Twenty-percent of dollars spent on consumer technology goes to Apple
No wonder Google wants to open retail stores and sell more gadgets. Apple's reach is enormous, which is as important for the brand as making mullah -- and there is a whole lot of that. According to NPD, the fruit-logo company accounted for 19.9 percent of all US retail consumer technology sales last year, up from 17.3 percent in 2011.
Samsung ranked second, accounting for 9.3 percent of sales, up 2 points year over year. HP (8.2 percent), Sony (4.4 percent) and Dell (3 percent) rounded out the top five.
If Apple can't protect itself from malware, how can you trust it to protect you?
Apple may be perceived as a bastion of security and users generally feel safe from the plagues that us Windows users suffer, but market share plays a large part in that perception. The bigger target gets more attention. Well, the party may be over, folks, because the fruit-logo company has a problem, and it is one that is incredibly familiar to Windows users -- Java. The Oracle software platform may be one of the most exploited ones on computers.
Today Reuters reports that Apple, a company largely known for never admitting error -- think "You're holding it wrong" -- released a statement describing "the widest known attacks targeting Apple computers used by corporations". The same exploit had been used to attack social networking giant Facebook.
Archos unveils the Platinum tablet lineup
On Valentine's day, French consumer electronics company Archos professed its love for mobile technology by unveiling a new tablet lineup dubbed Platinum. The three devices, 80 Platinum, 97 Platinum HD and 116 Platinum, are designed for the wallet-conscious tablet buyers while also sporting pretty decent hardware specifications.
The common denominators between the three tablets are found inside the shell, with only the physical dimensions and screen specifications separating them. The devices share a quad-core 1.2GHz processor backed by an 8-core GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and 2GB of RAM. Archos also throws in its branded Media Center applications, front and back cameras, as well as a mini-HDMI port and microSD card slot.
Cloud aggregator KiteDesk exits beta, adds iOS app
The vast majority of us use multiple cloud services for email, social media, and file storage, which means having to regularly switch between different websites or apps to access our data. KiteDesk aims to solve that problem by aggregating information from all of the popular cloud services into a single application.
Aimed at busy consumers and professionals, the service presents email messages, social media posts, contacts, calendar events, and files from the likes of Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook and Dropbox, in a single stream and lets you search for, share, and comment on content.
There is little room for a third smartphone platform
"We're No. 3!" will be BlackBerry's and Microsoft's rallying cry this year. Android and iOS so dominate the smartphone market, the best -- and quite honestly dismal -- hope is third; distant at that. Combined, based on actual phone sales, Android and iOS had 90.1 percent share during fourth quarter, up from 74.9 percent a year earlier, according to Gartner. BlackBerry and Windows Phone are neck-and-neck, with lowly 3.5 percent and 3 percent standings, respectively.
Upstarts want third place, too. Anshul Gupta, Gartner principal research analyst, explains: "2013 will be the year of the rise of the third ecosystem as the battle between the new BlackBerry10 and Widows Phone intensifies. As carriers and vendors feel the pressure of the strong Android’s growth, alternative operating systems such as Tizen, Firefox, Ubuntu and Jolla will try and carve out an opportunity by positioning themselves as profitable alternatives".
Apple lowers laptop prices, beefs up specs
Today, Apple announced a number of changes in the pricing and hardware department for the company's MacBook laptop lineup. The Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation lowered the price for the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display and for the top-of-the line 13-inch MacBook Air and beefed up the specs for the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.
If you were holding off on buying an Apple MacBook now is a good time to reconsider. The fruit-logo company slashed $200 from the price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, which now starts at $1,499 and $1,699 for the base and top model, respectively. Apple applied a similar treatment to the 13-inch MacBook Air in 256GB trim, which now goes for $1,399, $100 less than before.
Making the case for the smart watch
With all apologies to my colleague Joe Wilcox, who bashed the Apple rumor of an "iWatch", I must respectfully disagree. I get his point, don't get me wrong. Most people of the "modern" generation do not even wear watches. In fact, they may not even own them. The cell phone has become the time piece of choice in today's world. I also understand that a watch is not the ideal place to check your email. The screen is simply too small.
However, there are uses for these devices for some of us. Not all of us, but some. I am a runner. Have been since middle school -- more years ago than I care to mention. Those of us who ran cross country and track, and later moved to road races, care about time and smartphones don't cover it. Sure there are apps for that -- Map My Run, Run Keeper, Nike...they all do the job. My colleague Wayne Williams loves Zombies, Run! But, who wants to strap a 4.5-inch screen to their arm and go for a run?
Lamest Apple rumor yet: iWatch
Either Apple has gotten so good at keeping secrets that no one knows what's next, or there ain't nothing new to gossip about. That is my reaction to the Wall Street Journal weekend story claiming the company is working on a wrist-watch. Move over Casio! Stop saving for Rolex! Because the fruit-logo company's next, big thing -- the new category to rival iPhone and iPad -- is the timepiece? Surely CEO Tim Cook and Company realize that many people get the time from computer or smartphone.
Some advice to Apple: Talk to "been there, done that" Microsoft, which made valiant effort with Smart Watch, only to fail. There was some real innovation behind the concept, using FM radio to transmit news, traffic and other data to the timepiece. But smartphones, more today than they did then, provide the same information. Will it really sell on the wrist?
Amazon picks up the slack -- attacks Apple in new TV commerical
The past few months have been a bit rough for Apple. Samsung attacked the company in a series of amusing ads that portrayed a line of people waiting to buy iPhone as losers. While the ads never specifically mentioned Apple, the implications were certainly clear enough. Combine those attacks with declining stock prices and other nagging battles, such as those in court, and you have a recipe for tough times.
While Samsung largely lets its rival be in the latest ads, Amazon picks up the slack -- and, unlike Samsung, is quite clear. The 30-second second clip compares the new Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch against Apple iPad with Retina Display and lets the viewer know that, while both devices show "stunning HD", there is a major difference. Then it proceeds to place the devices side-by-side and let you know that, while you may not be able to tell the difference in the screens, "your wallet definitely can".
iPhone cracks against the Great Wall of China
The Chinese smartphone market is dominated by five top manufacturers, none of them Apple, Canalys reveals. As I've warned a couple times recently, despite CEO Tim Cook's prognostications about China's importance or his company boasting 2 million first-weekend iPhone 5 sales, competitors rapidly close out the market for costly fruit-logos.
China is the biggest market for mobiles, largely dominated by smartphones -- 73 percent of the total in fourth quarter, up from 40 percent a year earlier. Shipments soared 113 percent to 64.7 million units, or 30 percent of all smartphones globally. Samsung captured the top spot, followed by Lenovo, Yulong, Huawei and ZTE.
Updated evasi0n iOS 6.x jailbreak now available
Three days ago evad3rs released the first public iOS 6 jailbreak tool, opening up iPads, iPhones and iPod touch devices to the world of underground modding. But as is the case with the majority of infant jailbreak-related releases it also brought along a series of bugs, which the team behind the project now claims to have fixed in the latest update.
On Twitter, planetbeing, one of the three members behind evad3rs, announced the release of evasi0n 1.1. The second iteration of the popular jailbreaking tool brings along "the latest fixes", which are supposed to sort the Weather app and "long boot" time issues. The latter problem is also referred to by the team as the "reboots getting stuck" bug.
BlackBerry's plans to take over your smartphone foiled by a misfiring app
You’ve read all the press about the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, and you’re intrigued enough to want to know more. Well, a clever new marketing campaign lets you transform your existing iOS or Android device into a BlackBerry Z10 using augmented reality. Well sort of.
Unlike the Playboy interactive cover which uses Layar, you’ll need to have the free Blippar app installed on your phone. Once done, scan the special BB Take Over Me webpage (or just scan the image here, if you prefer) and your phone will be instantly transformed into an interactive Z10. Or at least that’s the theory.
Vodafone UK slaps a price-tag on Windows Phone 8 devices
Two days ago Vodafone UK teased subscribers and potential customers by announcing that, starting February 6, Windows Phone 8 smartphones would be available for purchase. There was no mention of price at the time, but today the missing piece of the puzzle is finally revealed.
The most expensive Windows Phone 8 device to be had with no upfront costs is the Nokia Lumia 920. For the Finnish manufacturer's flagship Vodafone UK customers have to shell out GBP42 per month during a two-year agreement, and in return they receive 2GB of cellular data as well as unlimited calls and texts.
BlackBerry Z10 is available in Canada
Great news for Canadian BlackBerry fans! The newly unveiled BlackBerry Z10 smartphone is now available for purchase at major carriers across the North American country.
In its home land the BlackBerry Z10 is priced rather boldly against popular smartphones from Apple and Samsung. On a three-year agreement at Bell, the device goes for CAD139.95, while the Samsung-made Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III run for CAD149.95 and CAD49.95, respectively. By comparison the Apple-made iPhone 5 is available from CAD179.95 for the 16GB variant, with the price increasing by CAD100 and CAD200 for the 32GB and 64GB variants, respectively.
Grab your wallet, iPad 128GB is for sale
We recently learned that Apple would release a 128GB tablet. Well, that day has finally arrived -- two versions of the new, mega storage, iPad are up for sale now in the Apple store online and, likely, in the company's retail locations as well.
There are two flavors of this apple available -- a WiFi-only that retails for $799 and a version with WiFi plus cellular connectivity. The latter will lighten your wallet by $929. The cellular version can work with either Sprint, AT&T or Verizon. You will need to choose your network during the purchase process. You can also choose a financing plan of six, 12 or 18 months. Given the price, you may need one of those plans. All models are available to ship in "1-3 business days".
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