If anyone wondered whether Apple's entry into the world of digital textbooks was a good idea, then they should feast their eyes on this not inconsiderable number - users have downloaded 350,000 textbooks in just three days.
If the speculation is to be believed, then Apple has plans in place to adopt and support the new 802.11ac specification across Airport base stations, Time Capsules, Apple TV, Notebooks and potentially the company’s range of mobile devices.
Phil Schiller and associates took to the Guggenheim Museum in New York today to hold a special event which couldn't have been further away from the traditional format that we grace Apple product launches for. In a smaller, stripped down event, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing introduced a strategy which was all about education. No specifications, aesthetics or launch dates for the media to speculate and report on, instead we saw a straight to the point presentation which featured innovation, new applications and a vision to change the face of education across the world, not for profit, but for the good of change.
To coincide nicely with the impressive educational announcements made today in New York, Apple have also released iTunes 10.5.3 which adds synchronization support for the newly announced interactive books.
Phil Schiller took to the stage in New York to open the much anticipated Apple education event and took little time in introducing the first of the three new releases. One of the first concerns he addressed was the state of the US education system, stressing that even the lucky kids who graduate may find themselves unable to compete in the global business world.
Case manufacturers have a somewhat hazy past when it comes to predicting what upcoming Apple devices are going to look like. We had the iPhone 5 cases which promised a teardrop design for example, and we all know that didn't come to fruition.
In the last three months the world has gone Siri mad. We've had jailbreak tweaks, GUI ports, proxy servers, YouTube videos and even the inevitable Suri Cruise parody video making its way around the web. I'm pretty sure Apple expected the new digital assistant to be popular, but I don't think even they could envisage just how many people would actually want the intelligent software on their older generation devices.
You could be forgiven for just automatically assuming that every mobile device user owns a smartphone of some sort. For the last 4 years I have become so used to being engrossed in my iPhone and upgrading each year to the newest device that I sometimes forget to stop and actually realize that not everyone has made that transition yet from a standard mobile phone. To the non-clued up user who is looking to purchase a new cell phone, the world of smartphones could seem pretty daunting with devices offering pretty much the same core functionality, with the difference being the software which powers it.
It’s a valid and much-debated point, after all. Whilst Android devices from most manufacturers follow the rationale that bigger is better in terms of form factor and screen size, Apple has defiantly stuck with the 3.5 inch display for nearly five years. But why?
If you actually took the time to research into the various lawsuits that are filed against companies in the mobile and technology industry, I think you might actually be surprised at the frequent they crop up, and the big names involved. Companies which on the face of things seem to have a mutually beneficial working relationship, have probably at some point been involved in a bitter legal dispute for one reason or another.
