As anticipated, Apple today confirmed its intention to launch iAds in Europe next month — the company had been expected to begin its ads system earlier in the region.
In a press release distributed this morning in Europe, the company revealed its launch ads partners will include L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier & Unilever.
In an interview with the WSJ Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg revealed that his “embrace” of LTE data technology has “drawn the interest” of Apple, so much that it was one of the leading reasons for the Verizon iPad deal. Even more interesting is when Seidenberg was given the money question: when’s Verizon getting the iPhone? His response was not very revealing but he did say the reason Verizon would get the iPhone is “because Apple thinks it’s time.”
This once again shows the Verizon iPhone deal is on Apple’s court and Apple will be the one leading the show and deciding when the Big Red will be getting the iPhone. The CEO also said “our interests are beginning to come together more but they have to take steps to align their technology with ours.”- That’s quite obvious from the iPad deal but does represent their new ongoing partnership. Recent Verizon iPhone rumors have pointed to an early 2011 release with claims brought to light by the New York Timesand the Wall Street Journal
With the booming popularity of mobile devices like the iPad and netbooks, data carriers are trying to push sales of MiFi devices as much as they can. MiFi devices are small, mobile WiFi hotspots that turn a carriers 3G connection into a WiFi connection for nearby devices.
Tomorrow, Virgin Mobile will be launching a very affordable $20/month for 1GB data plan exclusive to MiFi devices sold at Walmart stores or Walmart.com. The plan for the Broadband2Go mobile broadband service works with the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 device or Ovation MC760 USB. Virgin Mobile’s plans are typically contract-free and are on a month-to-month basis.
1GB is a good amount of data for the average computer user. You can compare this to the 2GB plans for Apple’s iPad WiFi + 3G on AT&T which is claimed to be enough for 95% of users. The plans can be setup starting tomorrow on Virgin Mobile’s website with a credit card or one of the carrier’s Top-Up cards.
Broadband2Go mobile broadband service utilizes Sprint’s renowned 3G service that serves over 262 million people. Sprint’s 3G speeds are generally very speedy and according to Virgin Mobile’s website the service attains speeds between 600 and 1400 Kbps.
COMPUTERWORLD: We’re at the time of year when everyone looks anxiously at Amazon’s Black Friday deals list and races around to find the very best (affordable) objects to give to close friends, family and loved ones. The holiday season is expensive and demanding — and this year will be the year of the shopping app.
Hulu drops its Plus plan pricing $2/ month today. Perhaps it is feeling some competition from the likes of Xfinity’s iPad app? Or maybe paying for $10/month for shows with commercials just didn’t feel right.
RIM CEO Jim Balsillie used a speech at Web 2.0 to issue one of his company’s attacks on Apple, saying, “You don’t need an app for the Web’.
Some may recall Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2007 who said the future for app development on the iPhone rested with the Web. He faced a hail of criticism, Apple changed tack and launched the App Store, and the rest is history. Expand Expanding Close
NVIDIA has announced a new graphics card for the Mac Pro, the Quadro 4000 — a solution which brings nVidia’s advanced Fermi architecture to the platform.
We’re heading to wrap-up on The Beatles/iTunes deal, learning overnight that Apple has secured an online exclusive on music from the band “well into 2011”.
It seems the move to get the music to the online store began when Roger Faxon took over as the head of EMI’s recorded music division — he prioritized making the deal happen, Billboard reports. Expand Expanding Close
Neil Ticktin over at MacTech has been thoroughly putting Microsoft Office 2011 through its paces and has found that in almost all cases it is significantly faster than its predecessors.
All of these items give users a great deal more “user speed”…and those are not the type of things that can be measured with a stopwatch. However, in many cases, you will see significant “user speed” improvements, regardless.
Twitter has just released an update to their iOS client and its brings support for the upcoming iOS 4.2 along with some other interesting features and enhancements. The iPad got inline media support, user interface improvements, along with an enhanced search feature.
iPhone:
* Improved display of shortened URLs
* Correctly load reserved Twitter.com paths, such as http://twitter.com/newtwitter
* Fix connection error caused by a device clock being set incorrectly
* Additional retina graphics
* Enable geotagging in your account with one tap
Twitter for iPhone received a few important fixes including better short URL support, connection error fixes, easier geo-tagging setup and better Retina display support. The biggest new feature in the version 3.2 update may be the inclusion of push notifcations. You will now receive one of those classic Apple obtrusive alerts whenever you are @mentioned.
Ironically, this might be the biggest announcement of the day for Apple. After 16 months, Apple has finally let Google Voice past the App Store Gauntlet.
Where can I get one of these Playbooks? The iPad has been out since March and will likely be updated before I can buy the Blackberry device. (via Fortune) Expand Expanding Close
COMPUTERWORLD: Apple’s in a good position to take on PayPal with a move into mobile payment systems. A future NFC-based iPhone may enable people to pay for real world goods using their smartphones, with payments charged to them via iTunes. Is it game over for PayPal?
So after years and years of rumor and a decade in which music from the band has been among the world’s most heavily traded sounds on file-sharing networks, The Beatles are now on iTunes, and while we’ve no word yet on whether the catalog will be made available via any other services, we’re pretty sure EMI’s sundry creditors will be happy at the (remaining) Fab Four’s move to reach digital detente and get their content online today. Though you have to ask if it will be enough to keep up EMI’s payments and keep Warner out.
“I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr. “At last, if you want it—you can get it now—The Beatles from Liverpool to now! Peace and Love, Ringo.” Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s move to junk Java on the Mac may make things a little more complex but could ultimately make the platform more secure, some experts say.
Apple recently revealed plans to abandon native OS X support for Java, following this news up with an alliance with Oracle under which Java on Mac development and maintenance passes to the OpenJDK project for Mac OS X. Expand Expanding Close
Legal professionals are embracing Apple solutions in ever greater numbers, new research provided by online software as service supplier, Clio, claims.
In a survey of 835 US lawyers, Clio found 55 percent of the group already use Macs: 18 percent of Mac-using lawyers have been using a Mac for under a year, 41 percent between 1-3 years and the rest for over 3 years. Expand Expanding Close
Former Apple manager Paul Shin Devine is still awaiting trial on fraud charges but has managed to post bail because his mother put up her home as lien to his release. Meanwhile, US government prosecutors insist Devine let them into his safe deposit boxes.
Devine is accused of accepting payments in return for company secrets and of taking over a million dollars from Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories. He faces 23 counts of money laundering and wire fraud.
Steve Jobs is nearing the end of his long and winding pursuit of the Beatles catalog.
Apple Inc. is preparing to announce that its iTunes Store will soon start carrying music by the Beatles, according to people familiar with the situation, a move that would fill in a glaring gap in the collection of the world’s largest music retailer.
Excuse us if we can’t get too excited…this is a long running thing and anyone who hasn’t digitized their Beatles collection by now frankly is kinda wacky.
Facebook announced a new unified messaging system today and one of the platforms they are showing it off on is iPhone. Expect a application update soon.
