∞ Interview: Apple execs discuss the new iMac

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Apple on Tuesday released a new line of iMacs, adding some powerful new features to its all-in-one line of computers. Company executives took some time to speak with The Loop about the release.

One of the big new features in the iMac is the addition of Thunderbolt, a new I/O interface that Apple and Intel introduced in February in the MacBook Pro. Thunderbolt supports high-speed connectivity with storage systems and other forthcoming devices. With adapters it can work with Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire and USB peripherals, too.

Thunderbolt is a dual channel technology, so you get high-speed from both channels — one doesn’t slow down the other.

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∞ Make-a-Wish Foundation makes Nine-year-old an iPhone developer

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We’ve all heard about some of the great work that the people at Make-a-Wish Foundation do for kids, but the latest will be interesting for iPhone users.

Nine-year-old Owain Weinert is battling pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, but he didn’t want to meet a rock star or great sports figure for his wish — he wanted to build his own iPhone game. With the help of the Foundation and PopCap Games, his wish came true, according to GeekWire.

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∞ Apple's iPhone market share grows 115% in 2011

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A new report released on Friday by market research firm IDC shows Apple’s iPhone had substantial grow in the first quarter of 2011.

According to the report, Apple’s iPhone shipments went from 8.7 million in the first quarter of 2010 to 18.7 million in the first quarter of 2011. That brings Apple’s market share from 2.8 percent in 2010 to 5.0 in 2011.

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∞ RIM cuts profit outlook, stock price plummets

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RIM on Thursday issued a warning to Wall Street that the company would not meet guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2012.

RIM said the cause for the projected shortfall in Q1 is because of lower shipments of BlackBerrys. The company said shipments are now expected in the lower end of the 13.5 million to 14.5 million forecasted in March.

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∞ The truth about Android vs. iPhone market share

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There is an endless stream of reports coming out these days about how Android stacks up against the iPhone. The problem is, most of them are flawed.

Here is the first giant flaw — you may have noticed in the headline of this story. You cannot compare Android to an iPhone. That’s comparing an operating system to a hardware device.

There is no compelling argument that anyone can give that says that comparing an operating system to a hardware device makes sense. None.

We don’t see reports of Windows 7 being compared to a Dell computer and then making assumptions about market share based on their sales. Why? Because, that would be stupid.

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∞ Steve Jobs discusses iPhone location data

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs is speaking publicly about how his company doesn’t use location data.

“We haven’t been tracking anyone,” Jobs said in a telephone interview with Mobilized on Wednesday. “The files they found on these phones, as we explained, it turned out were basically files we have built through anonymous, crowdsourced information that we collect from the tens of millions of iPhones out there.”

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∞ Report: Apple testing iPhone on T-Mobile

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Apple is reportedly testing its iPhone to work on T-Mobile’s network.

According to a BGR.com report on Wednesday, Apple is testing a new prototype iPhone specifically designed for T-Mobile. The iPhone has an internal model number of N94, which fails in line with the N90 and N92 models released for AT&T and Verizon, respectively.

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∞ Ottawa hospital deploying 1,800 iPads

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We know from Apple’s earnings conference call last week that businesses and organizations are deploying iPads in great numbers. You can now add hospitals to that list. A hospital in Ottawa, Canada ordered 1,800 iPads for its staff and developed a special application that will be used in the hospital.

The application’s primary objective is to get as much patient info into the clients hands while at the bedside. Doctors will have access to lab results, patient histories, and medication information in front of them.

Ottawa hospital jumps into the future with 1,800 iPads [Macgasm]

∞ Apple shines, Google loses steam for app developers

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Apple’s iOS continues to be a bright spot among mobile app developers, while disappointing tablet sales and fragmentation are causing developers to pull away from Google.

The latest report from market research firm IDC and Appcelerator shows that the majority of developers are confident about Apple and its mobile operating. According to the study, 91 percent of developers say they are “very interested” in iPhone development and 86 percent are very interested in developing for the iPad.

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∞ Apple, Google asked to appear before Senate over privacy

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Privacy concerns among U.S. Senators have prompted Senator Al Franken to ask Apple and Google to participate in a hearing with the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy.

According to Ars Technica’s Jacqui Cheng, the hearing will take place on May 10, 2011 at 10:00 am ET. The hearing will focus on recent reports that Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone and iPad track user’s location.

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∞ Apple sued for tracking user location on iPhone and iPad

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It was only a matter of time before it happened and here it is — two Apple users have filed a lawsuit against the company for tracking user location.

According to Bloomberg, one of the people uses an iPhone and lives in Florida, and the other uses an iPad and lives in New York.

“We take issue specifically with the notion that Apple is now basically tracking people everywhere they go,” Aaron Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said today in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “If you are a federal marshal you have to have a warrant to do this kind of thing, and Apple is doing it without one.”

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∞ Apple vs. RIM: Who sells more smartphones?

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Apple has clearly been upping its game when it comes to making the iPhone the most popular device on the market, but RIM is still making noise saying how good it is. I decided find out who was selling the most smartphones.

I looked at the last four fiscal quarters for Apple and RIM and get a feeling for which company was on the way up, or down, and who really did have the bragging rights.

Of course, fiscal quarters do not run like calendar quarters, so they are a bit off based on dates, but they are still pretty close. This isn’t meant to be scientific, but rather a look at four quarters to see how smartphone sales are trending.

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∞ Steve Jobs says Apple doesn't track anyone

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Apple hasn’t officially responded to reports that the iPhone and iPad track user movements, but CEO Steve Jobs apparently has.

Jobs reportedly responded to an email sent by a MacRumors reader asking about the devices tracking user’s location. The user asked Steve to explain why Apple would track its users. He also said in the email that he was going to switch to a Droid because it doesn’t track users.

Steve responded via email.

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∞ Will U.S. Senators question Google about data collection too?

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It didn’t take long for U.S. Senators to demand an explanation from Apple CEO Steve Jobs about why the company was collecting user location data on its iPhone and iPad. My question is, are they asking Google too?

Less than a day after it was first reported, Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., demanded an explanation from Jobs about why Apple is collecting the data.

“There are numerous ways in which this information could be abused by criminals and bad actors,” wrote Franken. “Furthermore, there is no indication that this file is any different for underage iPhone or iPad users, meaning that millions of children and teenagers who use iPhone or iPad devices also risk having their location collected and compromised.”

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∞ Report: Apple will beat Google to cloud music

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Apple has reportedly finished work on its iTunes cloud music service and will launch it ahead of Google, it’s main competition in this market.

According to a report on Reuters, Apple’s service will allow users to store music on remote servers and access music via the Internet. Reuters says it has multiple sources that did not want to be named.

Google, who is also working on a cloud music service is running into some problems, according to the report.

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∞ Apple is the world's largest handset maker based on revenue

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The good news just doesn’t stop for Apple. New research shows that Apple has become the world’s largest handset vendor based on revenue.

Writing for AllThingsD, John Paczkowski says that Apple’s iPhone revenues hit $11.9 billion for the quarter, outperforming Nokia for the first time ever. Nokia’s revenue from all of its phones was $9.4 billion.

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∞ Apple's iOS outdoes Android by 116% in Europe

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According to a new study by market research firm comScore on Thursday, Apple’s iOS is far outreaching that of Google’s Android.

The results of the study show that iOS on Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPads has a combined installed base of 28.9 million users. Android’s user base is at 13.4 million users. That number includes phones and connected media devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

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∞ iPhone data collection explained

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Researchers on Wednesday discovered a file on Apple’s iPhone and iPad that contained location information of its user. However, the file is not new and the discovery of the file was written about months ago.

Alex Levinson, the Lead Engineer for Katana Forensics, actually wrote about the file in a book by Sean Morrissey called “iOS Forensic Analysis.” Levinson refutes all claims that Apple is gathering this data.

“Apple is not harvesting this data from your device,” wrote Levinson. “This is data on the device that you as the customer purchased and unless they can show concrete evidence supporting this claim – network traffic analysis of connections to Apple servers — I rebut this claim in full. Through my research in this field and all traffic analysis I have performed, not once have I seen this data traverse a network.”

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∞ Apple reports $5.99 billion second quarter profit

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Apple on Wednesday reported a fiscal second quarter profit of $5.99 billion. Apple said it did $24.67 billion in revenue for the quarter.

In the same quarter last year Apple post revenue of $13.5 billion and a quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, the company said in releasing the fiscal results. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

“With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”

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