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Apple Changes iPhone Policy, Begins Sharing Your Location Information

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iPhone Location Based ServicesLocation based services have taken over the cellular market in the last several years and now Apple has decided that your location information may be worth a bunch of cash. Apple changed their company license today to state that they now store “the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device” and that they have the right to share it with “partners and licensees.”

Apple is working to calm customer fears, claiming that all location based data is “collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you.” It’s a statement that should seem familiar to Facebook users who were told the same thing months ago, only to find out that their profile information and the profile information of their friends were being shared with advertisers.

Unlike Facebook, there is apparently no way to opt-out of the Apple policy. Actually that’s not totally true, you can refuse to ever download another app for the life of your device and then stay away from the iTunes store, at which point you aren’t forced to agree to the companies new terms of service before proceeding with purchases. [Read more…]

Originally posted on June 22, 2010 @ 5:39 pm

Apple Delays International Release of the iPad Until End of May

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Bad news for people who are not in the U.S. who’ve been waiting for Apple to release the iPad internationally. Apple just announced via a very short note that the international release date of the iPad has been moved towards the end of May. Previously, Apple was hoping to release the iPad to selected countries on the last week of April.

And what was Apple’s reason? Apparently, the iPad has been pretty successful in the U.S. that Apple could no longer meet the increasing demand for the iPad resulting to inadequate supply. So to meet the U.S. demand for the iPad, Apple will most likely be using its allotment for the international market.

According to Apple:

Faced with this surprisingly strong US demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May. We will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10. We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason—the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far.

This is only for the current available iPad model which is the Wi-Fi version. Apple is also reported that pre-orders for the iPad 3G version is also increasing. The iPad WiFi + 3G will be deliver by the end of April.

Now here’s the good news, Apple also announced that it will start accepting pre-orders from selected international customers starting May 10.  International pricing is yet to be announced though.

So there you go folks. Sorry to disappoint those who’ve been clinging on Apple’s promised availability date of the iPad in your countries. But if you really want to get the iPad now, I’m pretty sure you’d find some work-around to get the iPad even if it is not released in your country yet.

Originally posted on April 14, 2010 @ 11:54 am

iPad to Hit Apple Stores on April 3, Pre-Order Starts on March 12

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Apple finally dropped the bomb that many of us have been waiting for, the past couple of weeks. The iPad will start hitting Apple Retail Stores on April 3 and you better get yourself ready as early as now because the Apple.com will start accepting pre-orders seven days from now. You read it right folks, you can pre-order your iPad starting March 12. Did that get you excited?

Anyway, whether you’re excited or not, here are some major details that you should know in relation to Apple’s announcement today. First, the start of pre-order will be for all models of the iPad – Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi+3G and each of the various models that these two have that differs in storage capacity – 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.

Now, if you order the Wi-Fi only version, regardless of its storage capacity, you can either pick up your iPad at a designated Apple Store or have it ship directly to your home on April 3 only if you order the Wi-Fi model. If you order the Wi-Fi+3G model, you can only have your iPad later in April.

And those apply only if you are in the U.S. If you’re in any of these countries – Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, all models of the iPad will be available in late April as well.

As for the iPad pricing, here goes - $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB for the Wi-Fi model, and $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB for the Wi-Fi+3G model.

So there you go. Are pre-ordering the iPad on March 12? Which one are you going to get, Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G?

Via Apple Press

Originally posted on March 5, 2010 @ 11:40 am

“Welcome to Mac” Docu Film to be Aired on CNBC

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If you haven’t had the chance to watch the independently produced documentary “Welcome to Macintosh”, mark your calendar on January 4 as CNBC is about to bring this docu film to the American Television.  The airing starts at 9:30PM ET during the show “First in Business Worldwide.”

According to the documentary’s co-director Rob Roca, airing their film on CNBC is like finding a perfect home for them.

We took the people and the passion felt for Apple seriously, and CNBC provides the ideal venue for informative and entertaining content to be presented.

Josh Rizzo, the other co-director said that this is perfect opportunity to share what they have been evangelizing about in the film – explain why so many people love the Macintosh in a way that even those who have never used a computer will understand and appreciate the Mac’s value.

While watching the teaser, I couldn’t help but admire the tenacity by which the film was created.  No wonder, even Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder couldn’t help but admire it and calls it one of the best independent film he has seen by far, when the film was screened during the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

The film has been going around various Macintosh User Groups globally as well as in several film festivals but this is the first time that it will be shown on national television.

Let’s see whether the film will successfully bring more Mac converts into the fold.

Originally posted on December 29, 2009 @ 6:46 pm

Joel Comm Appeals to Steve Jobs for iPhone App Approval

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Love him or hate him, Internet marketer Joel Comm has been bringing us fun stuff decade after decade. In 1996, he founded the company that Yahoo bought and turned into Yahoo Games. At the end of 2008, he released iFart Mobile, which spent three weeks at the top of the iPhone app charts.

That’s why Apple CEO Steve Jobs should listen to Joel when he vents his frustration over the rejection of his latest iPhone app — especially when the app store carries so many other applications with similar functionalities.

Joel’s appeal should help remind Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller that, contrary to his deluded claims, developers are not happy with the arbitrary and opaque iPhone store approval process.

Originally posted on November 27, 2009 @ 7:09 am