apple corporate posts

More news from the HR department, as Apple's hiring is extending beyond the Googleplex raid noted earlier. The company's new Senior Prototype Engineer, Richard W. DeVaul, has a Ph.D. in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT. The cool part, Computerworld notes, is that DeVaul has experience in wearable technologies. He's the co-founder of AWare Technologies, and his dissertation was on a project called "The Memory Glasses," a wearable memory aid that required minimal attention from the user.

The only wearable technology that Apple has produced is the Nike+ iPod kit. When stuck inside a sneaker (or attached to the laces), it feeds information to an app running on an iPod or iPhone regarding a jogger's speed, distance, calories burned and so on. While serious runners have questioned its accuracy, it has motivated a number of otherwise couch-bound geeks to hit the street.

As Computerworld points out, Apple has patented a large number of wearable fitness devices lately. Perhaps it's these that DeVaul will be working with, though we imagine that such a brilliant engineer will have his own ideas. In either case, we're looking forward to what comes of this new collaboration.

[Via MacRumors]

Apple had a great holiday sales quarter in the US and now research firm Gartner is reporting similar good news from Europe. Specifically, Apple shipped 182,000 machines in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving it a 5.5 percent total market share in France. It should be noted that Apple didn't reach the top five in any other European country.

Overall PC sales declined throughout Europe in 2009, while Mac sales in the U.K. increased from 3.8 percent in 3Q 2008 to 5 percent in 3Q 2009. Gartner attributed the increase partly to the "halo effect." That's the common term for increased sales of Macs from PC owners who have purchased iPods or iPhones and find that they love the design and ease of use of the Apple devices.

The only manufacturer to out-perform Apple's growth in Europe during 2009 was Acer, which saw 35.5 percent growth.

Currently there are two Apple retail stores in France: Apple Store Odysseum in Montpellier and Apple Store Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Steve Jobs' ability to enchant and persuade is often referred to as the "Reality Distortion Field." It's this power that convinces people who own 2 or 3 iPods that they need just one more.

He's also made some convincing statements that his company later contradicted in grand fashion. Last week, Brian X. Chen compiled six of the biggies at Wired's Gadget Lab (reprinted at CNN), including one of our favorites: "There are no plans to make a tablet," Jobs once told Walt Mossberg. "It turns out people want keyboards ... We look at the tablet, and we think it is going to fail."

Brian also listed Steve's insistence that Apple won't make a cell phone and that "...people don't read any more."

Of course, part of Steve's purpose here is to misdirect market watchers, customers and competitors from his company's plans. But more than that, this speaks to Apple's incredible patience.

Apple isn't usually the 1st to market. It didn't create the first digital music player. It certainly didn't create the first mobile phone and it didn't create the first tablet computer. The important thing is that Apple engineers took the time to devise the absolute best way to implement each of those devices.

If that requires a bit of reality distortion, so be it.

"Banned" might not be the right word, but that's what user serif_hashim is saying.

He says he's been denied access to the App Store from their iPhones by Apple. When sherif_hashim tried to connect, he was greeted with the image at right, which he explained via Twitter:

"Your Apple ID was banned for security reasons", that's what i get when i try to go to the app store, they must be really angry :) )))) and guess what my apple ID was, "sherif_hashim@yahoo.com", what a fool was me not to notice :) )), can't help laughing, they are babies :) ))"

Sherif Hashim recently found an exploit in iPhone OS 3.1.3 to unlock 05.12.01 Baseband for iPhone 3G and 3GS, which was later confirmed by the iPhone Dev-Team.

Hacker iH8sn0w was the second to report the issue, saying on Twitter:

"@sherif_hashim lol, they did that to my ih8sn0wyday[@t]googmail.com too. (right after I posted XEMN)..."

iH8sn0w is the user behind Sn0wbreeze, the jailbreaking tool for Windows. It should be noted that these users aren't typical jailbreakers. One has publicized an exploit and the other maintains a jailbreaking tool. Plus, they used their handles in the account emails, which wasn't the best choice. We'll see if the issue becomes more widespread.

We question serif_hashim's used of "banned" because this message can be triggered by entering a bad password several times across any service that uses your Apple ID, like the App Store, iTunes, Apple Photo Services and MobileMe. It's not likely that he entered a bad password enough times, but it's possible. Users in this situation can use iForgot to regain access.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac]

It's Monday, let's sue Apple!

Chinese manufacturer Shenzhen Great Loong Brother Industrial is reportedly considering suing Apple over the design of the iPad, claiming that it bears too close a resemblance to their P88.

in an interview with El Mundo, Shenzhen Great Loong Brother Industrial's president Xiaolong Wu said that the two devices are "completely identical." In fact, the P88 features that are "completely identical" to the iPad include:

1. Windows XP
2. A webcam
3. A 250GB internal hard drive
4. A thicker and heavier body
5. A resistive touch display (the iPad uses multi-touch)
6. 1.5 hours of battery life

Plus they're both rectangles. With black borders.

Ed Sutherland summed it up best at Cult of Mac: "How do you get more attention for a largely unknown netbook at a time when the tech press has the vapors for Apple's iPad? You sue Apple and claim its new device is just a clone of your netbook."

Some people hate it, some people love it and some people attempt to predict its future.* Members of the last group include Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers and Needham's Charlie Wolf, both of whom are cautions about the iPad's performance.

Wu brandishes the obvious like broadsword, noting that the Wi-Fi iPad will probably sell better than those with a data plan because it will cost less and that 3G users can expect slower speeds that those with Wi-Fi. He feels that Apple's prediction of 10 million units sold in 2010 won't be realized. Instead, Wu surmises, they'll sell about 5 million.

Kaufman holds that the iPad is "...not a revolutionary product" that won't take off without certain 3rd-party solutions, like books and customized iPad apps. His sales prediction is even more conservative than Wu's at 4 million units sold.

They both like the entry price however, and we agree with them there. When the pundits were saying $1,000 before the announcement, we knew that wouldn't jibe with Steve's ambition to get one in as many homes as possible. Wu notes that the displays alone may be costing Apple $100 each, yet they've been very aggressive with the pricing.

Here's my prediction: Apple will sell a mountain of these things and by this time next year, the nay-sayers will be downloading Humble Pie 1.0.

*But none have USED it, so let's keep that in mind.

Just a day after the iPad's introduction, MacNN reports that Apple has scheduled an internal, town hall-style meeting for employees regarding the iPad. Details of the meeting's agenda are unknown to us outside of Apple, but it's a safe guess that attendees will receive a thorough overview of the device, both in function and philosophy, perhaps iPads themselves and a clear sense of what Steve Jobs called "the most important thing I've ever done."

Shortly after the iPhone was introduced, a similar internal meeting was scheduled. At that gathering, employees supposedly received iPhones and asked questions of Steve. One attendee famously asked about the simultaneous existence of the iPhone and iPod, to which Steve said that if some company was going to cannibalize their sales, it might as well be Apple.

Certainly meetings like these inform employees but also generate precious word-of-mouth. Apple is obviously deadly serious about the device and we're looking forward to its appearance on store shelves.

It's that time again. Apple will be live streaming their Q1 financial conference call on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 2pm PDT/5pm EDT. To follow along (Quicktime required), visit this page on the 25th.

Of course, TUAW will be live-blogging the event with commentary, so feel free to join us for all the announcements plus a lively discussion. If the analyst's predictions are accurate, we should anticipate a blockbuster report. For example, Brian Marshall at Broadpoint.AmTech has estimated that Apple sold 3.3 million Macs during the last quarter, which would be an all-time single-quarter sales record.

Meanwhile, estimates of iPhone sales during the same time period range from 11.30 million units sold (according to Brian Marshall at Broadpoint AmTech) to 8.17 million units (according to Mark Moskowitz, J.P. Morgan). The interesting thing is that the low estimate, 8.17 million iPhones sold, would represent a 10.8% increase from the last September's record of 7.37 million if true.

We'll have all the facts in a few days.

Apple typically reports their 1st quarter financial results in late January, so we'll have to wait a few more weeks for the official word. However, the analysts have begun to share their estimates and the numbers are very impressive.

Brian Marshall at Broadpoint.AmTech has estimated that Apple sold 3.3 million Macs during the last quarter, according to MacNN. Here's a little perspective: Apple's all-time sales record for Macs, set during the previous quarter, is 3.05 million. That record was a 17 percent jump from the 2.6 million it sold in the same quarter a year ago. Marshall also suggests that laptop sales could be up as much as 19 percent year-over-year at 865,000 units.

Meanwhile, Philip Elmer-DeWitt has begun gathering estimates of iPhone sales and posting them at Brainstorm Tech. They range from 11.30 units sold (Brian Marshall at Broadpoint AmTech) to 8.17 units (Mark Moskowitz, J.P. Morgan). The interesting thing is that the low estimate, 8.17 million iPhones sold, would represent a 10.8% increase from the last September's record of 7.37 million if true.

Despite would could have been a rocky year for Apple -- Steve Jobs was out for serious health reasons and a lousy US economy -- they did very well. Are you optimistic for 2010 or waiting for the other shoe to drop?

The App Store approval process has been criticized, in part, for being too slow with approval decisions. Apple's senior vice-president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller recently defended the process, saying, "You and your family and friends can download applications from the store, and for the most part they do what you'd expect, and they get onto your phone, and you get billed appropriately, and it all just works." That's all well and good, but most developers just want to get their app out. To that end, a group in Sweden is trying something unique.

Dearstevejobs.com was built to win Steve's attention and ultimately approval for an app called SVT Play. SVT is a public television broadcaster, and SVT Play is their shows' home on the web (think Hulu). The iPhone app works as you'd imagine: With a few clicks, users can watch popular shows right on their iPhones.

The promotional site is cute with live streaming video of eager developers, Facebook and Twitter integration plus an opportunity for Steve to use his Mac's built-in iSight to record a quick video of himself saying, "Ja!" Good luck, SVT!

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Forbes Fortune bestowed a significant honor on Steve Jobs today, naming him their CEO of the Decade. Fortune outlines the incredible leaps in business, technology and industry Apple has made since Steve's return. For anyone who might not remember, the 90's were not kind to Apple and nearly everyone thought the company was finished.

Consider this incredible fact: Apple launched OS X and iTunes, opened the first two retail stores and introduced the first iPod ... all in the same year (2001). Fortune also goes on to describe how Steve changed the film industry with Pixar, the music industry with the iTunes Store and the cell phone industry with the iPhone and the App Store.

He also kicked cancer's ass.

This is precisely why I'm excited about the prospect of a new piece of hardware from Apple. I won't call it a tablet because that's not what it will be. Apple didn't invent the digital music player, the mobile phone or mass distribution of media. But, they did demonstrate how to do those things the right way, which no one else could come up with.

If there's a new product coming, comparing it to contemporary tablets or netbooks is a huge mistake, because it won't behave like any of them.

Click below to watch Fortunes' video on this announcement.

[Via MacDailyNews]

Apple has a new General Counsel and senior vice president on its executive team. Bruce Sewell, who held the same position at Intel Corporation, will be joining Apple in place of Daniel Cooperman. Cooperman, who has been General Counsel and senior vice president of Legal and Government Affairs for the past two years, is retiring at the end of September.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs was quoted in a press release as saying "We are thrilled to have Bruce join our executive team, and wish Dan a very happy retirement. With Bruce's extensive experience in litigation, securities and intellectual property, we expect this to be a seamless transition."

Sewell has been responsible for leading Intel's legal, corporate affairs, and corporate social responsibility programs, managing a team of attorneys and policy professionals located throughout the world. In his new role at Apple, Sewell and his team will defend Apple against attacks on the company's intellectual property. We'd like to give Mr. Sewell one big piece of advice for his new job -- read up on the Psystar case as soon as you can.

Earlier today, Apple announced that Mark Papermaster will become their Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering on April 24th. As such, he'll hold the reigns of the iPod and iPhone engineering departments.

As you may remember, Papermaster was recently involved in a lawsuit when IBM stated that his accepting the position would be a violation of their own noncompetitive agreement, citing fears that he'd divulge IBM trade secrets once inside 1 Infinite Loop. The case was finally settled, and while Apple has declined to comment on the details, IBM told CNET:

"IBM and Mr. Papermaster have now agreed on a resolution of the lawsuit under which Mr. Papermaster may not begin employment with Apple until April 24, 2009, six months after leaving IBM, and will remain subject thereafter to all of his contractual and other legal duties to IBM, including the obligation not to use or disclose IBM's confidential information."

Apple started courting Papermaster in 2008, and he finally made the jump to "...the opportunity of a lifetime." Good luck, Mark!

[Via Daring Fireball]

Doug Field, former chief technology officer at Segway, has joined Apple as vice president of product design. As you know, the Segway is the two-wheeled transportation device that Woz loves (he even plays polo with it), but gave President Bush a bit of trouble.

We wish Doug good luck in his new position at Apple. However, I am a bit nervous that he's the VP of product design, because it's impossible to ride a Segway and not look like a total tool.

[Via MacDailyNews]

BusinessWeek reports that Apple has cleared both Apple management and CEO Steve Jobs himself of any wrongdoing after concluding its internal probe about backdated stock options.

"The special committee, its independent counsel and forensic accountants have performed an exhaustive investigation of Apple's stock option granting practices," said Al Gore, former VP of the United States and chair of the special committee, and Jerome York, chair of Apple's Audit and Finance Committee. "The board of directors is confident that the Company has corrected the problems that led to the restatement, and it has complete confidence in Steve Jobs and the senior management team."

As Scott posted earlier today, Apple has finally filed its SEC forms 10-Q and 10-K for the 2006 fiscal year.

So what does this mean to the Apple user community at large? Probably nothing much. Jobs' hiring of personal counsel looks like simple business-as-usual.