Could it be that after all these years as a must-have device, the iPhone is losing some of its luster? Reuters claims that consumers in Hong Kong and Singapore are beginning to ditch their bright, shiny Apples for smartphones made by Samsung and even (gasp!) HTC.
Dear oh dear. Read More
After getting rid of Google Maps on iOS 6, Apple’s own attempt at maps was so terrible it inspired a mocking Tumblr and even an apology from CEO Tim Cook. Now, it seems, the police are getting involved.
According to a release published to the Victoria Police Department website, several people have gotten stranded in the middle of a national park without food or water after attempting to follow Apple Maps’ directions to Mildura, a regional city in Australia. The city is actually located almost 45 miles away from where Apple Maps lists it. Read More
Tim Cook’s not sure where you all got the idea he’s robotic. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
He also confirmed Apple is bringing some manufacturing back to the U.S. No guarantees how much, though. [Bloomberg News]
Get psyched for Skype voice messages. [The Verge]
Hey Best Buy (and all other mega corporations): Maybe don’t assume you can just rip off a startup’s proprietary technology? [Redeye VC]
International fugitive John McAfee has been apprehended in Guatemala, reportedly for entering the country illegally. No word on whether the Vice guys are screwed. [New York Times]
Michael Arrington is very peeved at Instagram pulling Twitter integration. So peeved he felt it necessary to slap on a Winnie the Pooh hat and write a rant. [TechCrunch]
This is what the earth looks like at night. [NASA]
Tim Cook wants you to understand that the iPad mini is, like, totally not just a seven-inch iPad. [The Verge]
You can now legally jailbreak your smartphone. Good luck getting them to honor the warranty once you do, though. [Ars Technica]
“We don’t want to appear as a country that is anti-Google.” — France’s minister of technology. She might have an uphill battle there, as other officials have spoken out in favor of charging Google for linking to French news sites. [Quartz]
Did you make the cut for Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100, a muy scientific slideshow accounting of the coolest people in New York tech? [Business Insider]
A devoted player of the MMORGP Eve Online was inspired by his ripped avatar to get off his butt and start going to the gym. [CNN]
Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook took the highly unusual step of issuing a public apology for the fustercluck that is the company’s new map offering. That’s probably little consolation to anyone who upgraded to iOS 6 and has spent the days since utterly unable to get from point A to point B and/or lost somewhere in the wilderness, but hey, it’s a start.
Twitter naturally greeted his heartfelt mea culpa with a chorus of LOLs.
This Daily Show executive producer needs a hand, thanks: Read More
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the meeting when Tim Cook decided a product he’d overseen was terrible enough to warrant a public apology. The (faux?) humility, the palpable disappointment.
In a letter published to the Apple website and addressed to customers, Mr. Cook apologized for the frustration that the widely-panned Apple maps has caused.
However, tech journalists everywhere are still waiting for an apology from Mr. Cook for having such a boring story dominate the news cycle, as well as giving Google a reason to act ever more smug. Read More
Here we are, gathered once again for what’s always expected to be an ecstatic cross between Christmas and the Rapture: Apple’s latest media event and the unveiling of the latest iPhone. (Also, the iPhone’s less exciting little sister, the iPod, got a bigger screen and an FM tuner, and the Touch now comes in several colors.)
Tim Cook rattled off facts like the iPad accounts for 91 percent of tablet-drive web traffic and that there are now 700,000 apps available for download in the store. He apparently restrained himself from adding, “Ya burnt, Bezos!” though no doubt it required substantial self-control. Read More
The New York Tech Meetup is producing a video series called #startupstories. “Failure” is apparently Fred Wilson’s fav. [NYTM]
Sergey Brin lets California lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom try on Google Glasses. [The Verge]
There’s a new digital divide in town. [New York Times]
A roundup of Tim Cook’s chat at the AllThingsD conference. [Wall Street Journal]
Kim Dotcom is winning legal battles left and right. [Bloomberg]
No one on Facebook actually cared about the Facebook IPO. [Buzzfeed]
Apple scheduled a surprise conference call for later this morning to discuss its $98 billion pile of reserve cash; specifically, whether shareholders will get any of it.
Steve Jobs liked the security of having the money in the bank. It gave Apple the freedom to make a major acquisition without having to borrow and guarded against catastrophe. But Jobs’s successor Tim Cook has said Apple has more cash than it needs to run on a daily basis and told shareholders that he is “not religious” about keeping a large amount in savings.
On today’s conference call, Apple will announce the outcome of board discussions. The announcement of the announcement instantly provoked speculation. Would Apple pay dividends? Make an acquisition? Paper the walls of 1 Infinite Loop with Benjamins? Read More
Was it the segment on The Daily Show, one of the iTunes store’s bestselling TV shows? Or the eye-opening investigative report from the New York Times, prominently featured in every other Apple commercial? Or that episode of one of the most downloaded podcasts/radio shows in the country, This American Life? Or—after weeks of silence—Apple’s most famous fanboy, David Pogue, finally weighing in?
Whatever it was, Apple is now blessing and participating in the Fair Labor Association’s “unprecedented” inspection of Foxconn, the Chinese manufacturer whose negligence towards human rights has been opened to the world in recent months. Read More
