Jordan Kahn

If you’re a retailer, you have two options when it comes to deploying Bluetooth beacons. You can deploy the hardware yourself and build an accompanying mobile app for the experience, or you can open the experience to existing apps that users already have on their device using a beacon network. Some retailers have decided they want to own the experience and have everything go through their own mobile app, but new data suggests that might not be the way to go.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook today announced via his Twitter account that Apple has received a 100% score on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index for the 13th year in a row. Apple once again makes the list put together by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which rates U.S. workplaces based on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality:
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Following its detailed reports on displays used in the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, today DisplayMate published a scientific analysis of color accuracy for the six best mobile displays it’s tested this year. Despite ranking high in some categories in the test, Apple’s new entries, the iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air 2, end up at the bottom of the list overall.
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A new record has been set for the fastest touch-screen typing by Brazilian teenager Marcel Fernandes Filho using the Flesky…

Last week at Apple’s yearly briefing for accessory makers in its Made-for-iPhone/iPad (MFi) licensing program, the company unveiled new Lightning connectors and specs for Lightning receptacles that will soon be available for implementation in MFi accessories. The new Lightning receptacle, scheduled to start shipping next year, will allow accessory makers to build new types of accessories that include a port for Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector previously reserved for its own iOS devices (pictured above).
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Accessory makers in Apple’s Made-for-iPhone/iPad (MFi) licensing program can now submit HomeKit product plans to Apple for approval, one of the last steps required before products begin hitting store shelves.
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Apple is making a big push with gift cards for the holidays with the most notable change being gift cards for its retail stores arriving through third-party retailers, according to sources. The company already sold iTunes/App Store gift certificates through a number of retail parters, but it has just recently started selling its Apple Store gift cards outside its own channels as well. Apple Retail will also make changes to repair procedures tomorrow including the introduction of in-store repairs for Beats products. 
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New orders for Apple’s recently launched 27-inch Retina iMac aren’t the only ones seeing delayed shipment times as Apple has just started informing some customers of unexpected delays for orders placed as long ago as last month.
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Bloomberg reports that groups representing Apple, Google, Facebook and other high profile tech companies are lobbying to pass a new bill that attempts to limit NSA spying of email and communications of their users. The report says the groups are “pushing the Senate to pass legislation limiting National Security Agency spying before the Republican majority takes control of the chamber.” The news comes ahead of the Senate vote on the new bill scheduled for Nov. 18 and an upcoming Republican controlled Congress taking over in January:
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The Real Apple Store for London’s Borough Market Apple Day festival (via Dezeen).

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is pressing Apple on how it plans to use sensitive data from users collected through the company’s new Health app and upcoming Apple Watch wearable, according to a new report from Reuters.
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Sprint today announced it’s now offering an ‘iPad for Life Plan’, much like its similar offering for the iPhone, that allows customers to get an iPad for $0 down and monthly payments over the course of a 24 month lease. The deal is available for the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 with monthly payments varying depending on the storage capacity.
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Fortune has somehow named Google CEO Larry Page its 2014 Business person of the Year beating out rival Apple CEO Tim Cook who earns the number 2 spot (despite stock prices) on Fortune’s list of 50 executives.
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SanDisk is today launching a new Made-for-iPhone/iPad product called iXpand that integrates a Lightning connector into a traditional USB Flash Drive device. Like similar products that have recently started hitting the market, the iXpand makes it easier to transfer content between iOS devices and computers with standard USB ports by including Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector in addition to a traditional USB plug.
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The latest report from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple will delay its expected launch of a 12.9 (or 12.2)-inch iPad ‘Pro’ as it predicts a 50% decline for iPad shipments heading into next year. Specifically, KGI thinks Apple will sell just under 10 million units in Q1 2015 following a busy holiday season in the last quarter of this year. That would be a 54.5% drop from quarter to quarter with KGI predicting 21 million iPad units sold during the Q4 2014 Holiday quarter:
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A new job listing posted by Apple shows that the company is working to bring its in-house Maps app, currently only available as native apps for iOS and Mac OS X, to the web.
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