New prototype AppleTV visits ISPs up north, can be controlled only by voice or hand gestures
February 6, 2012 at 6:58 pm
Canada’s largest newspaper, the Globe and Mail, these days says that Apple has been operating with wireless and wireline providers including Rogers and Bell to partner with the AppleTV.
“They’re not closed to performing it with a single [firm] or doing it with two,” stated 1 source who is familiar with the talks. “They’re looking for a partner. They’re seeking for someone with wireless and broadband capabilities.” Another source, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, mentioned Rogers and Bell currently have the item in their labs.
Much more interestingly, some specifics of this new AppleTV are provided:
The product reportedly integrates Siri, Apple’s voice-recognition software program that acts as a private assistant on the latest iPhone, into tv sets to aid viewers make programming options.
Rogers and BCE Already Have the Apple iTV in Their Labs, Controlled with Voice and Hand Gestures
The Globe and Mail reports that Apple is actively searching for launch partnerships with Canada’s Rogers Communications and BCE Inc. to supply their upcoming Apple Television.
“They’re not closed to performing it with one particular [firm] or carrying out it with two,” mentioned one supply who is familiar with the talks. “They’re searching for a partner. They’re looking for somebody with wireless and broadband capabilities.”
According to the newspaper, these firms currently have the Apple iTV in their labs.
Siri voice manage is reportedly integrated into Apple’s new tv to assist viewers make programming choices. Viewers can then manage the Television with voice or hand gestures. Even an on-screen keyboard can be invoked with out any specific hardware (emphasis ours):
An on-screen keyboard, meanwhile, can also be activated in a related manner, permitting viewers to surf the net, conduct video chats and use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook – all with no any physical interface.
Google poaches Apple’s Senior Director of Product Integrity for secret project, maybe to work on Google X?
February 5, 2012 at 10:14 am
Google reportedly poached an Apple employee to hire on its own staff. VentureBeat reported that Google hired Apple’s (now former) Senior Director of Product Integrity Simon Prakash for a secret project, where he would work perhaps alongside Google’s cofounder Sergey Brin. Prakash could even work under Motorola Mobility, whom Google is working to acquire, to head hardware projects.
Prakash worked at Apple for over eight years, and was responsible for the product quality across Apple’s products—from iPhones to Macs. To boost his reputation, you may recall that Apple was voted top among product quality in a recent JD Power and Associates Award for the sixth consecutive last year. It is obvious why Google would go after such an employee.
Prakash could be joining Google to work on Google X’s wearable heads up display glasses we showed you in December. Former Apple employee Richard DeVaul, a PhD. scientist from MIT with a focus on building wearable technologies, also left Apple to join Google X’s team. Is Google building up a huge and talented team for such a large product?
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Samsung Continues to Poke Fun at Apple Fans in Super Bowl Ad
Samsung aired an additional of its series of Apple-mocking commercials in the course of the 2012 Super Bowl tonight. In this ad, Samsung is pushing the new Samsung Galaxy Note.
Like the earlier ads in the series, Samsung depicts iPhone fans standing in line for the new iPhone, although promoting their personal goods as the “subsequent large factor”.
Like the earlier ads in the series, Samsung depicts iPhone fans standing in line for the new iPhone, although promoting their personal goods as the “subsequent large factor”.
Samsung’s head of advertising has acknowledged she is directly targeting Apple and shooting to reach a much more emotional connection with their shoppers.
“Especially in U.S., individuals are obsessed with Apple,” Lee stated, in a lengthy interview at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month. “It’s time to change people’s attention.”
The Samsung Galaxy Note that is depicted in the commercial is a 5.three” device which also comes with a stylus. Steve Jobs is famously quoted as saying “if you see a stylus, they blew it.”
iPhone scalpers in China on the decrease as Apple resumes online sales of iPhone 4S, shipping by March 2
February three, 2012 at 9:05 am
Final week we told you about a new on-line lottery program for reservations that Apple setup for iPhone 4S sales by way of its Hong Kong stores to combat scalpers immediately after it was forced to suspend sales of the device in a variety of locations all through Mainland China. However, till this week, Apple’s on the internet store for China has been out of stock considering that the overwhelming launch.
Immediately after implementing the new reservation policies on Tuesday, and in Beijing on Wednesday, Apple has now resumed on-line sales of the device with shipments arriving to clients no later than March 2, reported ChinaDaily. Apple’s on the web store for Mainland China now lists the iPhone 4S with an expected delivery time of “February.” Customers are restricted to two devices with all three models at present accessible in both black and white. An Apple employee confirmed the March two date to ChinaDaily:
“If you spend today, you may get the items tomorrow, and no later than March 2.”
ARM-Based MacBook Air Unlikely Based on Analyst Talk with Tim Cook
There had been some exciting claims final year that Apple had been actively testing an ARM (A5) based MacBook Air. The ARM processor is the exact same one particular that is utilized in the iPhone and iPad. An ARM-based MacBook Air, however, would raise a quantity of questions about what type of device it may possibly in fact be. Would it run OS X, or iOS? Would it be closer to a Mac or an iOS device? One of the principal positive aspects of utilizing an ARM processor would be a reduction in energy-requirements, but with a corresponding drop in computing energy. Employing ARM, nevertheless, would abandon binary compatibility with existing Mac OS X applications.
CNet reports on a analysis note from Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner who was able to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer on Thursday. Gardner addresses this question in his note with the following:
“Tim Cook reiterated his view that rapid innovation on the iOS platform (and mobile OS platforms in general) will considerably broaden the use case for tablets, at some point pushing annual tablet volumes above those of classic PCs. We have wondered whether or not Apple might offer an ARM-based version of MacBook Air at some point we walked away from this meeting with the impression that Apple feels iPad satisfies–or will soon satisfy–the demands of those who may have been interested in such a product.”
Based on his conversations with the Apple executives, it seems Gardner believes that the iPad will evolve to meet any requirements that might be met with an ARM-based MacBook air. Read more…
Apple removes standard Mac OS X 10.7.3 download due to bugs, offers combined download instead
February 4, 2012 at 9:26 am
Apple’s latest Mac OS X 10.7.3 release is a pain for some users due to its bugs surrounding CUI issues and the crashing of applications. Apple has already been investigating the issues with test groups, and it has apparently decided that the best thing to do at this point is remove the standard 10.7.3 update from its servers and provide users with the ability to only download the combined installation. This combo installer is not riddled with the CUI and app crashing errors as explained in our report from yesterday.
Apple removed its online download page for the standard (client) 10.7.3 download, and now that website forwards to the combo download link. In addition, clicking a saved link that directly downloads the standard 10.7.3 installation puts up an Apple 404 page. On top of this, Apple removed the ability to download 10.7.3 (client) directly from software update, and it is now providing users with the combo installation. This combined installer is typically a few hundred megabytes larger than the standard installer, but users will not face the annoying bugs. This new build is reportedly showing up as “11D50b” instead of the client’s “11D50″ labeling.
Users who installed the client 10.7.3 download will need to manually download the combined update from Apple’s website.
Apple modifies EULA for iBooks: Lays no claim to content, allows authors to distribute elsewhere
February 3, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Apple just updated its End User License Agreement for the iBooks Author application, and the changes clearly outline the Cupertino, Calif.-based Company only requires .iBooks formatted products created in iBooks Author to sell through the iBookstore.
With that said, Apple aims to sell the packaged format without claiming the content nor restricting where else authors can distribute the content.
iBooks Author released alongside iBooks Textbook last month and controversy immediately brewed over its terms and conditions, which many claimed infringed upon software rights and imposed unjust requirements…
The uncertainty stemmed from Apple’s language in the agreement, with critics convinced that Apple tried to claim content rights to all books created for iBooks Textbooks. Questions also arose concerning whether Apple intended to control books from publishing elsewhere in another form.
The modified license agreement simplified complex wording— especially in Section 2, which originally stated:
