Apple

Apple scores $30 million to sell iPads to LA schools

Apple will add $30 million to its coffers in a deal to outfit students in the LA school district with an iPad.

On Tuesday, following a collective thumbs-up for Apple from both students and senior staff, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted 6-0 to approve the contract, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Among the devices considered, the iPad came out on top in both quality and price, at least according to the school district's requirements. The vote means that an iPad will be doled out to every student across 47 campuses of the LA district, one of the … Read more

iPhone 6: Most-wanted features

The next iPhone -- or iPhones -- will most likely be released this fall, around a year after the iPhone 5 made its debut.

Will it be called the iPhone 6? Probably not. Rumor has it that Apple most likely will trot out the iPhone 5S, which will look cosmetically the same as the iPhone 5 but have some upgrades on the inside (see our regularly updated iPhone 5S rumor roundup page to get the latest rumors).

But whatever it is called I do have a wish list for what I'd like it to have.

Click on any image … Read more

Super-sharp displays on Android phones take on Apple

HTC, Sony, and Huawei are leading the charge into large, full high-definition phone displays, said DisplayMate Technologies. It's a market Apple has yet to enter.

"With the iPhone 4 Retina display, Apple pioneered the previous generation of smartphone displays in 2010," wrote Raymond Soneira in DisplayMate Technologies' Full HD Flagship Smartphone Display Technology Shoot-Out released on Tuesday.

"This time the pioneers are all Android devices, with the iPhone still not even at the basic HD resolution of 1,280x720," he said.

Apple has some catching up to do to achieve "true Retina," as … Read more

Five setup tips for Apple's new MacBook Air

For the past couple of months, prospective MacBook buyers, especially those looking for a slim MacBook Air, have been holding off on purchases, waiting to see what Apple had in store for its annual WWDC keynote.

While the new 11-inch and 13-inch Airs look and feel a lot like the previous couple of generations, the internal components have been upgraded with new, and incredibly energy efficient, CPUs, leading to battery life scores in excess of Apple's estimated 12 hours for the 13-inch version.

Because of that great battery life, you can bet that plenty of new MacBooks were ordered … Read more

Apple's Eddy Cue: Steve Jobs was confused in his e-mails

NEW YORK -- An e-mail from late Apple CEO Steve Jobs about e-book deal terms is no smoking gun, just a confused draft of a message, said a high-level Apple executive Monday during the e-books antitrust trial.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of software and services, testified that he never received an email from Jobs that said publishers would have to change their e-book sales terms with Amazon in order to reach an agreement with Apple. Cue said he didn't receive any of the four other drafts of the message, either.

Furthermore, Cue said there's no … Read more

Apple holds a quarter of e-book market, Eddy Cue says

NEW YORK -- Apple sells about a quarter of all e-books in the market, a high-level executive at the electronics giant said Monday.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of software and services, estimated that Apple holds a 25 percent share of the market, about on par with Barnes & Noble. He noted the two companies often flip the ranking, with Barnes & Noble sometimes having a higher share than Apple.

"I believe it's close," Cue said in his testimony Monday during Apple's e-book pricing trial. "At different times, we go back and forth.&… Read more

AT&T adds wireless emergency alerts update to iPhones

AT&T announced that it is rolling out wireless emergency alerts to all of its U.S. customers that have an iPhone 5 or 4S.

This means that anytime there is a government-issued safety announcement, like when there's natural or man-made disaster, a presidential alert, or an Amber alert for a missing child, a message will pop up on users iPhones explaining what's happening.

Such alerts are critical for getting information out to people who aren't immediately tuned into a television or radio, and would have been helpful during disasters such as the floods from Hurricane … Read more

Apple e-book trial: How the case has unfolded so far

Apple's e-book pricing trial has brought its fair share of funny moments and tense exchanges.

The Justice Department, which initially sued Apple and a handful of the nation's largest publishers slightly more than a year ago, contends Apple forced publishers to move to a model that artificially inflated the prices of digital books and hurt consumers. Apple has argued that it wasn't trying to change in the industry and that it was only trying to secure the best deal for itself.

With two weeks down and one week to go, most of the key witnesses have testified. … Read more

Steve Jobs initially didn't want an iBookstore, Eddy Cue says

NEW YORK -- Apple is in hot water over its digital bookstore, but late-CEO Steve Jobs initially didn't even want to enter that market, a high-level Apple executive said Thursday.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, on Thursday testified in district court in lower Manhattan that he had to convince Jobs to let him pursue an e-bookstore. Even before the iPad launched, Cue was certain Apple should have a bookstore for its iPhone and Macs, but Jobs believed those products weren't ideal for reading.

"What happened was when I got my … Read more

Apple suppliers ship parts for low-cost iPhone -- report

Apple is one step closer to launching a low-cost iPhone, according to a recent report.

Earlier this week, the China Times reported (translate) that several suppliers working on Apple's behalf have shipped out parts for an upcoming low-cost iPhone.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has shipped 28-nanometer processors for the device, according to the report, while Largan Precision has delivered its 8-megapixel camera. Several other companies, including Texas Instruments and Chipbond, are also reportedly providing parts for the handset.

AppleInsider earlier reported on the rumor.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple is planning to launch a cheaper iPhone … Read more