iPhone Optus rumor; Apple TV allows movie sales; Mac web share
Apple may use Australia as a testbed and sell the iPhone as a non-exclusive in the country, says one report. Meanwhile, Apple has enabled direct movie purchases from the Apple TV, Mac and iPhone web share has dropped in April as the iPhone becomes Flickr's top cameraphone. Also, Apple is moving some of its support efforts from California to Texas, and new iMacs have been tested against earlier models.
iPhone rumored for Australia as Optus non-exclusive
In an unusual report, CNET Australia on Thursday claimed knowledge that the iPhone will arrive in Australia under very different terms than for past carriers.
Similar to recent rumors circulated regarding Europe and Latin America, the technology site points to an alleged industry insider who says the phone will be available first through a local carrier, Optus -- but that the provider won't have sole rights to the device, as AT&T and initial European carriers enjoy today.
An announcement will reportedly surface in mid-May but may not mention the specific device; Optus is expecting to launch with future iPhone models rather than the existing generation, according to the anonymous source. Rogers Wireless in Canada has already followed a similar pattern, announcing a Canadian iPhone deal but leaving virtually all details until later.
Unlike Canada, however, the Australian launch has been rumored to include an unlocked model that could be used with any carrier available to the island nation.
Apple flicks switch on Apple TV movie sales
At the same time as Apple has announced day-and-date movie sales through iTunes, the company has also quietly pushed out an update to the Apple TV version of the store that allows direct movie purchases.
Beforehand, users of the set-top box had their direct access limited to rentals, with viewing of purchased titles limited to those synchronized from a host Mac or PC.
The change doesn't require a firmware upgrade and has also altered the front-end of the store to list top sellers as well as the existing rental options.
iPhone, Mac share dip in April
While Safari marketshare tripled in April, the same can't be said for the iPhone and the Mac in the same month, results from Net Applications show.
The web firm observes that Mac share among its client sites fell significantly between March and April, dropping from 7.48 percent to 7.01 percent in the four-week span. That share has largely been taken by Microsoft, which climbed from 91.57 percent to 91.99 percent at the same time.
iPhone share also declined in the period from 0.15 percent to 0.14 percent, though it remains the single largest mobile client tracked at Net Applications and the only one to register a visible influence.
The monitoring company doesn't offer an explanation for the drop.
iPhone dominates Flickr's camera phone share
Among Flickr's many camera phone contributors, the iPhone is the clear frontrunner, as pointed out by Computerworld.
The Apple phone in recent months has surged past the previously leading Nokia N95 to take the top position at the photo storage site -- a feat which comes despite the N95's superior equipment, which includes a five-megapixel sensor (versus the iPhone's two), autofocusing, and a flash.
Other phones in the top five run well short of these two competitors, with Nokia's N73 as well as Sony Ericsson's K800i and W810i rounding out the devices most likely to have taken photos appearing on Flickr pages.
Apple moves Elk Grove support jobs to Texas
Apple on Thursday expanded its presence in Texas by revealing that it will transfer 174 jobs from its Elk Grove, California call center to its Austin location.
Those affected by the transfer are being asked to either move to follow their positions or else to seek alternative jobs at the West coast office.
The company hasn't offered an explanation and has asked employees to remain silent on the matter, though it takes care to state that Elk Grove operations have grown dramatically since 2005, jumping by 50 percent to 1,100 staffers.
In July of last year, Apple was discovered to be expanding operations at its Austin facilities to reduce overcrowding problems at its Cupertino, California buildings.
New iMacs show slight performance gains
Synthetic benchmarks show the 3.06GHz iMac advancing only slightly over its predecessor, according to tests run by Primate Labs.
The Canadian developer of the GeekBench testing suite notes that its test sees the Intel Penryn-based system outpacing its 2.8GHz ancestor by slightly more than 7 percent. The findings lead the company to suggest that those concerned with value for money are better off avoiding the top-end system unless video and storage are top priorities.
"If you?re looking for the best value in terms of raw processing power, the best iMac to get is the base model," Primate says. "Even after upgrading the RAM in the base model it?s still more cost-effective than the mid-range 20-inch iMac."
iPhone rumored for Australia as Optus non-exclusive
In an unusual report, CNET Australia on Thursday claimed knowledge that the iPhone will arrive in Australia under very different terms than for past carriers.
Similar to recent rumors circulated regarding Europe and Latin America, the technology site points to an alleged industry insider who says the phone will be available first through a local carrier, Optus -- but that the provider won't have sole rights to the device, as AT&T and initial European carriers enjoy today.
An announcement will reportedly surface in mid-May but may not mention the specific device; Optus is expecting to launch with future iPhone models rather than the existing generation, according to the anonymous source. Rogers Wireless in Canada has already followed a similar pattern, announcing a Canadian iPhone deal but leaving virtually all details until later.
Unlike Canada, however, the Australian launch has been rumored to include an unlocked model that could be used with any carrier available to the island nation.
Apple flicks switch on Apple TV movie sales
At the same time as Apple has announced day-and-date movie sales through iTunes, the company has also quietly pushed out an update to the Apple TV version of the store that allows direct movie purchases.
Beforehand, users of the set-top box had their direct access limited to rentals, with viewing of purchased titles limited to those synchronized from a host Mac or PC.
The change doesn't require a firmware upgrade and has also altered the front-end of the store to list top sellers as well as the existing rental options.
iPhone, Mac share dip in April
While Safari marketshare tripled in April, the same can't be said for the iPhone and the Mac in the same month, results from Net Applications show.
The web firm observes that Mac share among its client sites fell significantly between March and April, dropping from 7.48 percent to 7.01 percent in the four-week span. That share has largely been taken by Microsoft, which climbed from 91.57 percent to 91.99 percent at the same time.
iPhone share also declined in the period from 0.15 percent to 0.14 percent, though it remains the single largest mobile client tracked at Net Applications and the only one to register a visible influence.
The monitoring company doesn't offer an explanation for the drop.
iPhone dominates Flickr's camera phone share
Among Flickr's many camera phone contributors, the iPhone is the clear frontrunner, as pointed out by Computerworld.
The Apple phone in recent months has surged past the previously leading Nokia N95 to take the top position at the photo storage site -- a feat which comes despite the N95's superior equipment, which includes a five-megapixel sensor (versus the iPhone's two), autofocusing, and a flash.
Other phones in the top five run well short of these two competitors, with Nokia's N73 as well as Sony Ericsson's K800i and W810i rounding out the devices most likely to have taken photos appearing on Flickr pages.
Apple moves Elk Grove support jobs to Texas
Apple on Thursday expanded its presence in Texas by revealing that it will transfer 174 jobs from its Elk Grove, California call center to its Austin location.
Those affected by the transfer are being asked to either move to follow their positions or else to seek alternative jobs at the West coast office.
The company hasn't offered an explanation and has asked employees to remain silent on the matter, though it takes care to state that Elk Grove operations have grown dramatically since 2005, jumping by 50 percent to 1,100 staffers.
In July of last year, Apple was discovered to be expanding operations at its Austin facilities to reduce overcrowding problems at its Cupertino, California buildings.
New iMacs show slight performance gains
Synthetic benchmarks show the 3.06GHz iMac advancing only slightly over its predecessor, according to tests run by Primate Labs.
The Canadian developer of the GeekBench testing suite notes that its test sees the Intel Penryn-based system outpacing its 2.8GHz ancestor by slightly more than 7 percent. The findings lead the company to suggest that those concerned with value for money are better off avoiding the top-end system unless video and storage are top priorities.
"If you?re looking for the best value in terms of raw processing power, the best iMac to get is the base model," Primate says. "Even after upgrading the RAM in the base model it?s still more cost-effective than the mid-range 20-inch iMac."
Comments
Sheldon
Great - more call center workers that speak a language ordinary Americans can't understand.
"Apple on Thursday expanded its presence in Texas by revealing that it will transfer 174 jobs from its Elk Grove, California call center to its Austin location."
Great - more call center workers that speak a language ordinary Americans can't understand.
I'm sorry, have you actually spoken to an Austin rep?
It's not comparing the 3.06 GHz Mac to its ancestor, but to the newly released 2.8 GHz model. So for a just over a 9% increase in processor speed, it's showing a 7% performance increase, at least in these tests.
"Apple on Thursday expanded its presence in Texas by revealing that it will transfer 174 jobs from its Elk Grove, California call center to its Austin location."
Great - more call center workers that speak a language ordinary Americans can't understand.
Glad to not be in the ordinary bunch, the Austin support reps are always great to work with!
I don't get how the base model is the fastest? Is it the resolution?
Fastest processing for your dollar. That doesn't consider the additional screen size, the panel type, or the HDD capacity. Though, if we take just the cost of the chip itself we still come out with the 2.4GHz chip being the best bang for your buck.
I'm sorry, have you actually spoken to an Austin rep?
I believe it was a joke.
At the same time as Apple has announced day-and-date movie sales through iTunes, the company has also quietly pushed out an update to the Apple TV version of the store that allows direct movie purchases.
Assuming this still doesn't support HD movie purchases...
I'm sorry, have you actually spoken to an Austin rep?
Austin is fine. when call people are placed in dallas, that's when you get issues.
Assuming this still doesn't support HD movie purchases...
And it shouldn't. The only device that could possibly play a HD movie right now is the iPod Touch or iPhone, and even then I'm sure the HW could handle the Mbps. There would also take up a huge amount of the capacity, except for the iPod Classic.
The only option would be to allow iTunes owners to scale down their HD movie purchases to fit on their iDevice. That means making it compatible with the iPod Nano so about 640x480 or 720x480 at 1.5Mbps would be the maximum allowed. The problem with this is would take a very long time to re-encode and is not the type of option that would satisfy the average Apple customer who doesn't know a think about resolution and bit rates.
Until all iDevices that are capable of putting out video that can play back HD H.264 video without freezing or eating through the battery in too short a time we are not going to see HD movies for sale from iTunes Store.
And it shouldn't. The only device that could possibly play a HD movie right now is the iPod Touch or iPhone, and even then I'm sure the HW could handle the Mbps. There would also take up a huge amount of the capacity, except for the iPod Classic.
The only option would be to allow iTunes owners to scale down their HD movie purchases to fit on their iDevice. That means making it compatible with the iPod Nano so about 640x480 or 720x480 at 1.5Mbps would be the maximum allowed. The problem with this is would take a very long time to re-encode and is not the type of option that would satisfy the average Apple customer who doesn't know a think about resolution and bit rates.
Until all iDevices that are capable of putting out video that can play back HD H.264 video without freezing or eating through the battery in too short a time we are not going to see HD movies for sale from iTunes Store.
What about the TV? That plays HD movies, and that is what this article is addressing: that we can now buy movies. If Apple allows us to rent HD movies, why not buy?
What about the TV? That plays HD movies, and that is what this article is addressing: that we can now buy movies. If Apple allows us to rent HD movies, why not buy?
IMO, it's for reasons I specified above. Any rented video stays on the AppleTV, but purchased video and audio is synced back to your Mac or PC's iTunes account.
Apple may use Australia as a testbed and sell the iPhone as a non-exclusive in the country, says one report. ][ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/url][/c]
If Apple is that dumb, I am for hire. Who couldn't call unexclusiveness as a winner??
Even though you can buy the movies on DVD release day, it looks like we still have to wait 30 days for new release rentals?
The web firm observes that Mac share among its client sites fell significantly between March and April, dropping from 7.48 percent to 7.01 percent in the four-week span. That share has largely been taken by Microsoft, which climbed from 91.57 percent to 91.99 percent at the same time.
iPhone share also declined in the period from 0.15 percent to 0.14 percent, though it remains the single largest mobile client tracked at Net Applications and the only one to register a visible influence.
The monitoring company doesn't offer an explanation for the drop.
Macs are too expensive! iPhones are too expensive! Steve Jobs $1 billion bonus is too expensive. Apple Vice-Presidents $1 billion bonus is too expensive!
Do you get it??? Apple is too expensive!!! And most consumers are not so demented as to buy from Apple just to get Steve Jobs all excited!!!
The web firm observes that Mac share among its client sites fell significantly between March and April, dropping from 7.48 percent to 7.01 percent in the four-week span. That share has largely been taken by Microsoft, which climbed from 91.57 percent to 91.99 percent at the same time.
iMacs are $100 more expensive in Canada than the same computers sold in the USA. And Amazon doesn't sell computers in Canada and wouldn't be authorized by Apple to undercut the prices set by the AppleStore.
Are you really in the dark as to why Macs don't sell???
Macs are expensive. Why does it cost $400 dollars to go to 1 GB of RAM to 4 GB of RAM? I can buy 4 GB of RAM for less then $100
I kind of agree with you guys there... Maybe if Apple released something like the Open Computer and Open Computer Pro, starting at $400 and $1000 and it didn't cost an extra 100 dollars when 5 feet north of the US border, Mac sales would rocket. That is of course if they were good computers, that weren't deafeningly loud.
Macs are expensive. Why does it cost $400 dollars to go to 1 GB of RAM to 4 GB of RAM? I can buy 4 GB of RAM for less then $100
I doubt very much that a $100 price-cut is all it would take for sales of Macs to 'skyrocket.' If so, Apple would have done it. Indeed, I especially doubt it will be you, since Apple makes 'deafeningly loud' computers that are not 'good.' $100 will change your mind? Give me a break.
Go troll somewhere else?
Macs are too expensive! iPhones are too expensive! Steve Jobs $1 billion bonus is too expensive. Apple Vice-Presidents $1 billion bonus is too expensive!
Do you get it??? Apple is too expensive!!! And most consumers are not so demented as to buy from Apple just to get Steve Jobs all excited!!!
please tell me you're joking....
the bonuses are typical of any business. and as for the too expensive, you're paying a premium for a premium product. Half the PC users I talk to (and much more than half of the ones who buy the cheap machines you so want) complain that their PC's are cr@p. The hardware on those cheap machines are, well, cheap. Mac's aren't made of cheap. Furthermore, if your Apple computer dies, take it into a store and within 2 days its back (or send it in via phone support and its back within a week, including shipping time). Try to get that kind of service with a PC manufacturer (can I hear 3 weeks?).
Apple machines are sturdy, built to last, and one heck of a product. Yah, they are a kick to the wallet. Yah, they might charge a tad more than they ought. But this is good for business. My advice: buy apple stock, wait for it to go up, then sell apple stock, and buy a computer.