Thursday, January 06, 2011 at 11:38 AM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
Apple could be ensuring its retail stores are adequately staffed for the launch of a new product later this month.
“People familiar with the company’s retail plans say Apple has issued a “blackout” period spanning three weeks, during which retail employees without seniority will not be allowed vacation time.
That blackout period is said to begin the last week of January and continue into the first half of February.
Prohibiting vacations during such a large span of time is typically indicative of a major product launch, such as a new iPhone, according to people familiar with past retail blackouts,” report Neil Hughes and Kasper Jade for AppleInsider
“At the same time, however, they admitted to having no specific knowledge of what Apple could be planning this time around.”
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 11:33 PM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
Peter Burrows of Bloomberg Businessweek reports that “very soon,” potential iPhone users weary of AT&T’s well know coverage shortfalls could have the option of carrying Apple’s cutting edge smartphone on the Verizon network.
While in Boston, most iPhone users have reported minimal service interruptions on the AT&T network, customers in areas with more densely concentrated iPhone usage like San Francisco and New York regularly experience dropped calls.
AT&T was ranked worst in customer satisfaction by a Consumer Reports survey in early December, 2010.
However, the iPhone exclusivity AT&T has enjoyed since 2007 could work towards the company’s advantage, even if a CDMA-compatiple iPhone should become available.
“I’m sure some AT&T customers are sufficiently frustrated to switch, but the vast majority are at least happy enough,” says Forrester Research of Cambridge, Massachusetts analyst Charles S. Golvin.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 08:45 AM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
Joseph Tsai of DigiTimes reports that the iPad 2 should be introduced in three models, “supporting either or a combination of Wi-Fi, UMTS and CDMA, for 2011 with mass production to start as early as the later half of January.”
The preferred version of the current iPad is the 3G model, comprising about 60-65% of all shipments of the popular tablet device.
The popularity of the 3G as opposed to WiFi-only iPad indicates iPad buyers prefer to have internet access across the wireless range.
Apple is said to be interested in working more closely with wireless carriers in order to serve the iPad market better.
Tsai also reports that Apple is working on improving anti-smudge and anti-reflective treatments in the next-generation iPad.
Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 09:39 AM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
“Apple today announced that the Mac App Store will open for business on Thursday, January 6. By bringing the revolutionary App Store experience to Mac OS X, the Mac App Store makes discovering, installing and updating Mac apps easier than ever,” reports Apple.
“The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch and will feature paid and free apps in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities.”
Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 09:22 AM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
“In addition to iPad, Apple is set to launch upgraded MacBook Pro and iMac models in the first half of 2011, according to sources from upstream component makers,” reports DigiTimes.
“The sources noted that Apple plans to launch at least four upgraded MacBook Pros as well as an iMac that features a new panel size and a price point for the mainstream market.”
Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 08:02 AM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
The Georgia-based North Point Community Church’s iBand, made up of ten professional musicians using five iPads and five iPhones performed in front of the church’s 12,000 person congregation on December 5th.
The iBand performed Christmas classics including “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Carol of the Bells” using apps like Pocket Organ and SoundGrid.
“The iBand rehearsed for only a few hours on the Wednesday before the Sunday service,” reports the Toronto Star.
‘“If we’d only we’d been able to practise a few more times, we could have hit a few more notes,’ jokes [Reid] Greven.”
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 03:03 PM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
Today, Apple released iTunes 10.1.1, which addresses some bugs that could cause the application to crash.
The update:
-Addresses an issue where some music videos may not play on Macs equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 9400 or 9600 graphics.
-Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when deleting a playlist that has the iTunes Sidebar showing.
-Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when connecting an iPod to a Mac equipped with a PowerPC processor.
-Addresses an issue where some music videos may not sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 02:46 PM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
For anyone interested in protecting their Apple iPad from potential theft, Mac Locks is now offering what it calls the world’s first locking iPad case.
The iPad Security Case is a hard plastic case with a security slot that can be left on for everyday protection. The case is complemented by a strong steel cable which locks on to the case and can be tethered to a fixed object like a table.
The case by itself goes for $39.95 and case/cable combination is $64.95.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 01:49 PM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
Imagination Technologies is the company that produces the video chips for the Apple iPhone.
Minyanville reports that Imagination Tech recently purchased Caustic Graphics, a company known for producing interactive cinema-quality 3D graphics, for $27 million.
The iPhone already offers the best visual display of any smartphone.
Imagination Tech’s purchase could be an indication that a 3D display on the iPhone will be Apple’s next leap forward in smartphone technology.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:59 PM | Posted by LOOPRumors Staff
Today, Apple updated its free iBooks application with a new “Collections” feature, more words per page on iOS 4.2 or later, and enhanced support for illustrated books.
-Experience fully illustrated books, from children’s picture books to beautifully designed art books, available for download in the iBookstore.
-Organize your books and PDFs into personal Collections. Swipe left or right to jump between Collections.
-Print PDF documents and notes you’ve written in iBooks using AirPrint.
-iBooks now fits more words per page by automatically hyphenating text, available only on iOS 4.2 or later.
iBooks 1.2 is available from the App Store and runs on 3rd generation and later iPhones, 2nd generation and later iPod touches, and the iPad and requires iOS 4 or later.
