In a poll of 38,500 Americans, Apple has fought off competition from some of tech's biggest names to hold the crown as favorite brand in the categories of smartphone, tablet and computer, which will certainly serve as a kick in the teeth to rivals. Tim Cook's company has long since been the favorite when it comes to computers, but with the iPad and iPhone seeing off the likes of Google and Samsung, it appears America just cannot get enough of the company's famed gadgets.
Apple's Developer Portal has been offline for some time now, and with reports of a claimed security breach by a security researcher still echoing across the internet, the iPhone maker has today updated its users and developers on the situation, whilst also offering more information on how the company intends to restore service to its developer hub. More details regarding the situation can be found right after the jump.
It has long since been common knowledge that Apple could finally be bringing an affordable budget iPhone to the fold. Some years ago, this would have seemed more than improbable, but with the iPad mini arriving late last year and several leaks of the shell having since surfaced in various different locations, its release would now seem almost certain. Michael Kukielka, who some of you may know as the DetroitBORG on YouTube, runs a show-and-tell channel of all things tech, and now, he's run a pretty insightful video showing the rear shell of the budget iPhone against some of the older models of the Cupertino's famed iOS device range.
Apple has posted its earnings call for the third fiscal quarter leading up to June 29th, 2013, and although the numbers do not generally make for as impressive a reading as this time last year, the company's flagship iPhone smartphone continues to go from strength to strength. The company posted quarterly revenue of $35.3 billion (compared with $35 billion year-on-year), translating to a quarterly net profit of $6.9 billion ($8.8 billion), or $7.47 ($9.32) per diluted share.
This year's Worldwide Developers Conference, and much of the time since, has been dominated by the talk and controversies of Apple's new mobile OS. Yet despite the significance of this major mobile release, lest we forget that OS X is also a pivotal component of the Cupertino's product line. OS X Mavericks 10.9 is also under constant development, and today, the fourth Developer preview of the upcoming Mac operating system has just been released.
According to reports coming from executives within official supply chains, Apple is in the middle of testing large-form displays that could potentially be used as part of any future iPhone or iPad product refresh. The fresh reports are suggesting that the Cupertino based company has been working closely with Asian suppliers on a number of potential changes that could include the release of a significantly larger iPad model, or even an iPhone phablet.
All has not been right in the iOS development community as of late. Although registered Apple developers are generally used to finding the official iOS and Mac Dev Center offline for small periods of time, the last three days has seen a total blackout from Apple's side. Although most developers assumed that the Cupertino company were giving a visual overhaul to the Apple Developer website, an official email based correspondence from the fruit company has confirmed that the three day downtime has been due to a security breach that occurred on Thursday.
Apple's often ignored Apple Store app for iOS will get an update this coming Tuesday, with Apple's current push on trying to get people to buy its hardware from its own stores apparently the crux of the update. Links to content on Apple's app and book stores will also be front and center.
If you've ever held off buying an iPhone because it was just too darned expensive, then it's looking increasingly likely that you'll be good to go some time later this year. Rumors of a new, budget iPhone have been doing the rounds for a good while now, and even the most skeptical amongst us has to surely admit that a cheaper iPhone is more of an inevitability than a possibility at this point.
Cloud-based productivity apps have long since been seen as the naturally progressive route of the industry, with Microsoft's Office 365 having enjoyed a relatively successful launch since first hitting the scene earlier this year. Given how Apple's flagship cloud service has quickly established itself as a secure, reliable and popular service, it was only a matter of time before iCloud and iWork joined forces in offering another dose of collaborative cloud fare, and the iWork for iCloud beta implementation has just begun rolling out to non-developers.
