The article quotes Gates as saying that heid “bet on the mobile phone for sure” as the mobile device that will eventually emerge as the best for listening to music. The article also notes that Microsoft is working hard to get its Windows Mobile smart phone software into devices manufactured by nearly 70 companies, a…
News
Is This the New Motorola iTunes Phone?
S omeoneis idea of a joke or a leaked image of the real thing? The Mobile Gazette is reporting details and a photo of what many believe is the yet-to-be-announced Motorola cellular phone with built-in iTunes capability. The mobile enthusiast site reports the phone will probably be called the Motorola E790, “a handset based on…
TMO Reports - JP Morgan Stays Positive on Apple Despite Yahoo! Threat
JP Morgan analysts Bill Shope and Elizabeth Borbolla on Wednesday issued a research report in response to Yahoo!’s announcement of the Beta release of its subscription-based online music store. In the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Mac Observer, the analysts wrote: “In our view, the service does little to break the…
Analyst: Apple Stock Drop Offers Buying Opportunity
At issue is the announcement of a beta subscription music service from Internet giant Yahoo!, which the company introduced Wednesday morning. The service is being launched with a yearly subscription fee of US$59.98 that allows people to rent as much music as they want, and take it with them on any digital media device that…
Toshiba Adds 50% to HD DVD Capacity; Word on Joint Format Soon?
The new disc has a capacity of 45 gigabytes (GB), Toshiba said. The additional storage capacity came by adding an additional 15GB data layer for a total of three layers. The company said the new disc had enough capacity to hold 12 hours of high-definition movies. The competing dual-layer Blu-ray standard currently holds 50GB. The…
Eminem, Apple Settle Lawsuit
Over a year in negotiations, Eminem’s music label Eight Mile Style has agreed to an undisclosed financial settlement with Apple Computer in a lawsuit over the use of one of his songs in an iPod commercial that appeared on MTV last year, lawyers for the rapper confirmed Monday. “The parties were able to reach an…
iTunes 4.8 Full of New Features; Plays Video & Syncs iPod
The latest and greatest feature is the ability to not only store video files, but play them in the thumbnail window, normally used to display album covers, as well as a separate QuickTime window (see screen shot below). Users can default to always watching a video “in the main window,” “a separate window,” or “full…
Destineer Buys Close Combat Developer Atomic Games
First to Fight is a first-person shooter that puts the player in charge of a four-man U.S. Marine fire team sent to Lebanon to quell internal strife. It was released in April for Mac, Windows and Xbox. A more realistic version is in use by the Marine Corps as a training tool. The two companies…
Abel Cine Hosting Post-NAB Open House Featuring the HVX-200
You can find out more about the event at the Abel Cine Tech Web site. The event is scheduled for May 11th from 12PM until 6PM at the New York location.
First on TMO - Apple Exec: Shuffle Grabs 58% of Flash Player Market; What Cell Phone Threat?
On the market less than six months, Apple’s iPod shuffle has grabbed a 58% share of the flash-based digital media player market, up from 43% in February, company chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer has told Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich in a recent interview. In a report to clients released Wednesday and obtained by The…
Mac Gaming News - Aspyr to Publish CSI: Dark Motives
Aspyr Media on Monday announced that this summer it will publish CSI: Dark Motives, the follow-up to the CSI: Crime Scene Investigations game that the company released late last year. Like its predecessor, Dark Motives places gamers in the shoes of a forensic detective tasked with solving five crimes that have happened throughout Las Vegas.…
2,000 People in Two Hours at SoHo Apple Store
S ome 2,000 people went through Appleis doors in the first two hours of Tiger availability last Friday, according to a report at Forbes magazine. The article, penned by frequent Apple commentator and reporter Arik Hesseldahl, covered the release of Tiger, including background information on Appleis Tiger and Microsoftis as-yet-to-be-released Longhorn Windows update, the importance…
Analyst Steven Milunovich Foresees Apple Market Share Gains, Reiterates 'Buy' Rating
Mr. Milunovich used the release of Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther” in the fall of 2003, which brought in US$60 million in revenue for Apple during that quarter, as a basis for comparison and said that he expects Tiger to net $84-$100 million in sales this quarter, given the increased size of the Mac install…
Just a Thought - Advertise, Please!
One of the biggest differences between Microsoft and Apple is not just the 90 + percent delta in the number of the world’s desktops they can claim, nor the comparatively broad differences in perceived security of the operating systems either sells; no, the biggest difference, in my view, is the way Big Redmond advertises versus…
Just a Thought - Confused Over Tiger And Tiger Direct? So Am I
Oh Gawd! Feel their pain! Tiger Direct is suing Apple over its use of the name ‘Tiger’, which Apple has code-named its next OS X release (see TMO’s full coverage for more information). The suit alleges that Apple Computer engaged in trademark infringement and unfair trade practices in connection with its recent marketing campaign for…
Tiger: Think Evolutionary, not Revolutionary
I tis been more than eighteen months in the public eye, and has taken center stage at every major Apple event in the last year. Like the opening act for a sold-out headliner, itis been used by Apple CEO Steve Jobs to delay satiating the crowdis anticipation for Appleis new hardware announcements. Itis been heralded…
Tiger Pre-Orders Ship
W eive begun hearing from Observers who pre-ordered Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" and have received shipping notification. Delivery for most pre-orders was promised for Friday, April 29th, the same day the software will be released in retail stores. For those who didnit pre-order the Mac OS X upgrade, Apple announced in-store "Tiger World Premiere"…
Rock the Room with Altec Lansing's FX6021 Speakers
I f you think the aural experts at Altec Lansing only make portable speakers for the iPod, youire forgiven: the companyis marketing efforts mention little else. Such speakers donit really interest us — weid sooner use an iPod with a decent set of headphones. Altec Lansingis FX6021 speaker system. In reality, though, portable speakers are…
Mac Gaming News - Aspyr to Release 4 Free Battlefield 1942 Maps, Drops Prices
Aspyr Media has announced that it will release four free maps for the Mac version of the team-based first-person shooter Battlefield 1942. The maps, which were created by a group of fans, are the same ones contained in the Match Map Pack released on the PC side in February. The company also lowered the prices…
Real Fires Another Shot at iTunes With New Versions of Rhapsody
Rhapsody 25 is a free service that allows anyone who downloads the jukebox software to listen to 25 tracks from the Rhapsody library each month. Real said that it will offset the cost of paying music labels for the songs with its new Chrysler sponsorship. The company is also in a business relationship with Google…
BBC Editorial Looks at Mac Community
I n an editorial for the BBC published Thursday, Stephen Evans examined the culture of Mac owners and Apple fans. Dredging up the controversial "cult" word, the article compared the Manhattan Apple Store to a church, Macworld keynotes to church event, and even considered the idea that Mac users were comparable to Catholics, while Windows…
Apple Shareholders Approve Board-Sponsored Proposals; CEO Blasts Protesters
I n its annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Apple Computer shareholders approved all of the proposals sponsored by the companyis board of directors, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the opportunity to blasts environmentalists that have been protesting against the company. According to a report on the meeting by MacCentral, Mr. Jobs denied all of the…
NAB Attendees Vote Apple Tops Twice
L AS VEGAS — Attendees at the 2005 National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Las Vegas voted Apple products among the top five in two different categories, the NAB trade group announced late on Wednesday. Appleis Final Cut Pro 5, which was announced Sunday, April 17th, and QuickTime Broadcaster were each selected as one…
Three Overlooked Announcements Made During the Show
L AS VEGAS — Nestled within the halls of every trade show lie the overlooked: product releases and other announcements that donit generate as much coverage as the news made by the big companies. The Mac Observer was on hand, however, to bring you three announcements that were overlooked during this yearis National Association of…