News

Yes, folks, while CES happens this week we're also deep into planning for everything we'll be doing at Macworld/iWorld 2013, and that includes … Cirque du Mac X (that's the 10th incarnation of Cirque du Mac and we're happily using the roman numeral to illustrate that… we trust you understand why!). Cirque du Mac will…

Las Vegas — LEGO unveiled its new Mindstorms EV3 DIY robot kit at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. The kit's EV3 Intelligent Brick “brain” can be controlled through an iPhone, ending the lineup's requirement for a PC. LEGO Mindstorms EV3 is programmable from your iPhone The EV3 Intelligent Brick includes 64GB RAM, and SD…

The designer who helped Apple create its first mouse, and assisted in the design of thousands of other tech products, recalled his experiences with Steve Jobs during a 60 Minutes interview Sunday. David Kelley, founder of design firm Hovey-Kelley (now called IDEO), worked with Apple on several products during the company’s early years, including mice,…

Las Vegas — Withings unveiled two new products in its personal health and fitness monitoring lineup at CES in Las Vegas on Sunday. The Smart Body Analyzer is a smart scale that tracks your weight, heart rate and air quality, and the Smart Activity Tracker logs your daily steps and other activities. Both connect wirelessly…

A holiday season marketing campaign by retail giant Walmart “rankled” the company’s rivals, according to The Wall Street Journal, when the company significantly lowered the price of Apple’s iPhone 5 without adequate stock to support the demand. Walmart’s competitors, who generally have price-match guarantee policies, were forced to match Walmart’s lower price, costing them tens…

Samsung's global smartphone sales are set to climb 35 percent in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics, and Apple's response will be the long-rumored iPhone mini. Samsung is expected to hold 33 percent of the world's smartphone market this year, compared to Apple's 21 percent and a less expensive iPhone model could help Apple keep that…

Apple’s long-rumored television, said to be “just around the corner” for years, will not launch in 2013, according to BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield in a media predictions report published Thursday. Mr. Greenfield believes the product is in the works, but legal concerns and content deals will keep it out of the market for at least…

The rumored deal for Apple to acquire social mapping service Waze, news of which broke yesterday, is false. TechCrunch, which ran the original story, and CNET have spoken to new sources who confirm that, while the two companies have engaged in low-level talks in the past, there is no pending deal for an acquisition and earlier reports…

Apple is apparently deep in negotiations to buy the online map service Waze. Sources say the Mac, iPhone and iPad maker is willing to pay upwards of US$500 million for the company, although Waze is said to be holding out for $750 million. Apple may be working on Waze purchase News of the potential deal…

Optical Thunderbolt cables will soon hit the market courtesy of Sumitomo Electric Industries. The Japanese company recently announced the impending availability of Thunderbolt cables based on fiber optic data transmission, as opposed to the copper core cables used currently. Optical Thunderbolt cables will support the same fast data transfer rates, and have the same basic…

Intel is apparently planning on introducing its own virtual cable television service and set top box during CES in early January. Sources said company is jumping into the television market because Google failed to gain traction with its own Google TV based on Intel chips. Intel ready to get into the TV service game Intel's…

ITC Judge Thomas Pender has warned Samsung that he is calling for a complete sales ban on the company's products that infringe on four of Apple's design patents. He also told the electronics maker it will have to post a bond worth 88 percent of the value of the products it could sell during a…

A telecommunications consultant in Brazil is predicting that Apple will pony up for the “IPHONE” trademark in that country. That trademark is owned by IGB Eletrônica SA, which released an Android-powered 'IPHONE Neo One' under the Gradiente brand in December. The Glorious Gradiente IPHONE Neo One At that time, Gradiente said in a statement it…

 A Pauper's Grave That wheezing sound you hear is the last gasp of the once-beloved netbook. Asustek and Acer, the last two major OEMs still making netbooks, will both stop making devices in this category at the end of this year. Netbooks were once the golden future, or at least the 10 karat white gold…

Apple dropped out of the top five in ForeSee's annual holiday customer satisfaction survey for 2012, and the company's drop from 83 to 80 satisfaction points was one of the biggest the research firm saw this year. The annual ForeSee study surveyed 24,000 online shoppers between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year Apple lost its…

Some rather unscientific, but equally interesting, data suggests that Apple's iPad crushed the competition this Christmas. Buzzfeed did some surface (::giggle::) level data mining on Twitter and found nearly four times as many people tweeting from their new iPad as the next three devices combined. The media outlet did a search in a 24 hour…

Finally, the news that tens of people have been waiting for: Microsoft is planning to open six new retail stores in 2013 in Texas, Florida, Ohio, California, Utah, and Missouri. The new locations will bring Big Redmond up to 37 full time retail stores in the U.S., with rumors of European expansion in the works,…

The yacht Apple co-founder Steve Jobs commissioned, Venus, is free to leave dock and take to the seas now that a tentative agreement for payment has been reached with the craft's designer Phillpe Starck. Mr. Starck's attorneys had the yacht impounded after he claimed the Jobs' family paid him €3 million less than he was…

The yacht Apple co-founder Steve Jobs commissioned won't be leaving the dock any time soon thanks to a dispute over payment to the designer, Philippe Starck. Mr. Starck's lawyers had the yacht seized and it is now tied to a dock in Amsterdam until an agreement with Mr. Jobs's family can be reached. Jobs family…

Investors simply don't appreciate the competitive advantage of Apple's superior customer service experience, according to a new research note from Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um. He told his clients that Apple' customer service is, “a key differentiator & value driver for the company” that investors don't properly understand. “The ability to turn unhappy customers into…

You might think this is something Terry Gilliam worked up for a remake of Brazil, but it's real: IGB Eletrônica SA released a smartphone this week in Brazil called IPHONE Neo One under the brand name of Gradiente. But wait, it gets better because the device is powered by Google's Android. Irony Wars with Tragedy…

Samsung has dropped all of its requests for sales injunctions against Apple devices based on standards-essential patents (SEPs) in Europe. Bloomberg reported that Samsung claimed the move was for the sake of the people, though FOSS Patents noted that the withdrawal mirrors an antitrust investigation being conducted in Europe against the company. “Samsung has decided…

U.S. Federal Judge Lucy Koh ruled Monday evening that there wasn't any jury misconduct in Apple and Samsung's patent infringement lawsuit. Samsung had accused jury foreman Velvin Hogan of intentionally withholding information about his relationship with partner company Seagate to get a spot on the jury. Judge to Samsung: No do-over for you The ruling…

Investors and analysts concerned about Apple's future based on reports of iPhone 5 parts order reductions are needlessly worrying, according to Topeka Capital's Brian White. Instead, he said Apple is just fine and the reduction in parts orders was expected, if not a little late. Topeka Capital's Brian White says consumers still want iPhones “We…