apple

Apple has raised more controversy among iPhone users after refusing to 'stock' a podcast utility in the iTunes Apps store. Apple says the feature simply duplicates iTunes itself, but critics say the firm is embarrassed that an outside programmer has ... produced a better service. Alex Sokirynsky developed 'Podcaster' as a feature to help people download and listen to podcasts on their iPhones. He submitted it for distribution through the iTunes store in mid-August but Apple has now rejected the product. According to Sokirynsky, Apple told him "Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of ... (view more)

Apple is facing a second lawsuit over poor iPhone performance. This time, the company faces complaints that it sold more handsets than its 3G network could cope with. You may remember that many of the recent reports of dropped calls (caused by ... reception problems on the 3G network) came from California. It's therefore not a major surprise that the new legal action comes from a San Diego resident, William Gillis. He alleges that the new iPhone demands too much power from 3G networks, to the point that AT ... (view more)

Not long ago I reported on a Bloomberg news wire stumble that led to the publishing of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' obituary. Just to prove he's alive and well, the Apple chief is now provoking the media with hints of major music news -- perhaps even a new ... iPod MP3 player. Apple, like any successful company, is considered a master of hype. In order to rouse much speculation about an upcoming announcement on Tuesday, September 9th, the company has organized most of the world's press in a number of major cities for a still-unknown unveiling. Journalists invited have been lured with a not-so-subtle, " ... (view more)

While Apple has opened the iPhone to third-party applications, they are also reportedly keeping a very close eye on which applications are allowed to run on your phone. According to hacker Jonathan Zdziarski, the iPhone has the ability to 'phone ... home' and tell Apple what applications are installed, and if Apple doesn't like what it sees, they can neutralize the offending application. Zdziarski says this suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. He discovered this ability tucked away in a configuration file deep inside the iPhone ... (view more)

It looks as if Apple has attempted to fix the widespread connection glitches with the iPhone through a new software update. But it comes amid increased concerns about how much control the company has over users. As we reported earlier this week, ... customers worldwide have complained about calls mysteriously dropping . It still appears the problem is that the phone often fails to pick up even a strong 3G signal (the high-speed connection which makes many of the data features possible) and was repeatedly switching to a traditional network signal instead, which often triggered the glitch. The ... (view more)

iPhone users have spent $30 million on applications for the new 3G model in the month since it's released. But Apple will get 'only' $9 million of that take. Users can buy applications, produced by third-party developers, from the iTunes store. ... There have been around 60 million application downloads so far, though many of these (estimates say as much as 90%) are free. Paid applications range from around a dollar for novelty items to around ten dollars for games, so an average $5 price would fit the estimates. The most expensive item, a thousand dollar screensaver, was pulled by Apple recently ... (view more)

Apple has removed an unusual third-party product from iTunes: an iPhone screensaver costing $999.99. The product was listed by a developer named Armin Heinrich and sold through the iTunes Store's iPhones apps section, which allows people to buy ... add-ons for their phones. This particular product, named "I Am Rich", did nothing but display a glowing ruby on a phone's screen (though if you clicked on the ruby, it promised to display a mantra for success.) This wasn't a scam as such; Heinrich openly admitted it was useless in the product description, which read "The red icon on your iPhone or iPod ... (view more)

Apple has admitted that problems with its MobileMe service may mean 10% of emails have been lost for good. The service, aimed at users of mobile devices such as the new iPhone, gives access to features such as online data storage, an address book ... and calendar, and email, with data and setting accessible from all the user's devices. While the launch last month at first appeared to have gone without a hitch, some customers soon after reported problems accessing their emails (both new and old). According to a company blog, this issue only affected 1% of users -- however, Apple now says, "We ... (view more)

In the technological world, few other phenomena are receiving as much attention as "cloud computing". The concept pertains to files and programs that are stored in places beyond the hard drive, existing exclusively in the air around us (or in ... "clouds"). In actuality, this secured data is stored on some kind of encrypted Internet server. All of us have had at least one previous experience with cloud computing. Anytime you use an Internet-based backup service, an online word processor, or send an email using Windows Live Hotmail you are clouding. Microsoft has been staying ahead of their ... (view more)

Apple claims to have sold a million of its new iPhones in three days, but that doesn't mean a million people now have one. The company recently put out a press release saying it had sold the millionth iPhone 3G. Noting the phone is on sale in 21 ... countries, CEO Steve Jobs said "It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world." (Source: apple.com ) However, that figure is somewhat misleading. Fortune magazine reports that Apple only counts its own sales when somebody hands over the money in an Apple store. But ... (view more)