Apple has hired ex-NSA security analyst David Rice as its newly-appointed Director of Global Security.
A graduate of the US Naval Academy and previously a ‘vulnerabilities analyst’ at the NSA and a cryptologist for the US Navy, Rice will lead Apple’s security plans. David Rice is also the author of the extremely compelling, ‘Geekonomics:the real cost of insecure software‘. In this he argues that software developers need to focus more tightly on writing secure software. Expand Expanding Close
Samsung may now have sold ten million Galaxy S smartphones, but Apple’s taking it to that firm’s home ground, with news it has sold two million iPhones in South Korea so far.
This has taken just over a year and means two million iPhones were active in the country as of January 20, including over one million iPhone 4’s, according to operator, KT Corp. Expand Expanding Close
On their official Twitter profile, Microsoft announced their fourth store will be located at the South Coast Plaza mall in Southern California. Just like Microsoft’s other stores, this one will be a few steps away from an Apple Store and Microsoft will try to steal the spotlight with their ‘Answer Bar,’ big screens, glass front, wooden tables, and employees that wear different colored shirts, depending on their store job position.
Microsoft’s second store, the one in Mission Viejo, California, is a few stores down from an Apple Store, and their third store, located at the Mall of America in Minnesota, is literally across the hall. As our own Jonny Evans calls it, this is the continuation of the “Microsoft retail attack on Apple.” Microsoft has attempted to steal the spotlight at their store openings by giving away free Miley Cyrus tickets, and a wonderful introduction from CEO Steve Ballmer.
The store’s launch date is yet to be revealed but check out a picture of the closed off location (via Twitter) after the break. Oh, and who came up with the whole random Johnny Rockets dance routine, that randomly happens during the middle of the day?
The NYTimesposts a graph of Android and iPhone on the four big US mobile networks. It is interesting that AT&T has so few Android users compared to the others. Is AT&T’s lackluster Android offering to blame or is that what Verizon will look like in a year?
Also, it’s clear we are still in the early stages of the smartphone revolution.
Back at the turn of the last decade, industry naysayers and critics said Apple could never make it back to being a ten billion dollar company. They were so wrong as most of Apple’s earnings now come from products which didn’t exist back then — 65 percent of the cash comes from iOS device sales. Expand Expanding Close
COMPUTERWORLD: There’s so much focus on the iPad 2.0 right now, which we now know will likely be faster, slimmer, lighter, host cameras and boast better graphics with a better screen than the existing model, but what do we know about the iPhone 5? What features we can look forward to in the next-gen Apple smartphone when it ships in summer.
COMPUTERWORLD: You’ll turn round one day and realise that, with iOS and OS X devices connected at their UNIX core, you don’t just have a series of diverse products, you also have a unified, infinitely flexible and powerful computing platform.
Apple is screwing your iPhone: what the issue is is that Apple is quietly moving to a new kind of tamper-resistant screw on its iPhone to keep you out, as iFixit explain in the video above. (And indeed as our own Mark Gurman spotted first way back in November). Expand Expanding Close
Here’s one that almost is too easy to believe. The original iPad had a 27 on the calendar app and was presented on January 27th. The new iPad has a 9 so one would think that Apple’s presentation will be on February 9th (a Wednesday). Too easy?
Apparently “sources” from inside AAPL’s component supply chain are saying the next-gen iPad will host a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536. We don’t know what to believe anymore! Expand Expanding Close
Apple has been slammed by Chinese environmental campaigners, who have ranked it last among 29 tech firms in terms of “responsiveness and transparency to health and environmental concerns” in China.
The Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs (IPE) said Apple had refused to confirm if suspected polluters were among the suppliers it used, and is also accused of avoiding taking responsibility for environmental problems associated with its products. Expand Expanding Close
We reported on a Best Buy Verizon iPhone leak earlier but have been told by employees that the screenshot is from a Best Buy Wiki, not the store’s inventory system. So Best Buy won’t likely have the Verizon iPhone at launch or soon after.
To back up that theory, Gearlive posts what they report to be a Best Buy employee manual that aims to direct potential iPhone customers to AT&T’s iPhone, which Best Buy has of course carried for awhile now.
Best Buy is training their employees to encourage customers to stay with AT&T. As you can see in the document above, which we’ve confirmed is straight out of a Best Buy playbook, you can see that Big Blue is looking to talk down the Verizon model. Verizon has yet to reveal prices and plans nor distribution points though its been mentioned that Verizon and Apple will handle the launch exclusively.
Update: Does that sound familiar?! Techcrunch notes that this is taken verbatim from a BGR post last week! Way to save some money on copy Best Buy. Hope BGR gets a consulting fee.
COMPUTERWORLD: Apple’s 91-day quarter yields some impressive numbers — take them apart a little and you get the kind of stats you can reel off at a dinner party without being seen as too utterly crushing a bore, for example, did you know there’s one iPhone being sold for every two people being born into this world today?
Apple’s iPad is seeing wide deployment in the big Fortune 100 companies, and Android tablets are ‘bizarre’, just two quiet take aways from last night’s record-breaking financial call.
“Today, over 80% of the Fortune 100 are already deploying or piloting iPad, up from 65% in the [previous] quarter,” said CFO Peter Oppenheimer. “Some recent examples include JPMorgan Chase, Cardinal Health, Wells Fargo, Archer Daniels Midland, Sears Holdings and DuPont.” Expand Expanding Close
16.24 million iPhones
~10 million iPod touches (iPod touch represents more than 50% of the 19 million iPods sold)
7.33 million iPads
—————
33 million iOS devices sold (not including AppleTVs)
/90 days in the quarter
—————
366,666 iOS mobile devices/day.
Remember that Google proudly announced they were shipping 300,000 Android devices/day last month. Apple is now significantly beyond that. Also, remember AppleTV is also iOS. Expand Expanding Close
Engadget has what appear to be the first sightings of the HP webOS devices they plan to unveil in February. I’ll admit it, they look kinda nice, certainly better than the thing Ballmer showed at CES last year. It probably helps not to have an Intel processor with its overhead and battery inside.
two tablets: the 9-inch Topaz and a 7-inch model codnamed Opal
The bad news? September is when they expect these things to hit retailers and they are only expecting to sell a few million in 2012 according to another leaked document.. That is forever in this fast-paced game. iPad 2 will already be running strong at that point as it competes with the Blackberry Playbook and Motorola Xoom which should be hitting shelves before summer. Expand Expanding Close
Using its Skydrive Cloud servers, Microsoft is now allowing iPhone users to access, edit, and share their desktop OneNote application data on iPhone. Microsoft has long been talking about bringing their Office applications and functionality to the iPhone and this is the first indication of doing that (OneNote is part of the Office suite).
While the OneNote Mobile app naturally doesn’t have all of the functionality of the full OneNote 2010 desktop application for your computer, it’s optimized for your iPhone’s display and lets you handle the basics with ease. Use OneNote Mobile to create shopping lists and to-do lists, prepare for a trip or project, and take class or meeting notes without lugging around your laptop. OneNote Mobile is also great for collecting ideas and tracking project notes, capturing ad hoc information about stuff you need to deal with at home or at work, as well as tracking activities, wish lists, gift lists — anything you can think of.
Apple 2.0 has published its quarterly poll of analyst expectations for Apple’s Q1 FY2011 results, the collection includes both amateur and employed financial analyst predictions. Apple 2.0 will publish the score card later in the quarterly amateurs versus pros tournament.
Meanwhile, Apple stock fell slightly on the US pre-market this morning, though Frankfurt is seeing some recovery as investors adjust holdings in wake of news of Jobs’ medical leave. In related news, Apple filed its Sec 8K forms disclosing the latter information over night, though this offers no fresh insights into the condition of the CEO.
Apple remains on course for a slew of new product introductions this year, and as investors slowly regain confidence in the firm (stock is rising on the Frankfurt exchange at this time), new iPhone contract manufacturer, Pegatron, has raised its order book to cater for an anticipated 12-15 million CDMA iPhones this year. Expand Expanding Close
Dan Lyons, who started the Fake Steve Jobs Blog as his anonymous pet project a few years ago, says he is no longer posting as Fake Steve. Like a lot of us in the tech community, Lyons is feeling awful about the situation with Jobs’ illness.
I know his old partner and friend, Steve Wozniak. And I just can’t bring myself to call Woz and ask him what he knows. I’m sorry. I know a surgeon who has worked at Stanford Medical Center, where Steve Jobs has received a great deal of his medical treatment. But I won’t ask her what she’s heard. For one thing, she won’t tell me. For another, all the hot showers in the world could not wash that stink off me. I won’t ask my friends who work at Apple what they know. I’ve never asked them for any inside information about Apple. We’re friends. I respect that. They don’t know what’s wrong with their boss. They’re just feeling awful.
COMPUTERWORLD: Apple shares wobble as US futures market impacted by Steve Jobs’ ‘medical leave’ disclosure and request for privacy. Apple users wish company co-founder well, shareholders prepare to discuss Apple’s succession plans and analysts will be asking questions of the company during tomorrow’s financial call.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced a new period of medical leave from Apple. Reaction to his news has already begun, with Apple shares traded on the Frankfurt exchange falling by 7.5 percent by 14:38 GMT. US futures also seem destined for a hit, with 0.3 percent falling off of the S&P 500 and 0.9 percent down on the Nasdaq.
Meanwhile speculation as to Apple’s succession plans is inevitably set to increase, particularly in light of a board recommendation shareholders reject a plan to formalise such preparations that is being advanced at the AAPL AGM in February. Expand Expanding Close
News is breaking this hour that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been forced to take another round of medical leave from the firm he co-founded.
Apple has published the following note from Jobs, in which he expresses his utmost confidence in COO, Tim Cook, and asks for “respect” for the privacy of himself and his family.
“Apple CEO Steve Jobs today sent the following email to all Apple employees:
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.
Mr. Jobs suffers from immune system issues common with people who have received liver transplants and, as a result, his health suffers from frequent “ups and downs,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it.
In recent weeks, Mr. Jobs began a down cycle and slowed his activities at Apple, the person said. Mr. Jobs has been coming to the office about two days a week, and appeared increasingly emaciated, the person said. He frequently lunched in his office, rather than in the company cafeteria, the person said.
