Apple’s first quarter profits have far exceeded the gloomy predictions of many on Wall Street. The computer and software maker has not only defied a sluggish economy with the profits, but also managed to drive its share price up by three percent despite making more cautious noises about this quarter’s performance. (more…)

A while ago we blogged about a Microsoft advert in which a red headed actress extolled the values of PCs over Macs (mainly price and value for money), this week it seems Apple have answered back. The new Apple campaign is called ‘Get a Mac’ and attacks the perceived issues with PCs that don’t occur with macs. The relationship between the Microsoft and Apple marketing departments has never been cordial exactly but the tone has become increasingly aggressive recently with the recession only adding to the desperate scrabble for customers. (more…)

Apple and Apple supporters are very annoyed about an advert unveiled in the US last week which shows an affable woman named Lauren shopping for a laptop computer. She looks at Apple products but fails to find anything within her budget of $1000 dollars that meets her requirements – ‘Speed, Comfortable keyboard, 17-inch screen.’ Proclaiming, ‘I would have to double my budget, which isn’t feasible,’ Lauren instead decides to buy a $699 dollar HP laptop.
(more…)

Apple have been uncharacteristically quiet on the SmartPhone front recently. For several weeks now all the chatter within the industry has been about Palm Pres and Mobile Handset Alliances, with no one really paying much attention to the market leader. That changed late last week with the announcement of changes to the way applications are developed for the App store and, going past that, plans for a brand new device, the iPhone 3.0.
(more…)

Rival SmartPhone manufacturers are only just starting to react to the threat posed by the App Store, recently Nokia, RIM and Microsoft have all announced plans to release their own versions though this feels a lot like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. The App Store has put all of Apple’s main competitors in a very awkward position. They have to at least attempt to compete, though even they must know that they’re being forced to essentially play Yahoo to Apple’s Google.
(more…)

Apple are a very difficult company to compete with, not only does the buzz and cache they have created around the brand and its products mean that they can charge far more than their competitors and still outsell them, the innovations they come up with are constantly putting everyone else on the back foot.
(more…)

Ever since the dawn of the App Store the charge against it has been that it’s too hard for the good apps to distinguish themselves from the bad ones. Applications tend to get a very brief window in which to excel before getting swamped by the myriad other apps getting released that day. That’s fine for small apps with low development costs but it does tend to discourage more complex, expensive applications.
(more…)

Since no technology blog is complete without a conjecture-filled article about Apple at least once a week, we thought we’d let you know that various online sources indicate that Apple may be planning to release a netbook. Not just any netbook, mind you, this is Apple after all. The new netbook will be a touch-screen one.
(more…)

I love it when a plan comes together. As we predicted yesterday, this morning saw the release of the long awaited release of brand new Apple Mac minis. The new devices are better synchronised with current technology, earning themselves a processor upgrade to a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. The Intel graphics adapter has fallen by the wayside, replaced by the much, much better NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. By all accounts the computers have been long overdue a refresh.
(more…)

With the patriarch of the house being the founder of Microsoft it’s not surprising in the slightest that the home of Bill and Melinda Gates is a no iPhone zone. However, Melinda Gates, trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has revealed in an interview with Vogue magazine this month that she secretly (not so much now though) covets the shiny Apple device.
(more…)

When, in January, Macworld and the traditionally vaunted Apple keynote came and went without any particular revelations or ‘game changing,’ additions to the Mac brand, many were disappointed, some even predicted that Apple had lost their touch in the absence of Steve Jobs. However, it now seems that these people just may have been a little premature in their predictions. It appears the Apple hierarchy are preparing for a glitzy event sometime in March where some key announcements are likely to be made.
(more…)

Steve Job’s, Apple’s charismatic CEO, is unlikely to attend this week’s Apple shareholders meeting. Jobs is currently out on a six month medical leave of absence, owing to various health issues. Whilst Apple maintain the departure of Jobs is only temporary, his absence from the shareholders meeting, the first one he’s missed in more than a decade, highlights Apple’s need for a plan if Jobs’ leave has to be extended or even, in the worst case, he has to stand down.
(more…)

As any economist will tell you, a recession is not a good time for sales of luxury goods – if you’re worried about losing your job, you’re unlikely to be filling your shopping trolley with fois gras and caviar. It would appear that this economic rule that has come back to bite Apple.
(more…)

The apps available on the App Store are all fairly sedate, the company has been pretty careful to maintain a family tone to the applications available, which is why there are no pornography apps or ones in particularly bad taste available. This policy has prevented the App Store from becoming involved in any of the scandals or embarrassments you might think would be inevitable for a company dealing with so many developers. Until now, that is.
(more…)