After the NYTimes exposé and Tim Cook’s response, the question remains: Why is the media focusing on Apple and not questioning any of the other electronics companies that manufacture with Foxconn in China?
Obviously, Apple has the money, the brand, the prestige, and it grabs attention. However, it is not like Apple can make gold from straw. Apple simply cannot build its products anywhere other than China.
On the flip side, @NicePaul takes recent Forbes numbers and creates the following infographic that illustrates the opposite point:
President Obama is wrapping up his State of the Union Address right now. During the event, President Obama made many references to technology as a way to help with economic times. More specifically, President Obama had a pleasant mention for Apple’s late cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs with his widow Laurene Powell Jobs in attendance.
“That means women should earn equal pay for equal work. It means we should support everyone who’s willing to work; and every risk-tasker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.”
You may remember when Jobs had dinner with President Obama and other successful technology entrepreneurs in February of last year. The discussion revolved around getting people to collaborate and invest in American innovation to promote private sector job growth.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revealed during the company’s Q1 2012 earnings live call a few figures regarding the Apple TV. Cook revealed that Apple sold a record 1.4 million Apple TVs last quarter and 2.8 million units last fiscal year, but he still considers the device “a hobby that I couldn’t live without.”
In terms of a new type of TV from Apple, Cook would not make any comments. Just simply, “We continue to pull the strings to see where it takes us.”
Apple is discussing its record numbers from Q1 2012 in a live call occurring right now. During the call, Apple’s SVP and CFO Peter Oppenheimer revealed that in only three months, 85 million users are now using iCloud. That is 5o million more iCloud accounts than iPhone 4S’s sold. Impressive.
How important is iCloud? Cook’s remarks:
I think Peter shared earlier the number of customers that had signed up for iCloud, and it’s already over 85 million, so it’s incredible that this has happened in just a few months’ period of time. We’re thrilled with it, and the response from customers has been incredible. It’s solved a lot of problems that customers were having and made their lives much much easier.
It was a fundamental shift recognizing that people had numerous devices and they wanted the bulk of their content in the cloud and easily accessible from all of their devices, and you know, I think we’re seeing the response from that. With 85 million customers in just three months, it is a very very important part — it’s not just a product, it’s a strategy for the next decade.
Apple just announced its Q1 2012 earnings in a press release a few minutes ago, which revealed very impressive numbers from the company. Apple revealed it sold a whopping 37 million iPhones during the holiday quarter, which now gives the company the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer spot —back from Samsung, who previously held the title. Earlier this month, Samsung gave estimates of 35 million phones sold during the holiday quarter. This means Apple beat the company by 2 million.
Apple’s live call to discuss Q1 2012 earnings is underway. We’re live blogging the call, where Apple is discussing their record breaking figures they just announced. You can follow along below, or listen to the call on Apple’s Investor Relations page.
Update: that’s a wrap. Thanks for joining us! You can read the highlights from today’s call after the break:
On Friday, the Chronic-Dev team (along with a few other contributors) released “Absinthe,” the long-awaited free unteathered jailbreak tool for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Today, the team updated us with a few interesting statistics. The shocker is that 1 million people jailbroke their A5 device in under three days.
The Chronic-Dev team were able to get such exact numbers thanks to statistics from Cydia, the popular app marketplace that comes bundled with the jailbreak. The team was able to specifically pin-point how many installs were on each device: 491,325 on an iPhone 4S; 308,967 on an iPad 2; and, 152,940 on an iPad 2 that had been previously jailbroken (iOS 4). These are certainly impressive numbers.
Like always, the Chronic-Dev team reminds you not upgrade off of 5.0.1 if you intend to keep the jailbreak. Did you jailbreak your A5 device this weekend? If you did not, make sure to check out the tutorial after the break:
Hot off the heels of Apple’s iBook Textbooks and iBooks Author announcement, the Cupertino, Calif.-based Company passed a $400 billion market cap briefly today, AllThingsD pointed out. Apple also saw a new company record of $431 a share this afternoon —up $2 from yesterday’s record. As the afternoon continued on, Apple’s market cap went down to $398 billion again, but it is still close to coming back. For comparison, the world’s most valuable company, Exxon, has a market cap of $417 billion. Apple was at one time the most valuable company in 2011.
As CNN Moneypointed out, Apple with a market cap of $400 billion is worth more than the countries Greece, Austria, Argentina, and South Africa.
Apple dominated financially in 2011, and it continues in 2012. Next Tuesday, the company will report what is expected to be record earnings from Q4. Apple is also expected to break past the sales of 5 million Macs and up to 30 million iPhones, some analysts claimed. We will be covering Apple’s financial announcement next Tuesday. Stay tuned!
AT&T announced it would introduce new data plans for phones and tablets on Sunday, Jan. 22. There will be three phone plans: $20 for 300MB, $30 for 3GB, and $50 for 5GB with tethering. While the two tablet plans will be: $30 for 3GB and $50 for 5GB.
In the past, AT&T made available $15 for 200MB, $25 for 2GB, or $45 for 4GB with tethering. Each plan earned more data and a $5 price hike. AT&T will charge $10 for each 1GB roll over. AT&T explained the sudden change:
“Customers are using more data than ever before,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment, and continue to deliver a great value to customers, especially as we continue our 4G LTE deployment.”
In recent years, as newer iOS devices begin to shine, the older ones start to be left in the dust due to newer iOS features. Luckily, a new custom firmware called Whited00r brings some of these features to older devices such as the iPhone 2G/3G and older iPods. The firmware does not call for a jailbreak, but instead it is based off iOS 3.1.3 to bring you some of the latest features.
Whited00r added features like multitasking, app folders, reminders, improved home screen, video recording, and faster speed. What about iCloud? Whited00r used Dropbox syncing throughout the operating system to sync files with other devices. Whited00r also used a custom Newsstand to deliver news. (via TechCrunch)
With an announcement tomorrow in New York City and an earnings call on Jan. 24, Apple Inc., has reached an all-time high of $429.47 per share on today’s market, and it closed at $429.11. Being up more than four points today, Apple is continuing to close in on a $400B market cap and sits at just $398.70B at closing.
Apple is expected to have had a record breaking Q1, which will be reported in an earnings call with CEO Tim Cook on Jan. 24. With the help of holiday sales, some analysts predict Apple sold 5 million Macs and around 30 million iPhones.
Tomorrow’s media event in New York City also added to today’s stock frenzy. Apple is expected to make a major announcement in the textbook industry. There have been many reports that Apple made the necessary partnerships with publishers, and may even launch its own textbook creation tool — which Ars Technica called a “GarageBand for e-books.” Apple teased the event as an education announcement. Per usual, 9to5Mac will be covering both events. Tomorrow’s event begins at 10 a.m., so stick with us for coverage. Any final predictions?
Apple currently has only one other Apple Store in New York City outside of Manhattan that is located in Staten Island. Things could change, however, according to a new report from NY Daily News that clamed retail developer Yeheskel Elia is working with Apple to bring an “iconic store” to Queens, New York. The specific location of the store would be Austin Street in Forest Hills.
Nothing is official because Elia and Apple are still working on more details. Elia said he would do anything to bring an Apple Store to the bustling area. If a deal is reached, Elia said a store could open in under a year. Several months ago, an Apple broker also reached out to Elia regarding the new store.
The deal would be a “kick in the pants” to the neighboring rival Brooklyn who, with borough president Marty Markowitz and local hipster legions, has campaigned nonstop for an Apple Store for years.
When NY Daily News reached out for comment from Apple, in a typical fashion they responded, Apple has “made no announcements” regarding a NYC store outside of Manhattan (sorry Staten Island).
Backing up rumors that have surfaced over the past couple weeks regarding Apple’s media event on Thursday, ArsTechnicabrings more wood to the fire and claimed Apple will announce a “GarageBand for E-books” on Thursday. Apple already dropped a few hints, such as “Join us for an education announcement,” when it sent out invites last week. Wall Street Journalalso announced that Apple has reportedly been working with publisher McGraw-Hill since June.
ArsTechnica explained the “GarageBand for E-books” notion:
At the same time, however, authoring standards-compliant e-books (despite some promises to the contrary) is not as simple as running a Word document of a manuscript through a filter. The current state of software tools continues to frustrate authors and publishers alike, with several authors telling Ars that they wish Apple or some other vendor would make a simple app that makes the process as easy as creating a song in GarageBand.
Our sources say Apple will announce such a tool on Thursday.
A textbook announcement is definitely coming Thursday, but more information has not been released. A creation tool of some sort definitely sounds like a possibility and removes Apple from the publisher role. At any rate, Eddy Cue will be on stage Thursday morning in New York City to make the announcement. Stay tuned!
Breaking out of Beijing right now: The flagship Apple Store cancelled selling the iPhone 4S after a fight broke out between scalpers (via Mic Gadget). Beijing’s SWAT team is on the scene right now to help tame the rowdy lines. Bloomberg said the angry crowd eager to get the iPhone 4S is pelting the store with eggs.
The Store was set to open at 7 a.m. local time to begin selling the iPhone 4S on China’s second largest carrier China Unicom. We showed you the large lines earlier today as customers gathered. What most people do not know, however, is that the majority of the people in line are scalpers looking sell the devices on the street. Scalpers reportedly started the fight in Beijing, according to MIC Gadget:
There are over thousands of people at the scene and seems like 99% of them are scalpers, according to local media reports. And according to our tipster, the scalpers are well organized, and they are divided into hundreds of teams, just like military forces. Each team includes 10-20 scalpers. Some of them even threw eggs at the glass door of the Apple store, while others threatened to assault the police.
Intel is looking to use its recently unveiled Medfield chips in the iPhone, according toThe Telegraph. In the report, Dave Whalen, vice president of Intel’s architecture group, told The Telegraph that Intel has talked to Apple and other manufacturers about using the new Medfield chips in iOS devices. Specifically, Whalen said as iOS continues to grow, “We talk to everybody.” Intel is also looking to Android and Windows Phone to use the new chips.
It is worth noting that it is highly unlikely Apple would move to Intel chips in iOS devices, even though the company uses Intel in Macs. Since the iPhone 4, Apple has continued to use its own line of processors—with the help of Samsung. The iPhone 4 was graced with the A4, the iPad 2 had the A5, and most recently— the iPhone 4S got the A5. The iPad 3 is rumored to get the quad-core A6 (mock up on the right), and going off Apple’s recent timeline, the iPhone 5 will most likely have the A6.
The most unique aspect about the Medfield chip is that it is a single core, unlike Intel’s previous chips. The Medfield uses the ARM chips’ strategy, in pulling all processes onto a single chip, which helps to save battery life and other things. For now, it looks Apple will most likely stick with its own proprietary chips. Samsung recently opened a factory in Texas for developing the A5 chip, showing Apple is committed to producing its own goods. Therefore, it is interesting that Intel is trying to make a move.
Verizon Wireless made 26 of its live FiOS TV channels available for online streaming on the Xbox 360. In a new report, GigaOM had the chance to sit down and talk to a Verizon representative at CES 2012, who said a similar app would be available for the iPad sometime this year. Verizon originally announced the streaming app about a year ago and a half ago, but the company held back from releasing it. Verizon accredits the hesistance to making sure networks have the same reliability as IPTV services so streams do not crash.
Verizon also rolled out a similar app to Samsung’s connected Blu-Ray players and televisions today. The iPad app will presumably be available free to those who subscribe to Verizon’s FiOS TV service. We look forward to seeing the app land sometime later this year. Obviously, this will only be available for paying FiOS customers.
You are probably familiar with Shazam’s iOS app that lets you identify the name of the song being played, but today, Shazam launched a new iOS app called “Shazam Player.” Shazam Player is free and aims to be a more feature-packed alternative to the default iOS music player. Shazam Player offers options like streaming lyrics; tour dates from artists, YouTube videos, artist biographies, and even the ability to buy new tracks from iTunes within the app.
Besides the ability to play music, Shazam Player can also identify songs similar to the original Shazam app can. From there, you can launch iTunes from within the app to preview or purchase the song. You can share music with your Facebook and Twitter friends. The ability to view tour dates and bios from your favorite artists right within the app is very cool.
Shazam Player certainly is not as lightweight as Apple’s music player, but it does add a great list of features. If you are big on listening to music, this might be the perfect app for you. Try Shazam Player in the App Store!
While Apple does not have a booth or keynote at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company is on the show floor scouting the competition. PaidContent’s Tom Krazit spotted Apple’s head of iOS product marketing Greg Joswiak at Sony’s booth. Joswiak talked to PaidContent, with a grin on his face, and said he was on location to see “How other companies present their products at events such as CES, from things like booth layout and aesthetics to which products are highlighted within a company’s booth.” Interesting.
It is worth noting that Apple has not participated in a trade show since MacWorld 2009, where the company announced iWork ’09, new MacBook Pros, and more. In recent years, Apple has stuck to announcing new products at its own events.
Roaming the floor does not seem like the only thing Apple is doing at CES. At 9to5Mac, we have been independently contacted through email by someone who seems to be seeking information on Apple competitors, including information on what 9to5Mac thinks about the technology being showcased at CES. The contact also wanted to know specifics on how journalists viewed companies’ product marketing practices. This probe certainly sounds similar to Mr. Joswiak’s recent activities on the show floor, right?
Apple just posted its 2012 Proxy Statement for investors. Within, we find that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was awarded almost $400 million in 2011, while Steve Jobs was paid his $1 a year salary. Mr. Forstall’s annualized base salary was increased to $700,000 —from $600,000 in 2010— to match the then-current base salaries of his peers on the executive team. Mr. Cue had a base salary of $444,000 during 2011, the lowest base salary out of the executive team.
Within the Proxy Statement, we also find seven proposals requiring shareholder action. Proposal No. 1 asked that Apple elect eight board directors. Apple will remain with the same eight board members. The other noteworthy proposal, No. 3, asked for an advisory note detailing Apple executive’s compensation. The other four are proposals from Apple’s shareholders including “Conflict of Interest Report,” “Shareholder Say on Director Pay,” “Report on Political Contributions and Expenditures,” and “Adopt a Majority Voting Standard for Director Elections.” In proposal No. 4, shareholders requested Apple’s board of directors submit a report by November 2012 on “board compliance with Apple’s Business Conduct Policy” that includes the following:
1. Disclose the investments of board members that could reasonably be viewed as a financial conflict
of interest;
2. Describe the role board members play in the development of the Company’s policies and the
process by which Apple determines if board member participation violates its Business Conduct
Policy;
3. Disclose policies that could financially benefit board members.
Apple has an upcoming earnings call Jan. 24 to report on the company’s first quarter, where we will most likely hear record sales and earnings for the company.
The full press release is available after the break:
Verizon Wireless’ Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo told attendees at a conference today that Verizon sold a total 4.2 million iPhones during the holiday quarter, according to Bloomberg. Interestingly, the numbers reported by Shammo show that Verizon more than doubled iPhone sales from the previous quarter, where they sold 2 million. This sales hike was likely helped by pent up demand for the iPhone 4S, a cheaper iPhone 4, and the influx of shoppers during the holidays. Verizon’s previous iPhone sales were said by some to be a disappointment.
Apple’s fiscal Q1 earnings call is coming up on Jan. 24, where we will hear the total number of iPhones sold during the holiday quarter. We will also hear specific numbers from Sprint and AT&T in the coming weeks. Last quarter’s total amount of iPhones sold should blow out any previous quarters with some experts putting estimates as high as 35 million.
TechCrunch claims to have also heard that Apple is planning a late-January event that will focus on its media-related business. The event, first reported this morning, is said to involve Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue. Cue’s responsibilities range from the App Store, iTunes Store, iAd, iCloud, and iBooks.
TechCrunch’s report adds some new tidbits: they said that Apple’s late-January event will not feature any hardware at all (previously said to lack mention of a new iPad or television), but will rather be solely about iBooks and publishing. TechCrunch’s source went as far as to claim that the event is “not major.”
According to the source the event will not involve any hardware and instead will focus on publishing and eBooks (sold through Apple’s iBooks platform) rather than iAds. Attendance also be more publishing industry-oriented than consumer.
The event will unveil improvements to the iBooks platform according to the same source, and is not “major.”
Apple Cofounder Steve Jobs noted in an interview with biographer Walter Isaacson that he always dreamed of reinventing the textbook. Cue, in charge of Apple’s already existing iBooks publishing business, would be the perfect person to introduce such a service.
The folks over at Cinema5Dhad the chance to review the $11,700 RED Scarlet-X 4K camera, and boy is it fine. Not only does the Scarlet-X boast a 4K resolution, but also it has a body that is ready to withstand anything. At its film-grade 25FPS, the camera shoots a whopping 4096 x 2160 resolution. Obviously, this is not anything for amateurs (hence the price tag), but it is fun to look at nonetheless. Check out the first part of the review above and the second part after the break. (via Engadget)
Verizon Wireless has been under fire this week after announcing it would begin imposing a $2 fee on customers who do not have their bill set to be paid automatically, and instead pay it through electronic check. Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced they would begin investigating Verizon’s new fee. Shortly after, Verizon announced on its website that they will not impose the fee to meet with customer’s requests.
The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.
Verizon said this fee was going to help move customers to a more convenient payment method. Luckily, they have chosen to go the other way. Expand Expanding Close
AppTrackr is the most popular marketplace for downloading cracked iOS applications. The company announced in a blog post, via Installous, that Apple began sending “take down” notices over cracked applications and have been scraping AppTrackr’s links looking for infractions (via iJailbreak). To combat Apple’s wrath, the crew at AppTrackr have moved several of their servers offshore to countries without copyright laws and have added CAPATCHA code to all outbound links. AppTrackr will now place an ad on the CAPATCHA page to pay for moving servers.
It looks like Apple has begun to make the leap and crack down on cracked iOS applications. AppTrackr uses their installer tool called Installous to install cracked applications, and makes available applications like Apple’s Numbers, NOAA Radar US, Nike+ GPS, and more to those who jailbreak. Obviously with the wide range of applications that AppTrackr makes available, it could potentially hurt some of Apple’s sales (right now). Check out a screenshot of AppTrackr’s blog post after the break.
