Appleinsider

One of Apple's more publicly visible executives has left to join a venture capital firm. Meanwhile, Apple has unintentionally benefitted as those mourning Michael Jackson's death have flocked to iTunes to buy the pop star's music in what's likely to be record numbers. ...

Apple, which recently shaved down the cost of its popular Mac notebook lines, remains on track to pass on similar treatment to its all-in-one desktop line by this fall. ...

Taken at face value, the specifications tied to Apple's most recent MacBook Air updates imply the latest pair of ultra-slim notebooks should handily outperform their predecessors, but a new report claims this notion only holds true for the slower of the two models. ...

Apple's latest Mac mini continues to demonstrate the company's capacity to develop personal computers that are both smaller and more attractive than those of its rivals, but achieving its sleeker design footprint comes at the expense of razor-thin profit margins, a new tear-down cost analysis reveals. ...

Apple has increased its holdings in Imagination Technologies, the chip designer responsible for the graphics technology inside the iPhone and iPod touch, and now holds a combined 9.5% stake in the company. ...

Microsoft tried to appease disgruntled customers on Thursday with news lower Windows 7 upgrade prices as well as a concession that lets owners of the now 8-year-old Windows XP move up to the new operating system at a lower price. ...

Although they're not without their drawbacks, the new MacBook Pros have been celebrated by one veteran columnist as having the best stock battery life of any notebook seen so far -- and has debunked some myths about battery use in the process. ...

A new lawsuit accuses Apple of a bait-and-switch tactic with iTunes gift cards by instituting variable song pricing but leaving old cards on the shelves. ...

One iPhone developer looking to expand the capabilities of the iPhone's home screen has demonstrated to AppleInsider a working proof-of-concept that implements the Stacks features of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard into the iPhone's Springboard application. ...

If there was any doubt that that the video recording and upload capabilities of Apple's new iPhone 3GS would signal a new chapter in mobile video sharing, the first statistics quantifying its impact are in, and they're impressive. ...

It's well known that Apple brands major versions of its Mac OS X operating system with code-names corresponding to big cats, but the company also uses similar naming conventions internally for its maintenance releases, such as those for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard bear the names of ancient gods. ...

Nearly half of all iPhone users have already jumped at the opportunity to enhance the functionality of their handsets by installing the free iPhone Software 3.0 update, but the same can't be said for iPod touch users, who -- deterred by a $10 upgrade charge -- are adopting the new ...

Apple this week was granted a sprawling patent on a series of wireless sensing systems aimed at quantifying actions or events that can currently be measured only qualitatively, such as the effectiveness of a karate kick or what exactly happened to a package from FedEx that arrived with its contents ...

Residents of major US cities that have had near-unusable 3G since the iPhone 3G's launch should finally get relief in the months ahead, AT&T says. Meanwhile, Palm is getting its own relief via breakthrough sales of its Pre smartphone, but Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is getting no break frp, Warren ...

Apple breathed some new life into its Apple TV media hub on Wednesday with upgrades to both its firmware and the iPhone's Remote app that let owners control the wireless media hub through multi-touch input on their handheld's touch-screen. [Updated with additional feature info.] ...

In controlled JavaScript Web site renders, the iPhone 3GS is nearly three times as fast as the iPhone 3G and Palm Pre, and 5.5 times faster than the T-Mobile G1, according to a new study, which also reveals that the iPhone 3.0 software alone has a dramatic impact on the ...

Apple's component and manufacturing costs for its new 16GB iPhone 3G S falls within $5 of those required to build last year's 8GB iPhone 3G, this despite a doubling of the handset's built-in storage capacity and the addition of several new components, according to a new tear-down cost analysis. ...

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who was recently given an "excellent" prognosis by the doctors that performed his liver transplant, is reportedly close to a new deal that could signal an end to a decade-long legal tussle over a mansion he owns in California's Woodside Hills and finally allow him ...

In a bid to settle the question of his health once and for all, Apple chief Steve Jobs has acknowledged that he did undergo a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital and that he has come out of surgery in good condition. ...

Psystar's hopes of stalling Apple's lawsuit have crumbled as the Mac maker has successfully overturned the court stay on its case. At the same time, Apple's legal hammer has been falling on iTunes gift card fraud, and the Palm Pre continues to sell out even with the iPhone ...

A series of changes to Apple's retail-based One-to-One training service slated to go into effect on Tuesday may have been driven in part by the popularity of the program, which is rapidly swelling to complex proportions. ...

A standards body greenlighting cellphones for carriers has supposedly approved four new iPhone models, including a new 32GB model as well as an unusual 4GB version. A Canadian rumor also now claims to list the smaller-capacity device. ...

Apple on Monday released iTunes 8.2, a new version of its media cataloging software with support for the upcoming iPhone Software 3.0 release. It was accompanied by a recommended maintenance update for QuickTime 7.6. ...

The third major release of Apple's Final Cut Studio professional video and audio production suite will offer a mixed bag when it comes to advances in individual component applications, half of which will be touted as new releases while the other half see more muted upgrades. ...

Best Buy over the weekend became the latest Apple partner to warn staffers of dwindling iPhone supply that could leave some of its stores without product to sell for a few weeks later this month. ...

A chinese blog has blurry photos that appear to show an iPhone -- possibly the next-generation model -- using autofocusing with its camera, movie recording and the digital compass. ...

Illustrating the scope of a flaw in older NVIDIA graphics chipsets, Apple has extended its special warranty on the GeForce 8600M GT in certain MacBook Pros from two to three years. ...

Just as the most prominent attempt at cloning Macs is falling apart, another is preparing to take its place and promises a better experience, even as it knows it will likely face a battle with Apple's legal team. ...

The iPhone 3.0 operating system release will include new support for direct downloads of movie and TV content from the iTunes Store, according to people familiar with Apple's internal training materials. ...

Apple in recent weeks has reached out to members of its professional video editing communities to help test a couple of updates to its Final Cut suite of video production tools: one major and one incremental. ...

While many of the changes present in betas of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard have been discussed at length by Apple followers, one tester has taken to the web with observations on some of the more subtle refinements spread through the most recent build of the next-gen operating system. ...

Just a day after it was introduced, the Zune HD has been demonstrated live and is already generating buzz from at least one major blog that it could provide an experience superior to Apple's iPod touch. ...

Steve Jobs made a surprise appearance at Apple headquarters on Wednesday where he met with members of the company's leadership, according to a new report. ...

Shares of Palm, Inc spiked upward roughly ten percent on rumors that the new Palm Pre phone might only remain exclusively tied to Sprint for six months, suggesting availability through Verizon Wireless and AT&T as early as January 2010. ...

Canadian iTunes users are seeing the first wave of HD TV shows crop up on the localized version of the digital download service. Meanwhile, a new report claims that the Apple logo on the third-gen iPhone will illuminate just as the iPhone maker is said to be taking receipt of ...

Palm's upcoming Pre handset is again making headlines this week after it was discovered that early production units contain native support for syncing with Apple's iTunes software as if they were built by the iPhone maker itself. ...

While the tough economy is prompting many retailers to cut back on their spending, Apple plans to pour millions into remodeling roughly 40% of its stores and will soon introduce new One-to-One services and other changes geared towards better customer service. ...

A parts vendor based out of Hong Kong recently updated its product catalog with a front display bezel and LCD screen that it claims will be part of Apple's third-generation iPhone and has put them up for sale. [Updated with artist's rendition of third-gen iPhone.] ...

Steve Wozniak had to opportunity to speak with Steve Jobs recently and said the Apple chief executive sounded “healthy" and "energetic” a little over a month before he's scheduled to return to the company. ...

AT&T has formally announced plans for deploying its 7.2 Mbps mobile data service upgrade this year, which will support faster iPhone models expected to be released this summer. ...

North Carolina's House on Tuesday took the first step towards approving changes to the state's corporate tax laws that some local lawmakers believe will help recruit Apple to one of its communities where the company has shown interest in building a sprawling $1 billion data center. ...

With more and more evidence pointing to Apple's 2009 iPhone lineup consisting of three distinct models, the Royal Bank of Canada is the second investment firm to predict that one of those models will be a repackaged version of the existing 8GB iPhone 3G that will see its price tag ...

Apple alongside its 2009 Back-to-School promotion on Wednesday also updated its entry-level white MacBook with a faster Intel processor, memory architecture and more hard disk space. ...

Apple on Wednesday officially kicked off its 2009 back-to-school promotion, which offers a free 8GB iPod touch to students and educational staffers who purchase a qualifying Mac. ...

After two years of watching iPod sales pass it by, Microsoft has drawn a line in the sand and says it has a new Zune with hardware features to thwart the iPod touch, including a multi-touch display. ...

Long considered a lure for carriers, Apple's iPhone is now believed to be attracting a full third of those switching providers towards AT&T -- the highest ever percentage of converts since the iPhone was released. ...

For those readers old enough to have a stack of VHS tapes collecting dust in their living room, Roxio on Tuesday launched a new hardware and software bundle for the Mac that it's billing as "the fastest way to transfer video from VHS tapes or analog camcorders to digital formats." ...

European regulators this week are pushing the music industry to reform licensing terms that have prevented services like Apple's iTunes Store from selling their catalog of music tracks uniformly across the continent. ...

After appearing to remain aloof to Microsoft's jabs that Macs don't give enough choice, Apple has responded with ads which insist that poor Windows PC choices are no choices at all. ...

Apple executives said this week they believe the iPhone remains in its infancy and went on to -- somewhat uncharacteristically -- reveal a series of strategic measures they may employ in the near term to help grow the handset's share of the booming smartphone market. ...

Apple may be planning to add camera functionality to a couple of its next-generation iPod models, according to a new report, which also claims that upcoming iPhones will retain the handsets' existing form factor. ...

With Apple-related news grinding to a halt near week's end, some are scraping the bottom of the barrel and pointing to some unusual entries in Best Buy's inventory system as potential placeholders for Apple's next-gen iPhones. ...

Although many imagine the App Store a cash cow for Apple, a detailed examination has revealed that the iPhone maker may only have earned between $20 million and $45 million from the store for its first billion downloads -- a figure the company is likely more than happy to accept. ...

Apple, AT&T and several others have been named in a new patent infringement lawsuit, presumably for their connection to Shazam, a maker of music identification software distributed under the same name for the iPhone and several other mobile devices. ...

A prominent blogger is firing back at a Wall Street analyst who predicted this week that Apple's upcoming developers conference won't see the introduction of new iPhones, offering a simple argument as to why the company may be compelled to introduce its new hardware at the start of the conference. ...

Apple has hired Ivan Krstic, the developer of the security architecture for the One Laptop Per Child project's XO system and subsequently a vocal critic of the failed OLPC program. Krstic is a prodigy security guru with anti-malware credentials. ...

While all eyes are on Apple's annual developers conference as a likely forum for new iPhone hardware announcements, one Wall Street analyst is advising clients that better bets may be placed on an event a few weeks later that may also mark the return of Steve Jobs. ...

In the latest sign that iPhone season is rapidly approaching and inventories of existing models need a push out the door, Apple is now offering to sell customers an iPhone 3G through its website and ship it out for free. ...

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has again been given the go-ahead to demolish his moldering mansion in the Woodside hills. Meanwhile, Apple design chief Jonathan Ive has lost a court battle to stop a crazed fan from using his likeness in a series of domain names. ...

Apple said Wednesday that a team of its top executives lead by worldwide marketing chief Phil Schiller will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month with a keynote address on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. that will showcase a final developer preview of Mac OS X ...

Sling Media's release of its SlingPlayer Mobile application for the iPhone and iPod touch early this morning will give Sling enthusiasts a new way to watch their home TV signals remotely from nearly anywhere, but some significant limitations in the app are likely to dampen some users' initial enthusiasm. ...

In a curiously worded statement, AT&T has claimed it prevented the iPhone version of SlingPlayer from using 3G because it would chew too much data -- and because the iPhone is, oddly, not considered a phone. ...

Microsoft is no longer content with turning up the heat against just Apple's Mac lines and has begun a new marketing campaign that attacks the perceived additional costs of filling an iPod with music versus a Zune, but one which omits key flaws in the process. ...

Apple on Tuesday released Mac OS X 10.5.7, a recommended update for all Mac OS X 10.5.x Leopard users that includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of Macs. Separately, the company released Safari 3.2.3, an update to Safari 4.0 beta and security updates for ...

Apple sometime in the next 24 hours will release Sling Media's highly anticipated SlingPlayer application for the iPhone onto its App Store but the software will arrive without 3G wireless support, AppleInsider has been able to confirm. ...

Apple, Dell, and HP notebook customers are banding together in an effort to gain class-action status on a combined lawsuit against Nvidia, which could potentially force the graphics chip maker to replace or compensate for faulty graphics processors in millions of computers. ...

Intel still plans to launch its next-generation Calpella notebook platform, expected to find its way into Apple's MacBook lines, sometime in the the third quarter of this year, according to a new report. ...

A forum thread on a Chinese Apple fan site is generating some interest by AppleInsider readers because one commenter claims to have used prototypes of Apple's next-gen iPhone because he purportedly has a friend working at the company's manufacturing partner Foxconn. ...

Web market share for the iPod touch has tripled in just five months, outpacing even the iPhone among mobile devices. Also, Windows' share has dropped to its lowest point since tracking began even as the Mac managed to hold its ground. ...

Apple this week asked a federal court judge to intervene in its discovery process with unauthorized Mac clone maker Psystar, which is reportedly violating proper procedure by refusing to answer key questions and turn over critical financial information about its business. ...

Following a trio of TV ads that cast Apple's 13-inch MacBook line as impractical purchases for average consumers on budgets between $1000 and $1500, Microsoft on Thursday took aim at the company's professional line of notebooks in a fourth ad that doubles the initial spending limit of its role players. ...

The last test version of Windows 7 has reached a wide audience and is now believed on track for a late October release, putting Microsoft's last cards on the table as it prepares to square off against Mac OS X Snow Leopard. ...

A director of Microsoft's Xbox team is on his way to Apple. Meanwhile, the Mac maker appears to be taking its time to assure that Mac OS X 10.5.7 Update is rock solid before it's released to the public. And one of our sponsors is clearing out early model MacBook ...

Determined to grow its share of the personal computer market during the worst economic climate in its corporate history, Apple is tailoring changes to a pair of its offerings that will help drive down prices of some of the most popular Macs, AppleInsider has learned. ...

A new patent filing discovered by AppleInsider provides some of the first public evidence that Apple is indeed exploring carbon fiber-like enclosures for future product designs, corroborating an earlier report on the matter. ...

Apple's fairly public plans to design a family of exclusive chips to power its next-generation iPhone and multi-touch handheld products may not fully materialize until sometime next year, according to the Wall Street Journal, which provides an overview of the matter with a few additional details. ...

Owners of Apple's Mac Pro workstations will have a second, high-end home video card option within weeks, as NVIDIA is planning to release a version of its GeForce GTX 285 chipset specifically for Macs. ...

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs stayed home last night to catch up on some much needed rest while his attorney made another go at convincing a local review board that he should be free to demolish a historic but abandoned mansion -- seen in these rare photos -- that has ...

Apple isn't done building its arsenal of chip designers, according to a new report, which claims the company will acquire the services of yet another expert who's enjoyed a long and successful tenure with the ATI/AMD camp. ...

Apple on Tuesday equipped iPhone developers with a beta of iTunes 8.2 that appears to add full support for Gracenote's video platform, which includes components for organizing, searching and managing both DVD and Blu-ray optical discs. ...

Apple has undoubtedly taken its foot off the accelerator when it comes to expanding its chain of 252 retail stores, but the move doesn't signal any weakness in customer interest or a pull-back from expanding the brand to new international locations. ...

Apple said Tuesday that WWDC 2009 has completely sold out, marking the second time in as many years that its annual developers conference will fill to capacity as programmers descend on San Francisco to hear the latest on Mac and iPhone software development. ...

One of Apple's most important, upcoming foreign retail stores has been given an early glimpse months ahead of its completion. We take an early look through photos. ...

Microsoft Corp. plans to take aim at Apple's iPhone with its own version of a touch-screen handset that could launch on Verizon's network sometime early in 2010, according to a report published just minutes ago by the Wall Street Journal. ...

Online mega-retailer Amazon.com has purchased the development firm behind the most popular eBook reader application for Apple's iPhone in a bid to extend its reach of the digital book market beyond its Kindle device. ...

The heat is stepping up for AT&T with word of negotiations to bring an Apple budget phone and a media tablet to Verizon, one of which may show its face within just a few months. ...

Apple has scooped up a chip designer who spent years mapping out key graphics chip architectures at ATI and who also played an integral role in the development of the graphics processor found at the heart of Nintendo's Game Cube console. ...

A site host for a wiki covering iTunes database exploration has opted to fight back against repeated legal threats from Apple by suing the iPod maker in court on grounds of censorship. ...