Rapper Eminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style LLC, settled a lawsuit with Apple for copyright violation. The publisher was going after the iTunes company regarding the unauthorized sale of 93 tracks on the music downloading site, Perez Hilton reports.
CNBC is reporting that Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence from Apple until June, citing health reasons.
Rumors of Jobs’ ailing health have been in an upheaval since the announcement that he would not deliver the annual Keynote address at MacWorld conference and expo this past January 5th, as he had done since returning to the company in 1997.
In 2004, Steve was treated for a rare case of pancreatic cancer.
Story is still developing.
As we wait for Phil Schiller to get on stage and deliver what will be the last MacWorld keynote from Apple, you can get live updates from:
You can also follow me on Twitter with live updates @daniellevine
Apple is expected to update a range of products at this last MacWorld, including iWork, Mac Mini, iMac and possibly more.
You bought your iPhone and you probably purchased a case for it at the same time. It’s still worth taking a look at this one. Out of Canada, making some pretty interesting products for the iPhone is Helium Digital. While there are many iPhone cases on the market, Helium’s Leather Back Flip is one of the best I’ve tried. The case is smart looking and features a leather flip top with magnetic closure, offering good protection and direct access to all iPhone functions. You’ll have to pick up a clear screen protector separately however, because Helium does not include one with this case, but for $24.99 CDN this case is still a bargain and you will enjoy using it on your new iPhone 3G. Maybe one day Helium will make a case for the iPod Touch, but for now you can slide a slim piece of foam you can trim off from the packaging materials to retrofit this handsome Leather case for use with your 2G iPod Touch.
Helium also stocks a 3 pack silicone case set for the iPhone (HD-020). Most notably, these silicone cases include screen protectors and the price for the set is only $19.99 CDN. Order Helium products online from the website or visit such retailers as The Source by Circuit city and Wal Mart.
Apple has quietly announced on Tuesday that this year will be their last as exhibitors at MacWorld (Jan 5-9), the annual conference and expo held in January at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The conference is organized by IDG World Expo.
This year will also mark the last Keynote presentation, an event marking the beginning of the conference, where Apple CEO Steve Jobs traditionally announces updated and new products to much fan-fare.
This year, Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing will have the stage.
Full press release from Apple, Corp. below:
CUPERTINO, California—December 16, 2008-Apple today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.
Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways.
Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
QuickerTek, a company specializing in wireless networking for Apple products, recently released a new external battery compatible with a variety of Apple products. The iPod, iTouch and iPhone 3G can get up to three times the battery life by connecting to the new external battery pack from QuickerTek.
The battery simply attaches to the device it is powering. The battery also features a retractable USB charging cable, making it easy to recharge from any laptop or desktop computer.
The battery charger is backed with a one-year warranty on parts and labour. For additional information on the product, visit
Apple is selling the iPhone 3G on the Apple Store website in Hong Kong, citing that the phones “can be activated with any wireless carrier,” reports Macworld.com.
The Apple Store in Hong Kong is retailing 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G devices for approximately $700 – $800 U.S., according to Macworld. The article also reports that the store is advertising that the phone is compatible with any carrier: “Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation.”
Macworld reports that the iPhone 3G was available in Hong Kong on July 11, and is supported by Hutchison Telecommunications. The least expensive monthly plan rate offered by Hutchinson Telecommunications is HK$2,938 for the 8GB model and HK$3738 for the 16GB model, both on which include a two-year contract at HK$188 per month, reports MacWorld.
Research firm iSuppli has discovered the iPhone 3G costs just $174.33 in pure manufacturing costs, less than what it look to build the original first generation iPhone, according to an article that appeared on appleinsider.com.
In fact, according to iSuppli, the iPhone 3G cost Apple $53 less to manufacture than the last version of the iPhone, despite the inclusion of chips for 3G data and GPS capabilities.
The cost of materials does not include shipping the phone, selling it, or creating the software for it, but iSuppli said that the cheap design is part Apple’s short-term goal to establish a large market share early in the iPhone’s history, according to Apple Insider.
The new iPhone 3G has many of the same parts as the previous model, including the Samsung processor. Apple also saves money by using one durable circuit board versus the two tightly connected ones featured in the old iPhone, according to the article.
About $50 in licenses for patents and intellectual property is factored into the price, as well as an assumed unsubsidized cost of $499 for an 8GB model of the phone.
Apple, however, is thought to be getting as much as $300 in subsides from AT& T (the service provider for the iPhone in the United States) for every costumer that buys the device for the $199 price. That works out to about 55 per cent profit margin before accounting costs for marketing and software, according to Apple Insider.
Rogers Wireless reported the best sales weekend in it’s history with the launch of the much-hyped Apple iPhone. The Canadian telecom giant confirmed that tens of thousands of iPhones sold out in many of the launch centres across Canada.
The news is sure to bring a sigh of relief to Rogers CEO Ted Rogers, who faced a wave of criticism for the iPhone’s expensive monthly rates. Almost 60,000 people signed a petition against Rogers, vowing to take their business elsewhere unless changes were made. Apple was rumoured to have cut back on iPhone shipments as a form of punishment for the abnormally high rate plans.The backlash, it appears, did little to stop the surge of sales.
The second shipment of iPhones is set to arrive at Rogers retail centres tomorrow.
Maybe she bought a PC?
Kathy Griffin and her billionaire boyfriend, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, have broken up.
“He is an awesome guy, but I have to say he is in the friends category now,” she told Usmagazine.com. “As a matter of fact, I got an email last week from him, and he is going to marry someone else… I think he might be married. I don’t really know that for sure, though.”
Fans will be able to see the relationship that was on the new season of “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.” “He is really cute and funny on it,” she said, “He’s totally a life-long friend.”
