Tag Archives: Apple

This week in Google news: Hotpot, Boutiques, and mobile updates for Docs & Voice

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This week proved to be a busy one for the G-Men who’ve been hard at work making new and exciting things for us to play with on our desktops and mobile devices.  There’s much to discuss, so let’s dive right in.

Hotpot: Google calls Hotpot “a local recommendation engine powered by you and your friends.”  It’s essentially Google’s version of Yelp.  You can search the over 50 million places Google has data about and rate the places you’ve visited using a five-star system.  When you give a location a positive review, Hotpot will recommend other places to you that are similar to place you visited.  For example, if you give a seafood restaurant a five-star rating, Hotpot will show you other similarly themed restaurants in your city that you’ll likely enjoy.  You can also share your places rating with friends and see the places they’ve recommended using Hotpot.  Using a Google account you can access the Hotpot rating app to get started.  You can rate places, invite friends to the service, and view their recommendation on the desktop in Google Maps using that app, and you can rate on-the-go using the Maps app on Android devices.

Boutiques: The team at Like.com are now Google employees, and together with the search giant they have created Boutiques.com, “a personalized shopping experience that lets you find and discover fashion goods.”  An odd niche website for Google to invent but hey–they’re Google and they can do what they want.  Though the algorithms behind the site are likely complex, the way it works is pretty simple.  You can build your own personalized boutique and get recommendations of products that match your taste, or you can browse through curated boutiques and take style cues from celebrities, stylists, designers, and fashion bloggers.  The site layout is fresh and simplistic, and advanced search filters are present to help you sort though everything from shoes to clothes and handbags.  There’s even iPad app available to access Boutiques in tablet form.  Ladies, have at it.

Docs: You’ve been able to access Google Docs on various mobile platforms for some time now, but today Google announced that users will have the ability to edit their documents on a mobile device.  Head over to docs.google.com on a supported phone (these include Android with Froyo (2.2) and iOS devices with v3.0 or higher, including the iPad) to begin a mobile edit session.  You’ll notice a new “edit” button in the top right corner. Edits appear in “near realtime” between mobile devices and the desktop.  And if you’ve got an Android-powered phone, you can enter text using your voice.  Google’s rolling out this new feature to English-language users “in the next few days” so look out for it!  Video demo here.

Voice: A native Google Voice app is finally available for iPhone users.  In addition to all the GV features you already know about, the new app brings push notifications (the app will alert you instantly when you receive a new voicemail or text message) and speedy phone call connections.  If you’ve got an iPhone running iOS 3.1 or later, click here to download the app.  For now, this is a U.S.-only offering.

[Via GoogleBlog, here, here, here & here]

SlingPlayer gets previewed on iPad

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They hinted at it, and now they’re delivering the goods.  SlingPlayer is coming to the iPad in all its video slinging glory.  According to Sling “the video quality is better than any mobile app we’ve ever done”, so that’s something to be excited about.  You can channel surf by flicking up and down on the iPad’s large display.  But I won’t give away all the sleek, cool features.  Hit play and watch the nearly five minute demonstration above.  Expect the app to release soon for $29.99.

[Via Engadget]

The Beatles has arrived on iTunes

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After years of legal disputes, including trademark infringements, originating in the ’70s (it was Apple Corps. vs Apple Computer), the band and the tech company decided to make peace in 2007, and just three years later the two are able to celebrate with the release of the entire Beatles music catalog on iTunes.

Apple threw up a teaser page last night that said, “Tomorrow is just another day.  That you’ll never forget.”  This morning at 10AM ET the teaser disappeared to reveal an image of the Fab Four and it reads, “The Beatles.  Now on iTunes.”  iTunes now offers the band’s 13 studio albums, ranging from Please Please Me (1963) to Let It Be (1970).  Each remastered album comes with their respective tracks, a mini-documentary, and iTunes LP content (which includes liner notes and photos); they priced at $12.99 and individual tracks go for the standard $1.29.  The mini-documentaries are “album only” purchases.

In addition to the 13 studio albums, iTunes also offers Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2, the 1988 release that bundles 33 Beatles songs that were not included on the original U.K. albums.  The store also sells The Beatles (1962-1966) collection known as “The Red Album”; it includes 26 popular Beatles songs ranging from their debut up until the release of Revolver.  The Beatles (1967-1970) or “The Blue Album” includes 28 popular Beatles songs from their later years.  The “Red” & “Blue” albums released simultaneously in 1973, three years after the band broke up.  Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2 and the “Red” & “Blue” albums cost $19.99 each; like their studio album counterparts they come with iTunes LP content.

And finally there’s the Beatles-iTunes motherload.  For $149 you can make your life easy and purchase The Beatles Box Set which includes all 13 studio albums, Past Masters, Vols. 1 & 2, and a video of the band’s first U.S. concert–the 1964 show at Washington Coliseum.  The box set comes with every mini-documentary from the individual albums, as well as a ton of iTunes LP content.

That about sums it up.  The Beatles are on iTunes. Boom.  Besides adding all this amazing content to iTunes, Apple has put together a new ad campaign featuring Beatles songs and black-and-white photos.  Head over to Apple’s new Beatles page to watch all five ads.  There you’ll also find a link to watch the 1964 show at Washington Coliseum; the 41 minute concert (which is a “worldwide iTunes exclusive”) will be available to stream for free on the site for the remainder of the year.

Look after the break for the official PR.  In it Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the two remaining Beatles Ringo and Paul, Yoko Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison, and EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon share their excitement and relief that the Beatles collection has finally arrived on iTunes.

I happened to purchase the physical Beatles box set when it released in limited quantities last year, but I’m glad the entire collection is available in the world’s largest online retailer of music.  The ease of previewing and downloading tracks will give newcomers a healthy dose of some of the greatest music ever produced.  With The Beatles: Rock Band and Beatles music on iTunes, the current generation of young people is pretty much golden.

[Via Apple; iTunes] Continue reading The Beatles has arrived on iTunes →

Windows 7 plays nice with Mac whilst engaging in Avatar Blu-ray session

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Microsoft has finally got it right with their latest Windows 7 ad.  The cutesy animation paired with an Avatar cameo captures an appropriate (albeit bizarre) aesthetic that informs viewers about Windows 7’s Blu-ray playback support in a fun, creative way.  Apple, the ball’s in your court.

[Via Gizmodo]

Apple-1 computer about to be auctioned away

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Calling this particular auction item a rarity is a bit of an understatement.  This here Apple-1 computer is 1 of 200 made by original Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.  You’ve heard the tales of Jobs and Woz tinkering inside the walls of Jobs’ garage; this fascinating piece of machinery imagined, designed, and eventually sold in 1976 during those primitive days of early personal computing.  The sale will include all the original contents of the Apple-1: an Apple-1 motherboard (number 82), printed circuit board, three capacitors, a heatsink, cassette board connector, 8kb of RAM, and a keyboard interface.  In addition to the bits and pieces, the item will ship in its original packaging, along with printed manuals and a letter from Jobs himself!  Said letter was a typed response to the original owner of the computer answering some questions.  The item goes on the auction block at Christie’s in London on November 23, with a starting bid set at £100,000 – £150,000 (or $160,300 – $240,450).  Curious to see where it ends up; dontcha think an item as exceptional and rare as this should find a home at a museum?

[Via Christie’s; Engadget]

Ping welcomes Twitter into its social network for music

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Social network explosion!  Apple has partnered with Twitter to bring Twitter integration to Ping, the “social network for music” built into iTunes 10.  After linking your Twitter account to your Ping account inside iTunes, all of your Ping activity (whenever you Post, Like, Review, or tell your friends why you purchased a song or album) will show up in a tweet be seen by all your followers.  And if you opted to preview the new Twitter redesign, Ping’d tweets will come complete with playable song previews and links to purchase and download music from iTunes.  If you see a tweet that’s got Ping data in it (either a tweet sent within Ping or a tweet with an iTunes link attached), you can now click a new music button and this will superimpose the tweeted song or album on the right side details pane, allowing you to see album art, preview, and listen to songs.  So watcha waiting for?  Connect up and let the good times roll.

[Via TwitterBlog]

White iPhone 4 delayed, again; is it dead and gone?

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After announcing two delays already, Apple has gone ahead and delayed the oft-delayed white iPhone 4 once again.  Due to manufacturing problems, the white iPhone 4 has been delayed to spring 2011.  I know what you’re thinking–by then a brand new iPhone will have been announced and perhaps even released!  Good thinking, because that is highly likely.  Hours after Reuters spilled the beans on a third delay, Boy Genius Report has a source that claims the iPhone 4 will never be coated in white and that the color option has been cancelled.  No matter the outcome–delay or cancellation–if you’ve been holding out to get the white iPhone it’s time to call it quits and give in to the black model.  Don’t worry, it won’t bite.

[Via Gizmodo; Reuters; BGR]

Office for Mac 2011 available today

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Office for Mac 2008–be gone!  This week Microsoft announced that a refreshed version of its productivity suite is finally available for Mac OS X users.  The most significant update?  Microsoft has trashed Entourage and replaced it with the real thing–Outlook!  That’s right, full Outlook integration the Mac.  Oh happy day.  In addition, the new Office will play nice with Office Web Apps and other cloud-based applications; also, new co-authoring tools “let users edit the same Word document or PowerPoint presentation simultaneously with other people in different locations who are using Office on a PC or a Mac” and users can “quickly share their presentations with anyone who has browser access by broadcasting their presentation.”  Pretty neat, huh?  And it doesn’t end there; the new version packs a whole slew of new features–and not to mention welcome aesthetic tweaks.  There are two version of Office for Mac 2001 available today: the Home & Student version ($149.99) and the Home & Business version ($179.99).  They both pack Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and I think you can guess which one includes Outlook.

[Via OfficeForMac; Engadget]

Back to the Mac: iLife ’11, FaceTime, Mac OS X Lion, MacBook Air

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Today Steve Jobs hosted an Apple keynote presentation appropriately titled Back to the Mac.  In it he demonstrated the new version of iLife ’11, highlighting major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand; introduced FaceTime for the Mac; previewed the next version of Mac OS X; and unveiled two new MacBook Air notebooks.  It’s breakdown time.

iLife ’11: The latest version of iLife packs the usual suspects–iPhone, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD.  The former three have been given major upgrades in functionality.

iPhoto ’11 features a new full-screen mode.  With a click of a button (the green [+] located at the top left corner of the window), desktop applications, the menu bar, and other distractions disappear.  In full-screen mode you take advantage of more screen real estate when viewing pictures in Events, Faces, Places, Albums, and Projects.  Projects is a new way to view your collection of books and letterpress cards on a wooden bookshelf.  The ability to create custom letterpress cards is a new feature; 15 distinct themes are at your disposal to customize and order directly from Apple to send to relatives and friends.  When you go to create a book or letterpress card, a new dynamic theme browser in carousel style will be presented to you.  There are also a bunch of new slideshow themes including Holiday Mobile, Reflections, and Places.  Want to email a group of photos to a friend?  Now you can create and send an email message within iPhoto; no need to jump out and into a mail client.  You can choose from eight themes to customize how you want your pictures to be presented in the email.  And lastly there’s Facebook enhancements.  Within iPhoto you can now publish photos directly to your wall or to an existing album, and if your friends leave comments on your photos you’ll be able to view them in iPhoto.  You can also tag faces and browse all of your Facebook albums in iPhoto; no need to jump out and into a browser.

iMovie ’11 features new audio editing tools.  Detailed wave forms are color coded, so now you can see where audio levels are too loud or quiet and adjust them properly.  Also there’s a new single-row view that shows you your entire movie project in one horizontal row, making it easier to edit your soundtrack.  One-step effects are also at your disposal.  Adding visual effects like instant replay, flash and hold, and jump cuts at beats can be done with minimal amount of clicks.  The new People Finder feature works similarly to Faces in iPhoto; the software will analyze your video to identify the parts with people in them.  It also finds the close-ups, medium shots, or wide angles making it easier to find these specific shots during an edit session.  There are two new themes: sports and news.  And now you can publish your movies directly Vimeo,CNN iReport, and Apple Podcast Producer in addition to iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, and your mobile devices.  Last there’s movie trailers.  You can choose from 15 templates to create professional-looking movie trailers out of your clips.  Apple commissioned the London Symphony Orchestra to record (in Abbey Road Studios) and perform original tracks for you to use when creating movie trailers.  Outline and storyboard views make it simple to put together a movie trailer in no time.

GarageBand ’11 includes two new features called Flex Time and Groove Matching.  Flex Time allows you to fix timing mistakes on the fly; you can literally click and drag any part of a waveform to change the timing of a note or beat.  Groove Matching is described as “an automatic spell checker for bad rhythm.”  If one (or multiple) instruments appears to be out of rhythm, all you have to do is select the one instrument that has the perfect rhythm (called the Groove Track) and all the other instrument tracks will instantly match it.  A new feature called “How Did I Play?” gives you the opportunity to play along with a piano or guitar lesson, record yourself, and test how you’re doing in real time.  Like Guitar Hero, the GarageBand lesson will keep track of your performance with a performance meter and show you missed notes in red to help you perfect your skills.  A track progess bar will show you how better (or worse) you’re performing a particular song by date.  Finally, there’s new lessons for piano and guitar, as well as new guitar amps and stompbox effects.

iLife ’11 is available for purchase today at $49.  A family pack, which includes 5 licenses, goes for $79.  Keep in mind iLife ships free with every new Mac. Continue reading Back to the Mac: iLife ’11, FaceTime, Mac OS X Lion, MacBook Air →

Apple reports 2010 Q4 earnings: “highest revenue and earnings ever”; Steve Jobs calls out Google & RIM

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As 2010 nears its end, it’s time for companies to share how well (or poorly) they performed during the fourth quarter of the year.  As is the norm for Apple, Inc., Q4 has been another record breaker for them.  Apple posted a record revenue of $20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion.  Compare this to one year ago, that’s up from a revenue of $12.21 billion and profit of $2.53 billion.  Says CEO Steve Jobs: “We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings-both all-time records for Apple.  iPhone sales of 14.1 million were up 91 percent year-over-year, handily beating the 12.1 million phones RIM sold in their most recent quarter.  We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.”

Now let’s break it down by product category.  Apple sold 3.89 million Macs during the quarter (representing a 27 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter); 14.1 million iPhones (representing a 91 percent unit growth); 9.05 million iPods (representing an 11 percent unit decline); and 4.19 million iPads were sold, succeeding the number of Macs sold!  That’s some crazy stuff right there.  And as for Jobs’ “hobby” that is Apple TV?  The new model sold 250,000 units over the course of its first 18 days on sale.

Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2011, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer expects revenue of about $23 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $4.80.  Saying this was a tremendous quarter for Apple is a huge understatement.

Normally this is where the Apple quarterly earnings post would conclude, but El Jobso couldn’t contain his excitement over the record breaking numbers so he decided to jump onto the conference call (listen to it here) and share some thoughts.  Charged thoughts on the competition.  Some choice quotes:

On RIM’s business model: “[iPhone] handily beat RIM’s most recent quarter.  We’ve now passed RIM and I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future.  They must move beyond their area of strength and comfort into the unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company.  I think it’s going to be a challenge for them to create a competitive platform and to convince developers to create apps for yet a third software platform, after iOS and Android.  With 300k apps on Apple’s app store, RIM has a high mountain ahead of them to climb.”  “I think at least now it’s a battle for developers, and a battle for the mindshare of developers, and a battle for the mindshare of customers, and I think right now iPhone and Android are winning that battle.”

On Google’s Android “openess” & fragmentation: “Google wants to characterize Android as open, and iOS and the iPhone as closed.  We think this is disingenuous.  Unlike Windows, which has the same interface on every machine, Android is very fragmented.  Compare this with iPhone, where every interface is the same.”  “Twitter client TwitterDeck recently launched their app for Android.  They reported that they had to contend with more than 100 different version of Android software on 244 different handsets.  The multiple hardware and software iterations presented developers with a daunting challenge.”  “We think this open versus closed argument is a smokescreen that hides the real question: What’s better for users, fragmented versus integrated?”  “We are very committed to the integrated approach, no matter how many times Google characterizes it as closed, and we believe that it will trump the fragmented approach, no matter how many times Google characterizes it as open.”

Continue reading Apple reports 2010 Q4 earnings: “highest revenue and earnings ever”; Steve Jobs calls out Google & RIM →