Tag Archives: Apple

iOS Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Shortly Apple will release iOS 7 to the masses. Most people when they hit accept update to iOS 7 won’t realise how dramatically different the new iOS version is compared to the previous.

So it should come as no surprise that Apple is training its staff to deal with iOS Traumatic Stress Disorder. That is customers calling about their new look.

Just how the whole world will view the new look is unknown but I am sure Apple’s marketing team will create a campaign to make everybody desire the new look and functionality.

Apple sends invites to Chinese media for special Sept. 11 event

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One day after sending out invites to press in the US for its iPhone event scheduled for September 10 in Cupertino, Apple has just sent invites to Chinese media outlets inviting press to a special event in the country on September 11.

Not only will it be the first time Apple hosts such an event in China, it is also a good indication that China Mobile, the world’s largest telecom, could soon finally announce a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to its approximately 700M subscribers.

Less than 7 days to go for the next huge wave of new phone announcements

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Get ready for the start of silly season. Within the next 7 days, the amount of new smartphone announcements is going to explode. Expect every manufacturer to reveal their lineup for the last quarter of the year, and then on 10th September, Apple will reveal all its new iPhones. Later on in September, Nokia and Google will reveal their hands too with new phones. And don’t forget Amazon. New Kindle tablets, but will they launch their first smartphone this year!

What I will try to do is consolidate the new phones releases into concise readable chunks, with my view on each new phone. Who knows, I might even review a few of them too.

Apple is about to have its biggest product launch ever in a few weeks

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On 10th September 2013, Apple will announce to the world the next iPhone to replace the 5, likely to be called the 5S and also the iPhone 5C (colours). In addition, a new full size iPad will be available that will be considerably lighter and have a smaller profile too. The iPad Mini is likely to feature a retina screen.

In addition, it has been a whole year without a new product from Apple. So Apple fans will be dying to reach out for the next big thing. Next iOS 6 will be replaced by iOS 7 and again this will help fuel the sales. And who knows, maybe the next new thing will appear from Apple as well.

Then there will be the marginally improvements to the rest of its range, maybe at lower price points too.

All in all, with all the changes and new markets to sell too, Apple is aiming for one mammoth sales campaign this fall.

Apple tightens guidelines for Kids apps

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Apple has stated that apps aimed at children must contain a privacy policy, cannot tailor advertising to in-app activity and must not contain links to content outside the app or allow children to make purchases without verified parental consent.

Gambling apps that involve real money must be free to download and cannot offer the option to purchase credits or currency within the app. In other words, licensed gambling operations can offer supporting apps, but no-one else can create an app designed to allow gambling with real money.

This is a great stance taken by Apple,  let’s hope the other operating systems do the same.

Apple close to securing deal with China Mobile

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Reuters has reported that a long-awaited deal between Apple Inc and China Mobile Ltd, the world’s biggest mobile carrier, that could help the iPhone maker claw back lost ground in its most important growth market, is close to being signed.

Apple is expected to unveil its redesigned iPhone next month and may also release a cheaper, emerging market smartphone.  Crucially, it also now has Qualcomm Inc chips that can operate even on China’s obscure networks. At the same time, Beijing is expected to grant 4G licenses by the year-end that favor the biggest of its domestic mobile operators.

Apple has so far ducked a deal with China Mobile as this would have required a redesign inside the iPhone to work on the operator’s inferior TD-SCDMA 3G technology. For its part, China Mobile has been reluctant to commit to the huge cost of marketing and subsidizing sales of the expensive iPhone.

By offering a mid-market Apple smartphone, China Mobile, which has 740 million users, could draw in more sophisticated, data-crunching subscribers to grow net profit that last year was only 15 percent higher than in 2008, when Apple opened its first store in China.

New Apple Patents – details

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Apple is no stranger to patents.

“On August 15, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published three patent applications from Apple that reveal new connector related developments,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“The first invention covers a MagSafe connector design with new ‘flat attraction plates’ for better connectivity and superior aesthetics,” Purcher reports. “The second invention covers a flexible audio connector that could be made with new superelastic materials.”

Purcher reports, “And lastly, a third connector related invention reveals a new manufacturing methodology that implements lasers so as to eliminate a lot of manual labor.”

Are we going to see even thinner macs from Apple? That sure is a possibility.

Where is the 5 inch screen iPhone?

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The iPhone is now has a 4 inch screen. Will Apple release a larger screen like many of the flagship android phones. Well if you look at AT&T stats,  this may be a long wait.

Back in January of 2013, 9 out of 10 customers on AT&T chose the 3.5 or 4-inch iPhone over all other smartphones, including all bigger smartphones, combined. 6 out of 10 customers on Verizon did likewise. In the last quarter, reported in July of 2013, more than 5 out of 10 customers on both AT&T and Verizon still chose the 3.5 or 4-inch iPhone over all other smartphones, despite the iPhone 5 being halfway through its product cycle, and the presence of newer, bigger rivals like the enormous Samsung Galaxy S4 and the gorgeous HTC One, as well as various other, larger Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phones.

I really think Samsung, Sony or HTC need a mini version that has proper specifications and not scaled down specifications.  Or maybe they just can’t build a phone that small with all the features like Apple does?

Apple Acquires Matcha

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Earlier this summer, video-discovery outfit Matcha disappeared without explanation, leaving behind just a “this service is no longer available” message as a monument to its effort to create a social TV and movie recommendation engine. A spokesman for Apple has now confirmed the deal to AllThingsD.

Matcha is the latest in a string of recent small acquisitions by Apple, which include crowdsourced location-data company Locationary and online transit-navigation app maker HopStop.

Apple’s request to suspend eBook ruling denied

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A judge on Friday refused a request by Apple to temporarily suspend her ruling that it violated antitrust laws by conspiring with publishers to raise electronic book prices in 2010.

Judge Denise Cote, ruling from the bench in Manhattan federal court, declined to withdraw the effect of last month’s ruling while Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. appeals.

The future doesn’t look so bright for the iBookstores’ agency model, as it looks like the agreements with publishers will be ending very soon if things don’t turn around for Apple.