Tech Industry

Office 2011 will be so compatible with Windows that you can hold up overlaid printouts from both platforms to the light and if there are any differences, that will be a considered a bug. –K. Schmucker

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He may be a Mac, but as this clip shows Apple’s former ad star, Justin Long, is also an iPhone jailbreaker as revealed on a US TV show this week.

Long was guesting on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show, during which he pulled out his iPhone to show a series of funny SMS text messages to the audience. When he did, the Cydia icon was in plain sight among Long’s other apps — a big sign that his phone has been jailbroken.

Mashable

MacStories links us up with an modder who seems to have an affinity for the EEE Keyboard, but retains his love for the Mac (and a sweet trakpad).  

Would it be so hard to see Apple doing something like this?  We’d at least like the see the keyboard-trackpad combo…but maybe in a top-bottom fashion, more like a laptop.  Magic?

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Apple’s iPad has eaten the lunch of the nascent netbook industry, with major PC manufacturer, Asustek, lowering its netbook shipments targets for 2010’s third quarter in response. Netbook sales are in decline as Apple’s iPad prevails in new markets.

Asustek Computer saw sales of its netbooks in the second quarter fall short of expectations mainly due to competition from Apple’s iPad. Digitimes tells us the company response to this has been to lower Q3 targets — this is highly significant ads Q3 is the traditional biggest-sellling period.

The manufacturer now hopes to sell 1.4 million netbooks, but will offer its own tablet solutions (the Eee Note and Eee Pad) in the fourth quarter.

There’s a lot riding on the fourth quarter, when iPad attempts by multiple manufacturers are expected to hit the market. Meanwhile iPad mind share continues to increase, with Apple seemingly set to boost this a little pre-Xmas with reported launch of a seven-inch model and faster processors in 2011.

Despite its portability, only 15 per cent of UK iPad users regularly take their iPad out with them, according to a survey by Cooper Murphy Web. 38 per cent say the Apple tablet is their preferred device for browsing the internet, while 55 per cent of iPad owners would still rather use a laptop or desktop computer.

The device is attracting enterprise sales for Apple and is rapidly finding favor among hitherto untapped markets, including the elderly.

Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell says the iPad’s popularity with the elderly is helping Apple reach beyond its traditional base of younger customers.

“Demographically, the world, especially in developed markets, is getting older, and it’s probably where Apple is least penetrated,” Cordwell told Business Week.

Apple’s purported plan to rebrand its Apple TV product as the ‘iTV’ now seems set to see the company sued heavily in the courts, as “furious” executives from major UK television broadcaster, ITV, are meeting with lawyers to plan legal action, according to UK newspaper, The Mirror.

The broadcaster, who owns the trademark to the name ITV in Britain, will also weigh up its options on a global ban.

A channel insider told The Mirror: “You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we’ll do everything in our power to protect it.”

The Mirror notes that an Apple spokeswoman “denied the names will be too similar”. Does this mean Apple’s plan for an iTV is true, in that in saying the names won’t be “too similar” the PR is tactily admitting they will be fairly similar?

The irony is that Apple needs support from broadcasters to execute its TV revolutionizing effectively, particularly in order to launch its iTunes video streaming services outside of the US.

Worldwide, Apple’s Regent Street store is still the company’s busiest shop, Apple senior vice-president of retail Ron Johnson admits.

Those $29 Apple rechargeable batteries?  Yeah, they are just rebranded Sanyos.  The good news is that they are some of the best on the market, Engadget saying that they retain more than 75% of their charge after three years of use.

Better news?  You don’t have to pay that pesky Apple tax to get on board with rechargeables.  Amazon’s got some pretty solid deals on eneloops.

Amazon sells the Sanyo versions for $18 for 4 batteries with charger.

Watch some old dudes talking about a remote control/DVR app for the iPad

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via Engadget

They took start-up funding from Apple’s ‘iFund’, now it appears iPhone game developer ngmoco’s flirting with the other side — Google Ventures (The VC arm of the search giant) has invested in the developer.

TechCrunch tells us the profitable company took up to $5 million in Google cash. While Google’s ‘don’t be evil’ boss, Eric Schmidt, has in the past stressed that Google Ventures is not Google, but independent…

However, I surely wouldn’t be surprised to see ngmoco begin to port its titles to Android devics.

ngmoco competitor SGN recently began offering titles on Android. “SGN closed a bridge round led by Eric Schmidt

With Apple seemingly set on rebranding the Apple TV with the same brand as the UK’s second-oldest television broadcaster, ITV, it looks like the company may still have some fuss and botheration before it can convince broadcasters to truly join the iOS Internet TV network party (assuming such dreams don’t die the death through net neutrality).

In the same week as Disney CEO, Bob Iger, steps up to the plate to call the iPad a ‘game-changer’, it seems broadcasters aren’t totally sure they want the game changed.

A report claims rights holders of TV content are charging firms up to three times as much for a license to offer media via the iPad, a report informs.

MobiTV CMO Ray DeRenzo says broadcasters fear alienating their existing distribution partners, so feel obliged to charge top dollar. “It is three to four times more expensive to license the same piece of content for a tablet than for a mobile phone,” he told Mobile Entertainment.

“I can programme a package of content on mobile and make it available for $10 a month in the US, but if I take that same lineup of content and make it available on the tablet, I’m going to have to charge more like $30. And at $30, there is not a market for that product.”

With Apple reportedly set to offer some form of hybrid cloud-based TV content-cum-network via the future ITV box, does the $30 charge also represent an approximation as to the monthly charge Apple will have to make for access to all-you-can-eat content?

Disney’s Iger has a more positive vision, saying “Our gut is that cannibalization is negligible and that people still do most of their viewing on bigger screens.”

I think a new low may have just been hit, knockoff iPhone 4s are now being sold by knockoff Apple.coms. They even go as far to compare the knockoff to the legit. That is all. 

Apple’s next-generation iPad seems set to make a blushing appearance next year, and will include a three-axis gyroscope, just like the iPhone 4, a report claims.

UBM TechInsights believes that Apple tested a three-axis gyroscope manufactured by InvenSense in its iPad prototypes, but is likely to adopt a similar component from STMicroelectronics. The same one used in the iPhone.

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It took almost five years, but Apple Japan has finally agreed to replace first-generation iPod nano players in the event of their overheating. (Video above is a few years old).

This applies only in Japan, where, under pressure from local government, Apple has confirmed “very rare cases of overheating” in the battery of iPod nanos sold between Sep 2005 and Dec 2006. The company has published a note to its website admitting the problem.

The overheating had the effect of distorting the shape of the music player, or otherwise making it unusable. The fault came from a particular battery supplier.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the recharging problems caused 27 overheating incidents, including six fires, which left four people with minor burns.

Apple waited until last week before it admitted knowledge of another 34 such incidents. A delay in data-sharing Japan’s authorities see as “truly regrettable”.

What hasn’t been revealed is just how Apple will handle similar complaints at the overheating iPod nano in other nations.

OK Cupid via DF

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Suddenly 4:3 doesn’t seem like such a bad idea? via BoomTown

Yet more hassle for Cupertino on news that European regulators have joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to probe Apple’s policies regarding mobile software developers (ie. Flash on iPhones).

The move is part of the regulatory response to Apple’s attempt to ban Flash from its iOS devices, alleging the format isn’t sufficiently advanced for use on smartphones.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has criticized Flash for using too much power, limiting smartphone performance and other problems making it unsuitable for prime time in the mobile age.

Adobe has of course complained about Apple’s move, hence the new probes. The FTC opened up its probe in June. Now, according to sources at the NY Post, the European Union has joined in the investigation, which could last up to six more months.

The European Union recently adopted a new Digital Agenda aimed at encouraging the interoperability of technology.

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs is friends with Oracle boss, Larry Ellison, and Larry is a tennis buddy with former HP CEO, Mark Hurd, and he’s furious the HP board has let Hurd go following some slight scandal.

Hurd resigned last Friday after the company discovered discrepancies in his expenses claims. He was also being investigated over claims of sexual harassment made by former HP contractor and alleged adult actress Jodie Fisher.

In an email sent to the New York Times, Ellison claims HP just shot itself stupid.

“The HP board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago.”

He observed, “That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn

Faced by Apple’s growing Mac, iPad and iPhone marketshare, Dell has kicked back with a price comparison guide that clearly puts the fruit-flavored computer manufacturer in its sights…

In its latest campaign, Dell goes for a side-by-side comparison of the price of Apple computers in comparison to its own charges.

Comparing the Dell Studio 15 with the MacBook Pro 15-inch, Dell makes the claim to offer its machine at $950 per pop, while Apple charges $2,199 for its offering.

What isn’t mentioned is the processors speed — Dell ships a 1.73GHz chip (2.93GHz Turbo Mode) inside its machine, while Apple’s offers a 2.66GHz chip. What’s interesting too is that Dell pits its lowest end machine up against the top-priced Apple variant in its ‘Apple’s for Apples’ campaign.

What makes this possible is the inclusion now of Microsoft’s recently-introduced Windows Live Essentials software. Redmond’s attempt to emulate iLife offers a bunch of multimedia applications for consumers.

That Microsoft has introduced Windows Live reinforces the fearsome effect Apple has had on PC marketshare since the turn of the century.

New Apple TV in manufacturing this December, CDMA model iPhones will have a metal, not a glass back and the future of the iPad sees a 7-inch model and new, faster processor debut in December, that’s this morning’s big rumor round-up…

We’ve been looking at the latest reports from Digitimes (so usual warnings etc.) that Apple intends introducing an upgraded iPad equipped with a Cortex A9 processor next year.

The new 9.7-inch tablet will utilize a version of ARM’s latest processor and will carry 512MB of RAM. Apple’s expected to introduce the device in Q1, the report explains…

Apple will also (apparently) introduce a 7-inch version of the iPad, using the same processor and boasting a 1,024-x768 resolution IPS panel.

More news on the CDMA iPhone (c’mon, who seriously expected Apple to give Google unique access to every US network bar AT&T?) which Digitimes tells us will go into mass production (by Pegatron) in December.

“[Pegatron] will supply to both US-based Verizon Wireless and China-based China Telecom,” Digitimes tells us helpfully.

Big news, likely to start the usual discussions in the usual places too: “The CDMA iPhone’s back plate will be forged from metal materials and will feature an integrated antenna, according to Digitimes Research.”

Does this mean we can expect an iPhone 4.1? Or will this reflect an earlier launch of an upgraded model as some have predicted?

Wait, there’s more: CDMA iPhone sales will begin in January 2011 after a CES announcement by Verizon’s boss, and are expected to account for 35 percent of iPhone sales.

And then — even more, in this fun-filled fact or fiction Monday rumor bag from Digitimes. More news on the Apple TV, I’ll quote direct:

“Apple is also set to launch a new Apple TV using AMD’s Fusion solution and will not include a hard drive. The new device will adopt a user interface similar to the iPhone with support for social networking websites, network multimedia and the App Store. Mass production of the device will start in December, Digitimes Research noted.”

Be ready. (Of course, this also suggests news of 7-inch iPads, CDMA iPhones and the Apple TV won’t make the cut for the August/September music product refresh. If Apple TV doesn’t make the party, then it is possible we’ll be looking at a later launch for the iTunes in the cloud streaming services. That matches some previous reports which have suggested Apple’s huge data center won’t be active until the end of the year. Wait and see.)

While Apple’s developers may sometimes face a Byzantine race to get their apps approved, are required to avoid even a gentle whisper of controversy or nudity, and may even sometimes see their artwork pop up in an Apple patent filing, Cupertino’s dominance over the mobile app world seems set to continue, fighting off all foes.

ABI Research published its latest forecast for the mobile apps market which suggests that despite the growing competition posed by Android, and to a lesser extent, BlackBerry and Nokia, Apple will lead the pack — though Android will be hovering in the tail lights…

Specifically, ABI Research expects mobile application downloads from iOS and Android to account for 78% of all application downloads in 2010, with iOS (the iPhone

Google CEO Eric Schmidt talked to reporters at yesterday’s Techonomy conference about all things Google. Of interest to Apple watchers specifically is his take on Android and how Apple’s iPhone led the way, especially in browsers. He also mentions that Google makes a fair amount of money on each iPhone through the ads on Safari (and Admob?)

Here’s a shortened, quieter (but better lit) version on Youtube.