Not even Apple themselves could have predicted the influence that the iPhone would have on the world when it was first launched in 2007. Obviously the company knew that they had created something special, but if asked to answer honestly, it is highly unlikely that anyone involved from the start would have thought it would become the iconic product that we have today. The current model iPhone, the 4S, is the fifth-generation device and although we are still a couple of months away from seeing what the technology giants have to offer us with their next iteration, the interest and demand is already unprecedented.
There is one big story in Mac software right now, and that's OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion. Available for less then twenty dollars via the Mac App Store, the update to Mountain Lion is all geared around building on top of your current, working system. If you're like us though, you probably like to have a nice clean install of your operating system every once in a while, but the Mac App Store doesn't always make that the easiest thing in the world.
Apple maintains a tight grip on the smartphone, tablet and premium notebook market with the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air/Pro. They make their own software for these gadgets; controlling the whole “widget” as Steve Jobs used to say. Yet, there are markets where Apple is hardly relevant. One such market is online social networking. Microsoft has investments in Facebook, Google of course has their own Google+ while Apple has nothing at all.
The legal issues between Apple and Samsung show no sign of letting up, and whilst we're growing a little tired of the entire debacle, we're also learning more and more about two of technology's most influential companies.
Although now two years old, the iPhone 4 still continues to sell in great numbers, and having recently dropped down to the low price of $99, the device has now been made permanently cheaper at Best Buy - shipping for $49 on contract.
The iPhone 5, the New iPhone, the next-generation iPhone, Apple's latest iPhone. It doesn't matter what you are personally calling it or what you think the actual official name will be when the eventual time comes for release, the bottom line is we all want to see it and find out what they have in store for us. It has become part-and-parcel of the release build up for any iOS device that we see leaked parts and speculated technical specifications galore, and it has certainly been no different this time around. But could this new leaked image actually be of the official next-generation iPhone?
Here at Redmond Pie, we love mulling over old concept and prototype designs, so you can imagine our glee at stumbling across a large batch of images depicting iPhone ideas which were subsequently thrown out by Apple. But the images, which were brought to our attention by TheVerge, have surfaced thanks to the ongoing Apple vs. Samsung court battle, with the United States proceedings set to resume on the 30th of July, and they range from interesting, to strange, to the downright disgusting.
When it comes to impending court cases that center around multiple alleged technology patent infringements, I am not sure that momentum actually accounts for anything, but if there is a slight chance that fortune favors those currently on top then Apple should be heading into next month’s trial feeling pretty confident about their chances. After leaving some local court houses in the United States with an interim sales ban on certain Samsung devices, Apple dealt with a relatively small blow in the U.K. when they were told to publicly retract any claim that Samsung had copied the design of the iPad.
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion was released on the Mac App Store yesterday for a mindboggling price of just $19.99. It includes 200+ new features, most of which are taken – in one way or another - from iOS. It includes apps such as Notes, Reminders and Calendar, services like iMessage and Game Center and features like Twitter Integration, AirPlay Mirroring and easy sharing from system apps. The OS is getting excellent reviews from critics and, to be honest, it’s making some of us Windows users considering the thought of getting a Mac.
The ongoing patent infringement battle between Cupertino-based Apple and Korean born Samsung is about to come to a full swing next week when the official trial starts in which a judge will attempt to determine who exactly has infringed upon who and what the punishment will be. Apple is heading into the case in confident and jubilant mood thanks to recent judgments ruling that Samsung can't sell specific devices in the United States, but it is worth remembering that this isn't a small case with Apple looking forward to claim $2.5 billion in damages from the world’s current leading smartphone vendor.
