Posts tagged Apple
Apple’s Closing In On 50 Billion App Downloads, And They’re Giving Away $10,000 To Celebrate
May 13th
It’s pretty crazy to think that it’s been almost five years since Apple launched the iTunes App Store, and it’s even crazier to think that in less than five years they are already rapidly approaching 50 Billion (yes that’s Billion with a “B”) app downloads. In the past Apple has celebrated major iTunes milestones with some pretty insane giveaways. For example, for the billionth app download in 2009 they gave away a 17-inch Macbook Pro, 32 GB iPod Touch, Time Capsule router AND a $10,000 Gift Card for the iTunes Store. So as you’d expect for this massive milestone, Apple’s giving away a few other big prizes.
This year the lucky downloader of that 50 Billionth app will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card that can be used in the App Store, iTunes Store or iBookstore. Considering that most paid apps, movies and books in the iTunes store are between $0.99 and $15 that’s an insane amount of money to spend in one place (and unfortunately it doesn’t look like you can use the gift card in the regular Apple Store to buy a new Mac, iPad or iPhone).
Now in the past Apple only gave away one grand prize for their iTunes contest but this time they’ve changed it up a bit. If you aren’t that exact 50 Billionth app downloader don’t worry, you can still win something as Apple will also be giving out fifty $500 iTunes gift cards to the people who download the next 50 apps after that 50 billionth app is downloaded. So if you do the math that’s $35,000 in free iTunes money up for grabs!
As of this writing the download counter on Apple’s website says that they have passed 49.85 billion apps, with about 1,000 apps being downloaded every second. That rate is only going to pick up as we get closer to that magic 50 billionth app so if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch go charge it up and get to downloading apps.
For more info and the latest counter either open up the App Store on your iDevice or head on over to Apple’s site here. And as always, good luck!
More info: Apple
It’s Here: The iPhone 5 Is Now Available At T-Mobile
Apr 12th
T-Mobile users, you can now buy the iPhone 5. As we wrote yesterday, the iPhone today has finally come to T-Mobile and it is available to buy now at T-Mobile stores or online at T-Mobile’s site. Pricing for the iPhone 5 starts at $99 down (with $20 monthly payments for two years) for the 16GB version, with the 32GB and 64 GB versions costing $199 and $299, respectively (also with $20 monthly payments for two years). If you want to buy full price– remember, T-Mobile doesn’t do two-year contracts anymore– you can for either $580, $680 or $780 depending on if you get the 16GB, 32GB or 64GB iPhone 5.
Now if you look at T-Mobile’s site you will notice that the iPhone 4 and 4S are listed, but depending on where you live you might not be able to actually buy either one. The reason for this is that the 4 and 4S don’t have the right chips inside to fully support T-Mobile’s 4G network. Ever since the first iPhone launched in 2007, all unlocked iPhones could be used on T-Mobile’s network. While they all could work, those phones only could use T-Mobile’s 2G network and not it’s fast 4G one. This had to do with fact that the iPhone didn’t support the right radio band needed to use T-Mobile’s faster networks (known as the 1700 MHz band).
Last year T-Mobile began switching their 4G HSPA+ network from that 1700 MHz band to the 1900 MHz band their 2G network used so that the iPhone 4 and 4S could get 4G. Unlike the 1700 MHz band, this 1900 MHz band is supported by the iPhone since AT&T uses it for some of their own 4G HSPA+ network. Apparently this changeover hasn’t yet happened everywhere, and in those places where the iPhone 4 and 4S won’t get 4G HSPA+ T-Mobile won’t sell the iPhone 4 and 4S. The iPhone 5 has been updated to support T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ network on both the 1700 MHz and 1900 MHz bands and can work wherever T-Mobile has 4G HSPA+ which is why it can be bought from anywhere. The T-Mobile iPhone 5 also supports T-Mobile’s new 4G LTE network, so you have an added benefit of that as well.
To buy the iPhone 5 head on over to the T-Mobile’s site. For all the info on T-Mobile’s new plans and info on their 4G LTE network see our earlier post here.
Apple Cuts Prices For 13 Inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display and 13 Inch MacBook Air
Feb 15th
The MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display are two of the best computers available today. They are super thin, very fast, have solid battery life, and in the case of the Pro, has an amazing Retina Display that makes everything look great. The problem with both however has been their prices, with the 13 inch Pro with Retina Display starting at a particularly steep $1,700 and the higher spec’d 13 inch Air with 256 GB of storage (the one you’re most likely gonna want because you’re going to want since this has enough storage to last you the next few years) starting at $1,500. This week however Apple gave both the 13 inch Retina Pro and the higher spec’d 13 inch Air some nice price cuts, bringing the basic, 128 GB Retina Pro down $200 to $1,500 and the top Air down $100 to $1,400. If you use Apple’s student discount the prices are even better, with the Retina Pro dropping an extra $100 to $1,400 and the higher end Air going down to $1,349.
We really love the MacBook Pro and Air, and both are great options if you’re looking for a new computer for school. Personally, the 13 inch Retina Pro is the laptop I just upgraded to because it has that excellent portability that you find on the Air but it’s combined with the power the Pro line is known for (oh, and that Retina screen is pretty great too). Both laptops though should be more than fine if you mainly plan on using them for taking notes, writing papers and going online.
One upgrade we recommend however is getting the 256 GB hard drive for either the Pro or Air, particularly if you plan to store a lot of videos, music or photos. It is very hard to upgrade the storage on MacBooks after you buy them, and you’re going to want to make sure this thing is best suited to last for the next few years (if you plan on using your next computer mainly for notes and the internet, or have a backup hard drive for your music, photos and movies the cheaper 128 GB hard drive may work fine for you). The 256 GB 13 inch Retina Pro is now $1,700 without a student discount, $1,600 with (down from nearly $2,000 before).
The new price changes are live now on Apple’s site and you can check them out here.
Breaking Down The Latest iPhone Rumors: iPhone 5S Colors, iPhone 6 and More
Jan 4th
It has only been about five months since Apple announced the iPhone 5, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors about when Apple might release future iPhones. Over the last couple of days in particular there have a lot of rumors on the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and even iOS 7. Since we’re getting a lot of questions about these rumors we’re going to try to answer them here. More >
It’s Happening: The iPhone Is Officially Coming to T-Mobile In 2013
Dec 6th
T-Mobile users, your long wait to for the iPhone is finally, and officially, coming to an end. Apple and T-Mobile today announced that starting next year Apple products, like the iPhone and iPad, will be available on T-Mobile.
The announcement was pretty vague, saying only “Apple products” and not mentioning any specific iPhone or iPad model (like the 4S, and 5). We also don’t know what time in 2013 these Apple products will arrive, though it is possible we could see a T-Mobile iPhone 5 in January or February of next year (when Verizon finally got the iPhone it came in February of 2011, several months after the AT&T iPhone 4 was announced). There also is obviously no word on if these Apple products will support T-Mobile’s upcoming 4G LTE network (which T-Mobile is also planning to launch in 2013) or just the 4G HSPA+ network T-Mobile has today.
We’ll update this post as soon as more info is available.
Info via Twitter
Here Are Apple’s Black Friday Deals
Nov 23rd
If you’re looking for a new iPad, iPod or MacBook this holiday season you’re gonna want to listen up, as Apple just revealed their Black Friday deals. As expected there aren’t any major “doorbuster” deals to be found here, but there still are some solid discounts.
The iPad 4 has been given a $41 discount and now starts at $458 for the 16 GB WiFi model (with $51 and $61 discounts for the 32 GB and 64 GB WiFi only versions). The iPad 2 16 GB WiFi model got a $31 discount to $368, though if you want one of these we’d still recommend going with Walmart or Target’s deals instead. The new 5th generation iPod Touch (the one with the color back and 4 inch screen) has also been given a $31 discount and now starts at $268 for the 32 GB version. The older iPod Touch and new iPod Nano were each given their own small discounts, bringing their prices to $178 and $111 respectively.
The MacBook line is where the big discounts happen. Apple has taken $101 off of each of their MacBook lines– the MacBook Air, Pro and Pro with Retina Display. Of course this brings them to the same prices you could get the rest of the year if you use a student discount, with the exception being the base 11 inch MacBook Air which is now $898 (it’s usually $950 with a student discount).
Apple also dropped the prices on their iPad Smart Covers and Smart Cases, as well as for their headphones , routers and wireless mice and keyboards. And no, unfortunately there doesn’t look to be any deals for the iPad Mini or iPhone 5.
You can check out the full list over at Apple’s site here.
The iPad 4 and iPad Mini Are Now Available– Here’s What You Need To Know About Them
Nov 8th
Late last week Apple began selling their long-awaited iPad Mini as well as a new iPad 4. The iPad Mini was the long rumored smaller version of the iPad while the iPad 4 was more of a surprise update to the iPad 3, giving it some nice updates to make the bigger iPad even better. Now we know a lot of you, particularly anyone who just bought an iPad 3 over the last few months, are wondering what exactly is new here, but don’t worry, we’ve got everything you need to know about both of these new iPads ready for you after the break.
Apple Sends Out Event Invites– Are New Macs and The iPad Mini Coming Next Week?
Oct 17th
Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of talk that Apple had one more big event up its sleeves for 2012. Well, yesterday Apple confirmed all those rumors, sending out invites to an event next week, Tuesday, October 23rd.
One of the many “mock ups” of what the iPad Mini will look like (pic via Apple Insider)
So what can we expect? Well, according to the latest rumors Apple will be taking the wraps off a new, smaller and hopefully cheaper “iPad Mini.” As we wrote before, the iPad Mini is said to have a 7.85 inch screen (down from 9.7 inches on the regular iPad), a thin design with an aluminum back similar to the iPhone 5, the new Lightning port in place of the older iPod dock connector, as well as other standard iPad features like cameras on the front and back for FaceTime, iOS 6, and the availability to buy it in either WiFi only or WiFi+4G LTE versions. Specs wise its said to be similar to the iPad 2, with an A5 dual-core processor with 512 MB of RAM.
Now while this isn’t as powerful as the new iPad, it should still be fine for most things like browsing the web, using apps, reading books etc. And these “older” specs have their benefits as the rumors also say we can expect a cheaper price for the Mini iPad– the base 8 GB WiFi-only version possibly now starting at $249 or $299 and going up to $650 for the 64 GB WiFi+4G version (with options for 16 and 32 GB versions as well). If you want a cheap iPad for internet, apps and books– and don’t plan on storing lots of movies, pictures or music– this may be perfect for you.
There are also strong rumors that Apple is planning to finally introduce that long-awaited 13 inch version of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, as well as reveal some new designs to the iMac and Mac Mini lines.
As always we’ll have it all covered for you back here. So make sure to check back on Tuesday for everything you’re gonna need to know about whatever Apple announces.
New iPod Touch and iPod Nano Now Shipping
Oct 10th
Last month Apple didn’t just take the wraps off of the iPhone 5, they also unveiled an all new iPod Nano and iPod Touch. The thing was though that Apple didn’t announce a ship date for these new iPods, only promising that they’d be out in “October.” Well, as we all know, we’re in October now and as promised Apple has begun shipping the new Nanos and Touches.
So what’s new with the new Nano and Touch? Well a lot actually. Both have gotten all new designs with some great new features. The new Nano ditches the old “watch” design in favor of one that is kinda like a mini-iPod Touch (though it doesn’t run iOS and doesn’t have access to apps). It’s now got a larger 2.5 inch multi-touch screen (which will once again be able to play videos), a new unibody aluminum design with the new Lightning port, and Bluetooth 4.0 for use with things like headphones and speakers. The Nano also keeps features like Nike+, Radio and availability in a whole bunch of colors. The Nano is available now in a 16 GB version for $149.
Now the iPod Touch is the iPod most of us are interested in and with its new update it has become even more like an iPhone without the phone. Or to put it differently it’s now like a mix of the iPhone 5 and 4S.
Design wise the new Touch is like the iPhone 5. It’s got an all new unibody aluminum design that’s even thinner than the older Touches (and like the Nano it now also comes in a whole bunch of colors) and it now packs the same 4 inch Retina Display you see on the iPhone 5. Inside however it more like the iPhone 4/4S with it’s A5 processor and 5 megapixel back camera (both major upgrades from the 4th generation Touch and with that new A5 processor things like gaming should be even better on here). And of course, the new Touch runs iOS 6.
The new Touch starts at $299 for 32 GB, or $399 for 64 GB, with the older iPod Touch sticking around at $199 for 16 GB. Both the new iPod Nano and iPod Touch are available now from Apple.
Is Apple Planning To Launch An iPad Mini This Month?
Oct 4th
Just because the iPhone 5 was released only a few weeks ago doesn’t mean Apple’s done with big announcements for the year. The Apple rumors of late have been going crazy with talk that Apple will have yet another big announcement this month– an all new, smaller “iPad Mini.”
The iPad Mini is rumored to be just that, a smaller version of the iPad. Specs on the Mini are said to include a 7.85 inch screen (down from 9.7 inches on the regular iPad), a thin design with the same aluminum back as the iPhone 5, the new Lightning port in place of the older iPod dock connector, as well as other standard iPad features like cameras on the front and back for FaceTime, iOS 6, and the availability to buy it in either WiFi only or WiFi+4G LTE versions.
Now while the rumors haven’t said much on what else is different between the iPad and this iPad Mini beyond the screen, they have said one other thing– it will be much cheaper, with a starting price possibly as low as $300 (or $200 cheaper than $500 start price of the current iPad).
Apple is rumored to be sending out invites for this event on October 10th (next Wednesday), so hopefully we’ll know more about this soon. Stay tuned.
Pics from MacRumors and UkrainianiPhone
