Apple is the largest mobile phone vendor in the U.S.

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We estimate Apple shipped 17.7 million mobile phones for a record 34 percent share of the United States market in the fourth quarter of 2012. This was up sharply from 12.8 million units shipped and 25 percent share in Q4 2011. Apple has become the number one mobile phone vendor by volume in the United States for the first time ever. Apple’s success has been driven by its popular ecosystem of iPhones and App Store, generous carrier subsidies, and extensive marketing around the new iPhone 5 model. Samsung shipped 16.8 million mobile phones in the United States, for 32 percent share, during Q4 2012. This was a good performance from Samsung, as its market share rose 5 points from 27 percent a year earlier, but it was not enough to hold off a surging Apple. Samsung had been the number one mobile phone vendor in the US since 2008, and it will surely be keen to recapture that title in 2013 by launching improved new models such as the rumored Galaxy S4.

“iPhone plus”

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Interesting speculation from Marco Arment. I have to admit that these larger screen devices are selling better than what I would have ever guessed.

Pro Tools tips book for iPad

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Audio engineer Paul DeCarli put together 20 of his favorite tips for Pro Tools and published them in a book for the iPad. I met with Paul at NAMM last week and he did a good job with this book.

The new Line 6 guitar

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With 29 incredibly detailed Variax instruments—plus the ability to virtually tune down a whole octave without impacting playability or intonation—JTV-89F shatters the limitations of traditional guitars. The Floyd Rose licensed double-locking tremolo system by Graph Tech, high-gain humbucking pickups and lightning-fast fretboard combine to make JTV-89F the perfect instrument for players of heavier, high-gain styles.

A modeling guitar with a Floyd Rose is very interesting.

WakeyWakey

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WakeyWakey is a utility application that runs on Mac OS X (Lion or Mountain Lion). It was born out of necessity. I have two Macs that share a keyboard and mouse. The problem was that the second system’s monitor would go to sleep. I had to figure out a way to wake up the second monitor. The result is WakeyWakey.

There’s a companion iOS app too.

Apple dominates online video on demand

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Daniel Eran Dilger:

Among these online movie rental competitors, Apple now takes 45 percent of unit share, followed by Amazon’s Instant Video with 18 percent, the Walmart-owned Vudo with 15 percent, Microsoft’s Zune/Xbox with 14 percent share, and other players (including Google Play and Sony’s PlayStation Store) splitting the remaining 8 percent (no other player can command more than a 5 percent share).

So basically there’s Apple and then everyone else fighting for second.

Amplified: Surprise Me All You Want

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Jim and Dan talk about the new Apple TV, the 128GB iPad, Apple vs. Amazon profits and Wall Street, the future of the Apple Store, the Blackberry Z10, control surfaces and more.

Sponsored by Lynda and Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME1 for 30% off).

Blackstar amps

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I saw and heard this new series at NAMM and it was really interesting. They model different power valve responses, which is a really interesting way to shape the tone.

Super Bowl on the App Store

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Football fans will spend a lot of time preparing for the Super Bowl this Sunday between the 49ers and the Ravens — if you own an iPhone or iPad, there are some easy ways for you to get ready for the big game. […]

How the hell does this happen?

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Amazon misses its earnings, income fell, sales missed Wall Street consensus and… the stock price goes up 6 percent.

Apple sells a gazillion of everything, reports record revenue and profit and its stock falls.

Wooden guitar straps

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I talked to one of the guys doing these straps at NAMM last week and he said everyone had the same look I did when told they were made of wood. He said they were very comfortable though. As you can see, Santana uses one.

Squarespace [Sponsor]

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Squarespace is an innovative website publishing platform that makes it easy to bring your ideas to life.

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Apple TV updated

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Apple updated its Apple TV software on Monday adding a number of new features. […]

Google sued for snooping on Apple users

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Apple customers in Britain have begun to seek compensation after the search giant bypassed security settings on their iPhones and Mac computers, allowing it to track their browsing habits.

Don’t be evil Google.

Pixelmator

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Pixelmator is a great image editing app and all that I use on my Mac.