Categories: Apple Computer

Snow Leopard: How Serious Are the Compatibility Issues?

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on September 02

It’s impossible to tell from the anecdotal reports showing up here and in other forums just how serious Snow Leopard compatibility problems are. My gut feeling is that they are…

Apple Plunges; Is It Cheap Tech’s Time?

Posted by: Rob Hof on September 29

Apple’s stock plunged a rather stunning 18% today, which is all the more amazing since the Dow fell only—only!—7%. Analysts are worried consumers will cut back, and it’s not a…

3G iPhone Pricing: Winners and Losers

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on June 11

The winners and losers from the new iPhone pricing are not necessarily who you might think. The big winners are both Apple and its greatly enlarged group of carriers. It…

Six Questions (So Far) About the New iPhone

Posted by: Rob Hof on June 09

Now that I’m out of Steve Jobs’ famous reality distortion field, I have a few questions about the iPhone 3G announcement. But please add your own as well, since you…

Liveblogging Steve Jobs’ Keynote: New $199 3G iPhone

Posted by: Rob Hof on June 09

Wireless gods permitting, I’ll be liveblogging Steve Jobs’ keynote at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference from Moscone Center in San Francisco, along with about a gazillion other press. It begins shortly,…

Mobile World Congress—Take That, Apple!

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on February 11

What’s the big message out of the giant Mobile World Congress cellular trade show in Barcelona this week? If press conferences from Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung are any indication,…

Why Did You Purchase an Unlocked iPhone?

Posted by: Olga Kharif on February 01

There are many different reasons for why consumers are snapping up unlocked iPhones. What’s yours?

Further Reflections on the MacBook Air

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on January 31

I often have to review products after using them for a much shorter time than I would like and the was definitely true for my column on the MacBook Air….

iPhone Resellers Battle Fraud

Posted by: Olga Kharif on January 29

A New York-based reseller of unlocked iPhones says lots of buyers are trying to give him stolen credit cards and false information to get the gadget on the cheap — or for free. In fact, he says, fraud rates for iPhone purchases are at least 20 times higher than they are for any other handset he sells.

The MacBook Air: A Bad Wi-Fi Guess?

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on January 27

I don’t usually indulge in pure speculation, but I am going to break my own rule to wonder about what seems to me the strangest decision apple made in designing…

Liveblogging Macworld… and Wanting More

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 15

… no, not me, stuck in my office, but my colleague Cliff Edwards is liveblogging the Steve over at Byte of the Apple. So are a whole bunch of other…

iPhone’s Application Surprises

Posted by: Olga Kharif on December 06

iPhone users seem to like different mobile applications than consumers using regular cell phones or Personal Digital Assistants. Games, e-reader applications top the list of the most popular apps for the iPhone. What this could mean: Proliferation of touch-screen-enabled wireless devices could give a major boost to mobile gaming and mobile e-books/e-magazines industries.

Don’t Hold Your Breath for Macs in Business

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on October 31

With the release of OS X Leopard, the best has gotten even better and you’d think that enterprises that remain distinctly cool to Windows Vista might want to give Mac…

Apples and Orifices

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on September 28

At the D Conference in May, 2006, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, explaining why Apple would not get into the handset business, famously denounced wireless carriers as “orifices” that choked the…

The iPod Touch—Phoneless Phone, PDA, or What?

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on September 11

So exactly what sort of beast is the iPod Touch going to be when it surfaces later this month? When he unveiled it last week, Steve Jobs made it sound…

Will Apple Benefit From The iPhone Price Cut?

Posted by: Olga Kharif on September 07

Consultancy Compete just came out with data indicating that, thanks to Apple’s recent price cut, 18% vs. 8% of consumers would be interested in buying the iPhone now. What will this mean for Apple’s financial performance? Here’s my back-of-the-envelope calculation.

Crazy Like A Fox

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on September 07

So does anyone believe that Steve Jobs’ announcement yesterday of a $100 credit for folks who bought iPhones before the $200 price cut was really a spontaneous response to angry…

Apple’s Puzzling iPhone Moves

Posted by: Olga Kharif on September 05

Apple made several surprising announcements relating to the iPhone today. The company said it will cut the price on the 8 Gigabyte device by $200, to $399. At the same time, it will phase out the 4 Gigabyte model, costing $499. The announcements leave me puzzled.

All the More Reason to Just Buy the Damn Discs

Posted by: Rob Hof on August 31

So everybody’s in a tizzy over NBC Universal’s decision not to renew its contract with Apple to make digital downloads of TV shows available on iTunes. Personally, I couldn’t care…

AT&T vs. iPhone unlockers

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on August 26

It appears that A&T is making threatening noises in direction of folks who have been developing software that will let an iPhone be used without AT&T activation. AT&T ought to…

Who’d Buy an Unlocked iPhone?!

Posted by: Olga Kharif on July 25

Why would someone spend $800 on an unlocked iPhone? It’s a mystery to me.

iPhone: Analysts and Reality

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on July 25

Live by the hype, die by the hype. Apple (AAPL) stock took a beating yesterday when AT&T announced that it had activated “only” 146,000 iPhones during the two days in…

The Price of Power: Hackers Hit the iPhone

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on July 23

I’ve caught a lot of flak over the years from Apple fans for maintaining that the relative freedom of the Mac from hacker attackers was due in part to the…

Coming Soon: iPhone Software Updates

Posted by: Olga Kharif on July 10

Apple may be about to unleash a slew of software upgrades for iPhone users. The upgrades will include iChat, says a person familiar with the matter.

iPhone Europe: Don’t Hold Your Breath

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on July 06

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that despite a flurry of rumors, no announcement of an iPhone deal for Europe is imminent. Fortunately for us, writing…

iPhone Profit Foolishness

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on July 04

People who know anything about business, and the tech business in particular, should understand that there’s a huge difference between the bill of materials of a piece of hardware and…

A Mixed Morning for Apple

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on July 02

There’s good news and bad news in Cupertino this morning. The good, of course, is the iPhone launch, which could hardly have gone better. While it’s hard to figure out…

The iPhone Arrives

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on June 29

At the magic hour of 6 pm, I was at the Bethesda Ave. Apple Store in Bethesda, Md. A line of more than 100 customers stretch for nearly a block,…

6 Reasons Why I Won’t Buy the iPhone

Posted by: Rob Hof on June 26

… yet. I’d really like one, given the fairly glowing reviews. But I can’t get past these obstacles, and I wonder how many other people won’t either: 1) I…

Who’s Afraid of the iPhone Now?

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on June 25

One company that’s not too concerned about Apple’s upcoming iPhone is Motorola. Not that anyone is unassailable (can we all say “the Razr?”), but Motorola has been quietly building up…

Apple TV’s Got YouTube

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on June 21

As promised at the end of May, YouTube is now available on Apple TV. The new feature will eventually be downloaded automatically to all units, but if you want it…

Stop the Madness!

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on June 19

Apple’s iPhone is still 10 days away from its official launch and already my inbox is filling up with commentary, advice, and analysis, just about all of it from people…

Could a Rising iPhone Float All Boats

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on June 08

Sprint/Nextel has been more aggressive than other U.S. carriers in promoting music downloads for phones and in meeting with company representatives today for an advance look at their upcoming handsets,…

100 Million iPods Sold, But How Many Are Still in Use?

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 09

Like everyone else, I’m impressed that Apple has sold 100 million iPods. It’s incredible, really, and a testament to how well Apple has designed and marketed them. I do wonder,…

The Phone That Wasn’t There

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on March 28

With a general dearth of exciting new products to talk about at the CTIA Wireless show, much of the buzz in Orlando concerned the product that isn’t here—Apple’s forthcoming iPhone….

Apple TV and the Law

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on March 22

Many posters commenting on my review of Apple TV have taken me to task for understating the varieties of video content that Apple TV can play. I have two replies,…

Jobs on Dumping DRM: OK, Steve, But Now What?

Posted by: Rob Hof on February 06

So Steve Jobs calls for the end of Digital Rights Management on music. And he makes all the sense in the world. But in all the chatter on TechMeme about…

An iPhone Reality Check

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on January 12

Apple’s announcement of the iPhone on Jan. 9 created a reality distortion field much stronger and longer lasting than normal, even for a Steve Jobs keynote. But now that things…

What’s a Better Name for Apple’s iPhone?

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 12

Some commenters on my previous post on the iPhone took Cisco to task for taking Apple to court on the name Cisco believes it owns. Others thought iPhone sounds kinda…

Apple’s iPhone Is Misnamed

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 10

And no, I don’t mean because Cisco sued Apple over the name. Amid all the potshots at the iPhone for not having this or that feature of this or…

Movie Downloads Coming on iTunes

Posted by: Rob Hof on September 01

… starting in mid-September, says my colleague Ron Grover. It appears that Wal-Mart is not happy about the pricing: $14.99 for new DVDs and $9.99 for older ones, compared with…

Wait, Now It’s Google + Apple. Or Is It?

Posted by: Rob Hof on August 29

Lots of speculation about what it means that Google CEO Eric Schmidt is joining Apple’s board. Marshall at TechCrunch muses that Google’s just-announced online office suite on Apple computers might…

Apple to Debut Movie Rentals?

Posted by: Rob Hof on July 18

ThinkSecret says Apple will introduce a movie rental service in three weeks at its developer conference. I have no inside knowledge to know if this will actually pan out, but…

The New MacBook: Apple Envy Again

Posted by: Rob Hof on May 19

Months after deciding to buy an Apple for the first time, a lot of people keep asking me what I ended up choosing. Uh, well, nothing yet. Lack of time…

One More Reason to Buy a Mac

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 05

Not that I needed another reason, since I’ve been intending to move to a Mac for my personal machine for months now. But I think today’s release of Boot Camp,…

Another Take on Amazon Music: High-Stakes Chess?

Posted by: Rob Hof on February 20

When record labels leaked Amazon’s apparent plans for a digital music store last week, I wondered if the store would be mostly a way for Amazon to get more people…

Amazon Music: Is It Really About the Music?

Posted by: Rob Hof on February 17

Much of the blogosphere is in a dither over why Amazon.com is bothering to join the appallingly unprofitable online music business—late, to boot. I don’t doubt that for the long…

Who Wins the Most as Disney Buys Pixar

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 24

Steve Jobs and Apple, for sure. Doncha think? I have to believe that, contrary to all the stories that wax on about how much Jobs can change Disney culture, the…

Apple at $80.86? I Love It

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 11

Daniel Terdiman at News.com notices that Apple’s stock price today, when it announced its first Intel-based Macs, closed at an interesting price. Can’t make this stuff up! Update: Om Malik…

Glad I Waited to Buy an Apple Notebook…

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 10

… since Steve Jobs did indeed announce two Intel-based notebooks at Macworld today, along with new iMacs. I’m always leery of buying a machine of any kind in its first…

Boning Up for the Jobs Keynote: BW’s Apple Special Report

Posted by: Rob Hof on January 10

If you’re looking to put Steve Jobs’ imminent keynote at Macworld into perspective ahead of time, check out our Apple special report. Clayton Christensen makes some very interesting points about…

Will the Trustbusters Go After Apple?

Posted by: Rob Hof on December 27

In the wake of Eliot Spitzer investigating digital music pricing, David Berlind at Between the Lines wonders if Apple’s an even more obvious target: At what point does Apple’s DRM…

Will Apple Get Real?

Posted by: Rob Hof on December 05

Sure doesn’t sound like it, judging from what Rob Glaser, CEO of Real Networks, said today at the Digital Living Room conference in Silicon Valley. Glaser was asked if he…

Still Planning to Buy an Apple, But …

Posted by: Rob Hof on November 27

After getting loads of terrific advice from Mac enthusiasts in response to my request on what Apple to buy, I think I’ve settled on an iBook. Portable, possibly better Wi-Fi…

Speaking of Apple… Some Advice?

Posted by: Rob Hof on November 02

I’m finally thinking of making the Switch from a home Windows PC to Apple. And if you don’t mind taking a little time, I could use the help of the…

Another Apple blog? Yeah!

Posted by: Rob Hof on November 01

Check out BusinessWeek’s newest blog: Byte of the Apple. It’s written by a team made up of our Mac and ‘pod aces Peter Burrows and Arik Hesseldahl and consumer electronics…

iPod, The Gaming Console

Posted by: Olga Kharif on October 09

Why would Apple want to introduce a video iPod? My theory is, Apple is going after the portable gaming console market.

“I Want My Video iPod”

Posted by: Rob Hof on October 07

Steve Jobs, listen up: A panel of teens at Web 2.0 is asked if they would want a video iPod. “That would be awesome,” says Sean Spediacci. “That would be…

What’s behind the red curtain? I’m looking for Macs

Posted by: Peter Burrows on October 06

A smaller, $200 iPod with a big honking hard drive would be manna from heaven for those mini loyalists.

Quick and Easy Polish for iPod Nano Obsessives

Posted by: Rob Hof on September 28

This won’t fixed cracked screens, but a $4 can of Brasso apparently does wonders on those scratches vexing iPod Nano owners, according to intrepid blogger Todd Dailey. Via tech.memeorandum….

Meet the Lone Bear on Apple’s iPod nano

Posted by: Peter Burrows on September 20

“All I said is that sales of the nano were were ‘good, but not great’,” says Wu. “And I’m getting lynched for it!”

Ruminations on the ROKR

Posted by: Peter Burrows on September 08

Jobs clearly saved his reality-distorting powers to talk up the amazingly small iPod nano, but was less than mesmerizing while unveiling the iTunes-equipped ROKR made with partner Motorola.

Creative vs Apple

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on August 30

Just as Apple is gearing up for the launch of a revamped and reportedly flash-based iPod mini, rival Creative Technology is hoping to steal the spotlight from the digital music…

Apple’s Shining, Counterintuitive Example

Posted by: Rob Hof on July 14

Nick Carr has an interesting take on what Apple’s blowout earnings yesterday mean. As he pointed out years ago, the common wisdom was that Apple couldn’t possibly match the research…

So Much for That iPod Slowdown

Posted by: Rob Hof on July 13

Apparently, people still can’t get enough of Apple’s music players, judging from today’s earnings report. The company shipped a million more iPods than skeptical analysts expected. Maybe they should put…

Apple Wireless? Could Be Fun

Posted by: Olga Kharif on July 12

What if Apple launched its own wireless service? I think this could be fun. In my crystal ball, I see…. A Shuffle phone. It picks phone numbers at random and dials them.

Microsoft vs Apple Redux?

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on July 11

The rumor mill is hot right now that Cingular, Motorola and Apple are soon to announce the long-awaited iTunes phone. The big question isn’t whether the much-delayed phone will come….

Why Wait for an Intel Mac?

Posted by: Rob Hof on June 08

One of my favorite blogs, Make: Blog, points to Inventgeek.com’s step-by-step instructions for creating your own Intel-based Mac (shown above), a year before Apple plans to come out with…

Is Apple Osborning Itself?

Posted by: Rob Hof on June 06

Fed up with some frustrating aspects of Windows, I’ve been eyeing Apple machines, both laptops and the Mac mini. What to do now that Apple’s planning to use use Intel…