Author: Blancer

The first generation iPad and the iPhone 3GS are currently outselling most newer Android devices, according to a Canaccord Genuity report. The report details the results of retail channel sales checks done at Verizon and AT&T stores. It found Apple’s iPhone 4 to be the most popular-selling device “by far” but, interestingly, it also found that the first-generation iPad and the older iPhone 3GS usually outsells newer Android tablets and smartphones.

“Interestingly, our April checks indicated continued strong demand for the iPhone 3GS at AT&T and iPad 1 at Verizon, as these older generation products with reduced prices often outsold new Android products,” the Canaccord report reads. “We believe this highlights Apple’s significant competitive advantage, and these older products help Apple offer a tiered pricing strategy at key channels.”

The US$49 iPhone 3GS helps Apple scoop up customers who want a full-featured smart phone at a cheaper price and many more opt for it that the HTC Inspire or Motorola Atrix, according to the report. Interestingly the report also says that Android phones are taking away sales from Windows 7 phones, but not the iPhone. As for tablets, the iPad has an incredible lead over the PlayBook and Xoom, both of which only have “modest sales.”

[via AppleInsider]

Older iOS devices outselling newer Android devices originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW,

Help! I can’t install anything after my Xcode install failed. Every time I try, Installer tells me that it’s waiting for other installations to complete and then it just sits there forever.

What can I do? I’ve tried rebooting, I’ve tried killing the installer daemon. I’m at my wits end.

Please save me, Auntie!

Love,

Serge A.

Continue reading Dear Aunt TUAW: Help fix my failed install

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help fix my failed install originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Timers are a dime-a-dozen these days. Whether you’re using the built-in Timer app on the iPhone or one of the myriad of cloud-based timer apps or widgets, it doesn’t take much to do the job.

Minutes is a simple Mac App Store timer app that spawned from a Dashboard widget of the same name. The app exemplifies ease of use, presenting you with a cute little timer box complete with countdown clock at its center.

Drag the little arrow around the clock to set the time and click the button to start it. The app can play a cute little default alarm tone, start playing a playlist in iTunes or stop iTunes playing once the countdown has finished. Each action has a fun little animation attached to it with each new timer dropping down from the top of your screen and the clock shaking once the countdown is complete. You can change the color of the timer among four colors, set it to use a 24-hour clock and have as many timers as you want on screen at a time.

If you need the digital equivalent of an egg timer on your Mac, you can’t go wrong with the cute little US$0.99 Minutes.

TUAW’s Daily Mac App: Minutes originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As we mentioned Saturday, a critical vulnerability in the Skype 5 client for Mac could have exposed your machine to attack from malicious contacts (the vector for attack is an instant message, which you only can receive by default from people you already ‘trust’ in Skype). With no exploit active in the wild, the Skype Mac team patched the application to close the hole back on April 14 but did not push out the update to all users.

As of today, there’s a new hotfix (5.1.0.935) that is being provided for all Skype 5 users; it closes the security holes and also fixes a few bugs, including video issues on high-bandwidth networks. Skype recommends that all users update to the new build.

As John Gruber noted, the older 2.8 version of Skype (preferred by many for aesthetic reasons) was never affected by the vulnerability.

Thanks to Chasapple for the heads-up.

Skype pushes update to Mac client for security flaw originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Jony Ive, and Steve Jobs are big names at Apple. These top executives are known around the technology industry and around the world for their operational excellence, marketing know-how, design genius and powerful reality distortion fields.

While these four men often get credit for much of Apple’s success, the company boasts an enviable collection of talented “chiefs” and senior vice presidents who help carve its skyward path. A new gallery from CNN Money takes a brief look at eleven of Apple’s all-stars.

For avid fans of Apple, some of the names mentioned in CNN Money’s gallery may be familiar. But if you don’t recognize names like Craig Federighi, Scott Forstall, Bob Mansfield, Ron Johnson, Peter Oppenheimer, Bruce Sewell, Jeff Williams, Eddy Cue, Katie Cotton, Dr. Guy “Bud” Tribble, or Greg Joswiak, this may be a good opportunity to brush up on the men and women who help shape one of the world’s most successful companies.

A look at Apple’s “all-star” executives originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aspiring musicians with a gentle touch should check out this project from the Australian group behind the Wallee mount for the iPad. The designers are developing rubberized accessories, branded Pix & Stix, to be used with GarageBand on the iPad 2. The project includes a pair of drum sticks and a guitar pick that lets you use the iPad like a real instrument. Both the sticks and the guitar pick include electro-conductive rubber tips compatible with the iPad’s capacitive touchscreen display.

The group is selling a set of two sticks and one pick for US$14.95 in a project that is funded similar to Kickstarter. The group is now accepting pre-orders and production will begin when the project reaches its funding goal. If not enough people jump on the Pix & Stix bandwagon, then your money will be refunded after 30 days. Besides this $15 price tag, iPad musicians may want to figure in the cost of a rider policy that covers cracked screens resulting from an overenthusiastic drum solo.

[Via Gizmodo and MacStories]

Drum sticks, guitar picks for GarageBand for iPad needs support originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The old saying “as American as baseball and apple pie” may have to be amended to include Apple and its retail stores. According to an article by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Apple may be more popular than America’s favorite pastime. Before you roll your eyes and dismiss the idea, take a look at the financials of the Cupertino company and compare it to Major League Baseball.

DeWitt points out that Apple is more profitable than Major League Baseball — Apple reported revenue of US$65.2 billion in 2010 compared to the $7 million reported by the MLB. Apple stores alone even beat out baseball with $9.8 billion in FY2010 revenue and four times the foot traffic of all the Major League Baseball stadiums combined. While Apple’s revenue streams are increasing, MLB’s revenue from ticket sales and advertising is sliding.

So what do you think, should we start working on some new words to the old tune Take me out to the ballgame?

Apple Stores receive more visitors than Major League Baseball stadiums originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan’s number three wireless carrier, Softbank, reported record profits thanks to the success of the iPhone and the iPad. Net profit for the quarter ending in March climbed to Y47.41 billion, up from Y1.85 billion in the same quarter last year. Softbank’s ARPU (average revenue per user) also increased year over year from Y4,070 to Y4,210, an increase attributed to the lucrative data subscriptions of iPhone 4 and iPad owners.

As the exclusive carrier of the iPhone 4 in Japan, Softbank is in a good position financially for the upcoming fiscal year. “The expansion of the smartphone market led by the iPhone and iPad was a huge factor that contributed to the growth (in 2010), ” said Softbank President and CEO Masayoshi Son. In its Q2 2011 earning conference call, Apple confirmed that sales of the iPhone doubled year over year in these Asia-Pacific regions. This amazing growth is expected to continue in 2011.

Softbank profits surge thanks to the iPhone and iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Koreans with an iPhone 4 on wireless provider KT will be able to browse the mobile internet at 4G speeds thanks to KT’s new KWF-B2500 WiMAX sleeve for the iPhone. Dubbed the Egg, the sleeve contains an extended battery to boost the iPhone’s juice, providing up to five hours of 4G mobile broadband usage. As with any sleeve, the Egg will add 2.4 ounces (68 g) of weight and 8 mm of extra bulk to the iPhone 4.

If you prefer to keep your iPhone 4 slim, KT also released the new KM-MR100 mobile hotspot which provides 4 hours of WiMAX connectivity on a single charge. Both the iPhone 4 sleeve and the mobile hotspot are available for 128,000 South Korean Won (US$120).

[Via Engadget]

WiMAX case brings 4G speed to iPhone in South Korea originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple is the world’s number one most valuable brand, according to BrandZ’s sixth annual Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands Ranking. Apple’s rank jumped 84% from 2010 and knocked Google out of the #1 spot, a position the search company held for the past four years.

Apple’s brand valuation now sits at a cool US$153 billion, which is $40 billion more than previous brand leader Google. Apple beat out other big names such as IBM, Microsoft and McDonald’s in its climb to the #1 spot. It also has a brand value worth more than Coca-Cola and McDonald’s combined.

These rankings were developed for WPP, the world’s largest communications services group, by its subsidiary Millward Brown Optimor. They take into account a company’s dollar value and financial data, as well as consumer measures of brand equity derived from interviews of two million people worldwide.

Much of Apple’s success in the past year can be attributed to the iPhone and iPad, both of which are highly sought after devices both here in the US and globally. One only needs to look at the lines for the iPhone and the iPad to see the power of the Apple brand in action.

Continue reading BrandZ global report puts Apple at #1 most valuable brand for the first time

BrandZ global report puts Apple at #1 most valuable brand for the first time originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure how long this has been possible, but at launch, Amazon’s Cloud Player refused to stream songs from your Cloud Drive in Mobile Safari, with the only alternative being selecting ‘Download’ instead of play. Now Amazon has quietly flicked the switch that allows Cloud Player to work properly in Mobile Safari, once you get past the “Your browser isn’t supported screen,” complete with background playback and control, meaning that you can pause the music and skip tracks right from the multitasking bar.

If you haven’t tried Amazon’s Cloud Player, and you’ve got an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, perhaps now’s the time to give it a test drive. You get 5 GB of free storage up front, and you can upload and stream any tracks you already have with it. Anything purchased from the Amazon MP3 store can be automatically added to your Cloud Drive without counting against your storage quota. What’s more, Amazon will give you an extra 15 GB of free storage when you purchase at least one MP3 album, bringing your storage limit up to 20 GB.

While any web app implementation isn’t going to be as good as a really great native app, using the Cloud Player in Mobile Safari with background playback and control isn’t a bad option at all — plus it works outside the US, too.

[via TechCrunch]

Amazon Cloud Player now streams music on the iPhone and iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cipher Prime is the developer behind the former Daily iOS App choice Auditorium, and the company has returned to the platform with Pulse: Volume One, an iPad game that has you playing with both rhythm and sound. The idea starts off simple — hit the notes on the screen as the radiating circular pulse hits them from the center. But as with most music games, things start slow and build up quickly until you’re frantically trying to tag all of the notes in their wacky patterns to match up with the song as it plays.

When the game works well, it does feel like you’re “playing” the notes as they go by, but when things get really hard, it can be confusing to keep up. Unfortunately, the game only has eight songs to play through. While the songs are good, that’s not a lot of content. There’s no Game Center integration or other modes to play with, either.

With the lack of extras, it might be tough to justify the US$4.99 iPad price — the game’s not available on the iPhone yet. This might be one to wait for a sale on. Still, if you like the feel of a good music game, Pulse will likely get yours going.

Update: While there are only eight tracks in the original version of the app, Cipher Prime emails to tell us that more are being added, at the rate of four new tracks a month over the next six months. All of the updates will be free, we’re told, so that’s a pretty excellent deal right there.

TUAW’s Daily iOS App: Pulse: Volume One originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iChair cases for iPhone and iPad are unique in that they provide protection for your device through a two-layer (hard on the outside, soft on the inside) design, and they also have a small extendable kickstand on the back to prop up your device for easy viewing.

iPhone 4 owners were out of luck for a time while the designers worked to get manufacturing ramped up for a case that would work with both the GSM and CDMA versions of the phone, but the wait is over. To celebrate, the iChair folks reached out to TUAW with a special discount coupon code. For a limited time, you can get 25% off of your total order by using the coupon code “TUAW” when you check out.

I recently had a chance to try out an iChair case on my iPhone 4 while recording the May 11th episode of TUAW TV “Not So Live,” and I found it to be pretty impressive. You get your choice of two colors with each iChair — the top part comes in either white or blue, and there’s also a basic black top if you’re feeling formal. For watching videos in widescreen format, the iChair’s kickstand is an awesome addition.

The iChair for iPhone 4 sells for US$34 without the discount. Be sure to watch TUAW TV Live on May 11 for my hands-on review of the iChair, and take advantage of the TUAW discount code for an excellent deal on this case.

iChair for iPhone 4: A special discount for TUAW readers originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of my favorite things to do on a sunny day is go to Hyde Park and play Frisbee with some friends. However, after playing Frisbee Forever, the officially licensed Frisbee game, playing real-life Frisbee doesn’t seem as fun anymore.

Frisbee Forever is a universal game for the iPad and iPhone that allows users to hone their Frisbee skills on more than 100 obstacle courses. Flick the Frisbee to start, then tilt your iDevice to guide it through hoops, past wind turbines and through tunnels, collecting as many stars as you can along the way. Once you have enough stars and experience, you can unlock other levels, including an amusement park, the Old West and the Caribbean.

You can also unlock bonus levels along the way that offer some more challenging courses, and you can upgrade your Frisbee’s design.The only thing this game is missing is Game Center support. However, since it’s free, there’s no reason not to download this game.

Frisbee Forever is better than the real thing originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 09 May 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here we go again, kids! Not only do we have Mother’s Day to talk about, but we also have the shiny new iMacs and a shiny new piece of malware to discuss as well.

As always when I’m hosting, if there’s show, there’s an aftershow. Join us for TUAW and stay for TUAWTF. It’s like two shows in one!

Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be, otherwise I’m just talking to myself! To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 PM EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cell phone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you’ve got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo, X-Lite or Blink SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!

Talkcast tonight, 4 PM HI/7 PM PT/10 PM ET: Mother’s Day Edition originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 08 May 2011 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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