the smart playlist is created, select all the files by pressing Command-A or going to the Edit Menu and choosing "Select All." Then, press Option-Delete to remove all the songs from iTunes -- however, make sure not to select the box that removes the songs from iCloud. We only want to remove the local, lower quality sound files. When iTunes asks, select to move the files to the trash.
- Bit Rate is less than 256kbps
- Media Kind is Music
- Any of the following are true: (to create this conditional, option-click on the plus button in the Smart Playlist window) iCloud status is Matched, iCloud status is Purchased.
This creates a list of all your low-bit-rate files that are upgradeable—namely, ones iTunes Match has deemed Matched or Purchased.
Finally, make sure that all the songs remain selected and right- or control-click any song and choose Download. This will start the long (depending on how many songs there are, possibly very long) downloading process. iTunes only downloads 3 items at one time, but Apple's iTunes servers are generally very responsive.
Apple and NTT DoCoMo Still Discussing iPhone Agreements in Japan [iOS Blog]
Nov 15, 4:40PM
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and NTT DoCoMo are still in discussions over a potential agreement to bring the iPhone to Japan's largest carrier. The carrier is concerned, however, over Apple's unwillingness to allow DoCoMo to install its own applications such as its popular e-wallet and mail services on the device. NTT DoCoMo is also concerned over Apple's unit volume commitment demands.
"We haven't given up our hope of introducing the iPhone" but Apple typically asks carriers to commit a large volume, Ryuji Yamada, president and chief executive of Japan's biggest mobile operator by subscribers, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview Tuesday.Apple and NTT DoCoMo have long been rumored to be in talks regarding the iPhone, but the device was until just recently available in Japan exclusively through SoftBank, which launched the iPhone in 2008. With the launch of the iPhone 4S, KDDI has begun offering the iPhone, putting additional pressure on NTT DoCoMo.
"If the introduction of the iPhone results in the mass majority of our products occupied by the iPhone, then that's a scenario that's difficult to us to swallow."
Samsung's Patent Cases Against Apple to Ramp Up in 2012
Nov 15, 4:24PM
Following a recent commitment to step up its attacks on Apple over claims of patent infringement related to 3G technologies, Samsung appears set to launch into the primary phase of its campaign during the first half of 2012. While some initial posturing has seen some early discussions in court over Samsung's claims, Samsung appears to be opting to forego seeking temporary injunctions against Apple and attempting to proceed as quickly as possible to full trials.
Notably, Bloomberg reports that Samsung has won an early trial date of March 2012 for its case against Apple in Australia, with the judge accepting that proposal over Apple's opposition that requested a trial date of August 2012. With the decision, the Australian trial will come before Samsung's action in the United States ramps up with an International Trade Commission case in May or June.
Australia Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett today ordered that a trial on Samsung's claims be held in March. Cupertino, California-based Apple had opposed an early trial, with its lawyer Stephen Burley saying the company needed more time to prepare the case and favored a hearing in August.Samsung is currently targeting the iPhone 4, iPad 2, and iPhone 3GS with its Australian lawsuit, although it will presumably attempt to add the iPhone 4S to the lawsuit at some point as well. With the trial not set to kick off until March, Samsung may also find itself needing to add other new devices such as iPad 3, which is rumored for an early 2012 launch.
Samsung, the world's biggest maker of smartphones last quarter, dropped its bid for a temporary injunction barring Apple from selling the iPhones and iPad 2 and instead is seeking an early hearing. The Australian trial will be a prelude for Samsung in its U.S. case before the International Trade Commission on similar claims, which Burley said will be heard in May and June.
Court cases between Apple and Samsung are also playing out in a number of other countries, but Australia has been one of the focus points for the two companies, with Apple having won an injunction blocking the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country. Samsung has appealed that ruling, with a court date set for late next week to begin arguing its case on the topic. The company had previously indicated, however, that it might scrap the device's launch entirely in Australia if the injunction was granted, given that it would prevent Samsung from having it on the market in time for for the lucrative holiday shopping season.
Android Tops 50% Share of Smartphone Sales, But Apple Still Dominating Profits
Nov 15, 2:44PM
Research firm Gartner today released its results of worldwide mobile phone sales for the third quarter of 2011, once again revealing how delayed purchases ahead of the iPhone 4S resulted in a dip in unit sales and market share for Apple. According to the report, Apple's share of the total mobile phone market came in at 3.9% for the quarter, down from 4.6% in the previous quarter. The performance was strong enough, however, to maintain fourth place in the rankings behind Nokia, Samsung, and LG.
Apple shipped 17 million iPhones, an annual increase of 21 percent, but down nearly 3 million units from the second quarter of 2011 because of Apple's new device announcement in October. Gartner believes Apple will bounce back in the fourth quarter because of its strongest ever preorders for the iPhone 4S in the first weekend after its announcement. Markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Russia and China are becoming more important to Apple, representing 16 percent of overall sales and showing that the iPhone has a place in emerging markets, especially now that the 3GS and 4 have received price cuts.Looking at the narrower smartphone market, which represented 26% of mobile phone sales during the quarter, iOS slipped from an 18.2% share in the second quarter to 15.0% in the third quarter, trailing market leader Android and Nokia's soon-to-be-defunct Symbian platforms. Notably, Android leapt to grab 52.5% of the smartphone market during the quarter, more than doubling year-over-year and up significantly from 43.4% just last quarter.
But even as Android surges to take more than half of the worldwide smartphone market by units, Apple continues to increase its share of mobile phone industry profits, with several studies showing that Apple currently takes in more than half of the industry's profits.
In another stark example of Apple's rise to dominance in profit share, Fortune yesterday published several charts from a new report from analysts at Oppenheimer & Co. The graphs show that while Apple's share of smartphone unit sales has somewhat stagnated over the past couple of years, its share of smartphone profits has soared to an estimated 65% during 2011. That trend is predicted to continue in 2012, with Apple pushing toward 70% profit share.
Apple Releases Mid-2010 MacBook Pro Video Update for Snow Leopard [Mac Blog]
Nov 15, 5:38AM
Apple today released MacBook Pro Video Update 1.0 (Snow Leopard), a new update addressing issues with freezing and blank video on mid-2010 MacBook Pro models.This update addresses an issue where MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010) computers may intermittently freeze or stop displaying video.The update is a Snow Leopard version of the Lion update released three weeks ago. Additional information on the issue is available in a support document, although that document has not yet been updated to list the new software update as a first step for Snow Leopard users.
Apple has determined that a small number of MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) computers may intermittently freeze or stop displaying video on the built-in display or on an external display connected to the MacBook Pro. In this situation, you may also see a restart warning message before the video is lost or the display turns black or gray. Affected computers were manufactured between April 2010 and February 2011.MacBook Pro Video Update 1.0 for Snow Leopard weighs in at 51.45 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.8.
Apple's 15" Ultra-Thin Notebook Due in March 2012
Nov 15, 2:30AM
MacBook Air
Digitimes is reporting that small numbers of components for a 15" ultra-thin notebook from Apple will start shipping this month with mass shipments of the notebook beginning in March.
Upstream suppliers of Apple have recently started shipping a small volume of components for a 15-inch ultra-thin notebook model from Apple in November and the device could be either MacBook Air or just a thinner MacBook Pro. The new MacBook is expected to appear as early as the second quarter of 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.Digitimes is unclear if the parts are intended for a 15" MacBook Air or a thinner 15" MacBook Pro. In July, we reported that Apple was finishing up work on a new ultrathin 15" notebook, and at the end of October, it was rumored that new machine was nearing production.
It seems likely that a thin 15" MacBook would use a SSD rather than HDD, similar to current MacBook Air models, and would forego an optical drive. The MacBook Pro line was refreshed earlier this fall with minor processor, graphics and storage upgrades.
A Clear Explanation of iTunes Match
Nov 14, 11:05PM
After a bit of delay, Apple launched iTunes Match today. The new $25/year service offers users the ability to match their existing iTunes library with high quality versions in Apple's iCloud. The new service, however, has generated a bit of confusion about what exactly happens to your music library after you have enabled it.
One of the first questions, how to determine the iCloud status of a particular song, is solved by right-clicking the column bar at the top of the iTunes window (or pressing Command-J) and making sure "iCloud Status" is selected.
MacRumors forum user Nunyabinez has written a detailed explanation of how iTunes Match works that should answer a number of potential questions if you are planning to enable the feature. We've summarized the key points here, but the full post is worth a read if you are planning on using Tunes Match.
- When you enable Match it goes through a three step process. Analyzing your library, matching songs, uploading non-matched content. It does this for your whole library. You can't choose to exclude songs other than taking them out of your library.iTunes Match launched earlier today with the arrival of iTunes 10.5.1. The $24.99/year service offers cloud-based matching and upload of users' complete iTunes libraries.
- If a song is matched, it becomes available to download in 256K AAC. If a song is not matched it is copied in its current format and bit rate up to 320K. If the file is Lossless however, it is converted (presumably by your computer) to a 256k AAC file and then uploaded.
- Nothing happens to your local music when you run match. If you have a lower quality song that was matched you can remove it from your local library and then replace it with the 256k version. What happens is you delete the song, but the entry in iTunes stays, but a little cloud now shows up in a newly added column that shows you that you have a song that is in the cloud but not in your library. You can click on the cloud and it will download it to your local library, where again it is now permanently yours at the higher bit rate.
- Match uses your meta-data. If you in an anal-retentive fashion have made lots of custom edits to your files, that is what gets copied to the cloud. Even if you replace your songs with the upgraded versions you keep your previous meta-data.
Siri Protocol Cracked, But Unique iPhone 4S ID Requirement Hampers Distribution
Nov 14, 10:06PM
Applidium, the developers who brought the open source video player VLC to the App Store only to have it pulled over licensing issues, have announced that they have reverse engineered the protocol used to allow Siri to communicate with Apple's servers. Citing an example in which they were able to communicate with Siri servers directly from a computer, the developers note that they were able to have the servers recognize and analyze their voice input just as if it had originated from an iPhone 4S.Today, we managed to crack open Siri's protocol. As a result, we are able to use Siri's recognition engine from any device. Yes, that means anyone could now write an Android app that uses the real Siri! Or use Siri on an iPad! And we're going to share this know-how with you.Unfortunately for those hoping to make use of Siri in their apps on iOS or other platforms, the protocol is set up to transmit a unique identifier for a given iPhone 4S. The developers at Applidium were able to extract that identifier from one of their devices and use it to authenticate their non-iPhone Siri input, but such code would likely not survive being included in an application packaged for distribution, as Apple's servers would presumably be able to easily identify and blacklist any device identifier generating excessive usage from multiple locations.
The developers do note, however, that the proof of concept demonstration may prove interesting for developers looking to play around with non-iPhone 4S implementations of Siri for their personal use.
How to Use iTunes Match With Very Large iTunes Libraries [Mac Blog]
Nov 14, 8:56PM
With today's release of iTunes Match, some users with very large music libraries are discovering an annoying restriction. Those with non-iTunes Music Store libraries with more than 25,000 songs are unable to activate iTunes Match. There simply isn't an option to select only certain songs to upload to iCloud. Fortunately, Macworld has a quixotic but effective solution.
iTunes has the ability to access multiple music libraries. By separating out the songs to sync with the songs not to sync, it is possible to force iTunes under iTunes Match's 25,000 song limit.
To do that, quit iTunes, hold down the Option key, and launch iTunes. You'll be prompted to create a new library or choose a different library. Choose the option to create a new library. iTunes will open and you'll have nary a tune in your library.Rather than steal all their thunder, head to Macworld for the full instructions.
Move to the Store menu and choose Turn on iTunes Match. You'll be prompted for your Apple ID and password. Enter them and click OK and iTunes will switch on iTunes Match. Now open iTunes' preferences, click the Advanced preference, and uncheck the Copy Files to iTunes Media Folder When Adding to Library option and click OK. This will prevent iTunes from generating duplicates when you follow the next step.
Apple's October Mac Sales Lining Up for Record 5 Million+ Units in Quarter
Nov 14, 7:28PM
AppleInsider reports on a new research note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster sharing data on U.S. Mac sales for the month of October from NPD. According to NPD's data, Apple's October Mac sales were up 19% year-over-year, putting the company on target to reach analyst estimates in the range of 5.1-5.3 million units for the full quarter.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray shared the latest domestic sales data from the NPD Group on Monday, which showed Mac sales up 19 percent year over year in the month of October. As sales continue to pick up leading up to Christmas, he sees Apple selling between 5.1 million and 5.3 million Macs during the December quarter.Apple last quarter reported sales of 4.89 million Macs, by far a company record. The company also guided toward record revenue and earnings for the current quarter, spurring analysts to push their Mac estimates to over 5 million.
Those numbers would represent year over year growth of between 23 percent and 28 percent. Consensus on Wall Street has called for Apple to report sales of about 5.2 million Macs during the quarter.
As for the iPod, NPD reports that U.S. unit shipments are down about 18% year-over-year as consumers continue to shift away from dedicated music players and instead utilize smartphones for their portable music needs. But even that 18% decline appears to be smaller than anticipated, with analysts currently predicting a 20% drop for the full quarter. Based on the data, Munster suggests that Apple is on pace to sell approximately 16 million iPods in what is easily the company's biggest-selling quarter for the iPod each year.
Roundup of Early Kindle Fire Reviews [iOS Blog]
Nov 14, 6:17PM
Amazon's first color tablet, the Kindle Fire, began shipping today following its September introduction. The Fire, the top-of-the-line Kindle tablet, has reportedly given some potential iPad purchasers second thoughts as the Fire is some $300 cheaper than the least-expensive iPad.
- NYTimes
- "It is designed almost exclusively for consuming stuff, particularly material you buy from Amazon, like books, newspapers and video. It has no camera, microphone, GPS function, Bluetooth or memory-card slot. There is a serviceable e-mail program, but no built-in calendar or note pad."- Wired
- "You feel that $200 price tag with every swipe of your finger. Animations are sluggish and jerky — even the page turns that you'd think would be the pride of the Kindle team. Taps sometimes don't register. There are no progress or "wait" indicators, so you frequently don't know if the machine has even registered your touch commands. The momentum of the animations hasn't been calculated right, so the whole thing feels ornery."
- "The Fire deserves to be a disruptive, gigantic force — it's a cross between a Kindle and an iPad, a more compact Internet and video viewer at a great price. But at the moment, it needs a lot more polish; if you're used to an iPad or "real" Android tablet, its software gremlins will drive you nuts."
- "Pixel for pixel, the tablet's 1024×600 display actually delivers quite nice image quality. Swaddled in ultra-protective Gorilla Glass, the display uses in-plane switching (IPS) technology to deliver a bright, appropriately saturated screen image with solid off-axis viewing (meaning you can still see what's on screen when looking at the display from an exaggerated angle)."- Mashable
- "As far as performance, all the apps I tested worked fine on Amazon's hardware — as well they should have, because not only have they been pre-approved by Amazon, they were also designed for Android smartphones, which (theoretically) boast less processing power."
- "Despite all claims from Amazon that its Silk browser technology would bring sublime web-surfing performance to the Fire's desktop, I found the tablet's overall web experience to be quite ratty."
- "This is a product I wanted to love. The Kindle Fire's unveiling was so impressive. Jeff Bezos hitting all the right notes in true Jobsian fashion, telling the tale of a product vision so clear it made my eyes tear up. Instead, now I'm discovering it's a somewhat flawed gadget — a product that literally does not always know which way is up."- The Verge
- "This interface is not always optimized for 1024×600 resolution on a 7-inch screen. While the bookshelf and items on it are large, some of the controls are tiny."
- "It is the closest tablet I've seen yet to an Apple iPad: a consistent, well-thought out marriage of hardware and services that offer an almost frictionless environment for app purchase and content consumption. This is why the iPad has been so successful and why I think the Kindle Fire, despite its imperfections, is a winner, too."
- "It's been speculated on (and more recently stated as fact by Barnes & Noble) that Amazon used the [BlackBerry] PlayBook reference design as the basis for the design of the Fire, and I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Don't get me wrong, it's not that the design is necessarily bad — it's just that it's incredibly unoriginal."- Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times
- "Unlike the PlayBook, iPad, or pretty much any other tablet on the market, the Fire has no hardware volume controls, meaning that you have to go through a series of taps (especially if the device is sleeping) to just change the volume. The Fire also has no "home" button — simply a small, hard-to-find nub along the bottom used for sleeping and waking the device, and powering up and down."
- "I found magazine reading to be a little cramped on the small display, and zooming and panning around lacks a smoothness that would make the experience more enjoyable."
- "Kindle Fire is explicitly a device for enjoying books, periodicals, music, video, and games. But it can also handle the sort of computer-ish tasks that are often necessary distractions when you spend an hour or two in a coffeeshop reading a book. Things like checking email, looking something up on the Web, or telling your Twitter and Facebook friends that this dude who just walked into the coffeeshop has the most awesome mane of heavy metal hair spotted in the wild since Poison concluded their '86-'87 "Look What The Cat Dragged In" tour."The Kindle Fire is $199, available now from Amazon.
- "The reader app lacks the lovely little flourishes found in an iPad book reader. Page turns are mechanical, with little thought to transitions or interactions. When you're reading content that benefits from a little manual panning and zooming (like the contents of a webpage, a PDF, or a hard-formatted digital magazine), the experience is very Android-ish. Effective, yes, but not anything like the instantaneous liquid feedback you get from an iPad."
- "Steve Jobs, in the middle of lambasting 7-inch tablets as an utter disaster, insisted that they could only work if the box included enough sandpaper to grind down the user's fingertips to half their normal size. Well, that's just rubbish. All around, the Fire is as good a reader as the iPad. The two different screen sizes are just better in different scenarios."
Apple Launches iTunes Match with Release of iTunes 10.5.1 [Updated]
Nov 14, 5:27PM
Coming several weeks late, Apple has just now officially launched iTunes Match to customers in the United States. The iTunes Match launch is facilitated by the release of iTunes 10.5.1, which now allows users to subscribe to the $25/year service offering cloud-based matching and upload of users' complete iTunes libraries. iTunes 10.5.1 is available via the iTunes download page and should be rolling out to Software Update shortly.
Apple had apparently initially intended iTunes Match to launch by mid-October as part of iTunes 10.5 as seen in a number of developer betas, but the company removed the feature from iTunes 10.5 for the public release, giving it a few more weeks to complete work on the service. Even so, Apple missed its stated launch target of "end of October" and did not provide an updated timeframe for the iTunes Match debut once the target was missed, although the company continued testing with a new developer beta of iTunes 10.5.1 just this past weekend.
iTunes Match is a U.S.-only service for the time being, although the company is reportedly working hard to secure licensing to details to expand availability to other countries. iTunes Store users in a number of countries have been greeted with a "coming soon" tag on iTunes Match promo listings in their country-specific stores, suggesting that Apple is optimistic regarding expansion of the service in the relatively near future.
Update: Demand of iTunes Match subscriptions has overwhelmed Apple's systems, and the company has halted new signups for the time being.
New iTunes Match subscriptions are temporarily unavailable.Update 2: Despite Apple's notice about overwhelming demand still showing on the iTunes Match subscription page, subscriptions do now appear to be going through.
Due to overwhelming demand, iTunes Match is not accepting new subscriptions at this time. Please check back in an hour.
Update 3: iTunes 10.5.1 is now available in Software Update.
Apple Opening New German Retail Store on November 17th [Mac Blog]
Nov 14, 4:28PM
As noted by iFun.de [Google translation], Apple will be hosting a grand opening for its eighth German store this Thursday, November 17th. The new MTZ retail store is located in the Main-Taunus-Zentrum shopping mall in Sulzbach outside of Frankfurt, and is part of a significant expansion of the mall.
Apple made a significant push to open approximately 30 stores during the third calendar quarter of 2011, but in line with the company's usual practice of having new stores up and running well in advance of the holiday shopping season, openings have since slowed to a trickle.
Apple Becomes Top Five PC Vendor in Western Europe
Nov 14, 4:02PM
Research firm Gartner today released its quarterly estimates of PC sales in Western Europe for the third quarter of 2011, finding that Apple bucked the trend in a declining market to join the list of top five vendors. Apple's sales in Western Europe were up 19.6% year-over-year, compared to an overall decline of 11.4% for the market. Apple's performance was understandably strongest in mobile PCs, where it registered 28% year-over-year growth.
Gartner's Western Europe PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q11 (Thousands of Units)
In addition to the totals for Western Europe, Gartner also breaks out data for the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, with the UK being the only one of those countries where Apple ranked in the top five. The company's 21.8% year-over-year growth there landed it in fourth place with 7.8% of the market, although Samsung's 39% growth left it only slightly behind Apple with 7.3% of the market.
Gartner last month released preliminary numbers for the U.S. and worldwide markets, finding that Apple had taken 12.9% of the U.S. PC market during the third quarter, a substantial jump quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, as well as a continuation of a long-term trend that has seen Apple increasing its share of the U.S. PC market.
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