United States

241 'United States' stories December 2010 - January 2014

Apple begins teasing its first Brazil Store with colorful signage

Mark Gurman Jan 23 2014 - 8:15 am PT

Brazil-Apple-Store-opening

Last year, we reported that Apple plans to open up its first Apple Store in Brazil between February and March of 2014. This store would be located inside of the popular Village Mall in Rio de Janeiro:

Apple currently plans to expand its retail store presence to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil early next year, according to information provided by a source. This person says that Apple is targeting a store opening between February and March 2014, but delays due to construction and staffing are always possible.

Now, the Instagram account for Village Mall has published a photo of the space in which the Apple Store will be housed. The store is blocked by colorful Apple logo signage that is not too different from the teases shown before the recent opening of Apple’s new flagship store in Brisbane, Australia…

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U.S. Apple Online Store joins international stores in shipping Mac Pros in March

Mark Gurman Jan 22 2014 - 10:29 am PT

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Repeat of the late-2012 iMac launch, indeed. Joining Apple’s international online stores, Apple’s United States, Canada, and Mexico online stores are now quoting a March shipment timeframe for the “late 2013” Mac Pro. The Mac Pro launched in December to a February shipment quote, and as the month of January nears its end, the new March shipment timeframe indicates little to no improvement in a supply to demand balance for the $3000+ workstation.

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Apple rumored to be planning €2B ($2.7B) European data center in Netherlands

Ben Lovejoy Jan 22 2014 - 7:40 am PT

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Google data centre at Eemshaven (photo: computable.nl)

iPhoneclub (translation) says that Apple’s rumored plan to build a new data center in Netherlands are now focusing on the town of Eemshaven.

Eemshaven is an ideal location due to the high-speed transatlantic fiber optic cable link to the USA. Google already has a 10,000 square meter data center in the town, and it is believed that Apple has already been granted outline planning permission for its own center …
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Shopkick testing iBeacons in 100 American Eagle locations in largest roll out yet

Zac Hall Jan 16 2014 - 9:34 am PT

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Deals and rewards app Shopkick is continuing to push support for Apple’s iBeacon technology adding 100 American Eagle Outfitter locations (via GigaOm) to its iBeacon test bed.

Shopkick previously introduced iBeacon support, or shopBeacon as it brands it, to select Macy’s retail locations ahead of Apple’s own Apple Store roll out. Now with its plans to introduce the technology to American Eagle locations, Shopkick is behind the largest implementation of iBeacons to date. As with other iBeacon implementations, the presence in American Eagle retail locations will allow Shopkick to interact with shoppers’ iPhones while they’re in the stores based on Bluetooth LE connectivity.

Earlier this week we showed you one company looking to expedite iBeacon support in Europe as support in the US continues.

Image via Flickr
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Google Play app arrives on iOS to stream movies and shows over WiFi

Mark Gurman Jan 15 2014 - 1:58 pm PT

3 Comments

Today, Google has released a new application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to allow Google Play users to stream purchased movies and TV shows. You cannot rent or purchase content via this application: you must download it from Google Play on Android or the web and then the purchased titles will be available to stream via this app. The application is only supported in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. WiFi is currently required for streaming. The app also allows streaming to the ChromeCast.

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Apple settles with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over App Store in-app-purchases

Mark Gurman Jan 15 2014 - 8:49 am PT

6 Comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook informed Apple employees today via email that the company has settled with the United States Federal Trade Commision over an in-app purchases dispute. Cook says that Apple and the FTC have been negotiating for “several months.” The issue in the App Store comes down to the controversies surrounding children spending money too easily in the App Store without the consent of their parents.

Cook notes that “protecting children” has been a priority for everyone at Apple, and Cook notes that the App Store has industry leading controls for security and privacy, making the need to deal with the FTC surprising. Cook’s email details the safeguards in place for the in-app purchase system. Cook also notes the great lengths that Apple went to in order to appease customers who may have been harmed by in-app purchases:

Last year, we set out to refund any in-app purchase which may have been made without a parent’s permission. We wanted to reach every customer who might have been affected, so we sent emails to 28 million App Store customers – anyone who had made an in-app purchase in a game designed for kids. When some emails bounced, we mailed the parents postcards. In all, we received 37,000 claims and we will be reimbursing each one as promised.

Cook also says that it doesn’t feel right that the FTC intervened here. Alas, a settlement has been reached:

It doesn’t feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled. To us, it smacked of double jeopardy. However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren’t already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight.

Here’s Cook’s email in full:

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iOS/Android market share vs. installed base visualized

Ben Lovejoy Jan 10 2014 - 5:52 am PT

25 Comments

compared

As the Guardian‘s Charles Arthur points out, market share is a very different thing to installed user-base. The highly-detailed piece is worth reading in full, but the take-out is the bottom graph. That’s what the real world of U.S. smartphone users looks like. Or, to put it in two sentences …

Here’s the reality: at the time this was written, more than 40% of the smartphones in use in the US […] were iPhones. Only about 51% of the smartphones in peoples’ hands in the US are Android phones.

Smartphone adoption as a whole has grown at a rapid rate, and within that iOS and Android have, in the U.S. (and many other developed markets, I’m sure) grown at pretty much the same rate, with a rather modest gap between them.

Tesla’s Model S App is 9to5Mac’s Best iPhone Application of 2013

Seth Weintraub Dec 30 2013 - 7:01 pm PT

41 Comments

There have been a lot of important apps released for iOS (and Mac) this year. As you can imagine, we’ve covered many of the big ones. But for me, nothing has been a bigger game changer than Tesla’s Model S App. I’m sure many folks will pooh-pooh the idea that an app that is for 30,000 or so households should even get mainstream coverage. But bear with me here. The company has revolutionized the ways in which cars interact with smartphones and these advancements will trickle into more car/apps over the coming years..

For those out of the loop, the Tesla Model S is a fully electric car that can seat up to 7 people, propel them from 0-60 in about 4 seconds and has a battery range of about 250-300 miles fully decked out. It has the lowest coefficient of drag of any mass produced car, has gained the best safety rating ever from the NHTSA and has more interior storage space than many minivans and SUVs.

Many have compared its disruptive nature and its charismatic CEO Elon Musk to Apple and Steve Jobs.
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Google’s Zagat app makes its way to the iPad, complete with ratings for shops and hotels

Mark Gurman Dec 19 2013 - 10:31 am PT

1 Comment

Earlier this year, Google launched Zagat for iPhone and iPod touch. The application is Google’s form of allowing users to discover new places, such as restaurants, across many cities in the United States. Today, Google has updated the application with support for the iPad’s larger display. Also in the mix is support for ratings and reviews for shops and restaurants. Support for Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee has also been added. The 2.0 update is free on the App Store.

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Mac Pro appears on 3rd-party reseller sites where money can be saved

Ben Lovejoy Dec 19 2013 - 5:47 am PT

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Shortly after going live on the Apple Store site, the Mac Pro is starting to appear on third-party reseller sites. While you’re unlikely to get your hands on one any sooner than buying via Apple (which currently lists Dec 30th as shipping dates), it can’t hurt to make a few calls.

You may also be able to save yourself the sales tax. B&H, which has the machines on pre-order, only charges sales tax in NY, and MacMall charges sales tax in just five states (and that’s in addition to the whopping $5 discount off the base price!) …
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Apple releasing ‘assembled-in-USA’ 2013 Mac Pro tomorrow

Zac Hall Dec 18 2013 - 5:39 am PT

8 Comments

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After three years without a substantial update and several months of teasing and promoting, Apple has finally announced that tomorrow it will begin selling the newly designed and more powerful Mac Pro it first showed off at WWDC back in June. (Full press release below.)

We have begun manufacturing the Mac Pro in Austin. It’s the most powerful Mac ever. Orders start tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Jrd1Gic3Ya

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) December 18, 2013

The road was certainly not rapid between update cycles with two years of nary a word on whether or not the Mac Pro line had any life left in it and a full year of teasing and promoting the 2013 model being released tomorrow. Let’s take a look at the Mac Pro saga that led to today’s debut…
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Google fights to have iPhone privacy case dismissed from UK courts

Ben Lovejoy Dec 16 2013 - 6:28 am PT

5 Comments

google-hq

Google, which was fined $22.5M by the FTC for illegal use of tracking cookies on iPhones even when the user had set Safari to reject them, is asking the UK’s High Court to reject a claim for compensation from a group of British iPhone owners, reports The Guardian.

Google is arguing that any case should be held in the U.S., and that UK courts have no jurisdiction in the matter. It also observes that a similar claim in the USA was dismissed two months ago.

Google has been called “arrogant and immoral” for arguing that a privacy claim brought by internet users in the UK should not be heard by the British legal system […]

In the first group claim brought against Google in the UK, the internet firm has insisted that the lawsuit must be brought in California, where it is based, instead of a British courtroom …

Lawyers for the claimants argue that the company has violated UK law, and that the case should therefore be heard by UK courts.

“British users have a right to privacy protected by English and European laws,” said Dan Tench, a solicitor from the law firm Olswang, which represents the claimants.

“Google may weave complex legal arguments about why the case should not be heard here, but they have a legal and moral duty to users on this side of the Atlantic not to abuse their wishes. Google must be held to account here, even though it would prefer to ignore England.”

While the case itself seems unlikely to succeed in any case – it being difficult to prove that harm was done to individuals – it is likely to lead to renewed debate about the legality and morality of companies doing business in one country while claiming to be legally resident elsewhere.

The British government queried back in May the accuracy of Google’s responses to questions about its tax status after the company paid just £6M ($9.7M) UK tax on a turnover of £395M ($644M).

Two-thirds of Americans will own an iPhone by 2017, calculates analyst

Ben Lovejoy Dec 16 2013 - 5:07 am PT

10 Comments

Smartphones will reach saturation point in the U.S. by 2017, and by that time two-thirds of all Americans will own an iPhone – the conclusions Asymco’s Horace Dediu reaches through a series of calculations.

Dediu bases his calculation on three factors. First, that the rate of growth seen in the smartphone market so far will continue at the same pace. Second, saturation point for smartphones will be 90 percent (no technology ever achieves 100 percent). Third, that Apple’s market share will remain roughly constant, Dediu pointing out that iPhone growth has pretty much exactly mirrored the smartphone market as a whole …
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Apple’s new store in Dusseldorf, Germany, opens on 14th December

Ben Lovejoy Dec 10 2013 - 6:03 am PT

3 Comments

Photo: macerkopf.de

Apple’s site confirms that its new store in Dusseldorf – its 13th German store – will open at 10am on Saturday. The first 1000 visitors to the store will reportedly receive an Apple t-shirt.

German site Macerkopf first spotted job listings for the store back in February following rumors dating back to May 2011.

The store is located in Dusseldorf Köbogen, a brand-new upmarket shopping center with stores featuring a number of luxury brands, at Königsallee 2.

Apple’s retail stores must qualify as one of the world’s most successuful risky gambles, earning more per square foot than any other retail company in the world – beating even Tiffany and Harrods. Apple has over 400 stores worldwide, and plans to open a further 30 next year.

Thanks for the many tips on this

Apple offers free 1-hour computer science workshops for kids & teens

Ben Lovejoy Dec 9 2013 - 7:24 am PT

6 Comments

As part of a code.org initiative to get people started with programming, U.S. Apple Stores are offering a free one-hour computer science workshop aimed at children and teens. The workshops take place in Apple retail stores on Wednesday 11th December.

It’s a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics of programming. “The ability to code and understand the power of computing is crucial to success in today’s hyper-connected world,” says former Vice President Al Gore. Apple Retail Stores will host one-hour workshops for children and teens throughout the United States on Dec. 11 …
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Verizon is almost fixed in New York as AT&T announces LTE roaming in Canada on Rogers

Ben Lovejoy Dec 9 2013 - 7:06 am PT

8 Comments

Verizon’s problems with LTE capacity in NY are almost at an end, claimed CEO Lowell McAdam during an investor conference on Monday. Describing the issues as “a short-term blip,” he said the company was “now back to where we want to be.”

Verizon identified 49 cell sites in the New York area where capacity was insufficient, and said that all but seven of them had been strengthened.

AT&T, meantime, said that it has become the first U.S. carrier to offer international LTE roaming thanks to an agreement with Rogers Communications to allow customers access to LTE data when visiting Canada. The Rogers LTE network covers approximately 70 percent of Canada.

Roaming is not, however, cheap. For occasional use, you’re charged $15.36/MB. Alternatively, you can sign up for a Data Global Add-on packages at $30/month for 120MB, $60/month for 300MB or $120/month for 800MB. The two more expensive packages also give you 1GB of wifi usage where available.

Full AT&T press release below …
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President Obama: ‘I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone, but my daughters love it’

Mark Gurman Dec 4 2013 - 7:09 pm PT

12 Comments

<em>Image from the White House</em>

While he and many of his staff members use Apple’s iPads, United States President Barack Obama has revealed why he does not use an iPhone: “I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,” the President said earlier today. Nonetheless, he says that his daughters both use iPhones. President Obama has stuck to his BlackBerry over the past few years because of its messaging and encryption capabilities. No word on if the iPhone will ever be suitable for a President, but Apple has been beefing up its smartphone’s security via hardware, software, and sensors in recent years.

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The countries where an iPhone can cost 20 percent of the average annual income

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2013 - 5:11 am PT

4 Comments

Mobile Unlocked has put together an interesting interactive tool that shows contract-free iPhone prices around the world, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP. There are four countries where an iPhone sells for around 20 percent of the average annual income: Philippines (18%), Jordan (18.2%), Vietnam (19.8%) and India (22.3%).

Qatar – one of the richest countries in the world – has the lowest percentage, at less than 0.8%, while the USA comes in at just under 1.4% and the UK at 2.4%.

Cheapest in cash terms is the USA at $707, most expensive is Jordan at $1091. In the US, of course, most of the true cost of the iPhone is a disguised part of your monthly contract fee.

Review: Europe’s answer to Nest, Tado the iPhone-controlled intelligent thermostat

Ben Lovejoy Nov 25 2013 - 5:18 am PT

83 Comments

This review has been updated a year in, with an improved thermostat with built-in display and touch-sensitive controls, and new fuel-saving figures.

Affordable home automation has been a long time coming. Frankly, I’m a bit disappointed that it’s the 21st Century and homes still don’t have Star Trek style swishy doors as standard.

But iPhone-controlled heating and lighting is here today. Nest hasn’t yet made it to the UK, so I decided to try out competitor system Tado, which is available in Europe now.

In the UK, it costs £199 if your system already has a wired thermostat, or £278 if it doesn’t. Alternatively, you can rent Tado for either £4.99 or £7.98/month. Looking at my own energy usage before and after, the payback time is a little under three years.

The concept

The idea behind Tado is three-fold. First, automation. As well as the programmable timer you have in any heating system, it also monitors the locations of everyone in the household via their iPhones (or Android phones). If everyone is out, it turns down the heating even if the timer says it should be on.

How much it turns it down depends on how far away you are, because it aims to have it back up to temperature by the time you return. Nip out to the local grocery store, and it won’t adjust it much, drive an hour to work and it’ll turn it down a lot …
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Apple starts selling unlocked, SIM-free iPhone 5s in the U.S.

Mark Gurman Nov 22 2013 - 7:02 am PT

22 Comments

Apple today released an unlocked GSM version of the iPhone 5s on its online store for the United States. This version of the iPhone 5s includes the same exact capabilities of the non-unlocked models, but does not include a SIM card. Users who buy this version of the iPhone will need to supply their own SIM card. The central benefit of an unlocked iPhone is that it can work on many GSM networks across the globe with no contract. For frequent world travelers, this option is worth looking into…

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Samsung accuses Apple’s attorney of racist remark during closing arguments in damages case

Ben Lovejoy Nov 20 2013 - 12:01 am PT

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As the retrial to settle the damages in the Apple vs Samsung patents case reaches its closing arguments, Samsung’s lawyer Bill Price accused Apple attorney Harold McElhinny of a racist remark, asking for a mistrial to be declared, reports Bloomberg.

Harold McElhinny, Apple’s attorney, spoke yesterday of his memory as a child of watching television on American-made sets, and how because the manufacturers didn’t protect their intellectual property their products no longer exist. “We all know what happened,” he said at the conclusion of a damages retrial […]

McElhinny was “appealing to race,” Price told the judge. “I thought we were past that.” …
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Europeans get to use in-flight gadgets too, as EASA mirrors FAA ruling (Update: 3G & 4G too)

Ben Lovejoy Nov 14 2013 - 4:33 am PT

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Photo: huffpost.com

Following the FAA ruling, permitting the use of portable electronic devices during all phases of flight, the European Aviation Safety Authority has announced that it too will be issuing the same guidance by the end of the month.

This will allow passengers on European airlines to use tablets, smartphones and ebook readers from gate to gate, provided that they are placed in Airplane mode at the gate.

American airlines wasted no time in implementing the FAA guidance, so here’s hoping for similar speed for those of us on the other side of the pond.

Update: The EC has now also approved both 3G and 4G network use on board aircraft. This would allow airlines to install mini base stations in their aircraft, with signals relayed via their own on-board radio equipment. I’m desperately hoping airlines won’t allow voice calls …

Via The Verge

Apple’s market share in Japan overtakes USA, with more to come

Ben Lovejoy Nov 11 2013 - 7:40 am PT

5 Comments

Apple Inc Starts To Sell New iPhone 5S And iPhone 5C

Photo: japantimes.co.jp

Apple’s share of the smartphone market in Japan has hit 37 percent, greater than the 36 percent share in the USA, reports the WSJ.

Sales got another boost in late September when NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s largest wireless carrier, began offering the iPhone for the first time to its 61.8 million customers. Even before that, the iPhone was Japan’s best-selling smartphone, with a 37% market share in the six months ended Sept. 30, according to Tokyo’s MM Research Institute. That’s comparable to the iPhone’s 36% share in the U.S. in the third quarter, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech …
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Airlines implement gate-to-gate handheld device rules faster than expected

Ben Lovejoy Nov 7 2013 - 4:51 am PT

3 Comments

Photo: globalnerdy.com

United and American have joined Delta and Jet Blue in permitting gate-to-gate use of portable electronic devices, following the FAA ruling making it legal to do so.

The FAA had said at the time that airlines would need to perform individual tests to demonstrate that the use of electronic devices during all phases of flight would be safe, and had suggested that this might take some time. With the announcement expected as long ago as March, however, it appears that several airlines undertook this testing in advance of the formal ruling.

There has still been no clarification on what constitutes a ‘handheld’ device, but airlines so far appear to be saying yes to tablets and ebook readers and no to laptops. With many tablet and Bluetooth keyboard combos being visually indistinguishable from ultrabooks to non-technical cabin crews, we shall watch with interest to see how the rules are enforced.