apple

Apple is using its iTunes software to persuade Microsoft Windows users to ditch Internet Explorer and switch to its Safari web browser. The iPod-maker is taking advantage of an update service in iTunes that tells users when a new version of the ... software, or the accompanying QuickTime program (used for iTunes videos) is available. Around 100 million people use iTunes to manage their iPod players, many of them on a Windows PC. The update service is now suggesting to users that they download the new edition (3.1) of the Safari browser. That's a little cheeky; the message is seen by everyone, ... (view more)

Apple is reportedly considering a plan to sell premium-priced iPods that include unlimited access to the entire iTunes library. The deal would work on both iPods and iPhones, and would either be a flat-fee or a monthly subscription. Users could then ... download as many songs as they like from the iTunes site for as long as they have their device. Subscribers could still be able to keep up to 50 of the songs on their computer even after they stop using the iPod or iPhone. It's possible they might be allowed to legally burn them to CD as well. (Source: chicagotribune.com ) It's thought Apple could ... (view more)

Hackers have already found a way into the newest iPhone software, just three months before it's officially launched to the public. The new edition of the software is officially titled version 1.2, though will get the snazzier sounding '2.0' tag on ... its formal launch. Hackers got hold of the software because it's included in Apple's new Software Development Kit (SDK). The main gripe between Apple and the hackers is that, while the firm encourages independent development of features to run on the phone, it wants tight control over how this is done. Apple is demanding they become the exclusive ... (view more)

Last week, Apple kicked off a new era for the iPhone, introducing its Software Development Kit (SDK), which will allow developers to create programs for Apple's newest gadget. During a keynote address, Steve Jobs introduced a few limitations to ... Apple's relatively open policy for new software. Any programs that are illegal (file sharing), Malicious (viruses), violate privacy, hog bandwidth or display explicit images will not be allowed. (Source: blogsmithmedia.com ) The iPhone is also not going to allow applications to run in the background, which means you can only access one program at a ... (view more)

Apple has become the second largest seller of music in America, behind only Wal-Mart. The statistic comes from market research group NPD; its chart is based on the number of sales rather than the actual revenue. To make for a fair comparison, it ... counts 12 individual song downloads on Apple's iTunes service as equivalent to one sale of a physical CD album. Apple was ranked fourth in the same study last year, but has now leapfrogged both Target and Best Buy. A spokesman for NPD said the change was "fairly understandable given the pressure that's been on CDs and the almost 50-percent growth in ... (view more)

The great missing iPhone mystery may have been solved. Bosses at Apple were confused that they'd sold 3.7 million phones in the United States and Europe, but only 2.3 million were actually registered on the phone networks which had signed deals to ... provide service for the iPhones. It turns out around 400,000 phones are registered with China Mobile, the country's leading cell phone carrier. The iPhone isn't sold in Asia, so it appears there's a rather ironic pattern by which the phones are manufactured in China, shipped to the US, and then unofficially imported back to China. Apple had ... (view more)

Apple products command premium prices. A quick scan of the computers on Amazon.com's Best Seller List will show Apple computers in 10 of the 25 positions. In that list, according to J.P. Morgan's industry analyst Ingrid Ebeling, the average Apple ... selling price is $1482. All other computers listed averaged less than $600. Three years ago, in 2005, when average industry prices were falling from $1042 to $957 for a PC, Apple Macs stayed solid at $1442. That means that in the last few years the average Mac price has actually increased. (Source: appleinsider.com ) That's a good thing, right? To be ... (view more)

Do you podcast? Podcasting is "is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers." (Source wikipedia.org ) Last week, Apple ... officially filed for a patent on a new variant of podcasting medium. The company's proposal for a patent on the 'podmap' concept was filed in January 2007 but had remained undisclosed until just recently. (Source: appleinsider.com ) According to the patent filing, the concept involves four central components, which will become the crux of this audio- ... (view more)

Sales of Apple's iPhone remain strong as illustrated by the release of figures for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008 (last 92 days of 2007). The company reported that it sold 2,315,000 iPhones during this period, which also encompasses the ... holiday season. The latest figures provided by CEO Steve Jobs during his Macworld 2008 keynote presentation on January 15, stated that Apple has passed the 4 million unit threshold. (Source: arstechnica.com ) The impressive total amounts to an average of 20,000 units sold per day, giving the iPhone a 20 percent market share of international smart phone ... (view more)

There's no denying that Apple's got itself a bountiful hold on the digital music market. The company's hardware retails for more than comparably-equipped devices from the competition, and yet the Touch, Nano, and Shuffle all manage to maintain the ... company's massive lead. However, that advantage might be threatened where Apple seems strongest: online. For some time, Apple's virtual music store, iTunes, has been the front-runner in offering individual songs or entire albums for a reasonable price. Buying one song at a time has proven a dynamite marketing dynamic for Apple, which clearly ... (view more)