Hasta La Gadget!

Hey, a phone that Apple introduced back in 2009 (that’d be the iPhone 3GS) is now selling — brand new with a two-year voice / data agreement — for $49, both at AT&T and through Apple directly. Of course, you could get the far more capable iPhone 4 for a fair amount more, or you could wait until tomorrow so you’d actually have an option when it comes to carriers. Your call, obviously.

Apple drops iPhone 3GS to $49 on contract, we pretend the timing is coincidental originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider  |  AT&T, Apple  | Email this | Comments

If you’ve managed to use any piece of technology for ten years, it’s safe to say that said piece has some serious lasting power in an era filled with flavors-of-the-week. It’s a bit startling to think that Apple’s iTunes has now fallen into that category, but sure enough, the music-turned-media-application is now a decade old. Fittingly enough, it just hit version 10.0 a few months ago, and it may very well be tweaked to play nice with an all new device later this week. Head on past the break for a look at the very first iTunes introduction at Macworld 2001, and then think about how many times you’ve hated your life as you watched that sync progress bar crawl along at glacial speeds. No, seriously, think about it.

Continue reading iTunes celebrates its 10th birthday, still takes too long to sync your iPhone

iTunes celebrates its 10th birthday, still takes too long to sync your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TUAW  | Email this | Comments

Verizon is apparently quite confident that its network is robust enough to withstand the strain of the iPhone–a marked contrast with AT&T, which has struggled through data usage issues and dropped calls since Apple first began offering its handset exclusively through that carrier in the US, back in 2007.

Verizon, which is widely expected to announce its own version of the Apple handset during a New York City press conference tomorrow, has reportedly been ramping up network infrastructure, in anticipation of the strain it could undergo after offering users the iPhone. According to a source who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, the carrier is confident that its network could withstand such strain.

The carrier has focused much of its efforts on cities like San Francisco and New York, where the prevalence of the iPhone has often been blamed for slowing AT&T to a crawl.

9to5 Mac reports that Apple will drop its 10 percent restocking fees on January 11th. We’ve confirmed with our own sources that this is true. January 11th happens to be the day that Verizon will hold a mysterious event in New York City, presumably for the Verizon iPhone. While this certainly isn’t incontrovertible evidence that the Verizon event is actually more of an Apple event, this definitely adds some tinder to the flaming rumor mill. Then again, Apple could merely be following Best Buy’s lead, with the 1.11.11 date pure coincidence. Either way, we’re fans of open return policies for expensive products, so if you ask us, it’s more of a good thing.

Apple will drop restocking fees on January 11th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  9to5 Mac  | Email this | Comments

Although DLNA may have had a significant head start, the streaming media standard available on more than 9,000 devices is about to be challenged in a very big way by Apple’s upstart AirPlay technology. At least it will be if Jordan Watters, BridgeCo‘s VP of Sales and Marketing, is to be believed. BridgeCo as you’ll recall, is the company that makes the silicon for AirPlay devices — currently an exclusive arrangement we’re told. While Apple may have thrust BridgeCo into the consumer spotlight, this ten year old company has a long history of quietly providing networked media processors and connectivity software to a who’s who of audio companies. Here at CES we’ve already seen two speakers from iHome, the Zeppelin Air from B&W, and a trio of speakers from the previously unannounced AirPlay partner Klipsch rolled out. And this is just the beginning.

According to Jordan Watters, AirPlay devices could ultimately dwarf “made for iPod” audio docks by 2x to 4x. Part of the reason for Jordan’s optimism is the fact that so many iOS devices have already been sold and that many audio devices already on the market using BridgeCo chips can add AirPlay functionality via a software update, including the nine receivers just announced from Denon and Marantz. “The ecosystem is already there,” he said smiling. And unlike iPod docks which are usually sold at a rate of one per iOS device, Watters sees consumers purchasing multiple AirPlay devices for every iOS device sold in order to enable whole-home distributed audio. In fact, growth could come as a “step function ramp sucking into the market,” Jordan enthused. In other words, he expects AirPlay growth to be explosive. We’d chalk up the hyperbolic talk to Jordan’s marketing role if it weren’t for the abundance of anecdotal evidence supporting his claims here at CES. To start with, the company’s modest meeting room was packed with interested manufacturers poking around BridgeCo’s AirPlay offering. Jordan’s also booked back-to-back-to-back with meetings until the show ends (and into the coming weeks we suspect). But what really convinced us was an all-in-one speaker prototype from a major consumer electronics company that was quickly whisked away before meeting the sensor beneath our D300’s lens. If they’re involved, well, we expect the rest will follow.

Apple AirPlay devices set to explode in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments