Mac, News/Rumors

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock for Mac is finally here

The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock, a docking station, which lets you use a single connection to create high-speed, reliable transfers between your laptop and up to eight other devices, is now available for purchase for $299. It should be noted, that firstly it was announced in January of 2012, more than a year after the Mac accessory was unveiled. At the time, the company said the accessory would become available last September, but it wasn’t launched then. With Thunderbolt Express Dock, all your drives, networking, input and output devices connect to the 8 ports on the back.

In short, eight cables become one cable with Thunderbolt Express Dock. It provides the user with the high speed, that allows to download a film in a short time. Taking your laptop when you go, and bringing it home when you return means connecting with only one cable. Thus, everything is faster, easier and better! The hardware has been upgraded to include three USB 3.0 ports. The firstly announced hardware featured USB 2.0 ports running at slower speeds. Can a single cable really handle all that I/O? Yes, but it’s difficult to beleive until you see Thunderbolt Express Dock with our eyes.

belkin-130430

The BelkinThunderbolt Express Dock includes:

  • One Firewire 800 port
  • One Thunderbolt port for daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices
  • One 3.5 millimeter headphone output jack
  • One 3.5 millimeter audio input jack
  • Three USB 3.0 ports with max data transfer of 2.5Gbps
  • Cable management channel
  • One Gigabit Ethernet port

belkin-130430-2

 

Apple, Mac, News/Rumors

Tim Cook about iMac “significant shortage”.

During the Q&A portion of today’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the number of product releases in the fall of 2012 and whether he wished Apple had done things differently.
Cook said:” Looking back, I would have delayed the release of the new iMac until 2013 to avoid some of the the delays that many customers experienced after ordering a new Mac. I don’t spend a lot of time looking back except to learn from it. If we could run it over, I’d announce the iMac after the turn of the year. We felt customers had to wait too long for that specific product.”
The problem is Apple’s new iMacs experienced significant delays in shipping, due to the thinness of the machine. The displays required a new manufacturing process along with advanced welding techniques, causing some customers to wait for weeks before receiving their orders. During Apple’s Q1 earnings call, Tim Cook admitted that the iMac was constrained for the entire quarter, resulting in a “significant shortage”.

newimac-500x372

Apple, News/Rumors

“Download later” option added to iTunes 11

Quite recently Apple added a number of new download options for customers of its iTunes Store, among them possibility to save music and video content a little bit later. The option is available for users in countries where iTunes in the Cloud has support. A full listing of those countries is available on Apple’s site.

Now iTunes customers selecting movies, TV episodes and Season Passes, and completed seasons will can download the content either immediately or in the future through the iTunes in the Cloud feature. The new option also applies to music box sets and other music content which could take more time to download than a single track or album.

When you make a large purchase, a pop-up window will offer you the option between “Later” or “Download.” If “Later” is selected, the content is moved to the Purchased section, allowing customers to download at their leisure. They say that such an option requires an iOS device running iOS 6 or later or a Mac or PC running iTunes 11.

 

download-later-130422

 

 

Apple, News/Rumors

Apple returned 8 million iPhones to Foxconn

According to the latest reports 8 Million iPhones were returned “due to appearance of substandard or dysfunctional problems.” This could cost Cupertino’s top manufacturer up to $1.6 billion.

Anyway, the report doesn’t point out any specific problems with the handsets. Besides, ther’s no concrete information which models were returned.If the party was made up of existing models, such as the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, this could eventually show up as a hole in Apple’s supply chain. However, if these defective models were in fact “iPhone 5S” models, Apple may be forced to delay the launch of its newest handset.

Foxconn reportedly began production of the iPhone 5S earlier this month. As of now, Apple is expected to announce the seventh-generation iPhone at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

apple_foxconn_071344562615_640x360

 

Apple, News/Rumors

Apple’s stock collapsed below $400

A decline of more than 6% on the day and the first time that the stock has fallen below that milestone since December 2011. The stock went as low as $398 a share, but as of publication it was hovering right below the $400 mark. Mainly it hapened because of Cirrus Logic, one of Apple’s suppliers for the iPhone and iPad, reported a lower-than-expected revenue forecast, which investors took to be a sign of weaker demand for Apple’s products. Peter Misek, an analyst with Jefferies, reported hearing that Apple is having production issues that could delay its next iPhone models and Digitimes, a publication with a mixed track record on rumors, reported hearing from supply chain sources that iPad Mini shipments are expected to decline by as much as 30% in the second quarter of this year. The fact is Apple reports its earnings for the March quarter next week, thus,investors are preparing for disappointing iPhone sales and profits.

aaapl-2

Apple’s stock has suffered a steep drop in the past six months. It hit an intraday trading high of $705 in late September after the release of the iPhone 5, but then started to decline on concerns about supply constraints, executive shakeups at the company, increasing competition from Samsung and Google and a growing skepticism that Apple has another breakthrough product up its sleeve.

 

 

 

Apple, News/Rumors

Apple’s iTunes Store is the driving force behind digital music

 

NPD’s “Annual Music Study 2012″ revealed consumer opinions and habits in music buying. The study found out that Apple’s iTunes held 63 % of the market for paid music downloads in the fourth quarter of 2012, followed by AmazonMP3 at 22 percent.

According to the study results 44 million Americans bought at least one song track or album download last year. Per-buyer spending on music downloads was up six percent year-over-year, thanks to teens buying more tracks.

The fact is about 40 percent of U.S. consumers still are sure it’s important to own their music. 30 percent believe that listening to whole albums is important. The belief in the importance of owning music is actually somewhat stronger among consumers that listen to Pandora and other free streaming services. Those listeners, NPD found, were more likely to buy downloads of things they’d heard on a radio or on-demand service.

iTunes11.102012.001

What began as a simple, legal music repository for owners of Apple’s iPod 10 years ago has grown into a powerful force in the music industry. In 2012, iTunes and other download providers boosted music industry revenue for the first time since the Napster era. Worldwide, digital music revenues are at $5.6 billion, and Apple’s iTunes accounts for a large portion of that. The service recently sold its 25 billionth song, with 15 billion of those sales coming in the last three years.

Apple

The most comfortable home you could give your MacBook.

If you’re looking for something special for your beloved MacBook than you should have a look at this handmade, wool felt sleeve from MyBanana aims to give your notebook a home of its own, away from sharp keys, USB cables, chargers, and all the other things you might need to pack into your bag when you’re on the road. The slimline design holds your MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro — depending on which size you go for — plus smaller items in a pocket on its front.

mybanana_macbook_air_pro_dark_grey_nude_leather_strap_fele_case_4_1024x1024

This is perfect for carrying Lightning cables, an iPhone, or even an iPad mini. Anything you stick inside the sleeve is secured by two vegatable tanned leather traps with snap fasteners. Another thing I love about this case is its build quality. It’s super tough, and everything feels solid and secure, and the stitching and straps are more than strong enough.

mybanana_macbook_air_pro_dark_grey_nude_leather_strap_fele_case_7_1024x1024
The price starts at £48 ($56) for the 11-inch MacBook Air sleeve, then rises to £54 ($63) for the 13-inch MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro models. If you have a 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, it’ll cost you £58 ($68).

mybanana_macbook_air_pro_dark_grey_nude_leather_strap_fele_case_8_1024x1024
If you want a MacBook sleeve that’s unique and well made, then this sleeve from MyBanana is certainly worth a look.

Apple, News/Rumors

AT&T to offer iPhone 5 HD Voice later this year

HD Voice is coming to AT&T this year.

13.04.01-iPhone5-Hand

At the VentureBeat Mobile Summit in Sausalito, Calif., on Monday, AT&T Senior Vice President Kris Rinne told that the U.S. carrier will support for HD Voice wich “is a part of our voice over its LTE strategy” this year. It’s a wideband audio that offers higher-quality audio during phone conversations. HD Voice works with other HD Voice-enabled devices, its services has already been available for a few European networks and Canadian carriers for some time. The fact that HD Voice not only need a compatible network to work; the feature requires to be built into devices.

T-Mobile happens to be the only wireless carrier in the U.S. which delivers nation-wide HD Voice. Thus T-Mobile announced that it will be the first U.S. carrier who can provide with the high-quality communications technology. And while other carriers aren’t in a big hurry to new wireless technologies, it will offer HD VOice on the iPhone5 in mid-April, adding to it the Galaxy S III and HTC One S.

With AT&T and T-Mobile offering the service, it shouldn’t be too long until the other two major carriers in the U.S., Sprint, who was found to have the best sound but is only available on its limited LTE network , and Verizon will start improving call quality as well.

Apple, Apple TV, News/Rumors

Apple’s 4K Ultra HD TV for either this year or early next

According to Digitimes, Apple is developing a TV with a display of 4K UHD resolution. 4K is a video with extremely high resolution, when UHD TV is an ultra-definition television (Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV), that includes 4K UHDTV (2160p) and 8K UHDTV (4320p), two digital formats . Such innovation is expected to debut either later this year or in early 2014. A new product is going to be called “iTV,” and will require a 3840 x 2160 panel in the TV with display of 3,840-by-2,160 pixel. It’ll be connective with Internet, controlled by voice and will respond to motion.

Consumers have already seen 4K panels from TV manufacturers like LG and Samsung, though the prices were inaccessible for ordinary customer.

13.01.23-Apple_TV_Interface

The first high-resolution displays from Apple are expected to release in 2013, as the publication mentioned. Besides, it’ll be a perfect chance to meet demand from Chinese manufactures.
Apple and its partner Foxconn are on their way to the mass production of UHDTVs.  Apple has its own display suppliers, who are mainly worked with components for the iPad, iPhone and other devices, nevertheless the company in Cupertino received instruction to find a safe supplier.

Apple, News/Rumors

China vs Apple: is it a war?

China Central Television hailed its criticism on Apple, accusing it in unfair treatment with Chinese  consumers. As it became clear, the company was accused in violating the warranty terms. There are some suspicious, that the flow of such negative responses to  Apple came after the report of  China Central Television, which is controlled by the Chinese government.

The main claims were addressed to the Apple guarantee policy, the matter is that the warranty period in China is only one year, when in the U.S. it is about two years.
Their dissatisfaction was also expressed with regards to the return of defective devices. The fact is that, when consumers in other countries in exchange for defective phones receive completely new devices, Chinese buyers get rebuilt equipments.

china

On Saturday, at its Chinese website Apple clarified its warranty policy, stating that by exchange of defective devices, all components are replaced with new ones, only the original back case is the same. The report also said that Apple has a 90-day warranty on repairs, while Chinese law provides for a period of 30 days.

What is the reason for such a negative reaction to the Apple? Why is the Chinese government putting pressure on the company? It turns out, that the prerequisites for such an attitude are enough. One of them, for example, constant  Apple hints at the bad conditions of human labor in Chinese enterprises, which put the government in a bad light.

Well, time will show, what is the real purpose of such Chinese actions!