Hidden – The App that Sees Who You Are, and Knows Where You Sleep

I would say that most people these days have a pretty deep relationship with their electronics. I never realize just how much I rely on my “connected” lifestyle until I do something stupid, like leave the house without my iPhone. The world seems to kind of, stand still, and I never get too much done, how could I? All my contacts, addresses and appointments are stored in that thing. I’m also pretty attached to my pictures and videos, I can’t imagine what I’d do if it was lost forever, or worse, if someone stole it!

Well, I guess there’s an app for that! Meet Hidden, a nifty little application that sits “hidden” on your iDevice until you need it. Then, you simply log on to the online tracking control panel (from some other device of course) and activate the tracking, which will awaken the application, enabling you to see where your precious Mac is now hanging out, look at a few screenshots of what its cruising, and then check out some full color pics of exactly who it is thats using it, anywhere in the world!

The Hidden application uses Apple’s already installed Core Location framework which lets you determine current location or the heading information associated with a device. This framework enables someone  to determine a user’s position and heading and then, utilizing iSight, you can actually get pictures of the dirty bas… er,  the person thats holding the computer for you.

The Hidden App is a monthly subscription service, starting at around 15 bucks a year to protect just one Mac or iPhone all the way up to 395 bucks to protect a whole company and up to 100 of their devices. The price includes immediate activation and includes theft recovery assistance… I like it! Find out more by visiting hiddenapp.com
[ Hidden – The App that Sees Who You Are, and Knows Where You Sleep copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

OS X Code Reveals Apple’s Plans For Super-Fast Wi-Fi

With the OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.4 beta release currently in the hands of developers, some of the more eagle-eyed nerds have noticed references to code which appear to confirm rumors about Apple’s plans to roll out super-fast Wi-Fi to its Macs. More »

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%
— ——

Filed under: , ,

Comments

What American Macintosh Factories Looked Like Last Time Apple Built Them Here

Tim Cook laid some pretty exciting news on us today, saying that an entire Mac line would be manufactured in the US starting next year (some iMacs are already assembled here). But time was, that was just ho-hum standard for all Macs, when they were made in Fremont, California. More »

Apple CEO Tim Cook Talks Transparency, $100M U.S. Mac Manufacturing Investment, Forstall, Maps And More

tim-cook-300x225

In one of the most candid, and certainly most extensive interviews with Apple CEO Tim Cook on record, Bloomberg Businessweek today got the executive to open up about Apple and discuss some of the recent hot button issues facing his company. The result is an incredible look behind the curtain at the operating principles of the man who took over for Steve Jobs, which provides some terrific insight into many of the decisions he’s made while in charge. Cook dishes on Maps, executive changes, overall management style, and making Macs in the U.S.A.

Changes: Transparency and Giving Back

Cook begins by discussing some of the differences between Apple during his tenure and the company before, starting right off with a quote from Jobs where he told Cook he “never want[s hims] to ask what I would have done,” which became the fashionable thing for analysts and tech writers to do when looking at Cook’s decisions since. The Apple CEO then goes on to discuss his policy changes, including a push for greater transparency and more charitable efforts on the company’s behalf.

“We decided being more transparent about some things is great—not that we were not transparent at all before, but we’ve stepped it up in places where we think we can make a bigger difference, where we want people to copy us,” Cook said in the interview. He added:

I think that Apple and Apple’s employees have done enormous good and can do even more. One of the things that we have done is match our employees’ charitable contributions, where they select who they want to give to. So it’s not some corporate committee deciding, but it’s our 80,000 employees deciding what they want to do, and then we match it.

Secrecy is still important to the company’s governance, Cook said, but there are areas where transparency – complete transparency – made more sense, to help the company make bigger differences. And the employee donation matching program was most recently employed to help out victims of Sandy in NYC.

Scott Forstall’s Departure: All About Collaboration

Cook was asked by Businessweek about executive shifts at the company, including the departure of Scott Forstall. He responded by talking about collaboration, something he called one of Apple’s core values, and something he said was lacking before those changes were made:

The key in the change that you’re referencing is my deep belief that collaboration is essential for innovation—and I didn’t just start believing that. I’ve always believed that. It’s always been a core belief at Apple. Steve very deeply believed this.So the changes—it’s not a matter of going from no collaboration to collaboration. We have an enormous level of collaboration in Apple, but it’s a matter of taking it to another level… You have to be an A-plus at collaboration. And so the changes that we made get us to a whole new level of collaboration.

While Cook framed it more as a question of realigning other executives and business areas to emphasize collaboration, it also seems clear from The CEO’s omission of Forstall that he may have been a barrier in the way of that goal.

U.S. Mac Manufacturing: A $100 Million Investment in 2013

Apple will be moving some of its Mac manufacturing to the U.S., going beyond just assembly, Cooks told Businessweek. He reminded the publication that in fact the engine and processor for the iPad and iPhone are made in the U.S., but also commented that in 2013 there will be a much more “substantial” effort to make Macs in the U.S., potentially working with manufacturing partners (“this doesn’t mean that Apple will do it ourselves,” he said) via a $100 million investment in a U.S.-based production process.

We’ve already seen some of the most recent iMacs ship with an “Assembled in U.S.A.” label, so this program is at least in part already underway. Hopefully we get more information on how extensive the endeavor is next year, maybe during Apple’s first quarterly conference call in calendar 2013.

Maps: A Customer Experience Play That Backfired

Cook addressed accusations that Maps was all about making a smart business decision that led to a weaker user experience in the interview. Many suspected that the reason behind removing Google Maps from the iPhone was that Apple felt the search giant had too much influence on its platform. Cook said that isn’t the case, suggesting doing their own maps app was the only way to get a few things done on the consumer side of the experience:

The reason we did Maps is we looked at this, and we said, “What does the customer want? What would be great for the customer?” We wanted to provide the customer turn-by-turn directions. We wanted to provide the customer voice integration. We wanted to provide the customer flyover. And so we had a list of things that we thought would be a great customer experience, and we couldn’t do it any other way than to do it ourselves.

That said, he conceded that it did indeed backfire, and that Maps lived up to no one’s expectations – including the company’s own. But it has been reported that Google and Apple couldn’t agree on terms to include turn-by-turn in its app on iOS, since Google was asking for more access to user data than Apple was willing to give, so Cook’s statements definitely seem genuine in light of that.

These are just a few of the issues Cook touched on, sketched out for interest’s sake. But the full article is definitely worth a read, as Businessweek’s Josh Tyrangiel did a great job of essentially asking Cook all the questions that have been asked about him in the media since he took over as Apple CEO, including, in a roundabout way, whether or not he’s the emotionless robot executive stories often make him out to be.

Make Your Mac Keyboard Better With Wood

Whether you’re sick of looking at the same silver letters on your keyboard every day or you’re just a fan of an all-natural look, Lazerwood’s keys for your Mac are pretty awesome. More »

Apple Reportedly Looking Into Switching From Intel To In-House Chips For Macs

Apple_A6_Chip

Apple is reportedly looking into ways to replace its Intel processors in Macs with new chips based on the designs it uses for its iOS-based devices. The company has previously been rumored to be contemplating such a move, but Bloomberg reports today that Apple’s engineers are now more confident in their underlying chip designs and the ability of those designs to power Mac desktops and notebooks.

Bloomberg has reported similar planned changes in the past, in a retrospective reflecting on the year since Steve Jobs’ death. And around a year ago there were rumors that it was looking at alternatives to Intel as well. The hurdles involved include making sure that software works on Macs based on the new processors; when Apple went from PowerPC to Intel, the transition left a lot of legacy software incompatible and led to transition issues around porting software.

Apple would also have to be extremely confident in their new chipmaking powers in order to drop Intel, and this isn’t likely something we’ll see happen overnight, even now that they’ve achieved greater maturity with their mobile efforts. I’d expect Apple to deliver new architecture alongside a significant OS update, maybe an evolution that finally carries us out of the OS X generation.

Apple designs based on ARM designs would enable the company to create hardware that theoretically runs cooler with less significant power demands, and would make it easier to get OS X and iOS closer together (it seems to be wanting to do just that with its recent executive rearrangement) in terms of cross-compatibility of software and code. But unlike Microsoft, Apple is taking the long-view approach to that unification of platforms. So again, it seems like we’ll probably not see this make its way to actual shipping products for a while, but it’ll be a huge shift for all involved (Apple, users, developers and especially Intel) if it does come to pass.