Apple said to be in 'crunch mode' to ready 'iPad 3' apps for on-stage demos, ads - Apple Insider

Apple said to be in 'crunch mode' to ready 'iPad 3' apps for on-stage demos, ads

By Josh Ong

Published: 08:40 PM EST (05:40 PM PST)

As evidence continues to point toward an early March launch for the next-generation iPad, a new report claims that Apple is now in "crunch mode" as it prepares for on-stage demonstrations and television commercials highlighting apps for the device.

Sources intimated to The Next Web on Thursday that the Cupertino, Calif., company's selection process is proceeding at an "increased rate." Of course, it is to be expected that Apple would be under more pressure as the event approaches, but the report does triangulate other recent reports that have pegged a Retina Display-equipped third-generation iPad for an early March launch.

Apple has traditionally showcased some of its own apps, such as GarageBand and iMovie, as well as exemplary third-party apps at its media events for new iOS devices. According to the report, the company is placing an emphasis on "graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets" to spotlight the rumored Retina Display on the device.

The iPad maker is also reportedly forwarding some apps to its advertising partner TWBA/Chiat/Day as the agency readies commercials for the third-generation tablet. Author Matthew Panzarino noted that the process is entering its "final phase" and is on a tight deadline for the presentation and subsequent television broadcast.

Speculation surrounding the so-called "iPad 3" has reached a fever pitch in recent days as more specific details appear to have emerged. AllThingsD reported on Thursday that the special event for the next-gen tablet will take place during the first week in March. The publication also affirmed that the tablet will have a resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, a "much faster" processor and improved graphics performance. Also on Thursday, The New York Times cited an Apple employee as saying the new iPad will have a "truly amazing" screen.

In addition, several photos purportedly of next-generation iPad components have surfaced this week. Images of an alleged back panel for the device appeared to show "very different" mounts for the logic board and a larger battery, as well as a "different" camera and LCD display. Meanwhile, a picture that may have been of the outside of a back panel suggested that Apple does not plan to make any major design changes to the form factor of the device. Finally, a photo has emerged of a high-resolution LCD panel manufactured by Sharp that "seems to be" bound for the next iPad.

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FBI releases file on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs - Los Angeles Times

Questionable moral character, use of illegal drugs, the abandonment of a child and a willingness to distort reality: Welcome to the FBI dossier of Steve Jobs.

On Thursday the agency released a file on Jobs that it had compiled in 1991, when the Apple Inc. co-founder was in the running for an appointment under President George H.W. Bush. Included in the 191-page document are confirmations of Jobs' dabblings in marijuana and LSD, his strained relationship with a high school girlfriend with whom he had a child out of wedlock and even some scribbled notes from a time he received a bomb threat in 1985.

Much of the information about Jobs' youth, business dealings and volatile personality have been widely known for years and received fresh attention after a lengthy biography was published after Jobs' death in October. But in interviewing dozens of friends, ex-friends, neighbors, employees and colleagues, the FBI collected a trove of firsthand opinions of Jobs, one of the most secretive figures in American business.

Though many of his acquaintances agreed that Jobs was a brilliant business man and capable candidate for the post, not all of them praised Jobs equally.

One interviewee, apparently a former colleague at Apple, said that Jobs "will twist the truth in order to achieve whatever goal he has set for himself" and that he was a "deceptive person."

The person, whose name was redacted from the report along with everyone else's, went on to say Jobs would make a fine appointee to the President's Export Council, an committee that advises the president on international trade, as "honesty and integrity are not prerequisites to assume such a position." (The same person later admitted to the agent that he did not receive any Apple stock, "which would have made him quite wealthy now.")

One woman said Jobs was a "visionary and charismatic individual who was at the same time shallow and callous to people in his personal relationships" — a trait she ascribed to Jobs' "narcissism and shallowness."

More than one interviewee brought up Jobs' troubled relationship with his high school girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan, who was also the mother of his first daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs. Jobs "basically abandoned [Brennan] and her daughter," one person said.

However, nearly everyone interviewed agreed that Jobs' intelligence, boundless energy and familiarity with the technology business would make him an excellent trade advisor.

Two interviewees called Jobs "strong willed, stubborn, hardworking, and driven, which they believe is why he is so successful."

The report contained some details of a bomb threat against Jobs in 1985, in which someone calling from a pay phone at the San Francisco airport claimed he had placed four bombs in the homes of Jobs and others and demanded $1 million. An investigation did not turn up any bombs and no suspect was located.

A few quirky details of Jobs' personal life were also buried in the report. He had a 2.65 grade-point average in high school, for instance. And as an adult he "did a great deal of jogging."

As far as his exercise habits, Jobs himself told agents that he was a member at the New York Athletic Club — the only organization he admitted to being part of.

Jobs was also known for being a good neighbor, who at his unadorned homes in Palo Alto and Woodside, Calif., often left his door unlocked and kept to himself.

He was a "quiet and unassuming individual," said a person who lived next door, who noted that Jobs had even "visited her last week to ensure some landscaping he was having done would not cause any problems."

david.sarno@latimes.com

deborah.netburn@latimes.com

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Apple Faces Boycott Over Worker Abuses In China. It's Not Crazy Talk. - Forbes

Fair-labor organizers, Change.org and SumOfUs.org, delivered 250,000 signatures to Apple stores in six cities around the world on Thursday in protest of the company’s working conditions in China, according to a report in Mashable.

Last month, an excellent New York Times exposé ripped at Apple’s core, building on previous concerns about abuses at firms that Apple uses to make its bestselling iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.

The claims should be familiar by now as Foxconn in southern China, one of Apple’s primary suppliers, has repeatedly been the subject of accusations of worker mistreatment and unsafe working conditions. From Mashable:

Foxconn has been accused of making laborers work long hours without breaks, use dangerous chemicals that have caused severe health problems and exposing workers to dangerous conditions. The repetitive work and spartan living conditions have also been to blame for suicides at the factory.

Charlotte Hill, communications manager at Change.org, pleaded with Apple to use its creativity to “think ethically” and create an iPhone without using factories that have harsh working conditions.

“No iPhone is worth that cost,” she said.

At the same time, Apple has also generated billions of dollars in profits, in part due to the cheapness of Chinese labor. (Revenue last quarter surged 74 percent to a record US$46.3 billion and profit more than doubled to US$13.1 billion, blowing away Wall Street‘s expectations as Apple sold more stuff than in any quarter in its history.)

The Mashable report comes as rumors point to Siri, the much lauded iPhone 4S intelligent personal assistant, adding Mandarin Chinese support next month.

For perspective, read “The Apple Boycott: People Are Spouting Nonsense about Chinese Manufacturing.”

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Secret agents raid Apple store webcam 'artist' - BBC News

8 July 2011 Last updated at 10:54 ET The US Secret Service has raided the home of an artist who collected images from webcams in a New York Apple store.

Kyle McDonald is said to have installed software that photographed people looking at laptops then uploaded the pictures to a website.

Mr McDonald said he had obtained permission from a security guard to take photos inside the store.

Apple declined to comment. However, the Secret Service confirmed that its electronic crime division was involved.

A spokesperson told the BBC that the investigation was taking place under US Code Title 18 /1030 which relates to "Fraud and related activity in connection with computers."

Offences covered by the legislation carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Writing on Twitter, Mr McDonald said: "@secretservice just stopped by to investigate [web address removed] and took my laptop. Please assume they're reading any e-mails you send me."

No arrests had been made in the case as of 8 July.

Staring

Kyle McDonald's images were uploaded to a page on the blogging site Tumblr.

In the description of People Staring at Computers, the project is described as: "A photographic intervention. Custom app installed around NYC, taking a picture every minute and uploading it if a face is found in the image.

"Exhibited on site with a remotely triggered app that displayed the photos full screen on every available computer."

The site features a video and series of photographs, apparently showing shoppers trying-out computers.

Comments on the individuals by visitors to the site are also attached to the images.

Mr McDonald, writing on Twitter, said that he had been advised not to comment on the case by the online freedom group the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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Report: iPad will grow 250% in 2011 at the expense of PCs - Apple Insider

Report: iPad will grow 250% in 2011 at the expense of PCs

By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 03:00 PM EST

A new report claims tablet sales will more than triple next year, but says Apple will hold on to its dominant position with the iPad, jumping from 14 million units in 2010 to 36 million next year.

The report, cited by John Paczkowski of the Wall Street Journal Digital Daily blog, was prepared by Caris & Co. analyst Robert Cihra.

"We model Apple?s iPad continuing to dominate [?] in 2011,? Cihra wrote. "iPad not only launched with phenomenal early uptake but effectively sent all wannabes back to the drawing board, delaying most competitive tablet launches well into CY11.

"Yet we now already look forward to the first iPad 2 refresh in March (i.e., establishing annual cadence for iPads in March, iPhone each June and iPods in Sept). An enormous multi-year opportunity, we continue to view iPads less about the ?product? but rather igniting an explosion toward ?thin-client? Access computing.?

Android licensees, including Acer, Motorola and possibly HTC, are expected to demo new tablets at CES, but those devices won't be ready until Google finishes Android OS 3.0 Honeycomb, which isn't expected for release until March 2011. RIM is still struggling to put its PlayBook technologies together, while HP prepares its first webOS tablet, expected to be named PalmPad. Microsoft is also believed to be attempting a second shot at launching tablets running Windows 7 at CES.

A large number of new competing mobile platforms will make it easier for Apple's iPad to stand up as an established product, with thousands of apps and mature enterprise support, in a sea of incompatible tablet designs attempting to deliver a wide range of screen sizes and other feature packages.

Tablets to expand at the expense of conventional PCs

Cihra estimates global tablet sales at 54 million in 2011, with Apple taking 67 percent market share with its iPad. That growth, he said, would come at the expense of PCs.

"We see cannibalization from ?thin-client? iPads/tablets, particularly vs. netbooks and in multi-PC homes, already growing to 1/7th the size of the overall PC market in 2011 and shaving 5 percentage points off what PC growth might otherwise have been,? Cihra wrote. PC growth, excluding tablets, is expected to drop from 14 percent this year to just 9 percent in 2011.

However, if tablets are defined as a new PC form factor they would turn the situation around, as Cihra presented graphically in the report (below).

Defining the iPad as a PC, which Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer did earlier this year, also more than doubles Apple's market share and establishes the company as the largest mobile PC maker in the US and the third largest worldwide, behind only HP and Acer, and just ahead of Dell.

While the iPad is devastating growth among low end notebooks and netbooks, they haven't had a discernible impact upon Apple's MacBook sales, which have been bolstered by the recent release of the MacBook Air. Apple doesn't sell any PCs on the extreme low end, isolating it from the cannibalization other PC makers are experiencing in the wake of the iPad's release. Instead, the iPad has bolstered Apple's earnings while appearing to only offer a halo effect that supports Mac sales and growth.

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Apple Kills Jailbreak Detection API in iOS 4.2 - PC Magazine

And just like that, Apple's methods for detecting jailbroken iPhones went up in smoke. We're referring, of course, to the jailbreak detection API that the company recently introduced as part of its iOS 4 update. Lasting a mere six months, the detection API is now gone as of iOS version 4.2, forcing device management vendors to turn to alternate approaches to detect jailbroken devices.

There's been no reason as to why the switch occurred on Apple's end. However, the company has always found itself in a kind of cat-and-mouse battle throughout the iPhone's existence—just as soon as it unveils a new method for protecting phones or, in this case, alerting users to jailbroken devices, enterprising iPhone hackers seem to find a way to work around Apple's techniques.

"It may be feasible to detect jailbreaks of a specific version or type, but they will still be trapped in the cat and mouse game they play with jailbreakers," said Jeremy Allen, principal consultant with Intrepidus Group, in an interview with NetworkWorld.

"Whatever they add to detect the jailbreak, if it is to be queried from the iOS kernel, it must be accessible and have the ability to be changed. Meaning, if it is going to be a useful detection method it can also be circumvented. It is a fairly intractable problem to solve one-hundred-percent," he added.

In this case, the specific API allowed mobile device management applications to essentially query the iPhone itself and ask the device whether it's been jailbroken or not. That's made possible by the fact that a number of jailbreaks change specific files used by the operating system and, as well, exploit the underlying code in some fashion. This "unlocks" the iPhone and allows users to install third-party applications not otherwise found in the App Store or, crazier yet, full-fledged OS replacement s and other more advanced tweaks.

Once an iPhone coughed up the fact that it had been jailbroken using Apple's API, an enterprise application could take actions to prevent the offending (and possibly unsecure) device from connecting up to a corporate network or email server. As well, a centralized IT department could be notified that a device was modified in an unauthorized fashion.

That said, mobile device management applications do have other ways of checking for jailbroken phones that don't themselves rely on Apple's now-defunct API. For example, an application can attempt to perform functions within iOS that are otherwise forbidden by the software on a standard iPhone. If the application is successful, then it knows that said device has been tweaked by the end user.

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Report: Apple Mac App Store Launching Dec. 13 - PC Magazine

Apple is planning to launch its Mac App Store on December 13, an "inside source" told the blog Appletell.

Apple has reportedly told developers to have their software ready as early as today, but Appletell's source did not think it would happen that early. Delays are possible, the blog said, but there is an internal push to have the app store launched before Christmas.

Last week, Apple released some additional guidelines for the Mac App Store, including a ban on the submission of beta or trial apps, updated rules about file system usage, and suggestions for custom apps.

Apple first announced plans for the app store at the October 20 "Back to the Mac" press event. It will be included in the upcoming Lion OS (slideshow below), set to be released next year, but Apple also wanted to release a version for Snow Leopard this year. Apple started accepted submissions for the Mac App Store on November 3.

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Mobiles, iPod touch killing off Nintendo DS, Sony PSP - Apple Insider

Mobiles, iPod touch killing off Nintendo DS, Sony PSP

By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 04:00 PM EST

In contrast to all the "iPod-killers" imagined by Apple's competitors, new research quantifies just how much Apple's iOS platform has done to actually displace standalone gaming devices like the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.

According to a new report by Interpret, mobile phones now make up 43.8 percent of the mobile gaming market, which includes Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP lines of handheld devices.

While the proportion of games played on phones has increased by 53.2 percent over the last year, the number played on the DS and PSP have actually fallen by 13 percent.

The firm noted that "a full 27.2% of consumers who indicate that they play games on their phones only (and not on the DS/PSP) actually own a DS or PSP, but do not actively use the device(s)."

Courtney Johnson, a research and analysis manager at Interpret, added that "the proliferation of highly multifunctional smartphones and messaging phones is a very real threat to the dominance by the DS and PSP of the handheld gaming market. Devices which satisfy a variety of entertainment and utility are fast outstripping single-function devices as consumer favorites."

Adapting to a changing market

Prior to the appearance of the iPhone, Apple faced similar threats to its iPod lineup at the hands of smartphones, which analysts predicted would eat into iPod sales by offering MP3 features that made standalone players obsolete. However, the iPhone and iPod touch helped Apple to maintain its position with the iPod while leveraging its existing economies of scale to successfully enter the smartphone market.

Additionally, Apple's release of an open Software Development Kit for iPhone in 2008 helped create an entirely new market for paid downloadable apps, one that hadn't ever really taken off for previous mobile platforms before.

By that time, the hardware of the late 2004 Nintendo DS and Sony PSP were already being challenged by the new iPhone. By the end of 2008, gaming legend Jon Carmack of id Software went on record as saying the iPhone was "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and PSP combined," and praised Apple's App Store revenue sharing model in the App Store.

Since then, smartphones have advanced significantly in processor and graphics capabilities while Nintendo has largely only offered a bigger DS screen and Sony has done little to advance the PSP. Both Nintendo and Sony have also made only the barest of attempts to push downloadable games, likely out of fear of disrupting the highly lucrative market for licensing third party titles.

Bleak future for PSP2, 3DS

Sony is rumored to be readying a PSP2 as a successor to the existing PSP toward the end of 2011, and Sony Ericsson is also working to create an Android phone cable of playing PSP games, expected in February 2011.

Nintendo has released subtle improvements to the DS line, but will be launching its first major upgrade in the spring of 2011 under then name 3DS, featuring games with 3D screen effects that don't require glasses, 3G mobile connectivity, an accelerometer and GPS features.

Apple's iPhone 4 and iPod touch already deliver a host of gaming related hardware features, including a gyroscope and a high resolution Retina Display. Unlike the DS and PSP line, Apple's iOS also features strong web browsing and productivity apps, a high quality mobile camera with video capture and editing and FaceTime video chat, and other software titles that move well beyond gaming (in addition to the iPhone working as a phone).

iOS cracks open mobile gaming

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, recently stated that mobile games were "approaching saturation on the handheld market. We?re starting to see DS hardware sales crack," he said.

"I think the big woody of the iPod Touch is cutting into the handheld market, I think the PSP is dead on arrival and I think the PSP2 is going to be dead on arrival. It looks to me like young kids are just as happy playing with an iPod Touch or a Nano.?

Pachter asked, ?what?s the difference if you play Tetris on an iPod Touch or on a DS? Well, you pay a buck on the iPod Touch, you pay $20 on the DS. Parents prefer $1 or free software. I think the iPod Touch is going to sell really, really well. I really think as the iPod Touch gets more and more powerful, you?re going to see a lot of free games over there."

Pachter predicted that Nintendo's forthcoming 3DS "will prolong the handheld market for the game manufacturers, but ultimately, I think handhelds are in trouble. After the 3DS has had its little rush I think the handhelds will continue to decline.?

The top titles for Nintendo's DS are primarily first party games created by Nintendo. If the market for standalone handheld game hardware collapses at the foot of smartphones and the iPod touch, Nintendo may find itself in the position of Sega after the failure of the Dreamcast console.

Sega gave up on building hardware and began creating games for existing platforms, including some of the first games for Apple's iOS.

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Rumor: Rumor: Apple Considering Norman Foster for New Campus Design - The Mac Observer

According to the latest word to come from the rumor mill, Apple is considering hiring Norman Foster to design its new campus on the Cupertino land recently purchased from HP. Mr. Foster is know throughout the world for his striking architectural designs, including London’s “Gherkin.”

El Economista (English translation) reports that Apple is considering linking its current Cupertino campus with the new facility via underground tunnels so staff can move between the buildings without crossing streets or having to go outside. The new campus will apparently be designed to be environmentally friendly as well.

Foster’s “Gherkin” with a little Apple touch

Apple recently purchased some 98 acres of land in Cupertino from HP with plans to expand its headquarters office space. The new land sits along Wolfe Road and butts up against an Apple land purchase from 2006.

“We now occupy 57 buildings in Cupertino and our campus is bursting at the seams,” Apple corporate spokesperson Steve Dowling said. “These offices will give us more space for our employees as we continue to grow.”

Apple isn’t saying who it plans to hire for the new campus design, nor has it said when it expects to start construction. Until Apple makes an official announcement, word that Mr. Foster is working with the company should be considered an unconfirmed rumor.

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Global mobile split between Apple's iOS and Symbian - Apple Insider

Global mobile split between Apple's iOS and Symbian

By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 02:00 PM EST

December began with an blizzard, dumping heavy and dense piles of StatCounter web analytics about mobile users, each offering an apparently contradictory look at which vendors were ahead in the race to blanket the world with mobile devices.

StatCounter's headlines

An initial report on StatCounter's data suggested an American comeback by RIM's BlackBerry, shored up by data that showed RIM grabbing the lead in the US with 34.3 percent of all web traffic from smartphone users, just two years after Apple trounced RIM with three times its presence in US web stats.

Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets explained in a note that RIM's sudden assent in browser stats was "likely on uptake of the release of new BlackBerry [OS] 6 devices (with their improved [Web Kit] browser." He added, "alternatively, it may also reflect how Apple and Android users are doing more apps than browsing on their devices."

Reports of data culled from web analytics firms like StatCounter only take into account web traffic, and aren't able to monitor how phones are being used. They can also offer misleading slices of accurate data that are nearly meaningless to the market because they overrate the importance of a headline-grabbing detail while ignoring surrounding facts of greater significance.

iOS with the iPod touch

Pingdom, a vendor of network server monitoring tools, has supplied its own take on StatCounter's figures with a global look at mobile OS usage. While the first StatCounter report presented data only on smartphones, Pingdom included stats for the iPod touch (but not the iPad) in its iOS figures.

Apple's market position with iPhone is supported by iPod touch sales; long before the company could line up distribution deals for the iPhone with carriers globally, the iPod touch was bundled with other phones by those carriers, introducing their users to the iOS and likely tilting their next phone purchase in favor of the iPhone.

Other mobile device makers also offer iPod touch-like devices, but none have become very popular. Smartphone stats that ignore the iPod touch don't provide a realistic view of the mobile market, and in particular the demand for software specific to a given mobile platform.

For example, while sales of all phones from all manufacturers using some version of Android have overtaken the iPhone in the US, they haven't eclipsed the unified market for all iOS devices, which helps to explain (in part) why Android Market isn't leading in mobile software sales, or attracting the same interest from developers and marketers.

Think globally

Additionally, the US is only one part of the global market for mobile devices. Apple has rapidly rolled out both device sales and its App Store to more countries than Android Market, BlackBerry App World, and Microsoft's previous Windows Marketplace for Mobile or its fledgling Windows Phone 7 app store.

This has enabled Apple to take the market share lead in mobile devices away from Symbian in a variety of key markets. Pingdom's stats show the iOS has taken the lead across North America, Australia, and even Symbian's home turf of Europe.

Symbian still leads in Asia, Africa and South America, and not just because cheaper feature phones are selling in massive volume to third world countries. The figures are based on web share, so the mobile devices portrayed in the numbers must at least have a web browser. Entry level Symbian devices do sell for considerably less than full fledged smartphones however.

Beyond Nokia's first place position, Apple is in second place globally, with RIM's BlackBerry in third and Android in fourth place. The report notes that "BlackBerry?s strongest region is North America, but it is still behind iOS there. Android might be growing fast, but it?s still far from dominating any part of the world."

In global numbers, HP's Palm webOS "hardly made a dent," while the report stated that "WinCE is pretty much universally dead. Windows Mobile reaches a couple of percent in a few countries, but that?s about it. We?ll see what happens with Microsoft?s Windows Phone 7."

By nation

Symbian's global lead comes without much presence in the US at all; only 1.36 percent of web traffic in the US comes from Symbian phones. However, Symbian is the leading mobile OS for 100 other countries, and accounts for half or more of the mobile web traffic in 75 of them. Symbian's top ten nations where it is the most popular are Chad, Libya, Sudan, Iraq, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Somalia, Mozambique and Paraguay; Symbian phones account for 84 to 94 percent of all mobile web traffic in these countries.

Apple's iOS leads in 30 countries, and in 21 of these it accounts for half or more of the country's mobile web traffic. Its top ten countries are Canada, Cuba, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Singapore, Denmark and Sweden; iOS devices account for between 62 and 84 percent of all mobile traffic in these countries. Japan and Belgium are nearly tied with Sweden, with iOS taking a 61 percent share of all web traffic in those two nations.

In the US, Apple accounts for just over 35 of all mobile web traffic with the iOS, as it competes directly with RIM's BlackBerry and Android. RIM's share of web traffic is 32 percent, lower than the iOS because these numbers include iPod touch.

BlackBerry commands a slight lead when it is only compared against the iPhone, as noted above. RIM doesn't sell an iPod touch-like product, but is planning to enter the non-phone tablet market to compete against the iPad (these stats do not include iPad use however).

BlackBerry is the leading mobile OS in four countries (all in Central and South America), and is tied with iOS in a fifth (the UK). The only nation where BlackBerry enjoys more than half of all web traffic is the Dominican Republic.

Pingdom points out that "interesting enough, considering RIM is a Canadian company, it isn?t all that strong in its native Canada, where it accounts for a mere 3.6% of the country?s mobile web traffic." It also notes that RIM has a stronger presence in the UK than in the US.

Android has a 23 percent share of US traffic, and only leads in one country: South Korea. That's where Samsung has been selling its Galaxy S. There are no other countries where Android makes up more than half of the nation's web traffic.

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Apple posts Black Friday deals [u]

View the original article here

In battle of iPad vs. Android-based Galaxy Tab, 85% prefer Apple - Apple Insider

In battle of iPad vs. Android-based Galaxy Tab, 85% prefer Apple

By Neil Hughes

Published: 07:55 AM EST

A new consumer poll pitting the Samsung Galaxy Tab against the iPad discovered that an overwhelming majority -- 85 percent -- prefer Apple's touchscreen tablet.

Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray revealed the results of a survey he and his team recently conducted. The Galaxy Tab got off to a relatively strong start, selling 600,000 worldwide in its first month of availability.

In the survey of 65 consumers, customers were asked to share what they believe the "perceived value" of each tablet is. Those polled indicated they felt the 3G-capable iPad is worth about $417 -- less than its actual price of $629, but also much higher than the $283 perceived value of the Galaxy Tab.

The survey indicates that customers believe both products should have lower prices, but also shows that respondents felt that the iPad is a product of more valuable than the Android-based Galaxy Tab.

"We note that the Galaxy Tab is not available in a Wi-Fi only model, which would compare to the Wi-Fi only iPad at $499," Munster wrote. "That said, we would expect the results of a similar survey conducted with the less expensive Wi-Fi only iPad to amplify the difference in perceived value relative to the MSRP. In other words, the perceived value of an iPad is actually slightly closer to its base-MSRP than our survey suggests."

Munster said he expects both the iPad and Android-based tablets to succeed, but Apple has the advantage of a head start. He has forecast that the tablet market will grow 205 percent year over year in calendar year 2011, hitting 44.2 million units.

He has predicted that Apple will sell 13 million iPads in calendar year 2010, representing an 89 percent market share. But Apple's share is projected to dip to 53 percent in calendar year 2011, with sales of 23.3 million units. He sees Android taking a 33 percent share, with 14.4 million total units.

Munster has referred to the iPad as the "Mac of the masses," as Apple's tablet is already outselling the Mac. After tracking sales on Black Friday last week, Piper Jaffray found that consumer interest in the iPad was significantly strong for the holidays.

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View the original article here

Apple removes anti-gay app from App Store - CNET

(Credit: Manhattan Declaration)

Apple has removed an iPhone app considered anti-gay following a wave of protests sent through the online petition site Change.org.

Initially approved and available in the App Store in October, the Manhattan Declaration app was submitted by members of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement launched last year by a number of Christian leaders espousing their condemnation of both gay marriage and abortion rights.

In approving the app, Apple originally gave it a rating of 4+, meaning it had "no objectionable material."

But described by Change.org as an application that invites people to join anti-gay and anti-choice campaigns, the Manhattan Declaration app had offered a "survey" with four questions, including "Do you believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman?" and "Do you support the right of choice regarding abortion?" Users who responded contrary to the beliefs of the group received a message at the end informing them that they answered 0 out of 4 questions correct. The app also invited people to sign up to support and donate to the group's cause.

In reaction to the app, Change.org created an online petition directed toward Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking that the app be removed for its "hateful and divisive language." Following e-mails from more than 7,700 people sent through Change.org, Apple removed the app Thanksgiving weekend.

In response to the app's removal, an Apple spokeswoman e-mailed CNET the following statement:

"We removed the Manhattan Declaration app from the App Store because it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."

In its own response yesterday, the Manhattan Declaration said that it's perplexed over Apple's decision to remove the app, saying that "Apple pulled the app shortly after a small but very vocal protest by those who favor gay marriage and abortion."

Responding to charges that the Manhattan Declaration is homophobic and anti-gay, the group said it doesn't believe that "disagreement" is "gay-bashing" and insists that the language it uses "to defend traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life...is civil, non-inflammatory, and respectful." The group also said it has written to Steve Jobs urging him to restore the app.

View the original article here

Biz Break: From Apple, $458 iPads; plus: more Black Friday in... - San Jose Mercury News

Today: Apple has cut prices on the iPad for today only. In Silicon Valley, malls are crowded, but consumers say they're being careful with their spending. Plus: More Apple news, Del Monte, Silicon Valley tech stocks.

Black Friday deals

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and (as is our holiday weekend custom) we're glad we're working today and not battling the Black Friday crowds at Silicon Valley's favorite malls, big-box retailers and shopping districts.

If we wanted an iPad (hey, we've contributed a lot to Apple's revenue stream already this year), we'd be super-stoked to know that the Cupertino maker of Mac computers and "i" devices has included the new tablet computer

among its own online Black Friday specials.

Apple has reduced iPad prices by $41, the iPod touch by $21 to $41, the iPod nano by $11 to $21, and computers including the iMac, MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook Air by $101.

If you want a new flat-panel TV, this is a good time to buy, according to our friends at The Associated Press. A supply glut will bring prices down sharply from last holiday season, according to the AP report.

Here in Silicon Valley, shoppers were up early this morning. The Merc and our Bay Area News Group siblings have a small army of reporters tracking the frenzy.

While consumer hot spots such as Westfield Valley Fair, Santana Row and Stanford Shopping Center have been busy, many shoppers say they're being careful with their spending this season.

"It's getting crowded earlier," Valley Fair shopper Debbie Fumia of Los Gatos told a Merc reporter this morning. "I think it's the hype. I have a 17-year-old. He left at 7:30 -- a half-hour before me. He said he and his girlfriend want to experience Black Friday. They are not shopping. They are coming for the experience."

Holiday headlines

Here's some Bay Area business news you may have missed since Wednesday afternoon:

Apple: The rapidly growing company has bought more land in Cupertino, according to a Merc report. A spokesman confirmed that Apple bought a 98-acre site on Pruneridge Avenue from tech giant Hewlett-Packard, which is consolidating employees at its Palo Alto headquarters.

The land is adjacent to a 50-acre site Apple bought last year. Both properties are just a short drive from Apple's Infinite Loop headquarters campus off De Anza Boulevard.

"We now occupy 57 buildings in Cupertino and our campus is bursting at the seams," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told a Merc reporter. "These offices will give us more space for our employees as we continue to grow."

Neither Apple nor HP revealed the purchase price, although HP reportedly had sought as much as $300 million.

Del Monte Foods: The San Francisco company agreed to a $19-a-share buyout by private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Partners. The deal is valued at $5.3 billion, including $1.3 billion in debt.

Del Monte Foods' stock finished trading today at $18.83, up 84 cents, or 4.7 percent, from Wednesday's closing price.

Silicon Valley tech stocks

Up: Apple, Cisco Systems.

Down: Google, Oracle, Intel, HP, eBay, VMware, Gilead Sciences, Yahoo.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Down 8.56, or 0.3 percent, to 2,534.56.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Down 95.28, or 0.9 percent, to 11,092.00.

And the widely watched Standard & Poor's 500 index: Down 8.95, or 0.7 percent, to 1,189.40.

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq ended regular trading early today.

Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Frank Russell at 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.

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Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011 - Apple Insider

Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011

By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 03:00 PM EST

Reports from a variety of analysts predict a huge swell in tablet computer sales next year ranging from 35 to 100 million units in total, with Apple's iPad accounting for the largest number sold by far.

A report by Barrons compared the predictions of analysts from Citigroup, FBR Capital Markets and Gartner; reports from each differ widely on the number of tablets that will be sold next year, but all agree Apple will lead the pack.

Citigroup's estimates say 35 million tablet devices will ship in 2011, with Apple's iPad representing three quarters of the total (around 26 million), giving it a share of the market similar to the company's dominant position in music players with the iPod.

Citigroup sees 400 million PCs being sold next year, but estimates that growth in tablets will come at the expense of 11 million PCs (which would have been sold had the iPad not shaken up the market). That's enough to have prompted the group to reduce its expected growth of the PC market from 12 percent to just 9 percent over this year's sales.

Craig Berger of FBR Capital Markets says Apple will sell 40 million iPads next year, and that other makers will mange to sell another 30 million. He indicates that every 2.5 tablets sold will result in a lost PC sale, or a total of 28 million fewer conventional PCs.

While often missing the mark on its reports, DigiTimes has reported Apple is gearing up manufacturing to reach annual production of 70 million iPads, and expected other makers to contribute an additional 30 million to tablet sales.

Gartner noted that the last quarter of PC sales was "the weakest in several years," but does not include iPads in its definition of PCs sold.

Weathering the iPad storm

Apple's sales of iPads are cutting into PC makers' profit margins, including Apple's own. Of course, Apple also enjoys the fattest profit margins of PC makers, thanks to its ability to attract buyers to machines with a higher average sales price.

Company executives began warning about more aggressive prices on upcoming products, a ruthless strategy intended to keep the iPad from repeating the mistake of isolating a leading product into an upscale market niche as it did with the Macintosh in the late 80s.

By leveraging the vast economies of scale inherent in building tens of millions of iPods and iPhones, Apple can sell the nearly 10 inch iPad for the same price or less than competitors can afford to sell their much smaller 7 inch tablets, which Apple insists can't deliver a differentiated experience over existing smartphone-class devices the way that the iPad can.

While Apple's successful growth in entering the existing smartphone business has been duplicated and in some cases exceeded in sales volumes by Android, Googles operating system hasn't produced competitive music players or tablets, both markets that were largely defined by Apple with the iPod and iPad and, in the case of the iPod, a market Apple maintained a dominant position in for years even under the onslaught of supposed "iPod-killers" promised by Creative, Sony, Microsoft, and others.

iPad contenders

Meanwhile, rival PC makers are left to use Microsoft's Windows 7, which hasn't done well in the Tablet PC/Slate PC market before; or adopt Google's current Android OS, which the company itself doesn't yet recommend for tablet-sized devices but is already being sold on devices such as the Galaxy Tab; or use Google's still unfinished Chrome OS, which delivers a browser-centric experience.

Other companies, including RIM and HP, have decided to build their own iOS competitors, with RIM embarking on a new tablet environment for its PlayBook that pairs the QNX kernel with Adobe's AIR (a derivative of Flash) to provide a development environment for apps and the overall system.

HP's acquisition of Palm and its WebOS promises to bring another option to the tablet market sometime next year, sporting the web-based environment that didn't help Palm remain self sufficient in its efforts to rebuild its smartphone business with the Palm Pre. HP's previous attempt to deliver a Slate PC running Windows 7 failed miserably.

Sony adopts, then drops, Cocoa-like GNUStep plans to rival Apple iOS Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011Black Friday Macs: Save up to $130 on MacBook Airs, $150 on MacBooks, $270 on MacBook Pros, $180 on iMacs, $100 on Mac minis and $400 on Mac Pros Black Friday Software: 80% off Adobe CS5, Office 2011 for $89, Final Cut Studio for $799 Black Friday Electronics: AirPrint-ready printers, Apple accessories, and digital cameras Black Friday iOS devices: Apple TV for $79.99, 8GB iPod touches for $199.99Apple nabs HP's former 98 acre campus in CupertinoApple resellers launch early Black Friday sales: up to $150 off MacBooks, $270 off MacBook Pros, $180 off iMacs, $100 off MacBook AirsEarly Black Friday: Apple TV for $79.99, Office 2011 for $89.99, VMWare Fusion for $27.99 Apple posts Black Friday deals [u]Report predicts "monster holiday season" for AppleRIM's PlayBook may undercut Apple iPad at $399 - reportNPD: 11% of consumers likely to purchase Apple iPad by FebruaryOprah declares Apple's iPad her 'favorite thing ever,' gives away 275


Sony adopts, then drops, Cocoa-like GNUStep plans to rival Apple iOS
Apple iPad widely expected to lead tablet disruption of PCs in 2011
Black Friday Macs: Save up to $130 on MacBook Airs, $150 on MacBooks, $270 on MacBook Pros, $180 on iMacs, $100 on Mac minis and $400 on Mac Pros
Black Friday Software: 80% off Adobe CS5, Office 2011 for $89, Final Cut Studio for $799
Black Friday Electronics: AirPrint-ready printers, Apple accessories, and digital cameras
Black Friday iOS devices: Apple TV for $79.99, 8GB iPod touches for $199.99
Apple nabs HP's former 98 acre campus in Cupertino
Apple resellers launch early Black Friday sales: up to $150 off MacBooks, $270 off MacBook Pros, $180 off iMacs, $100 off MacBook Airs
Early Black Friday: Apple TV for $79.99, Office 2011 for $89.99, VMWare Fusion for $27.99
Apple posts Black Friday deals [u]
Report predicts "monster holiday season" for Apple
RIM's PlayBook may undercut Apple iPad at $399 - report
NPD: 11% of consumers likely to purchase Apple iPad by February
Oprah declares Apple's iPad her 'favorite thing ever,' gives away 275
Acer unveils Windows, Android tablets to compete with Apple's iPad
Apple analysts under SEC investigation for 'channel checks'
ITC to investigate Apple's patent case against Motorola
Apple I computer sells for $174K at London auction
Apple hiring members of rival RIM's enterprise sales team
iTunes sales of Beatles albums top 450,000 in first week
Apple adds accelerometer, WebSockets support to Safari in iOS 4.2
Apple rumored to release iOS 4.3 with app subscriptions in December
St. Clair accuses Apple, RIM, HTC of patent infringement
iPhone music vanishes with Apple's iOS 4.2, hackers release 'jailbreak'
Mac pricing gives Apple top dollar share in U.S. home PC market
Foxconn adds new production plants to meet demand for Apple's iPad
Apple posts Black Friday sale teaser
Briefly: Orange UK subsidizing iPad, iPhone 4 Torx screws, Apple Store burglarized
Apple updates iWork for iPad with multitasking, AirPrint support
Apple may introduce iPad news subscriptions at media event Dec. 9
Samsung's global Galaxy Tab sales lag behind Apple iPad at 600K
Apple releases iOS 4.2 for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch [u]
AirPlay streaming arrives with Apple TV 4.1 update
AT&T boasts 20%-60% faster wireless speeds than competitors
Apple makes Find My iPhone service free for iOS devices
Rumors of Apple's second-generation iPad expected to weaken tablet sales
Carriers' threats force Apple to abandon embedded iPhone SIM plans
News Corp, Apple building tablet-only iPad newspaper together - rumor
iPad coming to northern Europe, iOS 4.2 hints at free MobileMe accounts
Angry Birds maker apologizes for Android fragmentation issues

View the original article here

Samsung goes where Apple won't - CNET

PALO ALTO, CALIF.--The Samsung Galaxy Tab has found a sweet spot the Apple iPad will miss--apparently.

Steve Jobs was wrong: a 7-inch diagonal is fine. Samsung Galaxy Tab on right.

(Credit: CNET Reviews)

I'm writing this on Wednesday during a brief sojourn in Silicon Valley. I had some time to burn so I spent about 30 minutes using the Galaxy Tab at a local Best Buy. Granted, that isn't a long time by product review standards, but it was long enough for me to realize that I was hooked on the size.

Let me be clear, I have no gripes about the 10-inch screen on the iPad (which, by the way, I use all the time and frighteningly at the expense of my MacBook Air--but that's another post for another day).

And I'll confess that I have a bias for small, light designs: the smaller and lighter, the better. To a point. Seven inches is that point. Without descending into tedious punditry about the merits of a 7-inch design, suffice to say that it just feels better in my hand and the screen size is more than adequate. And on-screen typing presented no problem for me.

In fact, if Apple came out with a 7-inch iPad, I can say with pretty much certainty that I would be in line to buy one (and I think that would be a long line on product launch day). That said, Steve Jobs has already apparently precluded that possibility, proclaiming--as I have touched on before--that Apple isn't interested in offering a 7-inch model.

Is this a giant opportunity for the Android camp? We'll see of course. Preliminary reports claim that the Galaxy Tab is not exactly flying off the shelves--what Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, has characterized as the Galaxy's "poor sell through." That may be partially due to the reluctance to buy a tablet with Android apps that are not yet ready for a larger screen, as this CNET review says. But it's more likely due to price--the Galaxy Tab is not cheap--and to consumers being unfamiliar with any device that's not an iPad. Something akin to the I-want-nothing-but-an-iPhone-4 syndrome. Plus, not all reviews have been favorable.

But Motorola, HTC, Dell, HP, and others would be well advised to follow Samsung's lead with similarly sized tablets. Sorry, Mr. Jobs, I think you're wrong on this one.

View the original article here

Apple releases iTunes 10.1 with iOS 4.2 support - Techtree.com

News > Software > Apple releases iTunes 10.1 with iOS 4.2 support" lang="en-us" /> Techtree.com India > News > Software > Apple releases iTunes 10.1 with iOS 4.2 support var myimages=new Array()function preloadimages(){for (i=0;iHello, GuestSign Up | LoginSend us your feedback SubscribeFollow usHomeNewsGamingInternetTelecomSoftwareNetworkingInterviewGeneralHardwareSecurityGadgetsElectronicsPrices/TariffsReviewsMobilesDigi. CamerasMP3 playersLaptopsLCD TVsGraphics cardsMonitorsMotherboardsSpeakersPortableAllGuidesSoftware guidesHardware guidesPrice listPC buying guidesDIYPeripherals/Gadgets Buying GuidesFeaturesGamesFeaturesGame CheatsPreviewsMobile GamesReviewsDownloadsGamesInternet ToolsPluginsSystem Tools VideosVideo ReviewsGame VideosShowcase Forums Notes Mobiles LaptopsDigi. Cams.LCD TV MP3 PlayersAll CategoriesWindows Phone 7   Home » News » Software
Apple releases iTunes 10.1 with iOS 4.2 supportSamir Makwana, Nov 13, 2010 1236 hrs ISTBrings AirPlay for streaming videos to Apple TV wirelesslyShare Brings AirPlay for streaming videos to Apple TV wirelessly

Apple has released iTunes 10.1 software update for Mac OS X and Windows platforms. This new version of iTunes brings support for iOS 4.2 update and the new wireless streaming feature - AirPlay. Announced at the Sept 1 event, the new AirPlay features allows streaming music, photos and videos to an Apple TV wirelessly. However, there's no update or mention about the highly anticipated iOS 4.2 update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

New iTunes 10.1 for Mac OS X and Windows platforms brings number of important stability and performance fixes. New AirPlay feature will now let you stream videos from iTunes 10.1 to the all-new Apple TV wirelessly. Most importantly this update brings support for iOS 4.2 firmware running iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices. Recently MacStories reported that iOS 4.2 update was delayed due to a Wi-Fi bug.

The iTunes 10.1 update for Mac OS X and Windows can be downloaded from here - http://www.apple.com/itunes/download just in case your Apple software update doesn't occur on its own. 

File sizes for iTunes 10.1:
- Mac OS X 10.5 or higher: 90.63MB
- Windows (32-bit): 78.10MB
- Windows (64-bit): 78.98MB

Now the iOS 4.2 update is anticipated to arrive early next week. 

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Related LinksNow, Amazon On Your iPhoneWindows 7 - Microsoft's Next OSUnattended Installation WindowsTag keywords Apple iTunes 10.1 Mac OS X Windows iOS 4.2

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Discussion Board (1) CommentsKurt Swartz ,San Diego, on Nov 13, 2010 06:39 PMThis article was very helpful. I downloaded iTunes 10.1 from this website as it did not download on its own when I opened iTunes. very easy to do with the link on the webpage. this is the ONLY webpage that had the correct and updated information regarding the 10.1 iTunes update and the much anticipated IOS 4.2 update for the iPad iPhone and iPod Touch.Report abuse

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Opinion Poll Once Number Portability sets in, which GSM operator would you prefer switching to?AirtelAircelBSNLIdeaLoop MobileMTNLRelianceTata DocomoUninorVideoconVirginVodafonePoll ResultsView Previous Polls

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Twitter links users to Apple music social network - Reuters

A Twitter page is displayed on an Apple iPhone in Los Angeles October 13, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:53pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microblogging website Twitter said on Thursday it will link its service with Apple Inc's new music-oriented social network.

Apple announced the Ping social network in September. It works within Apple's iTunes music program and lets users follow artists and recommend songs to their chosen circle of friends.

Twitter said its more than 175 million registered users can now connect their accounts to Ping, allowing them to put song previews and links to buy music from the iTunes store directly in their messages, which are known as "tweets."

Twitter's deal comes after Apple failed to strike a Ping partnership with social networking leader Facebook, which has more than 500 million users.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs told the All Things Digital blog in September that Apple had held talks with Facebook about a deal related to Ping, but the discussions did not produce an agreement.

Facebook declined to comment on Thursday.

Cupertino, California-based Apple's shares were down 88 cents at $317.15 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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Report: Apple, Android Win Big in Q3 - DailyTech

Android makes up a quarter of all smartphone sales worldwide, Apple surpasses RIM

Yesterday, Gartner released its Q3 2010 mobile and smartphone sales data, and the results show particularly strong gains for Android-based devices and Apple's iPhone.

In the third quarter of 2010, worldwide mobile phone sales rose 35 percent over the same quarter last year, with a total of 417 million units sold. Smartphone sales continued their meteoric growth, with a 96 percent increase over the same period last year, accounting for 19.3 percent of all mobile phone sales in Q3.

“This quarter saw Apple and Android drive record smartphone sales. Apple's share of the smartphone market surpassed Research In Motion (RIM) in North America to put it second behind Android while Android volumes also grew rapidly making it the No. 2 operating system worldwide.” said Carolina Milanesi, VP of research at Gartner. The quarter marked the third consecutive double-digit increase in sales year-on-year.

In all, nearly 81 million smartphones were sold last quarter. Android made up slightly more than a quarter of all smartphone sales worldwide, with 20.5 million units sold, positioning it as the second-most popular operating system behind Symbian, which moved nearly 30 million units. In the same quarter last year, only 1.4 million Android-based devices were sold.

Android was particularly dominant in North America, where Gartner estimates it made up 75 to 80 percent of all of Verizon's smartphone sales. It was also bolstered by the launch of the multi-carrier Galaxy S line from Samsung. Gartner also noted that the OS's move into low- to mid-level devices helped it globally. This tactic could continue in the U.S. with Android's coming holiday spree.

Apple also did considerably well, thanks to the iPhone 4. Not only did Apple surpass RIM globally with almost 13.5 million units sold to RIM's 11.9 million -- putting it in third place behind Android -- it also jumped ahead of the Blackberry manufacturer in the important U.S. market. Apple is now second only to Android in the U.S., and third in Europe (still behind Nokia and Samsung).

“Smartphone OS providers have entered a period of accelerated platform evolution, stimulated by more regular product releases, new platform entrants and new device types,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Any platform that fails to innovate quickly — either through a vibrant multi-player ecosystem or clear vision of a single controlling entity — will lose developers, manufacturers, potential partners and ultimately users.” (Perhaps a veiled reference to RIM?)

Rounding out total mobile market, Nokia held on to its top spot, moving 117.5 million units in the quarter, but saw a market share decline of 8.5 percentage points over the same period last year. This was mostly caused by components shortages that affected the stock of low-end devices, which forced consumers to buy higher-end one instead. This resulted in better-than-expected financial results for the Finnish mobile company. 

Samsung came in second globally, but was nearly 50 million units behind Nokia with a total of 71.7 million units (up 18.2 percent), and LG was even further behind with 27.5 million (down 6.6 percent). 

The most impressive feat in the mobile market was the appearance of Apple in the top five manufacturers. Its 13.5 million units landed it in fourth place, ahead of RIM. Gartner posits that it could have sold more, but was hampered by ongoing supply constraints. The firm also noted that enterprise adoption of the iPhone and iPad has grown, despite Apple's focus on individual consumers.

Looking forward, Gartner expects 2011 to be a big year for media tablets like Apple's iPad. It projects nearly 55 million tablet devices to be sold next year. It also predicts that it will be another big year for Apple, in general. “To a developer, the iPod Touch and iPhone (and to a lesser extent the iPad) are effectively the same device and a single market opportunity. While Android is increasingly available on media tablets and media players like the Galaxy Player, it lags far behind iOS's multi-device presence," Milanesi said. "Apple claims it is activating around 275,000 iOS devices per day on average — that's a compelling market for any developer. And developers' applications in turn attract users.”

"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken
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Apple iOS 4.2 may launch Friday for iPad, iPhone - IntoMobile

This one’s a rumor folks, but it looks like iOS 4.2 could be hitting your Apple iPhone and iPad this Friday at 10 a.m. PST and it will bring all sorts of goodies like multitasking to the iPad and Airplay.

The time makes a lot of sense because the iOS 4.2 gold master was sent out to developers last week and this means the software should be ready for prime time. The rumor also says we can look forward to an iTunes 10.1 update tomorrow in advance of the iOS 4.2 update.

So, what’s the big fudging deal? Well, as an iPad owner, I can’t wait for iOS 4.2 to actually bring all of the capabilities of the iPhone 4 to the tablet. The multitasking that came with 4.0 (or, quick app switching if you want to call it that) should turn this iPad into something more than a toy. Yes, you can install iOS 4.2 by looking at our walk through but that could be too much of a hassle for many people.

Another cool feature of the 4.2 version for the iPhone and iPad is that it will enable users to print content off their devices through AirPrint. This will send your documents, photos or other contents wirelessly to a compatible printer.

I’m also really looking forward to the AirPlay feature with iOS 4.2 because this will enable you to share content between your iOS devices. So, let’s say you have a video on your iPad, you should just be able to click a button or two and have it appear on your Apple TV.

While this appears to just handle multimedia files right now, there are some apps which will be able to take advantage of AirPlay like YouTube and the MLB app. If you hack it – an official jailbreak will come shortly – I’m sure all those limitations will be removed.

[Via MacStories]

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