Apple is shaking up the display market with a multitude of upcoming product debuts and enhancements, according to Korean site ET News. The site summarizes several known product rumors that will impact display manufacturers, including larger iPhone and iPads, an OLED iWatch, and IGZO displays for its MacBook lineup...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
Marketing research firm Harris Interactive has awarded Apple the title of “Brand of the Year” in the categories of smartphones, tablets, and computers, as first reported byVentureBeat. The distinction comes after a poll asking 38,500+ Americans about the perceptions of their favorite brands, in which Apple was placed above other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, Samsung, and HTC.
"Americans continue to give Apple brands strong ratings," says Manny Flores, Senior Vice President at Harris Interactive. "And while their Consumer Connection scores are strong within their respective categories, what really stands out is that in all three of the categories Apple brands are measured - Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone - its Brand Momentum scores are in the top 30 of all 1,500 brands evaluated in the study, showing that consumers see this as a brand of the future.
These awards come after BBC reported about a survey done by marketing group Added Value (AV), who claimed that Apple’s brand has become “less inspiring” among consumers.
Source: Mac Rumours
This week Apple announced that it has sold 100 million iPod Touch units since 2007 – keep in mind that this is not a statistic for all iPod devices, but all iPod Touch units. This is obviously a massive milestone for Apple, but it also brings up the question, why hasn’t an Android manufacturer built a legitimate iPod Touch competitor?
What past experiences have brought us?
As far as Android is concerned, there have been very little competitors to the iPod Touch. Samsung, for all its success in the smartphone market, dabbled half heartedly into the iPod Touch’s domain, but with horrible specs and outdated software, its Galaxy Player models were never going to compete with the iPod Touch, especially after Apple brought out the fifth-generation iPod Touch.
There haven’t been a lot of other competitors willing to tip their hats into the ring, and attempt to take on Apple. The only other OEM worth mentioning is Sony, which tried to use the Walkman brand name to leverage its very unsuccessful attempt at an “Android media player”...
Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority
Are you reading this on your smartphone? If so, you’ve got about 14 minutes to finish up.
A new study by Simmons Connect finds that smartphone users spend about 14 minutes a day looking at websites. They also compared Android to iOS users, and found some interesting statistics which may cast doubt on previous claims of iOS usage over Android. Interestingly enough, this all comes to light the day after Tim Cook noted (again) that iOS users spend more time visiting websites than their Android counterpart.
Android users spend about 49 minutes on their mobile device daily, whereas iOS users spend a whopping 75 minutes a day squinting at their screens. That averages out to about an hour, which is a good median number for comparison. We’ll keep in mind, though, that percentage of use versus overall time will have an integral part of the discussion...
Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority
Apple has been unusually silent over the past several months—we haven’t seen any big announcements since the iPhone 5, which was back in September of last year. We’re quickly skipping over the company’s annual iPad announcement, and that vow of silence may tell us a lot about what to expect when a reveal does finally come. We’ve heard a lot about the likelihood of a redesigned full-size iPad—we’ve seen pictures as proof—and today’s leak further backs up rumors we’ll see a bigger iPad mini-esque for form factor.
Just last week reports suggested Apple would introduce an iPad that’s “25 percent lighter and 15 percent thinner than the fourth generation iPad.” That’s all hearsay based on an analyst note. But there was also a case leak based around the rumored thinner design, while another report said the iPad 5 would slim down because of a more efficient LEDs. There’s plenty of talk right now, but obviously we have no way of verifying anything until Apple decides to address the world about its next generation iPad.
We’re expecting Apple to send out event invites any day now, but the more likely scenario will be to wait until WWDC. If that’s the case, will Apple use the conference to announce multiple hardware devices in addition to new software? Will it now just hold one big event mid-way through the year instead of several events throughout the year? We’ll have to wait and see. It’s not typical Apple form, but nothing has been quite typical for awhile now.
MacRumors highlights another possible leak in the same iPad 5 report having to do with the iPhone 5S’s SIM try. They look identical, which is no surprise given the fact that many expect the 5S to keep the iPhone 5’s same form factor.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
iPad owners have had access since early August, and at long last, iPod touch and iPhone users can say "Us too." The second major reason to crack open the App Store today has just surfaced, with Amazon confirming that its Instant Video app is now available for two of Apple's more bantam iOS products. Much like the iPad version, this one provides access to over 30,000 titles from Prime Instant Video available to Prime members for no extra cost, while the roaming public at large can tap into some 140,000 titles at various price points. To watch movies or TV episodes from Amazon Instant Video on iPhone and iPod touch, customers can simply search for the content they've already rented or purchased from Amazon Instant Video, and the company's also throwing in "Your Watchlist" and "Your Video Library" features, too.
[Source: Engadget]
Kevin Tofel over at GigaOm stepped into the sunlight this past week (a dangerous endeavor for any blogger, let me tell you), and found out something strange about his new iPod touch: It doesn't have an autobrightness function. That's because it doesn't have a light sensor at all, apparently: There's only a manual setting for the brightness, and when Tofel went to Apple's product page for the new iPod touch, he confirmed that there's no light sensor listed in the various features of the device. While older iPod touch models do have the light sensor function, this current model apparently does not.
Why not? An iDownloadBlog reader named Raghid Harake emailed Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller to ask him that very question, and he got the answer that the device is just too thin. Schiller confirmed again that the device doesn't have a built-in light sensor, and reported that the design makes the whole thing too thin to fit one in. Indeed, Apple lost more than a millimeter in the latest iPod touch design, and part of that space means losing the light sensor.
Was the trade-off worth it? For Apple, apparently so. While some users might be surprised when their iPod touch doesn't automatically brighten up or down when moving into different ambient light situations, Apple decided that feature wasn't as important as slimming the device down. Do you agree?
[Source: TUAW]
Tearing down a device the size of an iPod nano is definitely not for the faint of heart (or shaky of hand), but none of that deters iFixit, who just tackled Apple's latest pint-sized player. We called it the best nano so far, but if the tiny iPod with newfound Nike+ functionality calls it quits, can you do something about it yourself, or will it need to be binned or go back to the repair depot? iFixit is torn on the device, saying that it's easy to take apart and replace the LCD or digitizer glass, but that the battery is glued solidly to the chassis, and other important parts like the Lightning connector are soldered together. That makes the replacement of those components nigh-on impossible, resulting in a repairability score of 5/10 for the device -- not that we'd be brave enough to crack it open ourselves.
[Source: Engadget]
With the new iPods shipping, Apple has posted their television ad for the new iPod touch, nano and shuffle. The ad premiered during the media event introducing the new iPods. The iPod touch now carries the taller 4" screen and comes in several different colors. The new iPod nano is radically redesigned with a 2.5" multi-touch screen and front home button. Finally the iPod Shuffle was upgraded with new color choices.
[Source: MacRumors]
At last month's media event, Apple introduced the fifth-generation iPod touch, a revamped version of the device offering the same 4-inch display found in the iPhone 5 and a number of different color options. While Apple immediately began taking pre-orders for the device, availability was set for a rather vague "October" timeframe.
As of earlier today, some of those early pre-order customers have begun reporting that their order statuses have shifted to "Preparing for Shipment", the final stage before being passed off to delivery companies. At least one customer has reported that his credit card has also been charged.
The move toward availability comes just after users noted yesterday that shipping estimates for new orders of the fifth-generation iPod touch through the Apple Online Store in Australia had shifted from the vague "October" to "3 weeks". Those following through and placing orders were finding an expected delivery date of October 29. A similar shift was seen in the New Zealand online store, with deliveries there scheduled for November 2.
These new orders are, however, likely to be delivered somewhat after the first batch of pre-orders placed as much three weeks or more ago, and shipping estimates for new orders in the Australia and New Zealand stores have since reverted to the previous "October" timeframe.
Macotakara reports that the official launch day for the new iPod touch and iPod nano in Japan is October 9, although early supplies are likely to be tight.
[Source: MacRumors]
Whilst Dave is away on business, the Apple world never sleeps. The founder of Geekanoids still finds time to keep you up to date with the lates products launched by Apple Inc. Check out the videos below and leave a comment on YouTube with your views on the new products.
It's been quite a while since the Shuffle has been updated, but we're happy to say that Apple has shown the tiniest of its music players some much needed love. There's only one change here, but it's by far the most important -- colors! Now the tiny PMPs will match their revamped "iTouch" brothers. Just, you know, with much less functionality. There's even a soft and subtle pink model for all those ladies out there that love being pandered to and a Project (RED) version for the socially conscious. The latest generation of the shuffle should start shipping today.
[Source: Engadget]