iphones posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Steve Jobs, Apple History

Steve Jobs helping overhaul Disney retail

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 13th, 2009

The New York Times has posted about a new project that our own Mr. Jobs has taken on: he's now helping out Disney Stores with their retail business. You have to hand it to Disney, no matter what you think of the Mouse House -- when they have a problem with part of the business, they bring in the experts. First they have Pixar's John Lasseter come in and take over animation (and they're about to release what looks like the best 2D movie in ages), and now they've got Steve Jobs himself sprucing up their retail spaces. Sounds like they're making the store more interactive (walking by some displays with certain products will create an audiovisual reaction), and taking some of the tech as well (employees will be able to check out items on mobile units, and control certain displays in the store with iPhones).

They also borrowed another page from Jobs' playbook: they've apparently created a prototype store (just like Apple did way back when), not only to test out what everything might look like, but to give a charge to executives and investors who get a tour. Sounds interesting, but then again, it makes sense. What else is an Apple Store, but a toy shop for big kids?

[via MacUser]

Tags: disney, disney-store, disney-stores, displays, interactivity, iphones, john-lasseter, new-york-times, steve-jobs, stores

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, iPhone, App Store

CNN: Our iPhone app is "not a hobby"

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Sep 29th, 2009

CNN chatted with our good friends at DLS about the news network's iPhone app (scheduled to hit an App Store near you very soon), and it actually sounds pretty premium: in-app video, breaking news live video streaming, a Coverflow-style way to browse news information, the ability to store news to read later, and social sharing through Facebook, Twitter, and the usual suspects. CNN even says they want to add more to the app in the future, including some iReport-style news delivery functions, so people with iPhones out in the world can send news in as quickly as possible.

Ok, CNN, we get it -- you care about this one. It does sound like they're making a major push in terms of making their content interactive on the iPhone, but on the other hand, maybe they're just trying to sell you on the "premium" price: $1.99, with (we're told) non-intrusive advertising included. Obviously, $2 is cheap, but on the other hand, especially with advertising both from the network itself and outside clients, the crankiest of App Store browsers will probably flinch at it a little bit. If you are interested, however, CNN would love to take your money: their app should be available in the App Store as soon as Apple lets it through.

Tags: breaking-news, browsers, cnn, download-squad, facebook, in-app-video, iphone-app, iphones, money, price, release, twitter

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, iPhone

Apple: "Exploding" iPhones succumbed to external pressure

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Aug 30th, 2009

There's been much news of "exploding" iPhones lately. If you're unfamiliar with the story, the European Commission formally asked Apple to investigate a series of reports that users' iPhones were abruptly cracking and/or catching fire. According to the French periodical Les Echos, an iPhone in Aix-en-Provence, France, started to "crackle and pop like a deep-frier" before breaking violently apart.

This past Friday, Apple said that, in all cases, the iPhones in question were damaged by an "external force," not a faulty battery or glass screen:

"To date, there are no confirmed battery overheating incidents for iPhone 3GS and the number of reports we are investigating is in the single digits. The iPhones with broken glass that we have analyzed to date show that in all cases the glass cracked due to an external force that was applied to the iPhone."

It does seem odd that at least four cases have been reported in France in short order. Still, it's even stranger that iPhones would suddenly turn into Molotov cocktails. We'll keep you updated on this story.

Tags: damage, european commission, EuropeanCommission, explosions, france, iphones

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Odds and ends, Apple, iPod touch, iPod classic

Best Buy selling iPods in a vending machine

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 13th, 2008

I was in Anaheim, CA over the weekend (covering BlizzCon for our sister site WoW Insider) and while Macs were in short supply for most of the time, I did notice something Apple-related in LAX on my way out of the city yesterday. Best Buy recently started up a vending machine program which allows you to buy their electronics from staffless machines in various airports around the country, and lo and behold, right there next to the Nintendo DS games and spare USB hubs and mice, were Apple's very own iPods. Which makes sense -- Apple has long sold their stuff inside Best Buy stores, so why wouldn't Best Buy Express do the same?

It was a little strange, though -- at first, I thought there was an iPhone in there, which just would have made the whole activation process even more confusing. But no, it's an iPod touch, in both memory sizes. I also wondered just what you'd do with an empty iPod on a trip, business or otherwise, but I guess people who would really buy their iPods from airports probably don't worry too much about when they'll find the time to get music on there. Not that it mattered much yesterday -- as you can see in one of the pictures, the console's IE version was bugging out, so no one was buying anything anyway (and I couldn't check prices). Still, very strange.

Gallery: Best Buy Express selling iPods at LAX

Tags: airport, best-buy, iphone, iphones, ipod, ipod-touch, lax, pictures, vending-machines

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Apple Financial, Apple, iPhone

NYT on gray market iPhones

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 19th, 2008

The Gray Lady has published a piece examining the so-called "gray market" for iPhones in China -- legitimate products transferred through not-so-legitimate channels. Though we of course have no idea how prevalent this was before the rise of the 'Net, I have to think that the shrinking global neighborhood contributes to this a lot -- it's much easier to ask someone in another country to buy something for you when you talk to them every day on Twitter.

The NYT puts the number of non-AT&T iPhones at a whopping 1.4 million, but of course that includes unlocked phones all over the world, and people who are using iPhones without actually activating them. So we're not exactly sure of the number of iPhones floating around China (where Apple hasn't made a deal to provide official service yet). Analyst Charles Wolf says that Apple definitely enjoys listing the gray market iPhones in their sales numbers, but that the lack of an AT&T agreement with the phone sales undermines their contract plan.

However, he admits also that making the decision to sell the phones unlocked would have earned Apple more demand in the first place, so it's six in one, half-dozen in the other. There's no word on how the impending release of the SDK might affect the sale of phones for unlocking, either. But for now, it's clear that the gray market is a substantial and yet very much unknown quantity of Apple's iPhone business.

Tags: analyst, charles-wolf, china, chinese, gray-lady, gray-market, iphone, iphones, new-york-times, smugglers

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Rumors, Apple

Vancouver Apple Store closer than ever

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Nov 30th, 2007

Ah, the much-rumored Vancouver Apple Store. We've heard many stories of its existence, but so far, we've got nothing but hopeful speculation to back them up. And that hasn't actually changed, but here's some more speculation: reader Seamus sent us this Craigslist posting from Vancouver's page, supposedly looking for Apple Geniuses in Vancouver. Yes, Vancouver, you too are even closer to having a place to hack iPhones of your own.

Sure, it could be a fake (and it doesn't help that the posting links to the US job site-- how does that work?), but the post specifically mentions the Pacific Centre Shopping Mall, which would be a great location for a Mac retail store. If you're in Vancouver and hankerin' to buy some Apple stuff at a store built just for you, your chance could be coming soon.

Tags: apple-store, craiglist, employment, iphones, jobs, pacific-centre, vancouver

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Bad Apple, iPhone

Apple Geniuses are reportedly unbricking iPhones

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Sep 27th, 2007

Apple continues posting warning signs around their stores, cautioning customers that unlocked and modded iPhones fall outside their warranty. And at the same time, Apple Geniuses around the country quietly are reportedly accepting bricked iphones, slipping into the back and returning with functioning units.

We're not sure whether they're doing a low-level reflash or just swapping units out. We have reports of at least four customers who walked in with iBricks and walked out with iPhones. It is unclear at this time whether these customers unlocked their iPhones or not--we're also receiving reports of iBricks from people who never unlocked or modded their units.

Thanks to Ronald Ishak and "Martyn".

Update: Bolding added to existing text for clarity and emphasis.

Tags: apple-stores, bricked, bricks, geniuses, Heroes, iphones

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