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Apple Confirms Acquisition of Israeli Flash Memory Firm Anobit
Jan 11, 1:42AM
Bloomberg reports that Apple has confirmed last month's news from Israel that the company had acquired flash memory firm Anobit. The confirmation came in the form of Apple's standard boilerplate statement used in addressing acquisitions, and did not include details on the purchase or Apple's plans for the company.Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, said today that the purchase had been made, while declining to elaborate. The statement confirmed a December report from in the Israeli newspaper Cacalist.Apple reportedly paid $400-500 million for Anobit, but neither Apple nor Anobit has confirmed the purchase price.
"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," Dowling said in a telephone interview.
The report notes that Anobit is currently responsible for a key flash memory controller for the iPad and iPhone, and Apple likely opted to bring the company's expertise in house in order to draw more heavily on the Anobit's expertise, increase efficiencies, and exert greater control over a component important to the functionality of iOS devices.
OS X 10.7.3 Build 11D42 Seeded to Developers
Jan 10, 11:39PM
Following in the footsteps of yesterday's release of iOS 5.1 Beta 3, Apple today seeded a new version of OS X 10.7.3 to registered Mac developers. The new version, termed Build 11D42, comes three weeks after the previous build, but the development team's work was undoubtedly slowed due to the holidays.
According to those familiar with the update, Apple is asking developers to focus their testing on the following areas: Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight, and Safari. The delta version of the new build for updating from OS X 10.7.2 weighs in at 989.75 MB, while a combo version good for updating from any previous version of OS X Lion weighs in at 1.26 GB.
OS X 10.7.3 will be Apple's next free maintenance update for OS X Lion users. The current version, OS X 10.7.2, was released in mid-October and brought support for Apple's new iCloud services. OS X 10.7.3 developer builds have so far released a few hints of Apple's work, including drivers for new graphics cards that could appear in an updated Mac Pro and active efforts on HiDPI display modes that could come to fruition in a "Retina" MacBook Pro rumored for release early this year.
Kodak Files New Patent Infringement Lawsuits Against Apple and HTC [iOS Blog]
Jan 10, 9:44PM
With Kodak on the brink of filing for bankruptcy as it pursues an auction of its patent portfolio in order to remain solvent, the company today announced that it has filed two new lawsuits alleging patent infringement by Apple and HTC.A complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) specifically claims that certain of Apple's iPhones, iPads, and iPods, and certain of HTC's smartphones and tablets infringe Kodak patents that relate to technology for transmitting images. Kodak also alleges that certain of HTC's smartphones infringe a patent that covers technology related to a method for previewing images which is already the subject of pending actions against Apple. Separately, Kodak filed suits today against Apple and HTC in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York alleging the same infringement.The four patents being asserted against Apple include:
"As we have stated before, Kodak is the leader in digital imaging innovation and we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars creating our pioneering patent portfolio," said Laura G. Quatela, President and Chief Operating Officer, Eastman Kodak Company. "We've had numerous discussions with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue, and we have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement."
- U.S. Patent No. 7,210,161 – "Automatically Transmitting Images from an Electronic Camera to a Service Provider Using a Network Configuration File"A fifth patent is being asserted only against HTC.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,742,084 – "Network Configuration File for Automatically Transmitting Images from an Electronic Still Camera"
- U.S. Patent No. 7,453,605 – "Capturing Digital Images to be Transferred to an E-Mail Address"
- U.S. Patent No. 7,936,391 – "Digital Camera with Communications Interface for Selectively Transmitting Images over a Cellular Phone Network and a Wireless LAN Network to a Destination"
Kodak first filed a patent infringement suit against Apple in January 2010, also targeting Research in Motion in the same effort. Apple filed a countersuit a few months later in an effort to bolster its position against Kodak.
With the new lawsuits coming just as Kodak is attempting to stave off bankruptcy, the company appears to be attempting to demonstrate strength in its patent portfolio as it hopes to attract higher bids for its intellectual property. Even if the company is unable to avoid bankruptcy, its patent portfolio is likely to be one of the key assets to be sold off in a court-ordered auction following the bankruptcy filing.
CES 2012: Apple's Greg Joswiak 'Scouting the Competition'
Jan 10, 9:24PM
While Apple doesn't participate at CES and has ended its involvement in trade shows in general, the company naturally continues to keep tabs on what its competition is up to and CES is a prime event for new product introductions. paidContent has in fact proven Apple's interest in CES by chance, running into iOS device marketing chief Greg Joswiak on the floor at the expo.
While wandering around the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center Tuesday, I bumped into Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing for Apple, just outside of Sony's booth. Joz, as he's known within the Apple community, grinned sheepishly upon being recognized by a reporter and stopped to chat for a few minutes.Joswiak declined to enter a more in-depth discussion of his interests at the show, with paidContent noting only that he "seemed less than impressed" with Sony's booth on the expo floor.
Joswiak said he was interested in how other companies present their products at events such as CES, from things like booth layout and aesthetics to which products are highlighted within a company's booth.
Apple is of course interested in what its competitors are doing, but is likely also interested in following what companies are coming up with in terms of accessories for Apple's own products. Despite Apple's lack of official presence at the show, it remains a popular venue for announcements for products of all types, including those within the Mac- and iOS-related markets.
Joswiak has appeared at several Apple keynote and media events, and has frequently played featured roles in Apple's promotional videos for the company's various iOS devices.
Imagination Technologies Releases Details on Next-Generation GPU for iOS Devices
Jan 10, 8:29PM
Apple has long used Imagination Technologies' graphics processing unit (GPU) technology in its iOS devices, currently utilizing the company's PowerVR SGX543MP2 in the A5 system-on-a-chip found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. Last June, Imagination Technologies announced that the first six licensees for the next-generation Series6 family had signed on with the company, and while Apple was not explicitly named as one of the licensees, it has been presumed to be involved given the long-standing partnership that has even seen Apple take a financial stake in Imagination.
Imagination has now revealed new details (via The Verge) on the upcoming Series6 family, touting performance improvements of 20x or more for the G6400 and G6200, the first two members of the family.
Based on a scalable number of compute clusters the PowerVR Rogue architecture is designed to target the requirements of a growing range of demanding markets from mobile to the highest performance embedded graphics including smartphones, tablets, PC, console, automotive, DTV and more. Compute clusters are arrays of programmable computing elements that are designed to offer high performance and efficiency while minimising power and bandwidth requirements. The first PowerVR Series6 cores, the G6200 and G6400, have two and four compute clusters respectively.The press release notes that all Series6 GPU designs will support Apple-backed graphics APIs such as OpenGL ES "Haiti", OpenGL 3.x/4.x, and OpenCL 1.x for maximum performance. Previous reports of Series6-based GPU technology being licensed by ST-Ericsson have cited the capability to push 350 million polygons per second, compared to the nearly 70 million polygons per second achievable with the dual-core SGX543MP2 currently used by Apple.
Delivering the best performance in both GFLOPS/mm2 and GFLOPS/mW, PowerVR Series6 GPUs can deliver 20x or more of the performance of current generation GPU cores targeting comparable markets. This is enabled by an architecture that is around 5x more efficient than previous generations.
CES 2012: Panasonic's 20-Inch Display at 216 PPI Arrives Amid Rumors of 'Retina' MacBook Pro
Jan 10, 7:33PM
Last month, Apple was rumored to be preparing to launch a 'Retina'-resolution 15-inch MacBook Pro early this year carrying a resolution of 2880x1800 pixels. The rumors are also being fueled in part by OS X 10.7.3 beta versions showing evidence of continued work on a HiDPI mode to display existing content at the correct sizes for these ultra-high pixel densities.
Supporting the idea that displays offering the necessary pixel density are approaching market readiness, Panasonic yesterday showed off (via Engadget) its new 20.4-inch IPS Alpha LCD panel registering at 3840x2160, a density of 216 pixels per inch.
Panasonic Corporation, a leader in high-definition display technology, has developed a 20-inch 4K2K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution, approx. 8.29 million pixels) IPS Alpha LCD panel, the smallest as a 4K2K-resolution display. The new panel has the world's highest pixel density of 216 pixels per inch (ppi) and the thickness of only 3.5 mm, the thinnest in the world. A prototype panel will be unveiled at the 2012 International CES to be held in Las Vegas, United States from January 10 to 13.Apple's rumored Retina-resolution MacBook Pro would come in at roughly the same pixel density as Panasonic's display, suggesting that the display manufacturers are indeed working on products within the realm of Apple's goals.
IPS Alpha panels are suitable for making ultra-high definition displays because of their simple pixel structure - one of the characteristics of the IPS panels - as well as their high contrast ratio, excellent color reproducibility with rich gradation and the industry's highest-level light transmission rate that were implemented by Panasonic's unique IPS-Pro technology.
Apple's Retina display introduced on the iPhone 4 marked a significant step forward for the smartphone industry, offering the crispest image quality seen on a mobile display. Apple's interest in HiDPI display modes on the Mac and rumors of ultra high-resolution displays for its notebooks suggest that the company is attempting to bring that same leap to larger screens, making for easier reading and sharper images using pixels that are individually indistinguishable at typical viewing distances.
Showtime Delivers Streaming Video to iPad [iOS Blog]
Jan 10, 7:20PM
Showtime has joined fellow premium television network HBO in offering an iPad app to stream video to its subscribers. The free app, called Showtime Anytime, serves up Showtime's original programming -- TV series like Homeland, Dexter and Weeds, among other things like boxing -- and the movies running on the various Showtime networks. Get unlimited access to full length versions of your favorite SHOWTIME® programs – acclaimed Original Series, uncut hit movies, hard hitting sports, comedy, reality/documentaries and much more, right at your fingertips.Currently, the app only works for Showtime subscribers through AT&T; U-Verse and Verizon FiOS. Comcast subscribers can access Showtime's content through the Xfinity TV app, but Showtime says the Anytime app will work for Comcast subs "soon."
The app is expected to arrive on the iPhone in early 2012. For now, though, Showtime Anytime for iPad is free on the App Store. [Direct Link]
CES 2012: Lenovo Brings Apple's Touchscreen iMac Concept to Life
Jan 10, 6:47PM
Back in 2010, an Apple patent publication was published revealing the company's concept for an iMac supporting both mouse-driven and touch-based input with a hinged display arm allowing the screen to transition from an upright position to a horizontal surface.
While Apple has yet to release such a product and may have scrapped the idea entirely, Lenovo's new IdeaCentre A720 being shown off at CES this week (via Engadget) offers a similar flexibility in its ability to transition between a traditional all-in-one desktop configuration and a flat, table-top touch surface.
Similar to the HP TouchSmart 610, which debuted around this time last year, it has a display that can be tilted between 5 and 90 degrees, the idea being that that 10-point multitouch panel will be easier to use if it's lying at a near-flat angle. Spec-wise, it'll be offered with various Intel Core i processors, discrete NVIDIA graphics and up to either a 1TB HDD or a 64GB solid-state drive. Expect it to hit sometime in the first half of this year, starting at $1,299.The Verge also posts a hands-on video showing the IdeaCentre A720 in use in both upright and horizontal positions.
The hands-on demonstration shows a rather sluggish response to touch input, but offers a good glimpse of the flexibility afforded by the multiple orientations.
Apple's patent application included descriptions of sensors that would automatically detect the orientation of the display and adjust the operating system being used accordingly, with the idea being that the computer would utilize a Mac OS X interface in its upright orientation and then transition to an iOS-like touch overlay interface when moved to the horizontal display. While Lenovo's concept does not utilize this automatic sensing, it does offer Lenovo's dedicated IdeaTouch layer on top of Windows 7, which itself allows for touch input.
CES 2012: MSI Shows Off Thunderbolt-Connected External GPU
Jan 10, 6:17PM
Last August, we reported that Village Tronic was working on a Thunderbolt version of its ViDock PCI Express expansion chassis that serves as a docking hub complete with external graphics card for high-end performance. With Thunderbolt-equipped peripherals making a big splash at CES this week, it should come as no surprise that progress on the expansion hub concept is continuing.
AnandTech reports that MSI is the latest entrant into the category, showing off an early demonstration model of just such a product with its GUS II. While the external graphics card (GPU) featured in the demonstration currently works only under Windows, AnandTech suggests that Mac support should be easily achievable for those GPUs supporting the platform.
The external chassis features a Thunderbolt interface and an internal PCIe slot. Despite running on a MacBook Pro there is currently no OS X support for the solution, but it does work under Windows. Presumably if there's OS X support for the GPU inside the enclosure it would work under OS X as well.A release date and pricing for the GUS II have yet to be announced, but it certainly seems as though the Thunderbolt standard championed by Apple and Intel is gaining momentum as it seeks to lead the next generation of multi-purpose connectivity technologies.
The only limitation to the GUS II is the internal GPU has to be powered by PCIe alone (there are no aux PCIe power connectors inside the chassis).
Comcast Begins Rolling Out 'AnyPlay' Live TV Streaming for iPad
Jan 10, 5:15PM
Back in September, we reported on a leaked document from cable and Internet provider Comcast revealing details on the company's forthcoming "AnyPlay" live television streaming service. While Comcast is not the first cable provider to bring such a product to market, it is the largest cable and Internet provider in the United States.
Comcast today announced that it has begun rolling the AnyPlay service out to its customers, beginning with Xfinity HD Triple Play customers in Denver and Nashville. More markets will be added in the coming months, with the service initially launching for the iPad only but joined in the future by the Motorola Xoom.
Here's how it works...the AnyPlay device works the same as any other set top box in the home, but instead of delivering the incoming channel lineup to a television, AnyPlay delivers the lineup to the Wi-Fi router on the home network. The router then distributes the secure video signal to the iPad or Xoom over your home's wireless network. So as long as your tablet is within range of the home wireless router, you can turn it into another television screen.The AnyPlay service is accessed via the company's existing Xfinity TV app for the iPad, which also offers thousands of hours of on demand movies and TV shows available for viewing both inside and outside of the home.
Pegatron to Become Apple's Primary iPad Manufacturing Partner? [iOS Blog]
Jan 10, 4:53PM
Taiwanese publication Digitimes, which gained some notice late last week for its claim that Apple is preparing the iPad 3 for a March release ahead of an "iPad 4" launch just six months later, is adding additional color to its rumors with a new report claiming that Pegatron is set to become Apple's primary manufacturing partner for the iPad. Pegatron, which was rumored as long as six months ago to be ramping up as an iPad manufacturer, would displace Foxconn in that role.
Pegatron Technology has reportedly already landed a small volume of orders for the upcoming "iPad 3" (generally called by supply chain players), which is set to launch in March, while the company is expected to see a significant increase in its orders for Apple's "iPad 4," which is scheduled to launch in October, with an initial volume of about 7-10 million units, according to sources from the upstream supply chain. Pegatron did not comment on the report at the time of publication.Digitimes has in the past offered accurate information from Apple's supply chain, but its reliability has more recently come into question with some unlikely and/or incorrect claims.
The sources pointed out that Apple will also start changing its outsourcing strategy and will have Pegatron primarily focus on production of the iPad series products with production of the iPhone series products as an auxiliary in 2013, while the strategy for Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is vice versa.
Adobe Releases Beta of Photoshop Lightroom 4 [Mac Blog]
Jan 10, 4:40PM
Adobe today announced the release of a free public beta of Photoshop Lightroom 4, the company's digital photo management and post-production software. The software is the primary competitor to Apple's Aperture and a popular option for photographers.
New Features in Lightroom 4 BetaThe free public beta expires on March 31, with the final release of the software planned for "early 2012". Pricing is yet to be announced. The current Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 carries a recommended retail price of $299 and an upgrade price of $99, although many retailers offer the software at substantially lower prices.
- Highlight and shadow recovery brings out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright highlights.
- Photo book creation with easy-to-use elegant templates.
- Location-based organization lets you find and group images by location, assign locations to images, and display data from GPS-enabled cameras.
- White balance brush to refine and adjust white balance in specific areas of your images.
- Additional local editing controls let you adjust noise reduction and remove moiré in targeted areas of your images.
- Extended video support for organizing, viewing, and making adjustments and edits to video clips.
- Easy video publishing lets you edit and share video clips on Facebook and Flickr®.
- Soft proofing to preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers.
- Email directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice.
With Aperture's move to the Mac App Store upon the marketplace's debut one year ago, pricing for Apple's software has now dropped to $79.99.
Apple Signs Deal to Bring iTunes Match to the Netherlands [Mac Blog]
Jan 10, 4:00PM
Last month, Apple launched its first major international expansion of iTunes Match, expanding on the November U.S. debut by bringing the feature to Brazil in mid-December and then sixteen additional countries just a few days later. Apple is clearly continuing to press forward in its efforts to expand iTunes Match to new countries, as the Dutch collecting society Buma/Stemra today announced [Google translation] that it has reached a deal with Apple for iTunes Match.
The negotiations between copyright organization Buma/Stemra and Apple about a license for iTunes Match have been completed. The contracts have been signed.As Buma/Stemra notes, the company serves as the representative organization for composers and music publishers in the Netherlands.
To date, Buma/Stemra has licensed over 50 legal online content providers, and is committed to future development of the legal online market, on terms that are optimal for composers, lyricists and publishers affiliated to Buma/Stemra.
(Translation via @DouweM)
Report of Hands-On with iPad 3 Rear Shell and Other Components
Jan 10, 3:43PM
iLounge, which just last week updated its claims regarding details of the next-generation iPad with mention of improved cameras, today reports that it has viewed what appear to be at least prototype parts for the device.
The parts, which seem to include the rear shell and front glass bezel, reportedly corroborate iLounge's earlier claims of an almost imperceptibly thicker body and an upgraded iPhone-like rear camera.
The new iPad's body is so slightly thicker than the iPad 2 that the change is unnoticeable on first inspection; a roughly 1mm increase will barely be perceptible to users. We've heard that the only accessories that might have issues are cases, and then, only cases that were precisely contoured to fit the iPad 2's back. On the rear, the camera in the upper left corner has become bigger—noticeably so when placed alongside the iPad 2, but not so huge that anyone would think they were different at a distance. The new camera hole is silver-ringed, and does in fact look the same size as the iPhone 4S's much-improved rear camera system, minus the LED flash.iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz reports that some accessory manufacturers are claiming that the iPad 3 will come with a slightly smaller screen, but a front glass bezel seen by Horwitz fails to support that notion. Otherwise, the locations of all external features of the iPad 3 remain identical to those on the iPad 2.
Previous leak of claimed iPad 3 display
Horwitz cautions that the rear shell part he was able to view seems to have been produced at least six months ago and thus may not represent the final design for the next-generation iPad, which he notes could be called the iPad 3 or perhaps some variation on the iPad 2 name. But the parts do apparently support iLounge's existing claims of Apple's design tweaks for the next-generation iPad, which many are expecting to debut around March of this year.
CES 2012: Swivl Motion Tracking Stand and Magisto Automated Video Editing App
Jan 10, 9:03AM
Several Apple-related apps and accessories are being previewed at CES 2012. Here are a couple of the more interesting ones we've run across.
Swivl
Swivl is a motion tracking mount for your iPhone. We previously covered the announcement of the product back in November.
The motorized mount registers the movement of the remote control (which you can attach to your body) both vertically and horizontally. Using infrared and RF sensors, the mount actively moves the iPhone to keep its camera centered on the subject. It could be used for activities such as video blogging and FaceTime.
See it in action:
Swivl will cost $159 and is available for pre-order now and will ship in one to two months.
Magisto
Magisto is a new video app that debuted in the App Store this week that features automated editing of your raw video recordings. Magisto analyzes your videos to enhance them with music, effects, and transitions. The end result can then be shared with your friends.
Users can record a new video in the app or choose existing videos in the Camera Roll for processing. After specifying a title and soundtrack and uploading the video to Magisto's servers, the company's software will automatically select the most interesting clips and apply transitions and effects to create a polished final video.
Magisto is free and requires iOS 4.0 or higher. [App Store] The company plans to later introduce a premium version that offers HD video and more features.
CES 2012: Gorilla Glass 2 to Allow for Thinner Stronger Phones
Jan 10, 8:50AM
Corning officially announced their followup to Gorilla Glass today at CES 2012. Apple has previously used the strengthened glass in their iOS devices. In 2010, David Pogue relayed a claim from a scientist that Apple was the #1 customer for Gorilla Glass and buys "practically all the Gorilla Glass that Corning can make." At least parts of the story were confirmed in Steve Jobs' biography. Corning reportedly shelved the idea for Gorilla Glass back in the 1960s but revived the project at the request of Steve Jobs in 2007. The original iPhone launched with the damage-resistant glass, though there has been some debate about whether it still is being used in their most recent models. Corning, of course, has never acknowledged Apple's usage but says that due to "customer agreements", they can't identify all devices that use their Gorilla Glass.
The new version of Gorilla Glass can be up to 20% thinner than the original and still retain the same strength. Alternatively, manufacturers could continue to use the same thickness, and benefit from greater strength. Manufacturers have already received samples of the new Gorilla Glass so it should start appearing in consumer products in 2012.
Here's a hands on demo at CES of the strength of the new Gorilla Glass:
The additional thinness offered by Gorilla Glass 2 is also said to result in brighter images and better touch responsiveness.
Apple Releases 2012 Proxy Statement to Investors
Jan 09, 11:09PM
Apple has posted its 2012 Proxy Statement (PDF) on its investor relations page. The proxy statement is released ahead of the annual stockholders meeting, and details voting procedures, background and compensation information on the company's directors, and information about executive perks and compensation, amongst other items. This year's shareholders meeting will take place on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, in Building 4 of Apple's Infinite Loop headquarters. Shareholders will vote on a number of different items:
- To elect the Company's Board of Directors (the " Board "). The Board intends to present for election the following eight nominees: William V. Campbell, Timothy D. Cook, Millard S. Drexler, Al Gore, Robert A. Iger, Andrea Jung, Arthur D. Levinson, and Ronald D. SugarSome interesting notes in the statement include the fact that CEO Tim Cook owns a total of 13,754 shares of Apple plus 1,362,500 RSU's which will vest into shares if Tim Cook stays with the company for the foreseeable future, worth $580.5 million at current prices. Other executive officers hold hundreds of thousands of RSU's which should keep them with the company for years to come. In the statement, Apple explained the board's philosophy behind the large RSU grants:
- To ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2012
- To hold an advisory vote on executive compensation
- To consider four shareholder proposals titled "Conflict of Interest Report", "Shareholder Say on Director Pay", "Report on Political Contributions and Expenditures", and "Adopt a Majority Voting Standard for Director Elections"
- To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any postponement(s) or adjournment(s) thereof.
The compensation for the other named executive officers consists of three elements—long-term equity awards in the form of RSU awards, annual performance-based cash bonuses, and base salaries—that are designed to reward performance in a simple and straightforward manner. The compensation program is weighted toward long-term equity awards rather than cash compensation in order to maximize retention and ensure that a significant portion of the named executive officers' compensation is tied to the Company's long-term stock price performance. The named executive officers' 2011 cash compensation levels were substantially below the levels generally provided by peer companies, despite the Company's strong financial performance. In addition, the Company has no long-term cash compensation program, nor does it have a pension plan.In addition, the statement notes that "there was no formula or peer group "benchmark" used in determining the award amount. Rather, the award was the product of the Board's business judgment, which was informed by the experience of the Board members, the input received from Mr. Jobs, and the Board's assessment of Mr. Cook's performance in assuming responsibility for the Company's day-to-day operations during Mr. Jobs's prior leaves of absence." The statement discusses executive compensation for several more pages, including the cash bonus payout structure and other arrangements.
The Company's executive compensation program is intended to promote and retain stability within the executive team. Each named executive officer has been an employee of the Company for at least 10 years. The Company expects each of its executive officers to contribute to the Company's overall success as a member of the executive team rather than focus solely on specific objectives within the officers' area of responsibility.
Because the Company's executive officers operate as a team, the Compensation Committee's decisions on executive compensation in 2011 were largely driven by considerations of internal pay equity as to the named executive officers, other than Mr. Jobs and Mr. Cook. As a result, the compensation awarded to Messrs. Oppenheimer, Forstall and Johnson in 2011 was largely the same. Mr. Cook's compensation is set at a higher level than the compensation for the other members of the executive team to reflect his responsibilities for the overall leadership of the Company.
OnLive Intros Virtual Windows 7 Desktop With Office for iPad
Jan 09, 10:36PM
Video game streaming company OnLive has announced a free, streaming, virtual Microsoft Windows 7 desktop app for the iPad. The OnLive Desktop app, announced at CES, will eventually expand to other platforms -- including the Mac. Users will have access to full-featured versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, less than a week after CloudOn introduced its Office solution for the iPad.
GigaOm has details about how the service will work:
Since applications are running on high-end computing clusters in OnLive's data centers, the only thing holding back performance is the network. Which means that in today's world of pervasive broadband connectivity, Windows applications running on an iPad could potentially be faster than those running on a standard Windows 7 laptop.The Verge notes that when they tried the app at OnLive HQ, there was "a little bit of perceptible lag, it's pretty impressive manipulating objects with our fingers and flipping through PowerPoint presentations on a desktop miles away."
OnLive is making the Desktop app available in a freemium model through which users will get 2GB worth of cloud storage and the ability to use Windows 7 applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as other utilities and games. Documents can be stored in the cloud and accessed from any device with a web interface. In the near future, OnLive expects to launch Onlive Desktop Pro, a more robust service that will offer up 50 GB of storage, priority access, additional apps and other features for $9.99 a month. It also promises collaboration features for enterprise users such as sharing documents or working on virtual whiteboards.
OnLive previously announced iPad and iPhone support for its gaming products, though those apps have yet to be publicly released.
Available this Thursday in the U.S. and "soon" in the UK, OnLive Desktop for the iPad will be free on the App Store.
iPhone 4S Closes Sales Gap on Android as Apple Sweeps Top Three Smartphone Models [iOS Blog]
Jan 09, 9:48PM
TechCrunch writes of the latest report from NPD, covering U.S. smartphone sales in October and November of last year. The data, which begins right about when the iPhone 4S was released, shows a dramatic increase in market share for the iPhone. The jump, from 26% in Q3 2011 to 43% in October and November, is due in-part to pent-up demand for the next iPhone following the pushback of the "iPhone 5" from the traditional June release cycle. As a result, iPhone share is unlikely to remain quite so high going forward, but the gain is nonetheless impressive.
Perhaps even more striking is that the top three phone models are all iPhones. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 4S is the most popular, followed by the now-$99 iPhone 4. The iPhone 3GS, free on AT&T; with a two-year contract in its third year of availability, comes in third, ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and Samsung Galaxy S II -- both Android phones introduced in 2011.
Samsung, like Apple, makes three of the top ten most popular models; HTC holds two spots, whilst Motorola and LG each round out the remaining models with one model each.
Nuance Bringing Voice Recognition to Televisions and Intel Ultrabooks
Jan 09, 9:14PM
With the popularity of Siri on the iPhone 4S and rumors of a voice-controlled Apple television set, voice recognition and control have leapt to the forefront of the technology industry as companies seek to revolutionize the way users interact with their devices. Nuance Communications has long been a leader in the the field of voice recognition, and quietly provides that back-end functionality for Siri and other Apple products. Rumors of an Apple television set have centered around Siri voice control, fueled in no small part by Steve Jobs' comments to biographer Walter Isaacson regarding his idea for a television set interface being "the simplest user interface you could imagine". In seeking to open up some of that vision to a broad array of television manufacturers, Nuance today announced the launch of Dragon TV, a natural language recognition platform specifically tailored for the television experience.
Leveraging Nuance's voice and natural language understanding capabilities, Dragon TV creates the "lean-back experience" consumers demand, with the ability to easily find content by speaking channel numbers, station names, show and movie names. People can even search for content by actor and genre, and stay connected via Twitter, Facebook and Skype.Nuance's list of commands understood by the platform also include requests for guide/schedule information and DVR playback control.
In addition to Nuance's push into television, the company today also announced the launch of a partnership with Intel to bring voice recognition technologies to the chipmaker's new "Ultrabook" platform for ultra-light notebook computers. While Nuance already offers a number of voice-related applications for PCs, the new partnership will reportedly deliver greater integration of the functionality for core system features.
Nuance's Dragon voice recognition technology, which is at the core of the renowned Dragon NaturallySpeaking software used by millions, will be deeply integrated into the new Intel application. Using this new capability, consumers will be able to control their Ultrabook just by using their voice. Consumers will be able to quickly and easily launch applications, play media, interact with social media sites and control their email and calendars with natural voice commands.Additional details on the Ultrabook integration will be available later this year.
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