Feb 23

Shocker! Apple product placements dominate Hollywood

Posted in: ad, advertising, Apple, film, Ford, Today's Chili

Something you already knew to be true has just been confirmed by Omnicom’s Interbrand brand consultancy division: Apple reigns supreme in Hollywood films. Interbrand’s Brandchannel website dug deep into the fetid bowels of product placement to reveal Hollywood’s preferences (paid or personal) in the 33 films that hit the US box office number one slot in 2010. Brandchannel identified 591 total brand or product appearances for an average of 17.9 placements per film, with Apple appearing in ten of the top films for a 30 percent share — Nike, Chevrolet, and Ford each appeared in eight. Incidentally, Iron Man 2 won the dubious distinction of being cluttered with the most identifiable brands (64) in 2010. Apple is actually off from its peak of 50 percent of number one films in 2008 and 44 percent in 2009 as demonstrated in the chart after the break. But it’s not for a lack of trying. Brandchannel contends that the competition for brand placement has simply intensified resulting in fewer appearances of Janoff’s U+F8FF.

Continue reading Shocker! Apple product placements dominate Hollywood

Shocker! Apple product placements dominate Hollywood originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 22

Apple and other music retailers purportedly looking at 24-bit, high-fidelity audio downloads

Posted in: Apple, audio, business, industry, itunes, MP3, Music, pricing, rumor, sales, Today's Chili

Digital downloads, at least pertaining to music, have come a long, long way. The iTunes Music Store in particular has surpassed Walmart as America’s leading seller of music, and it’s evolved from a DRM-laden mess to a restriction-free(ish) marketplace with higher-than-average bitrate support. But it seems that 256kbps simply isn’t high enough. According to unnamed “executives involved in talks,” Apple — as well as a few other digital music retailers — are currently in discussions with labels to “improve the quality of the song files they sell.” Essentially, these retailers are hoping to hawk 24-bit audio rather than the compressed 16-bit files available today, possibly with a price premium attached. The real trick, however, won’t be coercing the labels to cooperate, but to retool future devices to actually play back 24-bit files. iTunes itself is already capable of handling ’em, but the iPod, iPhone and a slew of other handheld devices aren’t. The report doesn’t mention how close to a deal anyone is, but we’re guessing it’ll be sooner rather than later. Here’s hoping the iPhone 5 ships with 128GB of capacity — we’re going to need an awful lot of space to handle those lossless Police albums.

Apple and other music retailers purportedly looking at 24-bit, high-fidelity audio downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 22

Everything Apple (Might) Have Up Its Sleeve [News]

Posted in: Apple, ipad, ipad 2, macbook, macbook pro, rumors, Today's Chili, top

Apple fans! Apple detractors too! Exciting new stuff is almost here. Keyboards around the world are clacking with anticipation over new MacBooks and iPads—but rather than scouring the internet wastes, check out everything you need to know below. More »

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Feb 22

Rumor: iPad 2 Event Scheduled for March 2

Posted in: Apple, ipad 2, rumors, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

A customer holds a first-generation iPad outside an Apple store. Photo: Bryan Derballa/Wired.com

Apple is preparing to introduce the second-generation iPad in a special event next week, according to a report.

Multiple sources close to the situation say Apple is set to unveil the upgrade for the popular tablet on March 2 in San Francisco, according to the well-sourced Kara Swisher of All Things Digital.

“The Wednesday date in a little more than a week is firm and will take place in San Francisco, the scene of many such Apple events,” Swisher writes.

Apple does not comment on rumors or speculation, but small clues hint at the possibility of the iPad 2 gaining front and rear-facing cameras (similar to the iPhone 4) and a more powerful graphics processor. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported a rumor that the resolution of the iPad 2 would not be significantly improved, which could come as a disappointment to customers.

If the March 2 launch date turns out to be true, the iPad 2’s debut will come just days after Motorola’s first tablet, the Xoom, is set to hit stores on Feb. 24.

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Feb 22

Apple Will Unveil iPad 2 On March 2 [Apple]

Posted in: Apple, ipad, ipad 2, Today's Chili, top

All Things D just reported that Apple will be holding their iPad 2 unveiling on March 2. No official invites have gone out yet, so think of this one as a strong rumor. Here’s an outline of what we think the next iPad is going to have. And even if you don’t believe ATD’s “confirmed” rumor, a bunch of signs are pointing at an event or announcement very soon. [AllThingsD] More »

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Feb 22

Apple holding iPad 2 event next week?

Posted in: Apple, ipad, ipad 2, Ipad2, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili

We’re all hotly expecting new MacBook Pros on Thursday, but it sounds like Apple might have an even bigger announcement soon: Kara Swisher at All Things Digital says the iPad 2 will be revealed on March 2 in San Francisco. That lines up with some of the rumblings we’ve heard, but we haven’t gotten an official invite yet, so things could change — we’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything definite.

Apple holding iPad 2 event next week? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 22

iPad Sold Out in European Locations, iPad 2 Coming Soon?

Posted in: Apple, ipad, Today's Chili

ipad 2 ces.JPG

The first generation iPad is out of stock in retail locations all over Europe. Over at the Carphone Warehouse in the UK, the 64GB WiFi model and all 3G models are sold out. Ingram Micro is similarly sold out of a number of models. Carriers Orange and T-Mobile, meanwhile, have slashed prices on the iPad 3G.
Apple’s refusal to restock supplies could well reflect what we’ve known all along–the iPad 2 is coming soon. We’ve seen a similar scenario play out before the launch of past Apple product refreshes. 
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Feb 22

Forget the white iPhone 4, white iPhone 5 rumors begin!

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, rumor, Today's Chili

It’s the perfect rumor: the officially delayed and frequently tattled white iPhone 4 has reemerged as the white iPhone 5 riding a horned stallion through virgin rumor fields. According to the Economic Daily News, the previously unheard of white iPhone 5 will feature a touch panel supplied exclusively by Wintek. If true, then the white iPhone 4, officially scheduled for a spring 2011 launch, should be available just prior to the launch of the next generation white iPhone 5, anticipated for a summer launch in keeping with Apple’s typical launch cycle. Not exactly ideal, but hey, it’s only the first of many related rumors to come.

P.S. Here’s a link to an Apple-free Engadget in anticipation of your needs.

Forget the white iPhone 4, white iPhone 5 rumors begin! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 21

Minecraft for iOS confirmed, the hunt resumes for free time to squander

Posted in: Apple, AppStore, game, ios, ipad, Today's Chili, video

You know all of that time you’ve been wasting on Angry Birds HD? Looks like your flying friends may have company when it comes time to, um… kill time, as Markus Persson has confirmed to Gamasutra that an iOS port is “in the works.” That means that an official Minecraft build will soon pop up in Apple’s App Store, with iPhone and iPad versions hinted at. Aron Neiminen, a new recruit to the Mojang team, is responsible for the port, and if all goes well, it’ll be let loose later in the year. Persson also confirmed that the iOS version won’t receive every update that the original browser / download versions get, but that it’ll be “granted features that make sense for the touchscreen platform.” Raise your hand below if you’re giddy beyond control.

Update: Video’s after the break! Thanks, Cooper.

Continue reading Minecraft for iOS confirmed, the hunt resumes for free time to squander

Minecraft for iOS confirmed, the hunt resumes for free time to squander originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 21

Readability: Apple’s new subscription policy ‘smacks of greed’

Posted in: app, Apple, AppStore, itunes, Today's Chili
Apple’s new subscription policy has already drawn plenty of criticism — not to mention the eye of the FTC and DOJ – but that doesn’t make the missive issued by Readability today any less pointed. As you may be aware, Readability’s technology is used the Reader feature recently added to Safari, and the company also provides a subscription-based service of its own that allows you to pay for the convenience of reading articles that have been stripped down to nothing but text — something they’re able to get away with because they pay 70 percent of that subscription fee back to the publishers. Not surprisingly, Readability recently decided to expand with an iOS app, and that’s where things got dicey. Apple rejected the app on the grounds that it relies on a separate subscription — one where Apple doesn’t get a 30 percent cut.

In a post on its blog, the company says that 30 percent “drastically undermines a key premise of how Readability works,” and that, frankly, Apple’s new subscription policy as a whole “smacks of greed.” Obviously, that leaves Readability in something of a bind at the moment, as the nature of its business doesn’t give it the leeway to agree to Apple’s terms, but it does have a suggestion. It says it’ll gladly deliver a Readability app for iOS with in-app purchasing if Apple agrees to pay 70 percent of the 30 percent fee it collects to writers and publishers, just like it does. Hit up the source link below for the company’s complete letter.

Readability: Apple’s new subscription policy ‘smacks of greed’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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