More Noise to Signal.

Combine these efforts with the existing iPhone tie-ins — Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail — along with AppleTV’s recently added support for YouTube, and we can see how the Apple/Google alliance is strengthening.

Read full story at last100...

This is not the first time that Apple had issues with its power adapters. In August, Apple announced that it was investigating issues with its MagSafe power adapters for the MacBook and MacBook Pro line. According to some users, these adapters tend to overheat, short out, and burn.

With millions of iPhone 3G phones sold in the last few months, this is a major undertaking for Apple. The only advantage for Apple is that these power adapters are relatively inexpensive. Currently, replacement adapters retail for $29, though Apple's actual cost is surely a lot less. Apple will probably take a small financial hit from this, but the real question will be if the image of the iPhone will be tarnished by this recall - especially after so many users have already complained about other problems with the phone.

Based on the strong U.S. demand for Apple's new iPads, the company has decided it would delay the product's international release for a month.

Apple "will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10."

And yes, if you want to pre-order the new iPhone 4, you can do that too.

In addition to serving as a online mobile storefront, the new application also lets customers find nearby Apple stores, make reservations at the Genius Bar and register for hands-on workshops and personal shopping appointments. The app offers product news, customer reviews and Q&A information for the various products and services being sold, too.

Pre-Order a New iPhone from your Old One

Of course, the most notable feature - for now at least - in the new application is the ability to pre-order the iPhone 4. From the app's homescreen, tap the top item ("Reserve your iPhone 4") and the app will locate your nearest store and then walk you through the necessary steps to place your pre-order.

Unfortunately, due to overwhelming demand (or poor planning?), the application has suffered some outages this morning as the crush of Apple early adopters simultaneously launched the app and placed their orders. Some customers were left with an error page and the "we'll be back soon" message that always appears when the App Store goes down. (At the time of writing, however, the application was again functional).

Also of note, numerous sources are reporting that the white iPhone 4 is not available for pre-order via the Apple Store app, nor AT&T's or Apple's website. As the day progresses, however, we should find out if trips to local stores allow people to pre-order this oddly scarce color or if it's not available at all, anywhere.

The Apple Store application is available as a free download from here.

During the period where the activation servers were down, the Apple store employees let everybody still buy their phones and had them finalize the activation at home. As it turns out, that might not have been very useful at all, especially if the iPhone servers are still only working intermittently.

According to various reports online, these problems weren't just limited to the US, but pretty much occurred around the globe. Given how widespread these reports about problems are, it would seem that the majority of issues was more due to Apple's fault than the local carriers'.

Even though Apple loosened some of its guidelines for the iOS Developer Program in early September, the policy still reads that your app cannot break the law or infringe on copyrights. And that's the reason why there have been no BitTorrent apps to date, according to an Apple spokesman who claimed last year when another BitTorrent app was rejected that "this category of application is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights."

It was a surprise, then, to see the approval of IS Drive, now available in the App Store.

In an interview with TorrentFreak, app developer Derek Kepner admitted, "I'm on dangerous ground here." Insisting that the app is not designed to break the law, Kepner says, "I always had the thought that if I didn't call the app a "torrent client", Apple would probably let it through the review process. After all, there is no real torrenting happening on the client side. It's not a torrent client. It's an ImageShack Drive client."

Whether it's a question of semantics or a question of luck that got the app past the Apple reviewers, IS Drive is - for the time being - available in the App Store for $4.99.

2.94 million Macs were sold, a 33% increase, along with 8.75 million iPhones and 10.89 million iPods.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated it was the company's "best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent."

Apple has a reputation on Wall Street for estimating low on its upcoming revenue, which has an influence on analyst expectations. Apple currently anticipates a gross margin of 36 percent, a significant decline.

Apple beat analyst expectations this quarter.

Although attention on the iPad was enormous, and sales were good, insufficient time has passed to tell what effect that new product will have on earnings. It will need to sell a great many to be a contender against any of its other products.

Bottom photo by Sonny Hung

German news magazine Der Spiegel quotes German Federal Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger as saying Apple should "immediately disclose" what information they gather, how long it is kept and what it is used for.

The Germany concern is in response to Apple's updated privacy policy, which outlines what the company feels is the need to harvest data to provide location-based services.

"To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device...For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services."

Given the company's tenacity regarding Google, Apple would do well to take the Minister's suggestion seriously.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/germany_insists_apple_divulge_location_information.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/germany_insists_apple_divulge_location_information.php Apple Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0800 Curt Hopkins Apple announced a new in-house app called Find My Friends today as part of the forthcoming free update iOS 5 - and it sounds a lot like what other services already offer. The service will allow iPhone owners to selectively and for a defined period of time share their location on a map with their friends and family. But apparently it's just for finding other iPhone owners. Who else would you want to find, anyway?

Persistant location sharing on demand is clearly a growing trend, witness Google Latitude, Glypmse and startups like Geoloqi and EchoEcho. What has Apple brought to that party? Maybe improved usability, ease of installation, accessibility for everyday iPhone owners - but also a feigned ignorance about all the other options and all the other phones on the market. Imagine how many more friends I could find if Apple released something that was interoperable with other services and other devices. Just like I can call them by voice. But no...it's just for Apple Friends to find Apple Family. I love Apple devices, but this is just obnoxious. The time for siloed, single-vendor, location sharing apps has passed.

]]> Seattle-based Glypmse is a little more complicated - but it's cooler. I don't expect Find my Friends will let you send an SMS to someone you're meeting for lunch with 30 minutes of access to your location in transit. Unless of course they are Apple contacts - and who else is there in the world that matters, anyway?

Google Latitude has a world of potential and very similar use cases. I suppose there was no way to expect Apple to build something that would share location across device makers. Sometimes it feels like if Apple could prohibit its customers from calling anyone but other Apple customers, it might do so with a smile on its face.

There are certainly some families where every member has an iPhone - but those families are a little obnoxious, aren't they? Why do you have to be like that, Apple? Can't we all please share location together, with whomever we choose?

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apples_find_my_friends_is_apple_at_its_worst.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apples_find_my_friends_is_apple_at_its_worst.php Location Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:59:55 -0800 Marshall Kirkpatrick Location-based computing is a trend ReadWriteWeb has been tracking for some time. But Apple's update of its privacy policy this week emphasizes location's arrival in mainstream of consumer communications.

"To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services."

]]> Apple's CEO Steve Jobs spoke about the company's relationship to privacy and location information at the D8 Conference at the first of June.

"We take privacy extremely seriously...Privacy means people know what they're signing up for."

That said, it would be nice if Apple were more specific on how long its partners are allowed to retain your information.

This process, of passing a user's information to an app like Gowalla, for instance. But by expressing it as part of Apple's explicit privacy information gives location the company's imprimatur. Location is here to stay.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_updates_privacy_notice_with_location.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_updates_privacy_notice_with_location.php Apple Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:25:00 -0800 Curt Hopkins Apple CEO Steve Jobs has just announced that he is taking a medical leave of absence. He will continue as CEO, but will pass day-to-day operations of the company to COO Tim Cook.

This is the email memo that Jobs sent to Apple employees today according to Business Wire.

]]> Team,
At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

Jobs has not given a reason for the medical leave of absense. This is his second medical leave, following a battle with pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant in 2009.

Apple is slated to give its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and perhaps more details will be forthcoming at that time.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_ceo_steve_jobs_announces_medical_leave_of_ab.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_ceo_steve_jobs_announces_medical_leave_of_ab.php Apple Mon, 17 Jan 2011 06:14:16 -0800 Audrey Watters The word this morning from AppleInsider is that Apple "recently" purchased mapping company Poly9. The company produced a lightweight, Web-based 3D globe similar to Google Earth, and now some are speculating that an "Apple Earth" is on the way.

While Google Maps is currently the default on Apple's mobile devices, there's one thing for sure - Poly9's Flash-based globe is not likely to find its way onto the devices.

]]> Business Insider's Jay Yarow saysthat "it looks like this was an acqui-hire for talent" and that Apple "could be hiring Poly9 to help build a map product for the iPad and iPhone so Apple doesn't have to rely on Google Maps."

Right now, AppleInsider has said neither Apple nor Poly9 has confirmed an acquisition, and no other details are available. The initial report (via Google Translate) said Poly9's offices have been closed - as has its website - and that all but two employees have moved to Silicon Valley.

Beyond creating a Google Earth competitor, it lappears Poly9 had previously been involved in other geolocation technologies, including map integration with Garmin GPS, which allowed users to import data from their Garmin device into their map.

Whether or not Apple is looking to boot Google's mapping products off its mobile platform and replace them with its own, Apple is certainly making some moves in the geolocation realm, as evidenced by this reported acquisition, as well as last year's purchase of PlaceBase, another mapping company.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_acquires_mapping_company_poly9.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_acquires_mapping_company_poly9.php Apple Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:21:01 -0800 Mike Melanson One way or another, the Internet is coming to your television viewing experience. Whether it's talking to friends and family using Skype, keeping up with the world using Yahoo's widgets for Blu-Ray devices or searching the Web with Google TV, the Internet is here to smarten up your idiot box experience, and it sounds like Apple is looking to jump back on the bandwagon.

According to the New York Times' Bits Blog, Apple's once-described "hobby" might be "heading for a major overhaul".

]]> The current incarnation of Apple TV sells for $229 with 16 GB, though a late-May rumor posited that a $99 version was soon on the way.

The Bits Blog's Nick Bilton seems rather uncertain on the details, but one thing it seems certain on is that something is surely brewing at Apple headquarters. It cites "several people familiar with Apple's television-related efforts" as saying that the company is, at very least, "working on an update to its television software" which it might base on its new iOS operating system. Another source tells Bilton that hiring moves at Apple, among other clues, could indicate a new design entirely, not only for the software, but hardware element of Apple's television endeavor.

Could this all be tied to Apple's move to the cloud? Maybe this $99 device will eliminate storage to drop some of its current price tag?

Whatever happens, we're willing to bet that Jobs no longer views Apple TV as a hobby, as the Internet-connected television race has been heating up all year long and only got hotter with Google's entry.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_said_to_redesign_apple_tv.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_said_to_redesign_apple_tv.php Apple Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:10:00 -0800 Mike Melanson For those of us who have grown accustomed to purchasing things from our laptops, tablets and smartphones, the experience of walking into a physical store and standing in line can get tiresome. It's hard to top the immediacy and convenience of online and mobile shopping. Yet, there are still plenty of items that are best purchased in person.

Apple hopes to bridge the gap between these digital and physical worlds. The company just released an update to its Apple Store app for iOS. Using the application, customers can not only purchase Apple products like they can on the Apple website, but they can now opt to pick them up in person at one of the company's many retail locations.

]]> While everybody else is clamoring for a spot in line and waiting around, mobile-savvy consumers can just walk in, pick up their item, and walk out of the store. Of course, results may vary depending on what's being purchased. If it's already in stock at the store, it can be available within a matter of minutes. Other purchases may take a few days to be delivered. This in-store pick-up program was piloted in California and is now being instituted at all U.S. Apple stores.

The app can also be used as a sort of self check-out scanner for certain accessories in Apple stores. Need a new case for your iPhone or a power adaptor for your MacBook? Now you can scan the item with your phone's camera, pay for it in the app and be on your way.

This model offers a glimpse of one version of what the future of commerce may look like. E-commerce is infinitely more convenient for certain things, but sometimes consumers still need to see and try a product in person, whether it's a MacBook Air or a pair of jeans.

For retailers, offering a mobile app that alleviates some of the pain of real world, bricks-and-mortar shopping can provide a competitive advantage on digital platforms without cannibalizing physical in-store sales. Mix in location-based offers and coupons and the incentive for consumers to swing by the store is even greater.

]]> Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_streamlines_real_world_shopping_with_mobile.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_streamlines_real_world_shopping_with_mobile.php Apple Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:00:00 -0800 John Paul Titlow