Apple has been working hard over the past year or so to noticeably improve the Apple Retail Store experience. The Apple Store app, for example, has been greatly enhanced, offering all kinds of free content including a Christmas-themed playlist earlier this week, and now, the Cupertino giant has rolled out its iBeacons infrastructure across the entire network of U.S. retail outlets. For the benefit of the uninitiated, iBeacons hubs will reside in various locations throughout each Apple Store, and depending on whereabouts you are at any given time, beam information about certain products within that proximity via the Apple Store app.
When the iPhone 5s was first released, it was pretty darn hard to get hold of. And on its first day of sale, once supplies ran out, it was weeks before shipments resumed as Apple's early inventory was completely spent. Gradually, though, things have improved, with consumers looking to purchase the latest and greatest Cupertino smartphone not being subjected to waiting periods of more than a week. As of right now, the iPhone 5s is available in the US, UK, Asia Pacific and Middle East, with shipping times for the device back down to a much more palatable 1-3 days.
It's common knowledge that Apple's desktop computers are fairly popular, but according to research compiled by Parks Associates, the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro comprise the most sought-after product line in the desktop market - beating off competition from Dell in second place. Although the MacBook range remains extremely popular - more so than the desktop offerings from Apple - portables weren't considered in Parks' study, but even so, with some reputable brands for company including the likes of HP and Acer, it would seem the lure of a computer bearing that iconic bitten-apple logo is very strong indeed.
The phrase "selling a kidney" is often used to describe just how desperate some folks are to get a hold of the latest iPhone, and while, as far as we know, this hasn't actually happened, it is true that in some countries, you'd need to work for over ten weeks - without any living expenses - to afford a new Apple smartphone.
BlackBerry may find itself facing a whole myriad of troubles in the consumer and business smartphone market, but it seems they still have one extremely loyal and extremely influential user. U.S. President Barack Obama became extremely well-known for relying heavily on his BlackBerry handset during his initial 2008 presidency campaign, and it seems his trusty smartphone has stayed by his side ever since. Now into his second term as U.S. President, Obama has claimed that he would love to switch to an iPhone to handle his mobile needs but is unable to do so due to legitimate security concerns.
It's no secret that Apple is looking to make a lot more of its Apple Store app than it has so far. Over the past few years, it has been used to place orders, pay for purchases wirelessly when in the Apple Store, and to check out the latest products released by the Cupertino company, but in more recent times, we've seen Apple promote the app by giving away free stuff. With this this in mind, as well as the fact that the holiday season is now upon us, Apple has released a playlist of Christmas-themed songs from famed artist such as Mary J. Blige, Kool and the Gang and Kelly Clarkson, and all are available for free through the Apple Store app.
The Android versus iOS debate is fiercely contested among experts, commentators and users alike, with both sides putting forth strong arguments as to why one is superior to the other. But while it often seems to appear as though everybody is a partisan fan of one or the other, a study by InfoScout into Black Friday spending habits has revealed that many of those who rushed out to grab the Apple iPad were in fact Android users.
Since the introduction of Siri back with the iPhone 4s two years ago, production car manufacturers have sought to offer consumers better integration with their smartphones, and Honda has long since been an advocate of the Siri 'Eyes Free,' integration of which the company announced last week for select models on its production line. But following the lead of many other companies in harnessing Siri's voice-recognition capabilities isn't the only trick Honda has up its sleeve, for now, the Japanese company has revealed that the 2014 Honda Civic Coupe and 2015 Honda Fit will be sporting even more integration by way of 'HondaLink' technology. Details, as ever, follow after the break.
Up until the latter stage of last year, Apple had been somewhat slack in its upgrading of the iPad, and even the fourth-gen model - despite its Retina display and faster CPU / GPU - wasn't deemed a particularly big leap from the iPad 2. But with the iPad mini hitting the scene last October followed by the Retina iPad mini 2 and iPad Air just recently, the iPad range is now a larger and more diverse product line.
Apple applies, and is granted, it's fair share of patents. As with any large technology company, the iPhone maker isn't shy about asking for a patent on anything and everything it comes up with that it thinks might be of use later on, which means that just because there's a patent application for something, it isn't guaranteed to make it into a shipping product.
