Posts Tagged ‘Apple’
iPad to Hit US Shelves April 3
Announced earlier this year, the Apple iPad will now be available in the US on Saturday, April 3 – the Wi-Fi model that is and late April will see the availability of the Wi-Fi + 3G model. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April, which is also when international pricing will be announced. The iPad will be shipped to additional countries (yes that includes us) later this year.
From March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.
“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”
iPad will be available for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB.
The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.
The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US on April 3, with additional countries added later this year.
Ubuntu 10.04 Now with iPhone and iPod Touch Support
Whenever I mention Ubuntu (or for that matter any other Linux distro), I’m invariably asked whether the OS offers support for Apple’s iPod. The answer has always been “no” … until now.
It seems that the Alpha 3 release of Ubuntu 10.04 “Lucid Lynx” offers out-of-the-box support for the iPhone and iPod touch devices.
Integration seems seamless. The Nautilus file manager accesses the tracks, playlists and apps, while RhythmBox can integrate with the contents much like iTunes can (although it cannot play back any DRMed files you might have …). This has been tested using the latest hardware, and the latest firmware.
In my opinion Ubuntu is fast becoming the most user-friendly and versatile of the Linux distros, and offering iPhone/iPod touch support only makes it even more user-friendly.
This should help open up Linux to a whole new audience.
Apple’s HTC patent suit: Can it derail Google’s Android devices?
Apple said Tuesday that it is suing HTC for infringing on 20 patents related to the iPhone and pursuing a permanent cease and desist order that could derail a wide range of Android devices.
Specifically, Apple is suing HTC in a Delaware district court and the U.S. International Trade Commission for violating patents related to “the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.” Apple didn’t detail the specific patents involved.
Funny that’s what everyone in the smartphone food chain says. The ITC is going to be quite busy evaluating all the patent lawsuits against various mobile phone players.
Scammers phishing for sensitive iPhone data
iPhone users beware – an ongoing phishing campaign impersonating Apple.com, attempts to trick users into submitting sensitive device information, with the scammers in a perfect position to use the data in a countless number of fraudulent variations.
Here are more details on the campaign, and why would phishers want access to such information.
The phishing campaign has been in circulation for over two weeks, and continues using the “FREE 1 Year Warranty Extension Offer” theme in emails coming with subjects such as “IMPORTANT: Your FREE iPhone Warranty Extension for 1 Year!“, leading to domain using fast-flux hosting infrastructure – www.apple.com.PHISHING.com/uk/iphone/warranty.htm.
What’s also worth pointing out is that the phishers require the user to submit their email at the first stage of the process, presumably saving themselves time in validating it, or in an attempt to contact the recipient in the long-term requesting more data.
What are the phishers after? The email of the user, the Serial number, IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity), the type of iPhone (ie. 3G / 3GS) and the capacity of the device (ie. 16GB / 32GB).
Why would a phisher want access to such data? Whereas some would point out that they’re interested in the practice due to the blocked IMEI numbers of stolen devices, which they can now change to ones that are not blacklisted, the long-term possibility of building inventories of such data to be re-sold to criminals looking for ways to bypass prepaid SIM restrictions, is a fully realistic one.
Consider going through related posts: iHacked: jailbroken iPhones compromised, $5 ransom demanded; Source code for ikee iPhone worm in the wild; iPhone’s anti-phishing protection offers inconsistent results; Apple adds malware blocker in Snow Leopard; Apple (Snow Leopard) malware blocker collecting cobwebs
Over the past year, there have been numerous developments internationally aiming to restrict the selling of prepaid SIM cards, which offer a safe heaven for criminals since no personal identification is required/stored when purchasing them.
With safety measures varying from mobile carrier to mobile carrier, with only a few publicly disclosing the protections they’ve built in order to limit the use of cloned devices on their networks, there are still countries where the lack of basic restrictions is naturally resulting in demand for such data, which the cybercrime ecosystem can easily supply through phishing campaigns.
The entire business model can be undermined by the mobile carriers realizing the potential for abuse, and by those actually obliged by law to ensure such activities cannot take place within their networks.
Apple Sells More than 300000 iPads on First Day
Apple on Monday announced that it sold more than 300,000 iPads in the U.S. on the first day of sales, April 3. But is it enough?
That figure, taken through midnight Saturday, includes deliveries of pre-ordered iPads, deliveries to channel partners and sales at Apple retail stores. But I can’t help but think that the number is a little low.
There are a few reasons this may be:
A holiday weekend: Many folks who celebrate Easter were traveling and otherwise preoccupied;
Split availability: 3G models, which are more expensive, were not a part of the launch;
Proof: the iPad is a bit harder for consumers to digest than an iPod or iPhone. An iPod makes music. An iPhone makes phone calls. What the heck does an iPad do?
Apple also announced that iPad users downloaded more than one million apps from the App Store, and, interestingly, more than 250,000 ebooks from the iBookstore on the first day.
It appears to me that Apple has quite a bit of work ahead of it. The iPad has been accepted and impatiently awaited by technologists around the world, but the mass market still is merely curious about the device — and that curiosity isn’t strong enough to plunk more than $500 to take it home.
My take: Give it time. The technologists need to have time to crow about the virtues of the iPad to their non-techie buddies, who in turn will buy the device at Best Buy, rather than an Apple Store.
In the meantime, Apple needs to flood the airwaves with its iconic commercials featuring the iPad, not iPhone. Once it can show the average consumer what it can do, perhaps then they will bite.