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iPod Minis: Google & DOJ Edition

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:08:28 +0000

At Google's I/O conference this week, the search (and everything else, really) giant announced a few important things of relevance to iOS users:
- A new and improved version of the Google Maps app is coming to the iOS, now with support for iPad.
- A new streaming music service to compete with Spotify, Rdio, MOG, and other companies. Called Google Play Music All Access (catchy name), the service will cost $9.99/month.
One thing Google didn't announce--and why would they?--was that a new study shows that over 90% of all malware (viruses, etc.) on mobile devices infect Android. The percentage for iOS? Zero.
The U.S. Department of Justice's price-fixing suit against Apple for its eBook pricing practices popped up a few notable items this week:
- The DOJ produced an email from Steve Jobs that it says implies that Apple wanted to drive the price of eBooks up.
- Apple responded by saying that publishers had already agreed to fix prices at higher levels before it got involved.

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Free at iTunes Store - May 13, 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:12 +0000

Music

Single of the Week
All You're Waiting For, by Classixx
- Download at iTunes

Episode 1 (Original UK Version), from Downton Abbey, Season 1
- Download at iTunes

The Cast Look Back, from The Office, Season 9
- Download at iTunes

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iPod Minis: New iPhones, Carrier News

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:18:28 +0000

Not a lot of news while we await the fall's new products, but a few notes of interest:

iOS 7 is coming soon and it's showing up in web server logs
The new OS will be running on new iPhones, of course. One report has the screens for those phones going into production in June, with another saying the entire phones will start manufacturing in June/July. Sounds like a late summer/early fall launch timeframe for these models.
On the iPhone carrier front, T-Mobile (whose entry into the iPhone game I detailed a few weeks ago) has already sold over half a million iPhones and saw its first subscriber growth since 2009 as a result of the iPhone. Also, U.S. Cellular, the 6th largest wireless phone company in the U.S., will be offering the iPhone later this year.

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Free at iTunes Store - May 6, 2013

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:02:10 +0000

Music

Single of the Week
High Heel Leather Boots, by Baby Bee
- Download at iTunes

Pilot, from The New Normal, Season 1
- Download at iTunes

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iPod Minis: New Discount Carriers, iOS 7, iOS 6.1.4 Released

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:43:28 +0000

There's been a lot of action recently at the low-price end of the cell phone market when it comes to the iPhone. For one, T-Mobile (a very recent iPhone addition) and MetroPCS have merged. No word yet on when a MetroPCS-compatible iPhone will debut, if at all. For another, there are rumors that the iPhone may be coming to Boost Mobile this year.
When iOS 7 debuts later this year (which should still happen on schedule, despite reports to the contrary), expect to see major changes to the look and feel of the OS. Since the firing of Scott Forstall, rumor has it that the Jony Ive-led design team is undoing all of those interfaces designed to look like real-life objects (the gaming table in GameCenter, the leather in Address Book, etc.) and replacing them with more modern, forward-looking alternatives. If so, I can't wait.
Apple today release iOS 6.1.4 for the iPhone 5. It's free and available through iTunes or your iPhone. The update reportedly just adds a tweak to the speakerphone (though weird to issue an update just for that, no?).
Path, the app maker who has been slapped down for grabbing users' data and taking it for themselves without permission, seems to be at it again.

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Free at iTunes Store - April 29, 2013

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:11:32 +0000

Music

Single of the Week
Monedita, by La Santa Cecilia
- Download at iTunes

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iPod Minis: 37M iPhones, 19M iPads Sold, but Profits Drop

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:59:55 +0000

Apple announced its financial results for its second fiscal quarter this week. The highlights of the announcement:
- 37.4 million iPhones, 19.5 million iPads, 5.6 million iPods were sold in the quarter. The first two numbers were up over the second quarter of 2012, though the iPod number was down. The sales graph on the iPod has been pointing steadily downward for quite a while. That product line is drying up.
- Revenue for the quarter was US$43.6 billion, with $9.5 billion in profit.
- The iTunes Store generated $4.1 billion in revenue in the quarter. This is also the 10th anniversary of iTunes, and Apple has posted a neat history of iTunes here.

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Free at iTunes Store - April 22, 2013

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:59:06 +0000

Music

Single of the Week
Recovery, by Frank Turner
- Download at iTunes

Episode 1 (Original UK Version), from Downton Abbey, Season 1
- Download at iTunes

Chapter 1: The Boy in the Iceberg, from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Season 1
- Download at iTunes

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iPod Minis: Apple by the Numbers

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:05:55 +0000

The most interesting news items of the week (and news is slow right now. This is a dead period before the next generation of Apple products, it seems) came in the form of numbers:

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About.com

iPod Minis: Google & DOJ Edition

Free at iTunes Store - May 13, 2013

Recent New Content - May 10, 2013

iPod Minis: New iPhones, Carrier News

Free at iTunes Store - May 6, 2013

iPod Minis: New Discount Carriers, iOS 7, iOS 6.1.4 Released

Free at iTunes Store - April 29, 2013

iPod Minis: 37M iPhones, 19M iPads Sold, but Profits Drop

Free at iTunes Store - April 22, 2013

iPod Minis: Apple by the Numbers