Apple

It looks like Apple has finally woken up to the value of a sale. They’re launching a new weekly promotion in iTunes today which will feature a paid app being given away for free. The first app is Cut the Rope: Experiments. There’s both an iPad and iPhone version, and it’s the first paid app to be discounted to free by Apple.

Apple is also rolling out out new “editors’ choice” promotions which highlight apps that are currently in popular or trendy. Right now that includes Facebook Camera, Air Mail, and Sketchbook Ink (via)

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In an interview with the Telegraph, long time Apple designer Jonathan Ive discusses his approach to design. The British designer, who has worked for the Cupertino company since 1992, is responsible for leading the design for such groundbreaking products as the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

Modestly, Ive explains that  his choices are pragmatic. He told the Telegraph: “We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable. That leave you with the sense that that’s the only possible solution that makes sense. Our products are tools and we don’t want design to get in the way. We’re trying to bring simplicity and clarity, we’re trying to order the products.”

Follow this link to check out the whole interview.

Do you get frustrated typing the same long words, email addresses or difficult names in your iPhone or iPad?

You should add a shortcut to speed up your typing and make your life easier. Below, we’ve listed the simple steps to add a typing shortcut on an iPhone or iPad. Do you have a favorite typing shortcut?

1. Click on the settings on your iPad or iPhone. Click on the “General” tab. Then click the “Keyboard” tab toward the bottom of the menu (see the image embedded above for a visual).

Read more

MacRumors is reporting today that Apple’s Mac App Store has achieved its first major milestone. There are now 10,330 apps currently available in that app store. It is an important milestone, but to be honest I wonder why it took so long.

This app store is nearly 16 months old, and it carries apps for an OS which has existed for quite a few years now. Given the convenience of having a single place for users to find apps for purchase or free download, I expected more developers to leap at the opportunity.

It looks like my fears that Apple might lock down OSX as much as they locked down iOS may not come to pass, and I have to wonder if that’s why developers aren’t supporting the app store with as much enthusiasm as they might.

Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones in its fiscal 2012 second quarter, which represents an 88 percent unit growth over the same quarter last year. The company sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, which represents a 151 percent unit increase over the same quarter from last year.

The company announced its financial results for its fiscal 2012 second quarter today and reported quarterly revenue at $39.2 billion which was up 41.4 percent from the same quarter last year, in which the company took in $24.7 billion in revenues. According to Apple, international sales accounted for 64 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple released the new iPad during this quarter. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, stated: “The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.”

Apple will report on its second quarter earnings tomorrow and analysts are expecting the company to sustain its profits. While Verizon has reported a drop in iPhone sales, industry analysts are reporting that iPhone sales overseas and sales for the new iPad will keep Apple’s revenues up. Zacks.com estimates that Apple’s revenues for the quarter will be around $36.56 billion for the quarter, which is up from $24.67 billion that the company earned in the same quarter last year.

The International Business Times has more: “Analyst Peter Misek of Jefferies expects the company to report shipments of 4.7 million MacPros, 7.1 million iPods, 33.2 million iPhones and 12.4 million iPads – all down significantly from the last quarter, which included holiday gift-buying.”

Apple Insider has additional estimates: “Chris Whitmore with Deutsche Bank also has high hopes ahead of Tuesday’s earnings report, as he expects Apple to beat consensus revenue and earnings per share estimates of $35.9 billion and $9.78, respectively. He has modeled for Apple to report sales of 26 million iPhones, 10 million iPads and 4.5 million Macs, though he noted that the iPhone number is ‘conservative.’”

Watch out Kindle Fire, Apple is rumored to be working on its own 7-inch tablet device. In the vein of the iPod Nano, the iPad Mini would be a smaller and more compact and would come with a cheaper price tag. Some are saying, as low as $249.

Apple Insider has more details: “A new report out of China claims Apple is gearing up to build 6 million units of a new, smaller iPad to launch in the third quarter of 2012. The new device will be priced at either $249 or $299, according to Chinese net portal NetEase, as translated by Kotaku. The device is said to be intended to ‘counter attack’ upcoming tablets running Windows 8.”

If it is anything like the new iPad, the iPad Mini will also come with a very high resolution screen.

Apple is finally speaking out about being sued by the Justice Department over allegedly  colluding with publishers to fix the prices of eBooks.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr released this statement, which was first published on AllThingsDigital. He writes:

The DOJ’s accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true. The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. Since then customers have benefited from eBooks that are more interactive and engaging. Just as we’ve allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore.

Macmillan and Penguin will also fight the DOJ in court. Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Hachette each reached their own settlement with the Justice Department.

There’s been lots of talk lately about the terrible working conditions in the factories that make Apple’s products, but you wouldn’t tell that based on this video.

Marketplace sent a team of reporters over to one of Foxconn’s factories in Shenzhen, China. They found working conditions far better than the horror stories reported previously.

via Marketplace

It’s official. The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging eBook price fixing.

Bloomberg has the story: “The U.S. filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple Inc. (AAPL), Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in New York district court, claiming collusion over eBook pricing.”

According to the report, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins have settled their suits. But Apple and Macmillan refused to settle and will go to court to defend their position.