Apple Archives - Page 5 of 6

Next Day Free Shipping a Precursor to iPhone 5 Price Drop?

Apple Comments Off

Mar 252013

Make no mistake!

Apple is very worried about the impact of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S4 smartphone on its iPhone 5 cash cow.

Early impressions of the Galaxy S4 have been extremely positive and that cannot augur well for robust sales of the iPhone 5 whose specs are unmistakably inferior to that of its Android rival.

In Apple’s last quarter, iPhone sales amounted to $30.67 billion, or 56% of the company’s total sales of $54.51 billion.

A slip in iPhone sales this quarter or the next can severely punish a stock that’s already been strongly dented in recent months.

Threat Response

So how then does Apple respond to what is, in Hollywood parlance, clear and present danger:

First, Apple launched a new “Why iPhone” advertising theme for the iPhone 5 March 16 on its web site:

iPhone 5

Loving it is easy.

That’s why so many people do.

iPhone 5 Free New Ad on Web Site

But people, even Apple the fanboys and shareholders, want more than subliminal advertising comfort these days, more so when they know that the lion is cornered!

Second, Apple launched free next day shipping for the iPhone 5 on March 25.

iPhone 5 Free Next Day Shipping

Apple already offered free shipping on the iPhone 5 but next-day free shipping is new.

Well, next-day free shipping is better than a new advertising theme.

But that’s still not enough when a seemingly better phone is going to ship in 30-days or so!

So what are the other arrows in Apple’s quiver to combat the Galaxy S4 threat since it’s unlikely to have a comparable offering for at least a few more months?

Apple has two pointed arrows left in its quiver that it can aim at the competition, the Samsung Galaxy S4 – the old IT industry tactic of leaking news about the next-generation product viz. a “wonderful” new iPhone, and a price drop.

Still, there’s only so much rumors and leaks about a new iPhone can do for you compared to a richer Android device in your hand.

A good Android smartphone in hand is worth an iPhone upgrade in the bush!

Yes, a $99 Price Drop

I for one would not be surprised in the least to see a price drop for the iPhone 5 around the time the Galaxy S4 starts shipping, sometime in April/May.

Will that be enough to stem the tide of potential defectors to the Android shores?

No, but a price drop is the least Apple will most likely do.

So if you’re planning on getting a new iPhone, wait at least a month or two if you want to save some dollars.

Since God Erred, You Must Download Pocket

Android, Apple, Products Comments Off

Mar 252013

If you believe God erred by slotting a mere 24-hours into a day, then the free Pocket (previously known as Read It Later) app is for you.

With so many interesting articles to read at any single moment and multiple tasks screaming for your attention, you definitely can’t read all the things online when you want to.

With long articles, the problem gets worse. So you tend to put it off, bookmark it or just let it go.

And if you’re like me, you already have a gazillion bookmarks in a quadrillion folders.

So what’s a harried gal like you to do?

Pocket - Save Once, Read on Many Devices

Pocket It

Get Pocket pronto.

Pocket makes it convenient for the harried 21st century worker bee to stay on top of the must-read stuff.

At the click of a mouse on your browser, Pocket lets you save an article for later reading and easy retrieval.

By the way, in addition to web pages the app supports videos and images as well.

Besides the browser, Pocket is said to work with popular news aggregation apps like Zite, Pulse and Flipboard and via e-mail as well.

Getting an extension for the browser is the best way to use Pocket on the desktop.

Pocket has extensions for Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

I tested Pocket running on Firefox browser on both Mac and Windows Vista and there were no issues.

Pocket is a Browser Addon Read It Later Service

Pocket is also available as a free app on the Mac Appstore.

I saved a YouTube video of Boogie Wonderland on the browser and viewed it on the Mac app. Worked perfectly!

Pocket’s competitors include Readability and Instapaper. In the coming weeks, I shall download them as well and see how they stack up vis-a-vis Pocket.

Supports Multiple Platforms

I first downloaded Pocket about two years back, when it used to be known as Read It Later, on the iPhone and iPad.

The other day I logged on to the Mac Appstore and downloaded it to the iMac as well.

The beauty of Pocket is that when you save an article on one device, it gets automatically saved on the other devices as well if you’re logged in.

So save an article on the desktop at the office and on the evening subway trip home you can read it on your iPad, iPhone or Android devices.

Pocket supports tags and lets you filter content by type – articles, videos and images.

Some Issues?

When I saved an article on my iPad from within the Zite app to Pocket, it got saved to the Pocket apps on my iPhone and iMac immediately.

But it did not show up in my Firefox browser on the Mac until I refreshed it.

So if you don’t see an article on a device that’s been sent to Pocket from another device, just hit the refresh button. Voila, you should find it there now.

Where to Download Pocket

You can download Pocket from Apple’s Appstore as well as the Google Play store.

For the desktop or notebook computer, get an extension for your Firefox, Safari, Chrome or Opera browser.

Pocket is a nifty app that I’d gladly pay $0.99-$1.99.

Alas, it is free! 😉

I enthusiastically recommend Pocket.

Apple Buys Indian-Backed Wireless Startup

Apple Comments Off

Mar 232013

Apple has forked out $20 million to buy Silicon Valley startup WiFiSLAM, an indoor wireless mapping technology outfit that’s financially backed by an Indian investor in San Francisco.

Apple is said to have clinched the deal for $20 million, small change for a company that has $137 billion in cash.

WiFiSLAM was founded by a bunch of no-namers (unknowns) Joseph Huang, Jessica Tsoong, Darin Tay and Dave Millman.

Apple confirmed the acquisition to the Wall Street Journal.

WiFiSLAM – Indoor GPS

Palo Alto, California based WiFiSLAM has been building location-based mobile app technology.

WiFiSLAM’s widgetry allows smartphone locations (and the location of your friends) to be pinpointed in real-time to 2.5m accuracy using WiFi signals present inside buildings.

Apart from step-by-step indoor navigation, WiFiSLAM’s technology has diverse applications. Continue reading »

Is Developing Apps for Apple iOS a Losing Proposition?

Apple Comments Off

Dec 202012

Unless you’re living under a rock in distant Mars, you know that the pricey iPhones and the iPad tablets are mega-hits and huge money-spinners for Apple.

But an iPad, iPod touch or iPhone is junk, an useless sexy-looking piece of glass and metal, in the absence of applications to give life to it.

Not surprisingly, Apple tends to boast of the huge number of applications available for its iOS mobile platform and surely the large number of apps are a delight to buyers of the iPad and the iPhone.

Dim Prospects for Most AppStore Developers

By our estimate, there are about 800,000 apps for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad together. The majority are built for the iPhone although they do run on the iPad as well.

That massive number of apps and huge base of Apple consumers sure paints a rosy picture for would-be App developers in the Apple iOS platform.

As many as 275,000 developers have registered with Apple to build applications for the company’s platforms by forking out $99.

Apple even claims that its “app revolution has added more than 291,250 iOS jobs to the U.S. economy since the introduction of iPhone in 2007.” Well, talk is cheap and it’d be hard to defend that claim but, then, Apple has always been a whiz when it comes to marketing itself.

Well, all that hype has tempted many an American developer to join the bandwagon with dreams of millions of downloads and millions in the bank!

Money-Spinner?

But can developing apps for Apple’s iOS platform be a money-spinner for you? Continue reading »

Time to get Serious on Securing Your Mac

Apple, Security Comments Off

Dec 102012

If all ye proud Mac owners (iMac, MacBook Pro and MacAir) still think viruses, trojans and malware are only destined at the lesser mortals inhabiting the Windows world, it’s time to get out of that la-la land state of mind.

The success of the Mac OS X platform – the Mac Minis, iMacs and MackBook Pros – in recent years means virus and trojan authors are working overtime to turn your pricey Apple computer into a piece of junk.

In 2012, the biggest malware for Mac systems was the Trojan downloader Flashfake, which accounted for over 50% of the attacks targeted at Mac systems.

Mac OS Viruses

A Flashfake botnet consisting of 700,000 computers running under Mac OS X was discovered in the early 2012.

Cybercriminals in Eastern Europe and Russia also unleashed targeted attacks on influential politicians and prominent businessmen to access information stored on their computers.

Security software firm Kaspersky Lab created 30% more signatures in 2012 to detect various Mac Trojans compared to 2011. If you go back to 2010, the number of signatures created annually has increased six times.

Other security software firms are working overtime on bolstering the defenses of the Mac systems to the malware threats.

Antivirus signatures for Mac OS

How to Secure Your Mac

Here are some steps you can take to minimize the chances of your Mac computer being hit by one of those deadly malware and causing you considerable grief.

* Turn off Java in the Safari browser and for the full the Mac OS X. To turn off Java in Safari, open the browser, pull down the menu, select “Preferences” and click on the “Security” tab and uncheck the box next to “Enable Java.” Continue reading »

Mountain Lion Roars 3m Times in 4 Days

Apple Comments Off

Jul 302012

Apple’s new Mountain Lion operating system upgrade is turning out to be a big hit with consumers.

Some three million users have downloaded the latest version of the OS X operating system in the four days since it launched in Apple’s AppStore.

Mountain Lion costs $19.99 and can be used on multiple Macs.

Mountain Lion is said to come with 200 new features including the new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center.

iCloud integration is supposed to make it easy to set up Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keep everything, including iWork documents, up to date across all devices.

Expect the Facebook integration to happen via an update.

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