Hasta La Gadget!

Today Tim Cook responded to an array of questions from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, responding first to a question of Apple’s current state of business. Noting that in the year between here and last year’s interview, Samsung appeared to have “grown stronger”, working with an Android app store with “a number that’s higher” than Apples – Mossberg even added that Apple’s stock was down “significantly.” Cook was having none of it, responding to Mossberg’s “is Apple in trouble” with a clear “absolutely not.”

Speaking up about Apple’s place in the market, Cook suggested: “let’s zoom out and get perspective. We’re a product company, and we think about products. We’ve sold 85 million iPhones – 42 million iPads. More important than numbers : customers love them [Apple products]. Satisfaction ratings are off the charts – unprecedented – usage is off the charts.”

Responding to the notes on how Apple feels with “an unprecedented number of new products” to be proud of, according to Cook, Kara spoke up: “there’s still a sense… that there’s been an unprecedented downfall of the stock – and you have competent rivals now.”

Cook responded in kind: “We have always had competent rivals.” Appearing to have expected such a line of questioning, Cook continued, “we’ve fought against Microsoft, still fight against Microsoft in the PC space. We found against hardware companies that were viewed to be incredible hardware companies, like Dell.”

“But we’ve always suited up and fought. I don’t see that different today. … Our north star is always on making the best products. The best phone, the best tablet, the best PC, the best MP3 player.”

SOURCE: All Things D

Tim Cook responds to competition talk at D11: “Usage is off the charts” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple is reportedly working on a 12.9-inch iPad, which is being called the iPad Maxi.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo.

A decline in iPad shipments is expected this quarter, according to an analyst. The reasons cited for this include apparently declining iPad mini demand and competition from Android tablets.

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Remember when you were a kid and you had this secret diary that your little brother would always try to sneak a peek at? Well, probably only the girls can relate, and while I had no brother, I did have a sister who constantly snooped around my stuff.

So if you have a little girl in the house and want to save her the trouble of having to fight for her privacy, you might want to get her the iHeart Locket. That’s if she already has an iPad.

The iHeart works in conjunction with the iHeart Locket Diary app for iOS. The app is essentially a digital diary that lets your little girl write her deepest thoughts and secrets. The app also lets her insert images and scribble down notes and doodles when she feels like it.

The locket functions as the diary’s key. It transmits a unique code that keeps the diary private, so only its wearer can read the diary. In addition, if anyone comes along, a button on the locket can be pressed and anything written on the screen will be kept hidden away from prying eyes.

The iHeart Locket is being sold for $24.95(USD), while the app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store.

[via C|NET]

This week the folks at the app called gMusic have pushed through an update to include Google Play Music All Access for iOS users – iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch included. This update is one that allows the app to stream music using the app’s ability to access all features included in the Android Google Music app, here “unofficially” on Apple’s devices. Google Play Music All Access is a service that was introduced earlier this month at Google’s yearly developers conference Google I/O 2013, working with a monthly subscriber fee for streaming “radio” access to the full Google Music library.

Here at SlashGear, members of the staff (including yours truly) have been using gMusic since late 2011 when we reviewed the XtremeMac Tango TRX – that’s an Apple iPod dock-toting wireless speaker that’s still kicking out the beats today. There the user interface for gMusic wasn’t exactly as user friendly as it is today. Today, the developer team behind the app have kicked things up a notch – just that .

ABOVE: gMusic from 2011. BELOW: gMusic today, spring of 2013.

This week’s update to version 6.0 of gMusic reveals – for those of you who haven’t used the app in a while – a user interface that’s far more friendly and ready to be a real replacement for the built-in music player for iOS. The icons within the app have been smoothed out, the lines are clean, and the overall aesthetic is up to par with the content.

ABOVE: gMusic on the iPad. BELOW: more gMusic on the iPad – YT Cracker up for play.

Now the only thing you’ll be wishing for is an update to Google’s new user interface. At Google I/O, the developer team behind Google Music updated the UI for the Android app, making it gesture friendly and clean at a level equalling that of the Google Play store – also updated this month.

That’s what happens when you’re working as a 3rd party system trying to keep up with the original: they’re always one step ahead!

That said, there’s no official alternative to gMusic on iOS, and from what we’ve seen, there’s not been a whole heck of a lot of good competition for it either. You’ll be tossing down $1.99 USD to grab this app if you’re picking it up from iTunes in the USA, and the team at Interactive Innovative Solutions LLC have made it worth the bucks.

Google Play Music All Access hits the iPhone through gMusic is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.