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No screen protector for you!

According to the website iLounge, Apple is planning to ban the sale of all protective screen film products in both its online and retail stores starting in May. Screen protectors are some of the most popular third-party products that Apple sells. The ban will affect both screen protectors sold alone and products that include screen protectors and applies to all Apple product lines.

The most popular iPhone and iPod cases contain anti-glare film, so this is certainly not due to lack of popularity. Analysts have speculated that Apple is banning screen protectors to promote the durability of their screens.

Screen protectors will still be available elsewhere, so Apple’s move remains puzzling. My guess is that iPhone and iPod Touch users will continue to use screen protectors (though they really are not needed) and buy them elsewhere. Apple is only hurting itself with this move because it will be losing sales.

Via CNET, image via Apple.

Even before the iPad has been released, Apple has detailed a replacement policy if the battery goes bad. It seems rather simple and straightforward: for $99 plus shipping, users can send their device to Apple to get not just a new battery, but a brand-new iPad.

Though it seems like a great policy, some analysts are speculating that this policy could be a foreshadowing of potential iPad problems. Previous products from Apple, like the iPhone and iPod Touch, have reportedly overheated, caught fire, or even exploded due to battery problems. In an attempt (arguably a very successful one) to preserve its public image, Apple has covered up such incidents by requiring customers to sign non-disclosure agreements if they received replacement products.

Apple may be anticipating problems with the iPad. Unfortunately, customers have little choice in the matter (other than not buying an iPad). Apple is the one who really benefits in this situation: it will earn money on defective products when they go bad.

Via Top Tech Reviews, image via Apple.

Microsoft's entertaining CEO Steve Ballmer

Leave it to Microsoft: their products are so bad that many of their employees use the iPhone, which is of course made by Apple, Microsoft’s mortal enemy. There are more than ten thousand iPhone users at Microsoft, judging by statistics of those who accessed the Microsoft employee email system, which is ten percent of the global Microsoft workforce. And apparently if you visit Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle, you can see tons of Microsoft employees happily using their iPhones.

iPhone use may be a sort of open secret at Microsoft, but employees usually know better than to let Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, know. An employee said in an interview, “Maybe once a year I’m in a meeting with Steve Ballmer. It doesn’t matter who’s calling — I’m not answering my phone.”

Those foolish enough to be seen with a phone in Ballmer’s presence encounter a dramatic but not unsurprising reaction, considering what Steve Ballmer has done in the past. At a recent company meeting, Ballmer grabbed an iPhone from an employee, put it on the ground, and pretended to stomp on it. A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment on the story.

Via NYDailyNews, image via NYDailyNews.

Barnes & Noble is planning to offer an iPad app, which will give customers the option of buying online books from a source other than Apple’s iBook store. Barnes & Noble already makes eReader software for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Blackberry. The app will provide access to more than one million e-books and periodicals from the eBookstore. Books purchased for the Nook, Barnes & Noble’s answer to Amazon’s Kindle, will be accessible through the iPad app.

Since Barnes & Noble plans to target the iPad, Amazon will probably do the same, though it also offers an e-reader. The strategy is sound: even if the iPad becomes the demise of e-readers, the companies will still make money through e-book sales.

Planned iPad competitors abound, as well as planned e-readers. Samsung and Dell have both said that they are planning to release e-readers, though the Samsung e-reader could potentially help Barnes & Noble because the two companies have agreed to partner with each other, with Barnes & Noble agreeing to offer its online store to users of Samsung’s e-reader.

Via InformationWeek, image via Barnes & Noble.

In the latest move in the escalating war between Apple and Google, Google’s latest hire has said that he hates Apple’s iPhone.

Tim Bray, a developer advocate for Android who has been recently hired at Google, said, “The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what.” This harsh characterization of Apple and its iPhone was expressed in a blog post.

Bray’s comment is the latest move in an escalating competition between Apple and Google—a competition so intense that it may be driving Apple and Microsoft to possibly collaborate against Google in the future.

To be fair, Bray does reserve some criticism for Google as well, saying that Google is “now too big to be purely good or in fact purely anything.” He also mentioned the fact that iPhones are selling at a rate of 90,000 units per day and Android devices are selling at a rate of 60,000 units per day, supporting the fact that the competition between the two companies is getting intense.

Via InformationWeek, image via Apple.

Apple’s iPad looks set to be a huge success, and this has competing companies worried. If competing companies do not improve their products that are meant to compete with the iPad, these products simply won’t sell and will be overshadowed by the iPad. Obviously they do not want this to happen, so companies such as Amazon, HP, and Microsoft are hard at work creating products that will be able to compete with the iPad.

Amazon wants to hire a software developer to improve its Kindle by adding web browsing capabilities to it. HP has been heavily promoting its Slate tablet, especially the fact that it will support Adobe Flash (Apple’s mobile devices famously do not support Flash). Even Microsoft has said it intends to make a tablet called the Courier.

This has all happened before the iPad has even been released. After April 3, once we know definitely what the iPad is really like, more companies will offer iPad competitors.

Via ZDNet, image via Apple.

Apple began taking orders for the iPad, which is to be released on April 3, this past Friday. By all accounts, the device now looks set to become a huge success. Estimates say that Apple received 120,000 pre-orders for the iPad on Friday alone.

Apple has not released any actual statistics yet, but analysts estimated the number of iPads sold by subtracting Apple’s typical online daily sales from Friday’s online sales. Of course there has been no official confirmation from Apple, but the estimate is probably reliable.

The purchasing appears to be evenly split between the 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB models. Seventy percent of the orders were for the WiFi only model, which is the model being due to be released on April 3 (the 3G model comes out later in April).

Via Examiner.com, image via Apple.

Apple COO Tim Cook

Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, who temporarily led Apple last year when Steve Jobs had to go on medical leave, has earned a bonus of $5 million cash, plus stock that is worth nearly $17 million. Jobs recommended the bonus and Apple’s compensation committee unanimously approved it.

Jobs recommended that Cook be given the bonus based on his “outstanding performance” while Jobs was on medical leave. Jobs received a liver transplant when he was on medical leave. Apple was rather secretive of the whole affair, which lead some observers to criticize Apple for not being more upfront about Jobs’ condition.

Under Cook’s leadership, Apple stock rose from around $80 to around $140 per share. Cook has spent a lot of his career in the technology industry. Before working for Apple, he was vice president of Corporate Materials for Compaq and has also worked for IBM. He has an MBA from Duke University.

Via BusinessWeek, image via Apple.

Steve Jobs with an iPad

Batteries are always an issue when you begin to talk about portable devices. They go bad so easily that users always want to know (and rightfully so) how to get their batteries replaced. Though Apple has not yet shipped its newest product, the iPad, it has released the details of how an iPad user would go about getting a battery replaced.

The process is apparently similar to what happens with an iPhone that needs a new battery. iPad users will have to pay $99, plus $6.95 for shipping, plus whatever local tax is, to get a new device. And apparently when you send your iPad to Apple for a new battery, you do not get the same exact one back. Instead, you receive a refurbished one, so it goes without saying to make sure to back up all data on the iPad.

This is the same process that iPhone users go through to get new batteries (luckily for me, I wouldn’t know because so far, my iPhone’s battery has behaved itself).

Via PC Magazine, image via Apple.

On Friday, Nokia asked for dismissal of a lawsuit Apple filed against it, alleging anti-trust claims. Nokia claims that Apple is trying to deflect attention from the fact that it has stolen Nokia’s intellectual property.

The whole business was started back in October 2009 by Nokia when it filed a patent violation suit against Apple. Apple then countered with a lawsuit of its own, alleging withholding of patent information and demanding unreasonable royalties. Both companies have asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban imports of the other company’s phones.

The ITC plans to hear Apple’s case against Nokia in October of this year and plans a final decision by June 2011. It has not yet set a date for hearing Nokia’s case against Apple.

Via Mac Observer, image via Nokia.

The day that so many Apple fans have been waiting for has finally arrived. This morning, Apple started taking orders for the iPad, which is due to be released on April 3. The device, which has been extremely anticipated, was introduced on January 27 and is described by Apple as being between the iPhone and MacBook. The device itself is still a bit of a mystery since Apple hasn’t really made it available for review or testing.

Nevertheless, many people have taken the plunge and ordered an iPad in hopes that it will provide a very new and different type of computing experience. Apple has a history of releasing innovative products and many future iPad owners have said they think the new device will be no exception.

Though analysts have predicted that iPads will not be widely used at corporations, some employees at companies have ordered them. Developers who hope to create applications for the iPad have also ordered the device.

Apple has not responded to requests for comment about the pre-orders, but according to some Apple watchers, the pre-orders were coming in at an impressive rate of 20,000 per hour.

Via PC World, image via Apple.

The iPhone is a wonderful little ditty that is a pillar in Apple products. The device is unbelievably useful, and part of that can be attributed to the almost limitless capabilities of applications one can find through the App store. In fact, what apps can achieve is only limited by the imagination of the third party developer.

Apps themselves have created a new market which Google is now taking charge in. Businesses from every corner have began to use Google apps, which leads to the use of more Google services. Many of the apps created by third party developers already exist in one form or another, but by selling them through Google, they can easily be synced to other Google tools like Gmail and Google Calendar. For those who run and manage their life with Google (read: netbook users) it’s only going to get easier.

The fact that all of these different services can now work together under the Google umbrella is fantastic, but what does that say about the market? It’s as clear now as it ever was that as new niches (such as apps) enter the market, giants like Google will immediately try to soak them up, Microsoft-style. It’s hard to say if that’s a good thing or not.

Via PCWorld, image via ThePilver.

Twitter just got a bit too personal by introducing a new feature today that allows users to automatically share their location with their tweets. Make no mistake: I’m not anti-Twitter or anything. I have Twitter and I use it. I think it’s very fun and quite useful for sharing links and the like. But location sharing on the Internet, is, in my opinion, going way too far.

At least Twitter is handling the whole situation properly. When I logged in today, I was asked if I wanted to turn on the location sharing feature or not and was given the opportunity to learn more about the feature if I wanted to. Of course, I did not opt to turn it on. I do commend Twitter for handling this new feature a lot better than Google handled their new Google Buzz back when they introduced it.

Twitter is responding to the recent trend of location sharing over the Internet. Many other Internet services have adopted location-sharing features, and Facebook is expected to join them soon. Twitter’s new feature works with Chrome and Firefox 3.5. For it to work in Internet Explorer, a download of extra software is required.

Via The Associated Press, image via Twitter.

Even though the next iPhone OS update probably won’t be released for several months, the tech blogosphere is already speculating about what new features the iPhone OS 4.0 will contain. Apple is, of course, very tight-lipped about the whole thing, so all of the following is simply speculation.

The feature that seems to be the most desired is multitasking. Currently, only one app at a time can run on the iPhone. For example, you cannot listen to your Pandora radio app in the background while you surf the Internet with your Safari app (however, you could listen to music through the iPod function on the iPhone). Other smartphones have supported multitasking for some time now, so this is the next logical update for the iPhone.

Video calling is another feature that users want. Again, many other smartphones have a front-facing video camera that allows for video calls. Though video calling has not really gained much popularity with smartphone users, Apple may try to change this by offering it as a new feature.

Finally, many users want a better camera with a flash on the iPhone. Although the iPhone 3G S has a better camera than the iPhone 3G (3.2 MP vs. 2 MP, respectively), it is difficult to take decent photos with an iPhone in anything but the brightest light, so a flash would be a welcome addition.

Of course, Apple is so good at keeping secrets that we won’t find out anything until the next OS is released, so all we can do now is speculate.

Via PC World, image via PC World.

FileMaker Pro 11 left beta testing and was released to the general public last Tuesday. It is the only software of its type that runs on both Windows and Mac. As noted by Ryan Rosenberg, vice president of marketing and services for FileMaker, Inc., FileMaker Pro is number one on Mac and number two on Windows after Microsoft Access.

The software is aimed at workers at mid- to large-sized businesses, though FileMaker, Inc. hopes to expand its consumer base to less advanced database users.

Some key new features in FileMaker 11 include an easier way to make charts and graphs; Quick Find, a search engine for database information; and a Quick Start Screen for making new databases and managing files.

There are actually four versions of FileMaker to choose from: FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro Advanced, FileMaker Server, and FileMaker Server Advanced.

Via Betanews, image via FileMaker.

The next iPad competitor?

Dell, with some help from Amazon and Google, may be releasing an iPad competitor called the Dell Streak. The Streak will be a tablet that will have access to all of the e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store and everything in Amazon’s MP3 download store, which includes songs as well as TV shows and movies. This is a comparable to what the iTunes store offers.

The Streak allegedly will have a five-inch screen, which would put it between the iPhone and iPad in size. It is supposed to offer access to the Kindle store through 3G with no extra fees. This is an advantage over the iPad, which requires a data plan for 3G access. The Streak is supposed to be Android-based.

Both Amazon and Dell refused to confirm if this rumor is true or not. No one has speculated about the ship date or price of this unannounced product. A tablet processor manufacturer has said that it expects over fifty iPad competitors to be released this year.

Via Wired, image via Wired.

Good old Steve

I really never thought I’d see the day that Steve Ballmer said nice things about Apple. After all, Ballmer is the CEO of Microsoft, and aren’t Apple and Microsoft supposed to be mortal enemies? We must recall that Ballmer completely dismissed the threat the iPhone would have to the smartphone market and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. Three years later, Ballmer has been proved wrong, as proved by the runaway success of the iPhone and the App Store.

Ballmer knows he was wrong. At a recent speaking engagement, he actually praised the App Store, saying, “Apple’s done a very nice job that allows people to monetize and commercialize their intellectual property.” The comment may appear to be insignificant at first glance, but when we consider the history between Microsoft and Apple, as well as the possibility that Apple may be replacing Google as the default search engine with Microsoft’s Bing, Ballmer’s words take on a new meaning.

Could Apple be prepared to team up with Microsoft to defeat a common rival, Google? I’m not sure how I feel about this idea: I’m an avid Mac user and I’m also rather fond of Google products (I have an interest bordering on obsession with Gmail), but I don’t like Microsoft at all. I’d rather see Apple and Google teaming up against Microsoft.

Of course, it may be too early to make any predictions. After all, Microsoft is still planing to compete with Apple by releasing a new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7.

Via DailyTech, image via DailyTech.

Apple is a notoriously secretive company. Usually the rest of us have no idea about its upcoming products until they are released, and we know even less (that is, nothing) about the inner workings of the company itself.

But thanks to the cleverness of an organization, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the rest of us have been allowed a glimpse into the inner workings of Apple. Basically, the Electronic Frontier Foundation used FOIA to force NASA to release Apple’s nondisclosure agreement for iPhone developers. Developers have to sign the agreement before they can access the software development kit for the iPhone OS.

It does not really come as a surprise that Apple very strongly regulates what programs are allowed to run on the iPhone OS. Some analysts have expressed surprise that people are so enthusiastic about products that are so heavily regulated by their manufacturer, but they underestimate Apple’s appeal to the public.

Via Wired, image via Apple.

The iPad is almost here. It has an official release date (April 3) and a pre-order date (the first day users will be allowed to pre-order the much-anticipated device will be March 12). Now, the iPad has a commercial.

The commercial debuted during the Oscars, which I didn’t watch (I know, I’m lame, but I was trying to make my way through the plethora of reading I’ve been assigned for my classes). If you missed the commercial, you can watch it here.

Yes, I know I expressed disappointment when Apple first announced the iPad. But it looks pretty amazing in the commercial (of course, Apple would go out of their way to make a product look amazing in a commercial so they can sell more).

Steve Jobs also reportedly made an appearance at the Oscars, as demonstrated in photographic evidence from a Twitter user.

Via PC Mag, image via Apple.