Whenever we talk about the executive structure of Apple, or watch a live media event, we invariably see the same names and faces; Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Phil Schiller and Eddy Cue to name a few. While they are all extremely important in the company’s structure and vital to the history of what makes Apple the company that it is today, it's worth remembering the almost forgotten names of those who played their part in phoenix from the flames story that surrounds the Cupertino company. Tony Fadell is one of those previous Apple executives who has gone onto ventures new, but it seems that Apple's departing SVP of iOS, Scott Forstall, left a bitter taste in Fadell's mouth.
In light of Apple and HTC's licensing agreement earlier this month, Samsung took the opportunity to express its desire to never settle with the Cupertino company in such a manner. In light of a recent Dutch court's decision, however, the Korean outfit may be forced to retract that statement, for failure to comply with a sales ban on All Galaxy devices running Android 2.2.1 and higher will leave the LCD specialist forced to pay fines of up to €100,000 ($129,000) per day.
It still seems very strange to be talking about the success of devices like the iPad and Nexus 7 and the different levels of market share that Google and Apple hold in the tablet industry considering that this particular market didn't really exist until Apple forged it with the release of the initial iPad back in 2010. We may have recently seen the fourth-generation iPad released but it has only really been thirty-two months that companies have been competing in this space. With that said, recent figures are showing that the dominant iPad is losing some market share to Android powered tablets in the run up to the holiday shopping season.
General Motors seems particularly keen, dare I say, Sirious about implementing voice-recognition technology into automobiles, and to outline this intention, will be implementing Apple's Siri personal assistant to a couple of its Chevrolet car models early next year.
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.
