• apple,  appletv,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  touch,  windows

    Apple Launches iTunes 10, Unveils New iPods, AppleTV, iOS 4.1 Update

    September 2, 2010 /

    It has been a busy day for Apple fanatics customers today.

    New iPods, Apple TV

    At today’s annual September media event, Apple took the wraps off a new iPod nano and iPod touch.  The iPod shuffle got it’s click-wheel back.  Apple TV received an extreme makeover, and we were told that iOS 4.1 will arrive next week (9/8/10) to fix the proximity sensor and Bluetooth issues on iPhone 4 and performance issues on the iPhone 3GS.  Owners of current iPod touch models will also be getting the iOS 4.1 treatment next week.  iPad owners, like me, will have to wait until November for the iOS 4.2 update to be released.  Ugh!

    The good news for those of us not eager to shell out a few hundred more dollars for the latest shinny Apple gizmo is that we can get our hands on iTunes 10 today.

    Once you get past the hoopla over the redesigned logo, Apple dumped the CD to focus on the music note, you’ll see the new features that have been added to the popular jukebox software.  Click the read link for the new iTunes 10 features and more photos of Apple’s latest gear.

    What’s new in iTunes 10

    •Introducing Ping. Use Ping to follow your favorite artists and friends or connect with the world’s most passionate music fans. Discover the music everyone is talking about, listening to, and downloading.

    • Rent HD TV episodes for just 99¢ each. Watch them on your Mac or PC, on-the-go with iPhone or iPod touch, or in your living room with the all new Apple TV.

    • Play your favorites on the all new iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and Apple TV.

    • Play music wirelessly with AirPlay on AirPlay-enabled speakers, home theater receivers, and iPod accessories.

    • Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes.

    • Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive.

    • Additional voice support with VoiceOver Kit for iPod.

    For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

    [Editor’s Note: At the time we posted this article, iTunes 10 was only available as a download from the Apple website.  It was not appearing in the Software Update control panel on our Mac OS X and Windows 7 boxes.]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  iwork,  mac os x,  pages,  touch

    Apple Updates iWork Pages, Adds Support for ePub Books

    August 28, 2010 /

    Earlier this week, Apple updated iWork ’09 Pages and added support for creating documents comptible with iBooks on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

    After updating Pages ’09 on your Mac to version 9.0.4, you will be able to export your Pages documents in the ePub format.  Then, drag and drop the ePub document into iTunes’ Books section and sync your iDevice.  Simple.

    iWork ’09 owners, grab your update by clicking the Software Update icon in the System Preferences application.

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  • apple,  appletv,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  touch

    Apple Invites Media to a Special September 1 Event

    August 26, 2010 /

    September is almost upon us and that means it’s time for Apple to send out invitations to the media-only fall event.
    According to the Tech Trader Daily blog, Eric Savitz writes:

    “There’s zero information in the invitation on the nature of the event, and the only hint is the photo of the guitar with the Apple-logo shaped cut out that I’ve included with this post.” 

     My invitation seems to have gotten lost in the mail.

    Apple’s fall events have been the showcase for the new iPod touch and music related products for the holiday season. This year is expected to be no different with rumors flying around of an iPod touch refresh that will feature iOS 4.1, dual cameras and support for FaceTime, and a the same high resolution Retina display that has been used on the iPhone 4.

    There are also near daily rumors that Apple will release a new version of the Apple TV, possible called “iTV”, that runs iOS and replaces the hard drive with a smaller flash drive.  Content would be streamed to the device rather than store it locally on a hard drive as the current Apple TV model does.  The new Apple TV is also rumored to go on sale with pricing as low as $99 and TV show rentals for $0.99.

    [Via Tech Trader Daily blog…]

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  windows

    Apple Releases iOS 3.2.2, 4.0.2 Updates

    August 12, 2010 /

    Apple has released minor iOS updates for iPad (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G) and iPhone (4, 3GS, and 3G) and iPod touch (second and third edition) to address a Safari PDF security flaw.

    Hackers were able to use the Safari exploit to “jailbreak” iOS devices to run applications that had not been approved by Apple.  However, that same exploit could be used to allow an attacker to gain control of your iDevice remotely.

    If you are running a stock iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, connect your device to your Mac or PC running iTunes and hit the Update button on the Summary tab for your device.

    The update weighs in at about 457MB for my Wi-Fi edition iPad.  The package size might be smaller for the iPhone and iPod touch.

    If you are on of the folks that doesn’t like to be told how to use your device by Apple, and have gone ahead and jailbroken your device, you will want to wait until there is a new “adjective”sn0w update that allows you to patch your device and exploit a different vulnerability to load unauthorized applications on your iDevice.  Proceed with caution.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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  • app store,  apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes

    Apple Releases Minor iBooks Update (Again)

    July 24, 2010 /

    Apple has released a minor update to their iBooks application, 1.1.2. From what I can tell, the update has been released to address an issue that some customers were having installing the iBooks 1.1.1 update that was released just a few days ago.

    You can download and install iBooks 1.1.2 on your iPad with iOS 3.2 and iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4.0 or later installed. Hit the App Store icon on your iDevice or use the iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC to download the update.

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  touch

    Apple Releases iTunes, iBooks Updates

    July 20, 2010 /

    Apple has released updates to iTunes 9.2.1 and iBooks 1.1.1 today.

    iTunes 9.2.1

    iTunes 9.2.1, available for Mac OS X and Windows PCs, is mostly a maintenance update that addresses bug fixes, performance issues, and will disable “older versions of some incompatible third-party [iTunes] plug-ins.”

    I don’t use any plug-ins with iTunes, but if you do, you’ll want to double-check yours for iTunes 9.2.1 compatibility before applying this update.

    iTunes 9.2.1 is available for download on Mac OS X and Windows PCs from the Apple Software Update control panel.

    iBooks 1.1.1 for iPad, iOS 4 Devices

    The iBooks update adds some nice features to Apple’s ebook reader. This update includes improved support for books and PDF files with images and adds support for books and documents with audio and video content, as well as additional performance tweaks and bug fixes.

    You can download the iBooks update directly to your iPad or iOS 4 device by using App Store on the device or by downloading the update from iTunes and syncing it over to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes

    iOS 3.2.1 for Apple iPad Now Available

    July 17, 2010 /

    Amid the iOS 4.0.1 update hoopla yesterday, Apple also released iOS 3.2.1 for the iPad. I installed the iOS 3.2.1 on my 32GB Apple iPad this morning. The whole affair took about 20 minutes to download and install the software on my iPad.

    The big fix in iOS 3.2.1 is to address the Wi-Fi connectivity issues that some people have been having since the Wi-Fi only model went on sale earlier this year. I’ve run into this problem once or twice since April 3rd when I picked up my iPad on launch day.

    Unlike app updates, you will need to download iOS 3.2.1 by connecting your iPad to a Mac or PC and syncing it with iTunes 9.2. I had to select my iPad in the source pane and then click the “Check for Update” button.

    The upgrade was painless, and I would expect nothing less from Apple. Using my upgraded iPad at work and at home, I did not notice any real differences between iOS 3.2 and 3.2.1; but then again I didn’t have the Wi-Fi issue at the house or office.

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  • android,  apple,  google,  ios,  iphone,  itunes

    For Apple, Google, the Stakes Are Sky High

    July 10, 2010 /

    Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android platform are on top of the smartphone world right now.

    Any one who has been watching both Apple’s and Google’s rise in the smartphone, music, and video businesses knows that the two tech titans are headed for a high stakes showdown in the sky.

    Apple’s approach to smartphones, and the entire iTunes ecosystem, is a walled garden that takes care of your every need; as long as you are using iTunes on your Mac or PC and an iDevice running iOS 3 or 4. Google, following in Microsoft’s desktop footsteps, has flung open the doors to their Android operating system and allows anyone with the ambition and the know-how to develop a new phone or develop applications for their smartphone platform.

    For both companies, streaming content over the Internet, or the “Cloud” as some like to say, is the next battleground for the hearts, minds, and dollars of gadget lovers across the globe.

    A recent online Baron’s Technology Trader column, How a Droid Could Eat Apple’s Lunch” talks about how Google’s and Apple’s approach to “locking” customers into their ecosystems have taken divergent paths toward the same goal. Right now, Apple is sitting pretty as the undisputed king of the kill. The number of Android smartphones being put on the market is staggering when compared to the number of carriers selling the iPhone, which is only available from Apple.

    It’s hard to say who will be the winner of this show down. Barron’s columnist Mark Veverka writes:

    “There are other reasons why Android is gaining momentum. Many Silicon Valley veterans envision Apple’s repeating the mistakes it made during the rollout of its first personal computers, when it chose to keep a closed proprietary system over a more pervasive operating system pushed by IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC). The WinTel collaboration took Apple to the brink of bankruptcy, and some fear that Apple is going down the same path with the iOS. “Android attacks Apple at its weakest point, which is its walled-garden ecosystem[.]”

    You can read the full article on Barron’s website.

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  iphone os,  itunes,  touch

    Apple iOS 4 Update Released

    June 21, 2010 /

    Today, Apple has released iOS 4, formerly known as iPhone OS 4.0, for iPhone and iPod touch owners.

    The update, free for iPhone and apparently, also free for iPod touch owners, is available now. To download the update, connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer running iTunes 9, and the software installer will be downloaded to your computer.

    No Legacy Support for You

    Unlike previous iOS updates, the iPhone G2 and the first generation iPod touch will not be supported for this upgrade. Additionally, iPhone 3G owners will not be able to use the new multitasking features of iOS 4. If you want to get iOS 4 and you have one of these devices, you’re going to have to upgrade your hardware.

    iPad Out in the Cold?

    No! Apple’s iPad customers will be getting an upgrade to iOS 4, however, they are going to have to wait until the fall for their upgrade.

    For more details, check out the iPhone or iPod touch pages on the Apple website.

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  iphone os,  itunes

    Apple WWDC 2010 Keynote Online

    June 9, 2010 /

    Apple has posted this year’s WWDC 2010 keynote delivered by co-founder, Steve Jobs.

    Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduce the new iPhone 4. See the video-on-demand event right here, exclusively in QuickTime and MPEG-4.
    You can stream the keynote address directly from the Apple website, or you can download the entire video in iTunes via Apple’s keynote podcast feed and watch it on your favorite Mac, PC, iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, or my personal favorite, Apple TV + 42-inch TV.
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