Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft All Tumble
MacBytes.com — ... tech stocks also came under pressure. The technology-heavy Nasdaq dropped 199.61 points, or 9%, to 1983.73, the third-largest percentage decline ever. Computer stocks alone lost about $113 billion in market value. The Sept. 29 tech-stock rout was eclipsed only by the Black Monday crash on Oct. 19, 1987, when the Nasdaq plummeted more than 11%, and Apr. 14, 2000, when it tumbled 9.7%. Among tech stocks, the most notable loser was computer and consumer electronics maker Apple ( AAPL ), the subject of at least two analyst downgrades. Apple fell 22.98, or more than 17%, to ...

The iPhone Apps Sweepstakes
MacBytes.com — ... At first, Jon Trainer had visions of retirement. The software developer had created a game that could be played on the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone and iPod Touch devices, and sales were through the roof. Users of the iPhone couldn't get enough of the $7.99 Bullfrog Touch, which pits a ravenous swampland amphibian against a swarm of invading insects. After two weeks, reality set in. "People moved on," Trainer says. The number of nifty new software-based games, tools, and other pastimes came flooding into the online App Store, elbowing aside early entrants. "As more and more ...

Can INQ Cell Phones Whack iPhone in the Knees?
MacBytes.com — ... ), and Apple, among others ( AAPL ). Hutchison wants to slash the price of phones that let people surf the Net and tap social networking sites. The goal is to get more people to use the phones and let companies such as Hutchison profit from selling Net services. "We're tired of paying a fortune for phones that are unusable," says Meehan. The move may help lower the prices of advanced mobile phones for consumers and stiffen competition among phone makers. Phones that can surf the Web such as Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's ( ...

Can INQ Cell Phones Whack iPhone in the Knees?
MacBytes.com — ... ), and Apple, among others ( AAPL ). Hutchison wants to slash the price of phones that let people surf the Net and tap social networking sites. The goal is to get more people to use the phones and let companies such as Hutchison profit from selling Net services. "We're tired of paying a fortune for phones that are unusable," says Meehan. The move may help lower the prices of advanced mobile phones for consumers and stiffen competition among phone makers. Phones that can surf the Web such as Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's ( ...

Sony Chases Apple's Magic
MacBytes.com — ... ) products. "Sony is a very big company," Stringer says by way of explanation. "Our toughest competitors are niche organizations." Stringer is quick to admit, though, that Sony may face a troubled future if it can't rival Apple ( AAPL ) in creating simple software that makes its gadgets fun and in giving consumers easy access to music and videos. Apple's iTunes store has long made filling iPods a cinch, but Sony's consumer electronics and PlayStation divisions have only recently started to integrate their offerings with those of the company's movie studio and music label. ...

Sony Chases Apple's Magic
MacBytes.com — ... ) products. "Sony is a very big company," Stringer says by way of explanation. "Our toughest competitors are niche organizations." Stringer is quick to admit, though, that Sony may face a troubled future if it can't rival Apple ( AAPL ) in creating simple software that makes its gadgets fun and in giving consumers easy access to music and videos. Apple's iTunes store has long made filling iPods a cinch, but Sony's consumer electronics and PlayStation divisions have only recently started to integrate their offerings with those of the company's movie studio and music label. ...

Apple: Soon to Be a Mobile Gaming Force
MacBytes.com — ... . When you consider the ease and reach of Apple's ( AAPL ) online method for distributing games, Apple could do in this category what it did in online music, causing big headaches for the genre's established players, Sony ( ...

Apple Laptops: The Hits Keep Coming
MacBytes.com — ... Apple ( AAPL ) is the only company I know that can tell its customers what they want and make them like it. Nobody else has pulled that off since Henry Ford decreed that consumers could get a Model T in any color they liked as long as it was black. The latest MacBook and MacBook Pro computers suggest that Apple has not lost its touch. The difference between Apple and the rest of the industry is stark. Dell ( ...

What Fadell's Departure Means for Apple
MacBytes.com — ... At a company as tight-lipped about its inner workings as Apple ( AAPL ), changes at the top can be hard to gauge. But the Nov. 4 announcement that Tony Fadell, development chief for the iPod and iPhone, has been replaced by 26-year IBM ( ...

Hewlett-Packard Out-Touches Apple
MacBytes.com — ... ) has beaten Apple ( AAPL ) to the punch, announcing the first multitouch-enabled notebook PC, the tx2. I can't help but wonder whether ...

Hewlett-Packard Out-Touches Apple
MacBytes.com — ... ) has beaten Apple ( AAPL ) to the punch, announcing the first multitouch-enabled notebook PC, the tx2. I can't help but wonder whether ...

Apple's iPod Problem
MacBytes.com — ... Chris Wysopal is the head of a four-iPod family. His wife and two kids all carry the pint-size nano music player from Apple ( AAPL ), while he uses a 2003-vintage device he got as a hand-me-down from his wife. But as much they love their iPods, the Wysopal family has no plans to buy any new ones in the foreseeable future. "They're all working, so there's no need to buy more," says Chris. Strange as it may sound, Apple may have an iPod problem. The iconic music player cemented the company's reputation for innovation and fueled its financial success in recent years. But those ...

Apple's iPod Problem
MacBytes.com — ... Chris Wysopal is the head of a four-iPod family. His wife and two kids all carry the pint-size nano music player from Apple ( AAPL ), while he uses a 2003-vintage device he got as a hand-me-down from his wife. But as much as they love their iPods, the Wysopal family has no plans to buy any new ones in the foreseeable future. "They're all working, so there's no need to buy more," says Chris. Strange as it may sound, Apple may have an iPod problem. The iconic music player cemented the company's reputation for innovation and fueled its financial success in recent years. But ...

More Good News for Apple on the Enterprise Front
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — More Good News for Apple on the Enterprise Front Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on December 10 Remember if you will from our cover story from earlier this year “ The Mac In The Gray Flannel Suit ,” some interesting research from the Yankee Group. At the time the firm found that among a survey group of some 250 businesses large and small some 87% had at least a few Macs in their offices, up from 48% two years prior. Well the analyst who ran that survey was Laura Didio, and she’s now with Information Technology Intelligence Corp. (ITIC) and Boston research and consulting firm. She called last night to give me a heads up on some new data she’s about to release based ...

A Call To Open-Source The iPhone
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — A Call To Open-Source The iPhone Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on December 10 Last year Olga Kharif and I asked if Apple ( AAPL ) should open up the iPhone to software developers. The answer has since proven to be a resounding yes. Now William Hurley, better known as Whurley, an open source software advocate whose day job is at BMC Software ( BMC ) says he wants to take it a step further. The iPhone, he says, should become an open-source platform , and he lists five reasons why. Here’s two of his five. It’s good for developers, and applications: “Open source is becoming the default way to develop software in many industries. Why? Because a ...

The No Stevenote Macworld: What The Analysts Are Saying
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — The No Stevenote Macworld: What The Analysts Are Saying Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on December 17 Here’s a quick roundup of observations from various analysts commenting on Apple’s decision not to have CEO Steve Jobs appear in his customary keynote address at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco on Jan. 6. Gene Munster, PiperJaffray: “Apple could have diffused speculation regarding Steve Jobs’ health by having him keynote this year’s Macworld. While we do not believe that this change provides any indication regarding Steve Jobs’ health, we do believe that it is a sign that we are in the early stages of changing roles in Apple’s management ...

The Consumer Electronics Inventory Glut
MacBytes.com — ... ) may be especially hard-hit. In the December quarter, sales of Apple ( AAPL ) iMac desktops may decline 9% from a year earlier, says ...

The Consumer Electronics Inventory Glut
MacBytes.com — ... ) may be especially hard-hit. In the December quarter, sales of Apple ( AAPL ) iMac desktops may decline 9% from a year earlier, says ...

Apple Without Its Core?
MacBytes.com — ... When Apple ( AAPL ) CEO Steve Jobs went back to work in 2004 after surgery for pancreatic cancer, he was asked in an interview with BusinessWeek about the significance of his role at the company. First he joked about being "head janitor," but then turned serious. "Ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together," he said. "Otherwise, you can get great pieces of technology all floating around the universe, but it doesn't add up to much." The question now is whether Apple is losing its gravitational force. On Jan. 14, the 53-year-old Jobs ...

The Apple App Monster
MacBytes.com — ... ). They may even be conducting serious business, with a mobile version of Salesforce.com's customer-management software. The possibilities grow by the day: Since Apple ( AAPL ) began letting outsiders offer software for the iPhone six months ago, more than 10,000 apps have been created. This is more than just fun and games for Apple. The company has grabbed an early lead in turning the mobile phone into a high-powered computing device capable of running all kinds of applications. The average iPhone owner has downloaded at least 15 applications in the past six months. The ...

The Eye of the (BlackBerry) Storm
MacBytes.com — ... As the battle for the smartphone market heats up, comparisons abound between Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm, released in November, and Apple's iPhone. For starters, both devices boast a touchscreen, forgoing the buttons found on more conventional phones. But the more important comparison, from the bottom-line perspective, lies in which device carries a fatter margin. And on a cost-per-unit basis, the advantage for the moment appears to belong to Apple ( AAPL ). A new analysis of the BlackBerry Storm by market research firm ...

The Eye of the (BlackBerry) Storm
MacBytes.com — ... As the battle for the smartphone market heats up, comparisons abound between Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm, released in November, and Apple's iPhone. For starters, both devices boast a touchscreen, forgoing the buttons found on more conventional phones. But the more important comparison, from the bottom-line perspective, lies in which device carries a fatter margin. And on a cost-per-unit basis, the advantage for the moment appears to belong to Apple ( AAPL ). A new analysis of the BlackBerry Storm by market research firm ...

Can Microsoft Catch Up in Mobile?
MacBytes.com — ... to go with their Windows computers. "We're going to double-down on the Windows brand," says Todd Peters, head of marketing for Microsoft's mobile communications business. He says to expect a major advertising push. "When people go shopping in the future, we want them to ask specifically for a Windows phone." That would certainly be a change. Although it was a pioneer of the so-called "smartphone," Microsoft's Windows Mobile software has little of the brand cachet of the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry or even Palm Inc.'s products. "We haven't done a good job of ...

Can Microsoft Catch Up in Mobile?
MacBytes.com — ... to go with their Windows computers. "We're going to double-down on the Windows brand," says Todd Peters, head of marketing for Microsoft's mobile communications business. He says to expect a major advertising push. "When people go shopping in the future, we want them to ask specifically for a Windows phone." That would certainly be a change. Although it was a pioneer of the so-called "smartphone," Microsoft's Windows Mobile software has little of the brand cachet of the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry or even Palm Inc.'s products. "We haven't done a good job of ...

A Little More On Q2 Sales Projections
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — ... concerning Gene Munster’s analysis of NPD’s January sales report, and what it may indicate for Apple’s second quarter generated a bit of irritable email from readers, for a few reasons. First and foremost, there was the fact, which I teased at, that NPD was off late last year, when it came to iPod sales. You’ll recall in December, when I wrote ...

Charles Wolf: The Market Is Overreacting To The NPD Numbers
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — Charles Wolf: The Market Is Overreacting To The NPD Numbers Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on February 20 Apple stock is trading at about $89 a share this morning, about $10 a share lower than it was a week ago. Now of course the market is down in the dumps at moment as well, the NASDAQ is trading in territory not seen since mid-2002. But a lot of anxiety around Apple seems to be tied to this NPD report issued earlier in the week and the resultant projections from analysts. Charles Wolf of Needham and Co. in New York has a new note out, issued last night, in which he tries to put the whole situation in perspective. Among other things, he says he’s expecting Mac sales to drop 5% ...

The Battle of Mobile Software Apps
MacBytes.com — ... told a small group of reporters at the congress, the wireless industry's largest gathering. "The 'wow' comes from the combination of the device with services." Rival Mobile Operating Systems The problem for people who write mobile software is that different handset brands use different operating systems each with its own requirements. Someone writing a program that, for example, tracks a user's favorite football teams has to do different versions for Apple ( AAPL ) phones, Nokia phones, or Research In Motion ( ...

Mobile Apps for Music: Look Out, iTunes?
MacBytes.com — ... Just what the music industry needs: another way to distribute music at a fraction of the cost of a traditional CD. On Feb. 18, the twice Grammy-nominated Presidents of the United States of America became one of the pioneers of a new method for selling music online when it began bundling songs into software applications downloadable to the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone and iPod touch. The software lets fans stream tracks from four albums onto their wireless handsets. It also contains 10 songs from the band's demo tape and weekly exclusives, like audio from PUSA rehearsals. All that ...

Mobile Apps for Music: Look Out, iTunes?
MacBytes.com — ... Just what the music industry needs: another way to distribute music at a fraction of the cost of a traditional CD. On Feb. 18, the twice Grammy-nominated Presidents of the United States of America became one of the pioneers of a new method for selling music online when it began bundling songs into software applications downloadable to the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone and iPod touch. The software lets fans stream tracks from four albums onto their wireless handsets. It also contains 10 songs from the band's demo tape and weekly exclusives, like audio from PUSA rehearsals. All that ...

Setting the iPhone Free from AT&T;
MacBytes.com — ... As the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone, AT&T has had a lot to celebrate. Rivals hope to crash the party. A growing number of public interest groups want an end to the partnership that forces buyers of Apple's iPhone to buy their mobile-phone service only from AT&T ( ...

The Music Industry's New Internet Problem
MacBytes.com — ... of buying records," says Jay Rosenthal, senior vice-president and general counsel for the National Music Publishers' Assn., a Washington (D.C.)-based trade group that represents publishers of songwriters and composers. Overall music sales have continued their years-long slide. Total industry sales were about $10 billion last year, down from $14 billion in 2000, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Revenues from digital download services like Apple iTunes ( AAPL ) and Amazon MP3 ( ...

The Music Industry's New Internet Problem
MacBytes.com — ... of buying records," says Jay Rosenthal, senior vice-president and general counsel for the National Music Publishers' Assn., a Washington (D.C.)-based trade group that represents publishers of songwriters and composers. Overall music sales have continued their years-long slide. Total industry sales were about $10 billion last year, down from $14 billion in 2000, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Revenues from digital download services like Apple iTunes ( AAPL ) and Amazon MP3 ( ...

Apple Raises Its iPhone Ante
MacBytes.com — ... For the past two years makers of powerful, Internet-connected smartphones have been racing to respond to the innovations unleashed by Apple's iPhone. While they've taken steps to narrow the gap, Apple may have just pulled further ahead. Apple ( AAPL ) is doing that through a series of capabilities unveiled on Mar. 17 that make it easier for software developers to create nifty iPhone applications. In a packed auditorium at Apple's Cupertino (Calif.) campus, the company presented both a major update of its iPhone software and details of a software developer kit. The likely ...

Can Apple Keep a Shine on the iPhone?
MacBytes.com — ... On Mar. 17, Apple ( AAPL ) unveiled upgrades to the software for its best-selling iPhone. But the consumer electronics maker may need more than software to stay ahead of rivals introducing their own feature-rich smartphones. Now, Apple needs to home in on hardware and handset pricing. A new version of the iPhone is due to be released at midyear. While Apple is mum on what the new device will look like before its introduction, analysts, consumers, and iPhone enthusiasts have a long list of features they'd like the next iteration to include. "What they ought to be doing is a ...

Mac vs. PC: What You Don't Get for $699
MacBytes.com — ... ) "Just Do It" and "Air Jordan" campaigns of decades past, I mentally mapped out storyboards of the spots I wanted to produce. Nowadays I laugh at clever beer and soda commercials and get mad or pump my fist in the air along with political ads. I cheered for Apple's ( AAPL ) 1997 "Think Different" spot that featured actor Richard Dreyfuss reading the "Here's to the Crazy Ones" speech. The commercial resonated in a house full of Mac users at a time when Macs were widely considered an endangered species. Apple's more recent "Mac vs. PC" ads lampooning Microsoft ( ...

iPhone Sales Cushion Apple from Recession
MacBytes.com — ... $1.33 a share, on sales of $8.16 billion in the fiscal second quarter. That bested the average forecast of analysts surveyed by FirstCall, who expected Apple to report earnings of $1.09 a share on sales of $7.96 billion. Results for the period that ended on Mar. 28 were bolstered by sales of the iPhone, especially overseas, and a better-than-forecast margin performance. Strength in Apple's handset and music player businesses offset declines in sales of Macintosh computers. Apple ( AAPL ) sold almost 3.8 million iPhones, more than double the number from a year earlier and ...

iPhone Sales Cushion Apple from Recession
MacBytes.com — ... $1.33 a share, on sales of $8.16 billion in the fiscal second quarter. That bested the average forecast of analysts surveyed by FirstCall, who expected Apple to report earnings of $1.09 a share on sales of $7.96 billion. Results for the period that ended on Mar. 28 were bolstered by sales of the iPhone, especially overseas, and a better-than-forecast margin performance. Strength in Apple's handset and music player businesses offset declines in sales of Macintosh computers. Apple ( AAPL ) sold almost 3.8 million iPhones, more than double the number from a year earlier and ...

Has Apple figured out to play with both Verizon and AT&T?
TechBlog — ... , despite AT&T's exclusive iPhone arrangement. The new devices would be somewhat outside the scope of the iPhone, which would let Apple offer them through Verizon. Verizon Wireless is warming to the idea of an Apple ( AAPL ) partnership. ...

AT&T;'s iPhone Dilemma
MacBytes.com — AT&T's iPhone Dilemma If Apple widens the circle of iPhone carriers beyond AT&T, those new partners will grab a highly profitable slice of customers By Peter Burrows To some, AT&T's agreement to sell iPhones seemed ill-advised at first. Apple ( AAPL ) CEO Steve Jobs set some exacting demands in exchange for granting AT&T the sole U.S. rights to the iPhone. U.S. carriers had always maintained nearly complete control over the devices on their networks. But Jobs wouldn't even let Ma Bell affix its logo to the handset. He also insisted AT&T ( T ) surrender ...

Companies Shed Initial Resistance to iPhone
MacBytes.com — ... , Loo was concerned that the phone might not keep corporate data secure. Another beef: the iPhone's lack of a keyboard. For a year, his company declined to provide support for employees who wanted to use the device at work. Loo held out even longer. But Loo and his employer have had a change of heart. In July 2008, when Apple ( AAPL ) officially released a version of iPhone software with beefed-up security and better support for corporate e-mail, Avaya gave employees the green light. Less than a year later, Avaya counts about 998 iPhone users out of about 9,800 who carry ...

Companies Shed Initial Resistance to iPhone
MacBytes.com — ... , Loo was concerned that the phone might not keep corporate data secure. Another beef: the iPhone's lack of a keyboard. For a year, his company declined to provide support for employees who wanted to use the device at work. Loo held out even longer. But Loo and his employer have had a change of heart. In July 2008, when Apple ( AAPL ) officially released a version of iPhone software with beefed-up security and better support for corporate e-mail, Avaya gave employees the green light. Less than a year later, Avaya counts about 998 iPhone users out of about 9,800 who carry ...

Will the iPhone Grab the Lead in Games?
MacBytes.com — ... , showed me a few of the company's titles, including the spy game Agency Wars, a Mafia title, and virtual-pet software called iFluff Friends. Then he showed me an as-yet-untitled game in development. This one puts the iPhone user in the cockpit of a fighter jet. You control the plane and shoot down bad guys by tilting your phone, using the accelerometers inside Apple's ( AAPL ) handset. Here's the kicker: The enemy planes might be piloted by another iPhone gamer. The bad-guy planes could be controlled by other users somewhere else in the world playing against you from their ...

Will the iPhone Grab the Lead in Games?
MacBytes.com — ... , showed me a few of the company's titles, including the spy game Agency Wars, a Mafia title, and virtual-pet software called iFluff Friends. Then he showed me an as-yet-untitled game in development. This one puts the iPhone user in the cockpit of a fighter jet. You control the plane and shoot down bad guys by tilting your phone, using the accelerometers inside Apple's ( AAPL ) handset. Here's the kicker: The enemy planes might be piloted by another iPhone gamer. The bad-guy planes could be controlled by other users somewhere else in the world playing against you from their ...

Smartphone Word Processing Has Arrived
MacBytes.com — ... smaller display. Turn the screen horizontally and a larger keyboard appears, allowing relatively easy typing. In both Word and Excel you can cut and paste something that wasn't possible before. Strangely, however, you can't do any of this easily with documents that arrive as e-mail messages. The problem is on Apple's side. The iPhone's operating system doesn't allow files used by one program in this case, the e-mail application to be used by any other program, such as Word. Apple ( AAPL ) says solving this would require having multiple software processes running constantly in ...

Smartphone Word Processing Has Arrived
MacBytes.com — ... smaller display. Turn the screen horizontally and a larger keyboard appears, allowing relatively easy typing. In both Word and Excel you can cut and paste something that wasn't possible before. Strangely, however, you can't do any of this easily with documents that arrive as e-mail messages. The problem is on Apple's side. The iPhone's operating system doesn't allow files used by one program in this case, the e-mail application to be used by any other program, such as Word. Apple ( AAPL ) says solving this would require having multiple software processes running constantly in ...

Rumor: Apple To Implement App Sharing Program In iPhone OS 3.0
iSmashPhone - Turn your Phone into your MyPhone — ... "A handful of upgrades from some of the biggest names in mobile software is set to upend the way smartphone users get and share apps. Apple's (AAPL) new iPhone 3.0 software includes features that, if activated by Apple, may let users share software with one another, according to a person familiar with the technology. Eventually, iPhone users may even get a commission when they've induced someone else to make a purchase, says Richard Doherty, director at consultant Envisioneering Group. Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock wouldn't discuss ...

Mobile Apps' Brush with Greatness
MacBytes.com — ... Users select from a set of brushes and paint colors using their fingers directly on the screen. It is an application that he wanted to use himself: "I like computer graphics and I like creative tools, so Brushes was definitely an app that I wanted to use myself," Sprang wrote in an e-mail. "I expected it to appeal to others as well. I think a painting app is a natural fit for the iPhone." He was right about that. More than 50,000 iPhone owners have downloaded it from Apple's ( AAPL ) iTunes Store since Sprang released it in August 2008, and the pace quickened with publicity ...

Apple's CEO Conundrum
MacBytes.com — Apple's CEO Conundrum Tim Cook has run Apple well in Steve Jobs' absence, keeping alive the question of whether and how soon he might be named CEO By Arik Hesseldahl Apple ( AAPL ) appears poised to make good on repeated assurances that CEO Steve Jobs would be back at the helm by the end of June. As the date approaches and Apple begins its World Wide Developers Conference on June 8, attention is focused intently on Jobs and what his return means for Apple's investors, customers, and employees. One of the executives most affected by Jobs' return is Chief ...

Apple Cuts Prices Strategically
MacBytes.com — ... Throughout the recession, Apple ( AAPL ) watchers have wondered whether the consumer electronics giant would release cheaper products to appeal to today's thrifty consumers. With sales of many products from other companies in the doldrums, the conventional wisdom goes, Apple could walk off with huge slices of market share for everything from Macs to iPods to iPhones if it would just lower their prices. Apple ended the suspense at a company event for software developers on June 8, cutting the price on the most recent version of its iPhone and some versions of its MacBook ...

Smartphone Roulette for App Makers
MacBytes.com — ... ) Windows Mobile software. Today the market for sophisticated smartphones that can run advanced software is exploding. Besides RIM and Microsoft, the choices include Apple's ( AAPL ) iPhone, Nokia ( ...

Apple-AT&T;: Hints of Strain
MacBytes.com — ... I would not want to have been an AT&T employee at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. There were at least three moments when comments by Apple ( AAPL ) executives betrayed thinly veiled criticism of the phone company, leaving me to wonder about the state of the relationship between Apple and the exclusive U.S. iPhone provider. Both companies say they're plenty happy with the alliance, and people at Apple familiar with the matter say the speakers didn't intend to poke fun at AT&T ( ...

The iPhone's Wary New Rivals
MacBytes.com — ... New iPhone products and price changes are never cause for celebration among Apple's rivals in the wireless industry. The latest additions to the iPhone family are no exception. This time around, Apple ( AAPL ) has lowered the handset's price, moving the iPhone onto turf now occupied by low-end smartphones and full-featured cell phones. On June 8, AT&T ( ...

The 3G S iPhone: Apple's Force to Be Reckoned With
MacBytes.com — ... it launched two years ago, Apple's iPhone has been a tornado of disruption ripping through the wireless phone market. With the release of the iPhone 3G S and, at least as important, a new version of the basic software for all iPhones, the upheaval will intensify and spread to new markets. The latest moves seem designed to wreak havoc on the competition. The iPhone 3G S hardware is a relatively modest update of the current phone, but the changes address the few areas where Apple ( AAPL ) lagged rivals. For example, the mediocre camera has been replaced with a 3-megapixel ...

Apple iPhone Software: Developers See Green
MacBytes.com — ... Apple ( AAPL ) wants to give software developers one more reason to love the new version of its mobile operating system. Released June 17, iPhone 3.0 includes a feature that makes it easier for users to make purchases using iPhone applications and, as a result, for developers to make money from the software they create. Electronic Arts ( ...

Apple: Augur of Recovery?
MacBytes.com — ... Apple could join the ranks of companies whose results portend a comeback in technology buying. Apple's ( AAPL ) fiscal third-quarter earnings report, due after markets close on July 22, will likely surpass Wall Street analysts' expectations, advancing the argument made by chipmaker Intel ( ...

Google, Apple: Two Mobile Software Visions
MacBytes.com — ... , a maker of software for corporate information technology departments, created a smartphone version of its product last year, it bucked a major trend. Instead of creating an application that customers could download through an outlet like Apple's ( AAPL ) iPhone App Store or Google's ( ...

An Apple Board of Directors for the 2010s
MacBytes.com — ... ) CEO Eric Schmidt has left Apple's board, the path is clear for the company's next likely director, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, to join. Apple ( AAPL ) is firing on all cylinders now. But the challenges that will face the company in the next decade which include managing its larger size, reckoning with Internet-based computing, and growing overseas will require more fresh blood on the board. ...

Why Apple Is More Valuable Than Google
MacBytes.com — Why Apple Is More Valuable Than Google A look at what's behind the Mac and iPhone maker's now firm market-cap edge on the Web-search leader, and how it could one day challenge Microsoft By Peter Burrows Now that Apple ( AAPL ) has once again passed Google ( GOOG ) in market value, can the consumer-electronics maker maintain its lead? While Apple's capitalization has risen above that of Google for short bursts in the past, it has remained higher since July 22. As of Aug. 11, Apple was worth $145.87 billion, compared with Google's $143.40 billion. This could be ...

Why AT&T can't keep up with iPhone data demand
TechBlog — ... that attempts to explain why, after more than two years, AT&T has been seemingly unable to keep up with the demand for bandwidth generated by the phone. As writer Peter Burrows points out, the stakes are high: The shortcomings leave AT&T under pressure to make its network iPhone-ready or risk losing its edge in smartphones. The company is almost sure to lose the exclusive partnership with Apple ( AAPL ), possibly as early as next year. That would open the door to AT&T losing millions of customers as iPhone owners depart to rivals such as Verizon Wireless. More important, AT&T ...

Can AT&T; Meet iPhone Network Demands?
MacBytes.com — ... AT&T now handles more than twice as much smartphone traffic as any other U.S. carrier. Or mishandles, as the case may be. In areas where the devices are most common, such as San Francisco and New York, the iPhone often drops calls or fails to deliver Web access at speeds implied in Apple ads. The shortcomings leave AT&T under pressure to make its network iPhone-ready or risk losing its edge in smartphones. The company is almost sure to lose the exclusive partnership with Apple ( AAPL ), possibly as early as next year. That would open the door to AT&T losing millions of ...

Why AT&T Can’t Keep Up With iPhone Data Demand
Touch Podium — ... The shortcomings leave AT&T under pressure to make its network iPhone-ready or risk losing its edge in smartphones. The company is almost sure to lose the exclusive partnership with Apple (AAPL), possibly as early as next year. That would open the door to AT&T losing millions of customers as iPhone owners depart to rivals such as Verizon Wireless. More important, AT&T would have wasted a golden opportunity to become the clear leader in the multibillion dollar market for wireless Web access. “Nobody is in the ...

Going to Extremes to Build App Store Buzz
MacBytes.com — ... Software developers are going to great lengths to get their wares noticed at the Apple ( AAPL ) App Store. Brian Greenstone, CEO of Pangea Software, wanted some publicity for the games his company designs for use on the iPhone. So he hired ...

Levinson Leaves Google's Board, Reducing Apple-Google Ties
Byte of the Apple - BusinessWeek — Arthur Levinson, the former CEO and chairman of Genentech, now a unit of Roche has announced his resignation from the board of directors of Google (GOOG). His departure comes exactly 10 weeks after the announcement that Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave up his position as a director at Apple (AAPL), where Levinson is also a director. The precise reason for the resignation hasn't been given, but it's not hard to guess that the the growing competitive stance between the two companies, especially on the wireless hardware and software ...

Office IT, from Mad Men to Now and Beyond
MacBytes.com — ... of the technology that he used every day in 1963 is long gone. Would the same be true of a business owner from today hypothetically transported ahead 50 years? Try five years. Because in just that short amount of time, a lot of the technology we use now won't be around, at least not as much. So if you're thinking of investing in something new, you may want to consider a few technologies that are changing right before our eyes. Macs Invade the Office Let's start with Macs. Apple ( AAPL ) technology is gaining traction in the workplace. There's a whole new generation of ...

Apple: Finding Even More Uses for iTunes
MacBytes.com — ... books, and downloadable applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. We don't know the tablet's precise features or release date, but it's reasonable to assume the machine will play music and video and run a range of software applications. It may also be positioned as a Kindle-killing digital reader, and thus display digital books, magazines, and newspapers, presumably sold on iTunes. Which brings me to other ways Apple may harness iTunes in conjunction with the new device. Apple ( AAPL ) is already the biggest retailer of music in the world, and a key player in downloadable ...

Inside the App Economy
MacBytes.com — ... kooky world of apps. The bite-size software programs people load onto their mobile phones or tap into on the Web seem mostly to be silly games and pointless novelties. But look past the beer-drinking apps and flatulence programs and you'll see something significant taking shape: a bustling app economy that's creating new fortunes for entrepreneurs and changing the way business gets done. It's happening with dizzying speed. Just two years ago, almost none of this existed. Apple's ( AAPL ) App Store, the most popular destination for mobile-phone programs, was launched last ...

Apple: How Long a Rally?
MacBytes.com — ... The rally that propelled Apple's shares to a record has sparked debate over how much further the stock could rise, with most analysts expecting the gains to continue. Apple's shares have come a long way in a short time. On Oct. 21, Apple ( AAPL ) stock closed at 204.92, besting the previous peak, set in December 2007. The next day it closed even higher, at 205.20. Almost exactly a year earlier, against the backdrop of a financial meltdown that torpedoed the wider market, Apple stock was trading at 91.49. An investor who purchased Apple then would have more than doubled his ...

Do-It-Yourself iPhone Apps
MacBytes.com — ... Tom Johnson is no engineer. But that didn't stop him from creating software that helps him market his wedding-video business. Johnson crafted an application, downloadable to the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone, that plays a sample video, connects users to a blog, and lets would-be clients call his company, Alliance Video Products, by pushing a single button. Best of all for a non-techie like Johnson, he did it in a single day, without writing a single line of code. To create the app, Johnson relied on a company called Swebapps.com, one of a new crop of services that help clients order ...

What EA Sees in Social Gamer Playfish
MacBytes.com — ... such as the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone, which has allowed for explosive growth in its user community. Playfish already sells one iPhone game and has two more on the way. The company doesn't release detailed financial information, but "it went from a standstill to being profitable very quickly," says Kevin Comolli, a partner at venture capital firm ...

Game Console Makers at a Crossroads
MacBytes.com — ... many of them first-time gamers. As console sales seesawed with no clear winner in sight, independent publishers were careful to develop titles for multiple platforms, lest they make the costly mistake of betting on the wrong horse. Yet many game titles suffer in quality because publishers are forced to develop for so many platforms. Competing with Smartphones There are other reasons console makers are under pressure. Consoles are competing with new gaming platforms such as Apple's ( AAPL ) iPod Touch and a growing number of smartphones. "The ultimate competition is for ...