Apple's iPad mini hit store shelves Friday morning, and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster expects the company to sell between 1 million and 1.5 million of its 7.9-inch tablet by the end of the weekend. Preorders for Apple's small size iPad started a week ago, and the company sold through that inventory within a few…
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
UK Court Orders Apple to Change Samsung Galaxy Tab Statement
Apple has been ordered by the U.K. Court of Appeal to reword its court ordered statement saying Samsung didn't copy the iPad design. The iPad and iPhone maker had been ordered to post a statement on its U.K. website telling visitors claims that the Galaxy Tab copied the iPad design were false, but Apple went…
Amazon Shows then Pulls iPad mini Homepage Slam
Amazon used its homepage to slam Apple's new iPad mini while touting its own Kindle Fire HD earlier this week, but has since pulled the chart claiming its own tablet is better and less expensive. Amazon's chart highlighted the Kindle Fire HD's display as “stunning,” while calling the iPad mini's “standard definition, low-resolution,” noted the…
Apple Execs Forstall, Browett to Leave the Company
Apple dropped a surprise Monday afternoon by announcing Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall and Senior Vice President of Retail, John Browett, are leaving the company. Mr. Forstall will pack his bags some time next year, and it looks like Mr. Browett is already turning in his executive washroom key with only five…
Ballmer: No One has Made a Tablet Customers Want
With the launch of the Surface Tablet, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks his company has finally given consumers a tablet they'll actually want, unlike every other tablet that's hit the market so far — including Apple's market dominating iPad. “I don't think anyone has done a product that I see customers wanting,” Mr. Ballmer told…
Steve Jobs's Yacht Hits the Waves
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs had been designing a yacht for his family, and a year after his death it is finally ready to set sail. The 80 meter-long craft was christened “Venus,” and sports the sleek and minimalist look Mr. Jobs preferred. Since Mr. Jobs was all about his Apple gear, Venus is controlled…
Macworld / iWorld Opens Registration for 2013 Event
Macworld / iWorld Expo opened its virtual ticket booth for its January 2013 conference on Thursday. The annual conference and expo includes sessions for new and experienced Mac users, along with sessions for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users, too. Macworld iWorld Expo: January 31 through February 2, 2013 The event will include more than…
Sprint Q3 iPhone Activations: 1.5 Million
Sprint announced its third fiscal quarter for 2012 on Thursday ahead of Apple's earnings report, and the cell service provider said it activated 1.5 million iPhones during the quarter. Some 40 percent of those activations were new customers, showing the iPhone is a big draw for the company. While 1.5 million is a significant number…
Apple Bumps iPad to 4th Gen, Adds Lightning Connector
Apple introduced its fourth generation iPad on Tuesday, only seven months after introducing the third generation Retina Display model. Like the third generation model the new version includes a 9.7-inch multitouch display, and like the recently released iPhone 5 replaces the older dock connector with the new Lightning connector. Apple's fourth gen iPad keeps Retina…
iOS Hacker Comex Loses His Apple Gig
Nicholas Allegra, who earned fame as the iOS jailbreak wizard Comex, no longer has his internship with Apple after he failed to reply to an email offering him another year on the job. “So… no point in delaying. As of last week, after about a year, I'm no longer associated with Apple,” he said on…
Apple Buying Nearly Defunct Color Labs
Apple is apparently in the process of buying the failed social networking company Color Labs. The company was co-founded by Bill Nguyen, who also happened to launch LaLa — the online music service Apple purchased in 2009 and later shut down. The Color team had hoped to make a name for themselves as a dynamic…
Apple Buys Up Web App Developer Particle
Apple apparently purchased the Web app development company Particle in September, although so far neither company has confirmed the deal. Particle is known for its HTML5 skills and includes companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Sony and Yahoo among its clients. Word of the deal came through CNET talking with unnamed sources, and several of the…
iPod nano Teardown: It's Full of Apple
iFixit loves to look inside Apple's latest products, and that's exactly what they did with the brand new seventh generation iPod nano. What they found were several Apple-designed chips and a media player that isn't all that easy to repair. The seventh generation nano is bigger than the model it replaces and does away with…
Bezos: Governments Should Kill Patent Wars
Patent lawsuits are filling court dockets, big name companies like Apple and Samsung are catching headlines with their cases, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos thinks it's time for governments to step in and put an end to the patent wars. The current patent system, he said, is choking innovation instead of promoting it. “Patents are…
5th Gen iPod touch Teardown: Sleek but Hard to Fix
With the fifth generation iPod touch just now making it into customer's hands, iFixit has already stripped one down to its frame to see what's inside. What they found was an Apple-designed A5 processor and an assembly that's extremely difficult to repair. Simply opening the iPod touch to see what's inside involves a heat gun…
Analyst: Apple Wants iPad to Control Your World
Rumors have claimed for months that Apple is about to release its own high definition TV, but Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes thinks those reports are wrong. Instead, he thinks Apple is working on a remote control system that will drive more than just your TV, and it'll be iPad-based. Apple: All your TVs are belong…
iCloud Storage Upgrades Suddenly Show 2050 Expiration
What appears to be a bug in Apple's iCloud online storage system started showing an expiration date of 2050 for users that received an extra 20GB of storage for free after migrating from MobileMe. The odd date showed up in user accounts on Sunday, which also happened to be the last day they were set…
iPhone 5 In Depth: A little Bit Longer & a Lot Stronger
It's been a week since Apple finally put the iPhone 5 in customer's hands, and we've been putting the new model through its paces ever since. The iPhone 5 is thinner, taller, and yet lighter than the iPhone 4S it replaces, and it has a sleek new look thanks to its brushed metal back and…
Analyst: iPhone 5 Sales Shouldn't Worry Investors
Over 5 million iPhone 5 smartphones were sold during the first three days of availability, which was below financial analyst estimates. Despite the lower than expected number, Apple still beat last year's iPhone 4S launch by a million units, and Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um thinks the company could still report sales through September that…
iOS 6 Updates Clear the 100 Million Mark
Along with news that over 5 million iPhone 5 units made it into customer's hands over the weekend, Apple also announced that iOS 6 has already been installed on over 100 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The update for iOS was released on September 19 and has been available for less than a…
iPhone 5 Opening Weekend Sales Top 5 Million
Apple's new iPhone 5 officially went on sale last Friday and the company says it sold over 5 million units during the first three days of availability. That number tops the 4 million iPhone 4S units Apple sold during launch weekend last year. “Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard…
Navigon iPhone Apps Add Public Transportation, More
Garmin announced the immediate availability of updated version of its Navigon and Garmin Street Pilot Onboard apps for the iPhone with public transportation data, iOS 6 Maps integration, and support for the iPhone 5 4-inch display. Navigon for iPhone Adds iPhone 5 support, Public Transportation info The public transportation information comes via Garmin's new Urban…
Analyst: AAPL Heading To $1,650 in 2015
Apple has a dominant lead in the mobile device world with its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch ecosystem, and that's going to help push the company's stock up to US$1,650 in 2015, according to Ironfire Capital founder and analyst Eric Jackson. Google will do well in the mobile market, although Apple has already won over…
Find Your iPhone 5 Tracking Number Early
If you ordered your brand new iPhone 5 from Apple and haven't received your UPS tracking number yet, you can still find it and see where your smartphone is sitting — as long as you know your phone number. Here's what to do: Go to the UPS website and look for the package tracking field.…