Apple's iPhone always manages to sell in high numbers when the holiday season approaches, and history has repeated itself once again this year. Thanks to strong sales of the brand new iPhone 5, iOS has peaked at the top of the smartphone market share in the United States, according to data collated by research outfit Kantar Worldpanel Comtech.
It seems like an eternity ago when Apple took to the stage to introduce us to the iPad mini as well as a number of other products including the new revamped range of iMacs. After seeing Apple introduce the iPad mini, the fourth-generation iPad and a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, it was music to the ears of desktop lovers when the restyled 21.5 and 27-inch iMac models were introduced, featuring a new slim design as well as a number of hugely important and impressive internal specification changes. Apple has now officially announced that the 21.5-inch variant of the new iMac will be available to purchase this coming Friday.
Whilst the idea of controlling all elements within the home from one device is a concept with futuristic overtones, it's not as though the tech isn't already in place, and one can easily find an app for a smartphone or tablet to open curtains, unlock doors, or more recently, control colorful lighting. With this in mind, Savan Kotecha - music producer for the X Factor, has laden his home in gadgets and contraptions that play nicely with his favorite iOS device - the iPad. He's spent a sum total of $80,000 (and counting) to turn his Hollywood pad into what looks like a geek's dream, and a great deal of his electrical compliances are now controlled from the comfort of his iPad.
Facebook is the world's foremost social hunt, and as such, is a great place for people to discover new music, movies and other such content. Sensing this, Mark Zuckerberg's company has teamed up with Apple to add iTunes digital gift certificates to its roster, and as well as allowing users to buy iTunes Store credit for friends, said user can also make recommendations as to what the recipient should spend that credit on.
As we know, patents are a significant part of the consumer electronics game - particularly in the mobile industry, and when it comes to intellectual property, few are more diligent in securing it over at the USPTO than Cupertino-based Apple. But while we're used to seeing the company file lawsuits against the likes of Apple and Google, it was Apple - the creator tor of all things innovative - that had to acquire a trademark from another company to bring the likes of the iPhone 5 and iPad mini to market.
The Black Friday shopping extravaganza has been and gone, and while a number of high profile retailers were offering significant price savings across a wide range of products it was ultimately the consumer electronics industry that consumers were looking to for those Thanksgiving bargains. Microsoft and Apple are two companies that find themselves sitting at the top of that particular food chain, and while we have already seen reports showing that certain Apple Stores saw a lot more customers than their Microsoft counterparts in the same area, we are now seeing some statistics to back up that claim.
This Black Friday, Apple's iPad and iPhone dominated when it came to buyers' choice of which device to sit down with in order to place their orders, according to a new report.
Prior to the release of the iPhone 5, Samsung promised the smartphone would be added to the ongoing patent dispute, and since that point, both companies have taken it in turns to name as many of the other's devices as possible. With this weekend being Thanksgiving and all, you might think both companies would take a break, have a little turkey, and enjoy watching the customers flock to stores to grab the limited deals. Apple is not known for taking anything lying down when it comes to intellectual property, though, and in viewing Friday as just another day, took the opportunity to add more of Samsung's devices to the ever-increasing list of claims.
Considering Apple is such a huge company and one of the largest players in the mobile and consumer technology industry, it shouldn't come as any huge surprise that there is always a lot of speculation flying around about the company and their potential product launches at any given time. Whenever a new iPhone or iPad is released, it is inevitable that the rumor mill will kick into gear for the next major announcement, but there are a few points of speculation coming from Apple analyst Gene Munster that could prove to have some merit and could potentially be worth paying attention to.
The dismissal of iOS SVP Scott Forstall at Apple, which has led to Jony Ive taking the helm in the future direction of the company's mobile software, has brought a whole new impetus on the prospect of iOS 7. With Ive said not to be a fan of the skeuomorphic designs throughout iOS, they'll likely go the way of the dodo, but it's not just the faux leather and paper expected to be updated when the next generation of iOS software eventually arrives next year.
