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Retina MacBook Pro Gets Speed Bump, Price Drop

Posted by Stephen Hall at 7:42 am

13-inch-MacBook-Pro-Retina

A press release on Apple.com has this morning announced that the 13-inch 128 GB Retina MacBook Pro will now be available for $1,499. This change effectively brings the price down to (what most would consider) a reasonable level, but others would argue that it’s still a bit much for the hardware. Luckily, though, Apple has also given the 256 GB model of the device a hardware speed bump with the 2.6 GHz Intel dual-core Core i5 processor; that computer comes with the $200 price drop as well, down to $1,699.

Other models of the MacBook have also received a few changes. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a 2.4 GHz quad-core processor, and the premium model of that same device now comes with a new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of RAM. Apple has also today dropped the price of the MacBook Air with 256 GB of flash to $1,399. No word on any changes to the $999 low-end, but hopefully we’ll see a price drop there at some point as well.

[Apple]

Jan

2013

So What Is Facebook Graph Search?

Posted by Stephen Hall at 7:33 pm

Today was Facebook’s big press event, and as most of you know, the star of the show was a new comprehensive search engine within the site itself called “Graph Search.” Many were underwhelmed by this announcement, but I personally am blown away by what Facebook has accomplished with this new feature.

But what is it exactly? Simply put, it’s probably going to be one of the smartest search engines that you will end up using on a daily basis. You can’t go to Google — or any site, for that matter — and type “friends that work at my company and like to ski” and expect to get any worthwhile results. That’s what’s powerful about this. (more…)

Jan

2013

App Store Downloads Surpass 40 Billion, Almost Half Occurred Last Year

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 5:55 am

iPhone 5 App Store Apple has just announced that overall App Store downloads have surpassed 40 billion since the storefront launched around four-and-a-half years ago. Interestingly, nearly 20 billion — or almost half of all downloads — occurred in 2012.

Apple also revealed that the App Store now has over 500 million active accounts; over 775,000 apps for iPhone, with 300,000 iPad-specific apps; and that it has paid out over seven billion dollars to developers. (more…)

Dec

Move Aside, Android: iPhone 5 Sales Top Two Million in China Over Launch Weekend

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 7:22 pm

Apple already dominates the United States smartphone market with the iPhone, but its presence in China remains rather insignificant. So, that’s why it’s great news for Apple to announce that is has sold two million iPhone 5 units during the device’s launch weekend in the world’s most populous country.

In particular, it is important because of Android’s staggering market share lead in China. It is estimated that over 90 percent of smartphones sold in China run Android, which translates to a very low iPhone presence in the country. But, perhaps, the iPhone is finally gaining momentum in the country populated by a staggering 1.3 billion people.

Apple today announced it has sold over two million of its new iPhone 5 in China, just three days after its launch on December 14. iPhone 5 will be available in more than 100 countries by the end of December, making it the fastest iPhone rollout ever.

“Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “China is a very important market for us and customers there cannot wait to get their hands on Apple products.”

Which market do you think is most important for Apple? The United States, China or elsewhere?

Dec

iPhone 5 Launching in 50 Additional Countries in December

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iPhone 5 Launching in 50 Additional Countries in December

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 8:45 am

Apple press release:

iPhone 5 will be available in South Korea on Friday, December 7 and on Friday, December 14 in Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. iPhone 5 will also be available on Friday, December 21 in Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam.

Apple users abroad still might have time to get the iPhone 5 during the holiday season, as the latest handset launches in several countries worldwide throughout December. The iPhone 5 should be available in a grand total of around 100 countries by the end of the year.

Nov

Apple to Launch New iMac on November 30th

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 7:45 am

Apple today announced that its new ultra-thin 21.5-inch iMac will be available on Friday, November 30th through the Apple Store, Apple Online Store and third-party resellers. Apple introduced its new iMac lineup alongside the iPad mini at a special media event last month, surprising the crowd with the all-in-one desktop computer’s 80 percent thinner design. The new iMac also has faster processors, a new display with reduced reflection and a hybrid storage option called Fusion Drive. The larger 27-inch iMac will be available in December.

Redesigned from the inside out, the new iMac packs high performance technology into an aluminum and glass enclosure that measures just 5 mm thin at its edge and features a reengineered display that reduces reflection by 75 percent. The new iMac includes 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, a 1TB hard drive, third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processors that can be upgraded to Core i7, and the latest NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors that deliver up to 60 percent faster performance.

[Apple]

Nov

Apple: 3 Million iPads, iPad Minis Sold in 3 Days

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 9:45 am

Apple announced this morning that it has sold three million fourth-generation iPads and iPad minis combined since the tablets launched on Friday. The specific sales numbers for each iPad were not provided, so it is unknown how many iPad minis in particular were actually sold during the opening weekend.

Nevertheless, Apple CEO Tim Cook notes that the iPad mini has virtually sold out everywhere, and that the Cupertino-based company would be ramping up production to meet the high demand. Apple is expected to ship the Wi-Fi plus cellular models of the iPad with Retina display and iPad mini in a few weeks within the United States, followed by other countries later this year.

“Customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”

Oct

AT&T’s Third Quarter Numbers Show That iPhone Demand Isn’t Slowing Down

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 8:23 am

AT&T revealed its earnings today for the third quarter of this year, reporting activations of 4.7 million iPhones and 6.1 million smartphones altogether. There has been much discussion as of late about carriers trying to diversify the lineup of smartphones they carry and really push alternative devices, but the iPhone accounting for 77 percent of AT&T’s total smartphone activations in the past quarter proves that demand for the Apple smartphone is still quite significant.

You would think that after carrying the iPhone for over five years, AT&T’s sales of the handset might be on the decline; however, 4.7 million iPhone activations in the third quarter of 2012 is almost double the 2.7 million iPhones that AT&T activated in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, AT&T activated only 1.4 million competing Android and Windows smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and Nokia Lumia series respectively.

(more…)

Oct

Apple to Share Fourth Quarter Financial Results on October 25th

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 6:48 pm

Apple has confirmed on its investor relations page that it will reveal fourth quarter financial results during a conference call on Thursday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific / 5:00 p.m. Eastern. If interested, users can listen to live streaming audio of the conference call as it unfolds.

In the third quarter, Apple sold 26 million iPhones, 17 million iPads, 6.8 million iPods and 4 million Macs. Overall, the Cupertino-based company posted an $8.8 billion profit on $36 billion in revenue. Apple also provided sales estimates for the fourth quarter back in July, listed below.

“We’re continuing to invest in the growth of our business and are pleased to be declaring a dividend of $2.65 per share today,” said Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer. “Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $7.65.”

[Apple via TechCrunch]