Articles about Apple

Looking at the the biggest stories on BetaNews from August, 11 - 17, 2013. This week there has been a lot of Microsoft related news setting tongues wagging -- and it's been something of a rollercoaster. Early on in the week we got a sneak peak at what to expect in the upcoming Windows 8.1 update after a new build leaked online. Build 9471 includes a number of changes from the official Preview, including new tutorials, extra personalization options, changes to a few of the built-in apps and integrated Skype.

Not long after the leak version was discovered, Microsoft went on to talk about creating a unified experience across different Microsoft and Windows devices and services. And for anyone who is sick of the Windows 8.1 hype there was some good news -- the official release date is only a couple of months away, after which things should start to quieten down.

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It's easy to learn how many iPads and iPhones have been sold -- sales figures are readily available. But this isn’t enough information for advertisers who need to know what type of demographic makes up their potential market. Research by Flurry helps to shine a light on the types of people who own different iOS devices.

A random sample of over 44,000 iOS device owners reveals that 72 percent have an iPhone and 28 percent an iPad. Plotted on a chart, the figures make for interesting reading but, as ever, the most intriguing results are to be found at the extremes.

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With the upcoming release of the Jobs biopic Apple is set to be in the spotlight in coming weeks. It's timely then that the Finances Online website has released an interesting report tracing the iPhone’s supply chain.

It makes for fascinating reading. The rare earth minerals used in many of the phone’s components are 90 percent sourced in China and Inner Mongolia. Move up to the component level and the LCD panels, chipset, memory and batteries are all made in Korea. The iPhone 5's innovative display -- which eliminates a layer of glass -- is made by LG for example. The gyroscope that works out which way you’re holding the phone comes from STMicroelectronics, a French/Italian company.

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The PC as we know it is dying, and tablets are unquestionably where the sales are right now. As a result, vendors and retailers are clamoring to pull in the consumers by ramping up their advertising spend and exposure.

In Q2 2013, according to data gathered by analyst firm gap intelligence, vendors and retailers placed a total of 771 tablet ads in print media in the US, up 266 from the same quarter last year, and while 83 percent of the adverts were for Android tablets, Windows devices made a big splash, accounting for 12 percent of all ads. When new products launch, or sales aren't great -- both true in this case -- it's quite typical to see an increase in ad spending in order to reach as many consumers as possible.

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Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 435 million units in the second quarter of 2013, according to Gartner, notching up a moderate 3.6 percent increase over the 420 million units sold in the same period last year.

The big news however, is smartphone sales finally exceeded those of feature phones, with the former selling 225 million units, up 46.5 percent from the 153 million sold in the second quarter of 2012, and the latter managing just 210 million units for a 21 percent drop year-over-year.

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I’ve never owned a Mac before, but I’ve secretly wanted one since the release of OS X. The first time I tried the operating system was at CompUSA where I was a salesman. I regularly sold iMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks, Mac Minis and eMacs. The people that came to the Apple section of the store always seemed very odd -- they dressed weird and were loyal to Macintosh as if it were a religion. However, as odd as the people were, they were also very computer literate -- the same could not be said for the average eMachines or Compaq buyer.

Sadly, like many people, Apple hardware has always been too expensive for me -- I live meagerly. And so, I had to settle for Windows. There was nothing bad about Windows per se, but it lacked the cool-factor that the Apple computers had. Plus, I like to build computers and upgrade them. Something like a Mac Mini was affordable but not upgradeable -- a major turnoff.

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Oskar Groth has released Trim Enabler 3.0, his tool for enabling Trim on non-Apple SSD drives in OS X. The latest build continues to offer this core functionality, plus redesigns the user interface and adds some minor tweaks, for free, but also incorporates a new Pro version with extra functionality including benchmarking and advanced SMART monitor that can be unlocked for $10.

The most notable change in version 3.0 is the redesigned user interface, which takes its design cues from the forthcoming iOS 7. The app also adds menu bar support, allowing it to be accessed directly from the menu bar or "torn off" and placed in a standalone window.

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The Apple and Samsung battle continues to rumble, and less than a week after a proposed ban on the sale of iPhones and iPads was overturned, another ruling has -- at least for the time being -- gone Apple's way. The US ITC has upheld a previous ruling dating back to 2011 that found Samsung has infringed various Apple patents, potentially leading to a US ban on various devices from the South Korean company.

The ruling found that Samsung had violated two patents relating to Apple's iPhone. The first patent (often referred to as the "Steve Jobs patent") relates to the use of a touchscreen interface as means of interacting with a device using one or more fingers. The second patent relates to the design of an audio socket that can determine the type of microphone or headset that has been plugged into it.

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Ads are prevalent and all but unavoidable online these days, and in a bid to keep software free and fund development, in-app advertisements are increasingly common.

The latest kid to the party is Google Maps for iOS and Android. Perform a search for a restaurant, coffee shop, or other establishment, and you may well find that the bottom of your mobile is adorned with an ad for a related business.

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This week Microsoft rolled out two new video adverts -- one pitting Surface RT against the iPad, and the other putting the Acer Iconia W3 next to the iPad mini. The adverts follow the same format as previously with a side by side look at the features on offer.

Of course the comparisons aren’t fair. Microsoft picks areas where its tablet/operating system is strongest, and avoids the areas where it’s weakest -- apps and popularity, for example. It’s a lot like comparing apples with oranges (or, yes, lemons in the case of poorly selling Windows devices) and then pointing out that it’s easy to peel an orange, but you need to buy a separate peeler to accomplish the same task on an apple.

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The worldwide PC market continues to experience few signs of growth, with a healthy increase in global tablet shipments merely helping to offset the continuing descent of traditional desktop and notebook systems, according to independent analyst firm Canalys.

While tablet shipments saw a 42.9 percent increase compared with this time last year, desktop and notebook shipments fell 7.4 percent and 13.9 percent respectively. Total shipments for PCs (Canalys lumps desktops, notebooks and tablets together) delivered a 0.3 percent growth for the year.

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Ahead of its August 16 launch, Apple reveals details of a takeback program that aims to replace third-party power adapters with authentic units. Concern over the safety of third-party and counterfeit adapters for iPhones, iPads and iPods prompted the scheme, and Apple says any adapters handed in will be "disposed of in an environmentally friendly way".

So what's the incentive for just giving your current adapter to Apple? Well aside from that warm, fluffy feeling that comes from knowing that you're helping to do your little bit for the environment rather than just adding to landfill, Apple has another carrot to dangle.

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Nokia has released a new video comparing the quality of the Lumia 925’s camera with that of the Apple iPhone 5. You don’t need to be a genius to guess which device comes out the clear winner.

Headed "Better Photos Every Day" the video might seem more than a little familiar on first viewing as it parodies Apple's iPhone 5 commercial and starts with a voiceover informing viewers that "every day more photos are taken on the iPhone than any other phone" before stating "at Nokia we prefer to build for quality not just quantity".

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In a letter to the International Trade Commission chairman, the Honorable Irving A Williamson, the Obama administration vetoes an earlier ITC ruling that was due to block the sale of a number of Apple products. The original ruling came in June and was to prevent the sale of various products including certain models of the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2.

The letter from Ambassador Michael Froman explains that having reviewed the information surrounding the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, he had decided to "disapprove the USITC's determination to issue an exclusion order and cease and desist order". Under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 the President is obliged to evaluate decisions made by the Commission during a 60-day review period, and in this instance the authority was passed to the USTR.

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Windows 8 is an operating system designed for touch PCs, but it's struggling to find a sizeable audience on them. PCs as we know them are on their way out, and tablets are the future, as we've been told time and again by analysts. Figures from the likes of Gartner and IDC clearly back up this sea change.

So if people aren't buying into Microsoft's new OS on regular PCs (with or without touch) then they must be scrambling to buy tablets running Windows 8 and RT surely? Well things don't look too rosy for Microsoft there either.

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