21 minutes ago | Posted in: Apple, iPad
Apple's iPad tablet is continuing to see growing declines in sales, as noted in the most recent quarterly results. As expected, the iPad dropped 18 percent year-over-year in sales, though new models and the holiday season provided a substantial boost from the previous quarter. Although Apple only sold 21.4 million iPads this holiday season compared to 26 million last year, sales were up strongly from the previous quarter, leaping from September's 12.3 million iPads.
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The Apple Watch will ultimately ship in April, the company has confirmed through a quarterly results call hosted by CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri. The company didn't go into any other details, such as a specific release date. April, however, is even later than the March timeframe mentioned in recent rumors, which themselves suggested a delay from February. Until now Apple has only ever promised an "early 2015" date.
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Beyond its official press release, Apple has posted a detailed breakdown (PDF) of its fiscal first quarter. The document is the only one to mention iPad sales, and reveals that shipments dropped 18 percent year-over-year to 21.419 million. Revenues for the tablet fell 22 percent to $8.985 billion.
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Apple has posted the results of its first fiscal quarter for 2015, which actually ended on December 27th. The company says it achieved record quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion, and similarly record-setting net profits of $18 billion, or $3.06 per share. The figures compare against $57.6 billion, $13.1 billion, and $2.07 in Q1 2014; gross margins increased from 37.9 percent to 39.9 percent. Apple notes that international sales made up 65 percent of the recent quarter's revenues.
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Apple has added 12 new towns and cities to the list of Apple Maps locations with Flyover coverage. Of these only one is in the US, that being Amarillo, Texas. The others include three places in France -- Beziers, Clermont, and Saint-Tropez -- along with Aguadilla and Arecibo in Puerto Rico, Brno in the Czech Republic, Cittadella in Italy, Hamburg in Germany, Helsingborg in Sweden, Liverpool in England, and Odense in Denmark.
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Just as expected, Google has revealed the next locations it will be launching Google Fiber, following its existing installations in Kansas City, Provo, and Austin. Confirming earlier reports, the high-speed Internet service will be rolling out in Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; and Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte in North Carolina.
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Yesterday one Dedicated MacNNer turned to the MacNN forums looking for help figuring out some graphical problems with their 15-inch MacBook Pro from 2011. Also yesterday Mac Elite "jeff k" was asking fellow forum-members how to get images off of an iPhone after having some trouble transferring photos from their new iPhone.
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This week at Apple's online store, find savings on Macs starting as low as $849 for a 13.3-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of PCIe-based flash storage. For $869 is the refurbished 11.6-inch MacBook Air with a 1.3GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage.
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Save $150 on the Dell 27-inch LED 1080p monitor right now at Staples.com. It was $350, but has been discounted to $200 after a variety of instant savings are applied. That's around $70 less than the next lowest price. This monitor features a 27-inch display, 1080p resolution, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 6ms response time and it is backed by a 1 year warranty on parts and labor from Dell.
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Simultaneous with the launch of iOS 8.1.3, Apple has also released the finished version of OS X 10.10.2. As anticipated, the one feature addition is the ability to browse iCloud Drive items from within Time Machine. Elsewhere the update is dedicated solely to solving bugs, such as Wi-Fi disconnects, webpages loading too slowly, and various security and stability problems in Safari.
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Apple has released iOS 8.1.3 via iTunes and as an over-the-air download. Though primarily a maintenance update, it does make an important change, reducing the amount of storage that will be needed for future over-the-air upgrades. The amount of space iOS 8 requires for an OTA update has been a common complaint by users; on 16GB iPhones and iPads, there is frequently too little room left, forcing people to use iTunes instead. Apple hasn't said how much storage will be needed in the future.
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Pushbullet has introduced a native Mac client for its namesake notification and file/link sharing service. When used in tandem with the company's updated iOS app, the software can not only display iPhone and iPad notifications on a Mac but be used to dismiss them without picking up the mobile device. More significantly users can copy and paste between platforms, push links, or download and open exchanged files.
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Twitter has started to add some features it hinted at last November to its mobile apps. Rolling out slowly, users will be able to send Direct Messages to groups of people for the first time, while those who typically post videos to the micro-blogging service will benefit from being able to upload video clips directly to Twitter from within the app, without using a secondary service.
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Music discovery app Pandora has announced an update to its iOS app, featuring a new design and additional components. Pandora allows users to create personalized music stations that play their preferred music. The latest version (v5.7.0) offers a refreshed design that improves the ease of shaping a station, including a new Personalization icon for quick access to one's history, and being able to "un-thumb" a song previously marked "up" or "down" by re-tapping the Thumb icon. The app's new mini-player offers music controls while browsing track history, and its redesigned notification and activity feed will alert users of recent happenings, like new music that has been added to their stations. Free to download, Pandora for iOS requires iOS 6.0 or later. Users can access the service for free, however a subscription to Pandora One - starting at $4 monthly - provides higher quality audio, desktop application usage, custom skins and fewer interruptions to music play.
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8 hours ago | Posted in iOS apps
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1Password is a password management app that allows users to store and organize multiple passwords. A built-in password generator can also be used to create unique passwords for every site. The v5.2 update includes a new Login Creator that makes it easier to add logins for hundreds of popular sites and services. Syncing has also been improved, now automatically syncing a Master Password change across devices.
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GoodReader is a PDF reader that features both annotation and cloud sync capabilities. In v4.9.1 users ca now create several different tabs for the same file. These can then be used quickly jump between different sections of the same document without using static bookmarks. The ability to rename or delete a file while viewing it as also been added.
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Pandora Radio is a music streaming service that lets users create personalized stations based on their favorite artists, songs, genres, or composers. Version 5.7 introduces a new design that makes it even easier to shape a station. The new Personalization icon puts the Thumb History for all of a user’s favorite stations right at their fingertips, while the new Mini-Player can be used to control music while browsing track history.
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LINE is a mobile messaging client for iOS devices that allows users to send messages and make free voice calls to other users. A number of minor bugs have been addressed in this update.
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Through the use of the location services found in the iPhone, RunKeeper can track a user’s fitness activity. The application turns the GPS data into stats such as distance travelled, how long it took, how many calories were burned, and more. The latest release includes a new Today Widget that lets users see upcoming works, start their run, and view stats right for their lock screen.
8 hours ago | Posted in: peripherals
Apple has silently added another channel to the Apple TV, 120 Sports. The network is backed by Sports Illustrated, and covers leagues such as the NHL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, and NCAA. On the Apple TV users can browse through Dashboard, Timeline, and Catch-Up sections. Timeline lets users watch a live stream and videos in reverse chronological order, whereas Catch-Up is a curated collection of clips related to trending topics.
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9 hours ago | Posted in: iPhone
Western Union has announced plans to support Apple Pay for bill payments and money transfers. The technology should eventually reach all of the company's standalone outlets in the US, as well as kiosks at over 7,600 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores. At the moment, however, the only location with Apple Pay is an outlet at 1440 Broadway in New York City.
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