Rise Alarm Clock App: Wakes You Up, Minimally

While some of the other apps that I’ve come across recently promise to wake you up in different ways, this one strips away all unnecessary functions and goes down to the bare essentials of what an alarm should be. It will wake you up and it’s nicely designed. It doesn’t go much beyond this – and that’s a good thing.

simple bots rise iphone alarm app screen

The Rise app for iOS is simple, but some thought went into designing it. To set the alarm, you just drag your finger across the screen to select the time. Once set, the app has a progressive alarm, meaning that it will increase in volume if you don’t do anything about it. A simple swipe across the screen will shut the alarm off. You can also snooze your alarm by shaking your iPhone, which is good because when I’m groggy with sleep, shaking my phone is about the only thing I can do. It comes with a nice variety of alarm sounds, and you can also have it wake you with your favorite track from iTunes.

Rise is available in the iTunes App store for $1.99(USD).

T3 Music Player for iOS: The Media Player Goes Old School

There are plenty of ways of playing music on your iPhone, but the default player lacks a few functions. This new player app was inspired by the work of legendary industrial designer Dieter Rams, blending both form and function as you rediscover your music collection.

t3 music player ios

The T3 Player simplifies all the controls that you are used to using when playing music. You can organize your favorite songs, create playlists, rank and shuffle songs. You’ll also be able to sort your playlists by artist name or rank. All that on top of looking like a cool vintage music player.

The T3 Player is available at the iTunes app store for $0.99. It’s definitely an app that’s worth considering if you are bored with the standard interface of your iPhone’s music controls – though you may want to wait for the next version – early users of version 1.0 are reporting that it’s impossible to add tracks more than one at a time, which could be very frustrating and time consuming.

t3 music player ios front

[via BlessThisStuff]

JVC Kenwood – RV-S1-S – Powerful sound system with built-in iPod/iPhone dock

JVC Kenwood is releasing a stylish sound system, the RV-S1-S, with a unique tube-like design. It produces powerful deep bass sounds and avoids unnecessary vibrations, utilizing 4 high-powered speakers (including 2 woofer outputs).
The built-in iPhone/iPod dock is also very interesting. You can close the cover, so it will protect the device during outdoor activity. When using iPhone 5, you need to connect it to the USB Port.
Music saved with USB memory or SD card (MP3/WMA) is playable. …

Pioneer – Car Audio System – FH-780DVD with 6.1 inch VGA Monitor

Pioneer unveiled their new car audio system – FH-780DVD. It has a high-quality 6.1 inch touch panel to employ smoother and easier finger-sensitive operation in the system.
It automatically lists songs that have been saved by each artist or category, helping users find songs they want to listen to right away. Also, it is compatible with iPhone/iPod, DVD, DVD−R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, USD devices, etc. to allow users to enjoy various kinds of music and movies through many different devices and …

iTunes breaks 25 billion songs sold – a new record!

This week Apple has made it clear that they’re continuing to bust up the record books with a massive 25 billion songs sold. This record takes on the digital sales record with the iTunes Store having reached a 15,000 song downloads per minute mark on average – crazy stuff! The 25 billionth song sold goes to none other than Chase Buch with the song “Monkey Drums” (Goksel Vancin Remix), and rewards are in store!

itunesbillion

This 25 billionth song not only gets the distinction of being that mark-maker, but also has the artist winning a beastly €10,000 iTunes Gift Card. One wonders if they’ll simply purchase thousands of copies of their own music or if they’ll pick up every single song recorded in the last several years. One thing is for certain – even with that amount of iTunes cash, Chase Buch won’t be able to purchase everything the iTunes Store has to offer.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services spoke up this week about the masterful mark. Noting the 15,000 songs per minute average sales point as well, Cue spoke up on how “the iTunes Store connects music fans with their favorite artists … on a scale we never imagined possible.” It was also made clear once again that the iTunes Store is “the world’s most popular music store” complete with 119 countries on its roster and 26 million songs available for download.

In their most recent release on the iTunes Store, Apple reminded the world that they push songs with “iTunes Plus”. This is Apple’s own brand format for songs which offers DRM-free action with 256 kbps AAC encoding for what Apple describes as “audio virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings.” It’s high-powered!


iTunes breaks 25 billion songs sold – a new record! is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Soul Party in a Box Music P910 Player: The Luxury Boombox

There are many products which have been sold as a “party in a box,” but I’ve never heard the term applied to a music player. This audio player is named thusly because it’s completely self-contained, and aims to be the life of your next party – hopefully waking up your neighbors very late at night.

soul party in a box 1

The Soul Party In A Box P910 is a room-rattling portable speaker system. It has a dock for your iOS device, Bluetooth with AptX support, a USB port, and an auxiliary audio port. It has a total of 8 speakers, including dual 6.5-inch subwoofers, 3-inch midrange drivers, front firing 1.5-inch midranges and 1-inch tweeters.

soul party in a box 1a

It’s also got an HDMI output, a karaoke mode with microphone input, and a remote control. It’s also got an FM radio with RDS track and artist display. There’s also a built-in handle, and a universal world power supply so that you can take the party anywhere. While functions are managed using a modern LCD screen, the old-school analog VU meters are also a nice touch.

soul party in a box 2

So how much will all this party rockin’ set you back? Priced at $999.99(USD), the Party in a Box is definitely no cheap boombox. Let’s hope its sound lives up to its price tag. At least Soul softens the blow a little bit by throwing in a pair of their high-end SL300 headphones ($249 value) with your purchase for now.

[via Uncrate]

Rare, Vintange iPod Spotted On eBay For $25,000

Rare, Vintange iPod Spotted On eBay For $25,000If you think about the iPod today, you wouldn’t think that Apple would have needed help trying to sell the device, right? That might be true today, but 9 years ago might have been a different story because it seems that Apple and HP teamed up to create an iPod with HP’s logo at the back. It’s a rare piece of gadgetry and if you’re a collector of gadgets of the past, or if you know someone who is, it seems that an auction on eBay has been spotted where the seller is auctioning off a “rare vintage collectors iPod”, which is basically the iPod with HP’s logo on the back.

While this device might be news to some, what came as a bigger shock was the asking price which is set at a staggering $25,000! We’re not sure who will be willing to pay for such a device, but considering that this joint venture with HP ran from 2004 to 2005, we expect that there aren’t too many units out there. Either way if you’re interested in checking out the auction (which is ending in 15 hours at this time of posting), head on over to its eBay page for the details.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Belkin Thunderstorm iPad Speaker Case, Apple’s Rumored Pandora-equivalent Radio Service Predicted For 2013 Announcement,

Apple stock takes a tumble in after hours trading

In case you missed the hullabaloo, Apple delivered its earnings report for Q1 2013 this afternoon. While things looked excellent for the most part, something about the report has investors worried, as Apple’s stock price has taken something of a plunge during after hours trading. After an encouraging regular trading day that ended with a gain of 1.83%, Apple’s stock price has slid $52.56 to $461.74, representing a 10% loss.

ipad-ipadmini-3-14-SlashGear-ipad-mini-1-580x3121

It’s confusing at first glance, because the numbers posted this afternoon were pretty great. Apple sold a record 47.8 million iPhones and a record 22.9 million iPads during the quarter, and posted a revenue of $54.5 billion, which is up year-over-year from $46.3 billion. The company’s average weekly revenue during the quarter was an astounding $4.2 billion, which is quite a bit more than the average of $3.3 billion it was posting a year ago.

While those are some ridiculously large numbers, there were also some declines in Apple’s report. Mac and iPod sales were both down year-over-year, with 4.1 million Macs being sold (down from 5.2 million), and Apple moving 12.7 million iPods (down from 15.4 million). Net profit remained more or less flat, and earnings-per-share dropped ever so slightly, going from $13.87 a year ago to $13.81.

So, it could be that investors are paying more attention to the negatives than the positives. It’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next few days of regular trading – will Apple’s stock rebound, or will investors send it down further? Time will tell, so stay tuned.

[via Google Finance]


Apple stock takes a tumble in after hours trading is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple: over 500 million iOS devices sold

Apple over 500 million iOS devices sold

Last time Apple bragged about the number of iOS devices it’s sold, the number was 400 million. On the company earnings call today, however, Tim Cook revealed that the number of iPhones, iPads and iPods sold has surpassed the half a billion mark. To be clear, that’s over 500,000,000 devices, and it means that Apple’s moved a hundred million devices total since June 2012. Of those, 75 million were moved in this quarter alone. Not bad, eh?

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Apple’s Q1 2013 earnings reveal Mac and iPod sales down year-over-year

Apple's Q1 earnings reveal Mac and iPod sales down yearoveryear

Apple’s just released its latest figures for Q1 2013 and buried within the overall positive earnings — about $54.5 billion in revenues and a profit of $13.1 billion — is a surprising sales figure. For the company’s recently ended quarter, Mac sales totaled 4.1 million — that’s in stark contrast to the 5.2 million sold in the previous year-ago quarter. This startling nugget comes despite the fact that Apple issued a refreshed iMac just before the close of the holiday season — normally a boon time for sales. But as the company’s earnings call revealed, these late 2012 iMacs were apparently subject to manufacturing constraints, thus preventing Apple from shipping units to all markets. As for its lagging iPod performance, that category also saw a steep decline, dropping down by nearly 3 million in year-over-year sales and amassing just 12.7 million units sold on the backs of its latest iPod touch and iPod nano. While this dip in sales is far from a warning bell for Cupertino (hello! record quarterly profit), it certainly doesn’t bode well for the halo its products have typically enjoyed.

Show full PR text

Apple Reports Record Results
47.8 Million iPhones Sold; 22.9 Million iPads Sold

CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan 23, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Apple(R) today announced financial results for its 13-week fiscal 2013 first quarter ended December 29, 2012. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $54.5 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $46.3 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share, in the 14-week year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38.6 percent compared to 44.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 61 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Average weekly revenue was $4.2 billion in the quarter compared to $3.3 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The Company sold a record 47.8 million iPhones in the quarter, compared to 37 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold a record 22.9 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.1 million Macs, compared to 5.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 12.7 million iPods in the quarter, compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $2.65 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on February 14, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 11, 2013.

“We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.”

“We’re pleased to have generated over $23 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “We established new all-time quarterly records for iPhone and iPad sales, significantly broadened our ecosystem, and generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever.”

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2013 second quarter:

* revenue between $41 billion and $43 billion

* gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent

* operating expenses between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion

* other income/(expense) of $350 million

* tax rate of 26%

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2013 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PST on January 23, 2013 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq113 . This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), and tax rate. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company’s dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company’s international operations; the Company’s reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company’s dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company’s products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company’s sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 29, 2012, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 29, 2012 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website ( www.apple.com/pr ), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

(C) 2013 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple Inc.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In millions, except number of shares which are reflected in
thousands and per share amounts)
Three Months Ended
————————————-
December 29, December 31,
2012 2011
—————- —————-
Net sales $ 54,512 $ 46,333
Cost of sales (1) 33,452 25,630
——– ——–
Gross margin 21,060 20,703
——– ——–
Operating expenses:
Research and development (1) 1,010 758
Selling, general and administrative (1) 2,840 2,605
——– ——–
Total operating expenses 3,850 3,363
——– ——–
Operating income 17,210 17,340
Other income/(expense), net 462 137
——– ——–
Income before provision for income taxes 17,672 17,477
Provision for income taxes 4,594 4,413
——– ——–
Net income $ 13,078 $ 13,064
======== ======== ======== ========
Earnings per share:
Basic $ 13.93 $ 14.03
Diluted $ 13.81 $ 13.87
Shares used in computing earnings per share:
Basic 938,916 931,041
Diluted 947,217 941,572
Cash dividends declared per common share $ 2.65 $ 0
(1) Includes share-based compensation expense as follows:
Cost of sales $ 85 $ 63
Research and development $ 224 $ 160
Selling, general and administrative $ 236 $ 197

Apple Inc.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions, except number of shares which are reflected in
thousands)
December 29, September 29,
2012 2012
—————— ——————
ASSETS:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 16,154 $ 10,746
Short-term marketable securities 23,666 18,383
Accounts receivable, less allowances of $119 and $98, respectively 11,598 10,930
Inventories 1,455 791
Deferred tax assets 2,895 2,583
Vendor non-trade receivables 9,936 7,762
Other current assets 6,644 6,458
——— ———
Total current assets 72,348 57,653
Long-term marketable securities 97,292 92,122
Property, plant and equipment, net 15,422 15,452
Goodwill 1,381 1,135
Acquired intangible assets, net 4,462 4,224
Other assets 5,183 5,478
——— ———
Total assets $ 196,088 $ 176,064
========= ========= ========= =========
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 26,398 $ 21,175
Accrued expenses 13,207 11,414
Deferred revenue 7,274 5,953
——— ———
Total current liabilities 46,879 38,542
Deferred revenue – non-current 2,938 2,648
Other non-current liabilities 18,925 16,664
——— ———
Total liabilities 68,742 57,854
——— ———
Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock, no par value; 1,800,000 shares authorized; 938,973 and 17,167 16,422
939,208 shares issued and outstanding, respectively
Retained earnings 109,567 101,289
Accumulated other comprehensive income 612 499
——— ———
Total shareholders’ equity 127,346 118,210
——— ———
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 196,088 $ 176,064
========= ========= ========= =========

Apple Inc.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In millions)
Three Months Ended
————————————-
December 29, December 31,
2012 2011
—————- —————-
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period $ 10,746 $ 9,815
——– ——– ——– ——–
Operating activities:
Net income 13,078 13,064
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash generated by operating
activities:
Depreciation and amortization 1,588 721
Share-based compensation expense 545 420
Deferred income tax expense 1,179 1,456
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net (668) (3,561)
Inventories (664) (460)
Vendor non-trade receivables (2,174) (1,206)
Other current and non-current assets 413 (962)
Accounts payable 6,145 4,314
Deferred revenue 1,611 1,296
Other current and non-current liabilities 2,373 2,472
——– ——–
Cash generated by operating activities 23,426 17,554
——– ——–
Investing activities:
Purchases of marketable securities (37,192) (40,175)
Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities 3,460 3,038
Proceeds from sales of marketable securities 23,002 21,472
Payments made in connection with business acquisitions, net (284) 0
Payments for acquisition of property, plant and equipment (2,317) (1,321)
Payments for acquisition of intangible assets (138) (108)
Other (52) (34)
——– ——–
Cash used in investing activities (13,521) (17,128)
——– ——–
Financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock 76 91
Excess tax benefits from equity awards 404 333
Dividends and dividend equivalent rights paid (2,493) 0
Repurchase of common stock (1,950) 0
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards (534) (355)
——– ——–
Cash (used in)/generated by financing activities (4,497) 69
——– ——–
Increase in cash and cash equivalents 5,408 495
——– ——–
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period $ 16,154 $ 10,310
======== ======== ======== ========
Supplemental cash flow disclosure:
Cash paid for income taxes, net $ 1,890 $ 1,474

Apple Inc.
Q1 2013 Unaudited Summary Data
(Units in thousands, Revenue in millions)
Q1’13 (a) Q4’12 (a) Q1’12 (a) Sequential Change Year/Year Change
——————- ——————- ——————- —————— —————–
Operating Segments Revenue Revenue Revenue Revenue Revenue
———– ———– ———– ———- ———
Americas $ 20,341 $ 13,810 $ 17,714 47% 15%
Europe 12,464 8,023 11,256 55% 11%
Greater China (b) 6,830 5,427 4,080 26% 67%
Japan 4,443 2,367 3,550 88% 25%
Rest of Asia Pacific 3,993 2,110 3,617 89% 10%
Retail 6,441 4,229 6,116 52% 5%
—— —— —— ———- ———
Total Apple $ 54,512 $ 35,966 $ 46,333 52% 18%
— ——
Q1’13 (a) Q4’12 (a) Q1’12 (a) Sequential Change Year/Year Change
——————- ——————- ——————- —————— —————–
Product Summary Units Revenue Units Revenue Units Revenue Units Revenue Units Revenue
—— ———– —— ———– —— ———– —– ———- —– ———
iPhone (c) 47,789 $ 30,660 26,910 $ 16,645 37,044 $ 23,950 78% 84% 29% 28%
iPad (c) 22,860 10,674 14,036 7,133 15,434 8,769 63% 50% 48% 22%
Mac (c) 4,061 5,519 4,923 6,617 5,198 6,598 – 18% – 17% – 22% – 16%
iPod (c) 12,679 2,143 5,344 820 15,397 2,528 137% 161% – 18% – 15%
iTunes/Software/Services (d) 3,687 3,496 3,020 5% 22%
Accessories (e) 1,829 1,255 1,468 46% 25%
—— —— —— ———- ———
Total Apple $ 54,512 $ 35,966 $ 46,333 52% 18%
— ——

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