Apple’s answer to the Galaxy S4: There’s iPhone, And then there’s everything else.

Reluctant to sit by the sideline, while Samsung is making home-runs with the Galaxy S4, Apple has launched a new ad campaign, highlighting the iPhone 5′s key differentiating features.

This time, Apple has chosen to make a dedicated web page rather than launching a new TV ad. That’s probably due to the fact that it wouldn’t be able to fit all the information in just 30 seconds.

But before bragging about its iPhone 5, Apple points out that it has won eight consecutive J.D. Power and Associates awards for customer satisfaction. Next, the marketing team from Cupertino goes on to saying that “has been meticulously considered and refined”

The Retina display is next on the feature list.

“Only iPhone has the Retina display.”

If Retina means a specific screen pixel density, we agree. Latest droids have higher pixel density than the iPhone’s Retina, so in a way… the iPhone 5 is the last of the flagships to have that low pixel density.

The Retina display on iPhone ushered in the era of super-high-resolution displays. Its pixel density is so high, your eye can’t distinguish individual pixels. The images and words are amazingly vivid and crisp. Everything just looks so real. In fact, once you see a Retina display, you’re never satisfied with anything less. Yet it remains a feature found only on iPhone and other Apple products.

The rest of the stuff Apple touts as best-in-class are the performance of Apple A6 chip, the iPhone 5 battery efficiency, the widespread LTE support, the user-friendliness of iOS 6 and Safari, as well as the iPhone 5′s spectacular camera. Mind you, most of these self-pats on the back are well deserved.

Apple joins HTC in attacking Samsung after the Koreans unveiled the Galaxy S4. Unlike HTC however, Apple’s approach is more positive and dare I say, mature.

The Galaxy S4 is due to hit stores by the end of April, so we’ll see if it’ll sell like hot cake, justifying the anxiety of its rivals.

See it All Here.

Steve Jobs 58th Birthday: 10 products that defined Jobs career !

Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO who invented and masterfully marketed ever-sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone, was born on February 24, 1955. Steve Jobs had no formal schooling in engineering, yet he’s listed as the inventor or co-inventor on more than 300 US patents. These are some of the significant products that were created under his direction:

Apple’s first product was a computer for hobbyists and engineers, made in small numbers. Steve Wozniak designed it, while Jobs orchestrated the funding and handled the marketing.

One of the first successful personal computers, the Apple II was designed as a mass-market product rather than something for engineers or enthusiasts. It was still largely Wozniak’s design. Several upgrades for the model followed, and the product line continued until 1993.

Jobs’ visit to Xerox Corp.’s research center in Palo Alto inspired him to start work on the first commercial computer with a graphical user interface, with icons, windows and a cursor controlled by a mouse. It was the foundation for today’s computer interfaces, but the Lisa was too expensive to be a commercial success.

Like the Lisa, the Macintosh had a graphical user interface. It was also cheaper and faster and had the backing of a large advertising campaign behind it. People soon realized how useful the graphical interface was for design. That led “desktop publishing,” accomplished with a Mac coupled to a laser printer, to soon become a sales driver.

After being forced out of Apple, Jobs started a company that built a powerful workstation computer. The company was never able to sell large numbers, but the computer was influential: The world’s first Web browser was created on one. Its software also lives on as the basis for today’s Macintosh and iPhone operating system.

When Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, the company was foundering, with an ever shrinking share of the PC market. The radical iMac was the first step in reversing the slide. It was strikingly designed as a bubble of blue plastic that enclosed both the monitor and the computer. Easy to set up, it captured the imagination just as people across the world were having their eyes opened to the benefits of the Internet and considering getting their first home computer.

It wasn’t the first digital music player with a hard drive, but it was the first successful one. Apple’s expansion into portable electronics has had vast ramifications. The iPod’s success prepared the way for the iTunes music store and the iPhone.

Before the iTunes store, buying digital music was a hassle, making piracy the more popular option. The store simplified the process and brought together tracks from all the major labels. The store became the largest music retailer in the US in 2008.

The iPhone did for the phone experience what the Macintosh did for personal computing – it made the power of a smartphone easy to harness. Apple is now the world’s most profitable maker of phones, and the influence of the iPhone is evident in all smartphones.

Dozens of companies, including Apple, had created tablet computers before the iPad, but none caught on. The iPad finally cracked the code, creating a whole new category of computer practically by itself.

 

Report claims next-gen iPhone to come with redesigned headphones.

Judging from what we know, or at least what we think we know, about the new iPhone, it’s going to be loaded with changes and upgrades: new charging port, new back, new screen, and new processor.

And the handset may not be the only thing getting a revamp this year. A new video has surfaced online of what is claimed to be a redesigned headphones that will be included with the next-gen iPhone…

MacRumors points to the clip, which was originally posted by Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn.

The site was able to translate the audio from the video, and we’ve posted an excerpt below:

“In my hands are the new earphones for the iPhone 5 that is about to come out – Apple’s next generation of iPod [sic]. These will replace the current earphones that are on the market. These are manufactured at Phax Co factory in Vietnam. They have the appearance of a horse’s head, not like earbuds. When they are worn, they have a much smaller profile. They have the appearance of a fully integrated, single unit – there’s no part that looks like it would come apart – not like earbuds; the integrated design is characteristic of Apple products. Here I have the old earphones for comparison. The new ones are much smaller; when they are worn, they do not hurt the way earbuds do.”

There’s obviously no way to confirm the legitimacy of the video or the headphones, but there are a few things worth noting here. For one, on the cable of the headphones it reads: “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in Vietnam.” Apple has used Vietnamese factories to make headphones in the past.

And the description “they have the appearance of a fully integrated, single unit” is also interesting because it sounds a lot like Apple’s “Ultrasonically Welded Structures and Methods for Making the Same” patent application discovered in April of this year. Here’s an excerpt from the body of that filing:

“Seamless headphones may be ultrasonically welded such that the welding produces an unpolished welded structure. A portion of the unpolished welded structure can be cut to a predetermined size, sanded, polished, and cleaned to provide a seamless polished headphone component.”

Combine these two things with Tinhte’s history of scoring pre-release Apple gear and we have to say that it’s entirely possible that these are the real deal. And our fingers are crossed that they are. If you’ve ever used Apple’s iPhone earbuds, you know that they don’t always sound the best or fit properly.

Hopefully this will change with this year’s model. We’ll find out in a few weeks.

Apple announces WWDC 2012, kicks off on June 11th & Tickets sells out in two hours !

Confirming speculation, Apple just announced via a press release that its annual developer conference will run this year from June 11 through June 15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, a week after this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo show. Tickets are now on sale, available from $1,599 for conference passes.

If history is anything to go by, WWDC 2012 will sell out in a matter of hours. If you’re planning on attending the conference, better get your tickets right now, right here.

Unlike previous WWDCs, however, this time around Apple is mandating that attendees with conference passes be members of one of their developer programs…

Apple quoted in the press releases its senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Philip Schiller:

We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers. The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.

The mention of the iOS platform is a strong indication that WWDC 2012 could see Apple preview iOS 6, the next major updated to its mobile operating system.

The WWDC website provides an overview of the sessions planned for the five-day conference, including:

• more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies
• 100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps
• the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world—last year more than 60 countries were represented
• engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment
• Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

A scholarship program for full or part-time students age 13 or older is also available. Nominations for the 2012 Apple Design Awards for outstanding iOS and Mac apps are also open.

We’re expecting various other updates at WWDC 2012. Specifically, Apple should update us on the progress of OS X Mountain Lion and likely unveil a refreshed MacBook lineup right on the heels of Intel’s Ivy Bridge announcement.

Whoa, WWDC 2012 sells out in two hours

This is insane: tickets for Apple’s WWDC 2012 conference, which was announced earlier this morning, sold out in mere two hours. Nevermind the $1,599 price tag, tickets went on sale at 1:30pm GMT and by 3:30pm sold out.

In a way, Apple – itself based on the West Coast – screwed developers on the East Coast who woke up to the news that the year’s most important event has already sold out. Here’s to the hoping they put into effect a staged ticket roll-out on a per-region basis next year so all United States-based developers get fair treatment.

This year’s WWDC, which runs June 11-15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, looks to be Apple’s most popular developer conference yet. I wonder if monster quarterly stats released yesterday and speculation of an iOS 6 preview could have anything to do with such a high interest…

Last year, it took the company some twelve hours to sell out tickets. WWDC 2010 sold out in two weeks. Apple’s annual developer pilgrimage has grown up over the years as its iOS platform gained market share on strong device sales. WWDC has now become Apple’s premiere showcase for its iOS and Mac platforms.

Here, a nice graph showing announcement-to-start-date and time-to-sell-out times.

For comparison, this year’s Google I/O – which will take place from June 27-29 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center – sold out in under twenty minutes. Google I/O 2009 sold out in 90 days and tickets for the last year’s Google I/O conference took 59 minutes to sell out.

For comparison, Google I/O tickets cost $900 for general admission. And unlike Google, Apple doesn’t give away phones or tablets at WWDC.

Apple beats estimates .. Again !

Selling a higher than expected 35 million units of the Apple iPhone, Apple reported $12.30 a share in earnings for its fiscal second quarter crushing expectations of $10.04. The strong report sent Apple’s shares up more than 6% in after-hours trading after the stock dropped over 2% during the regular trading session. Revenue for the quarter came in at $39.2 billion, ahead of analyst’s estimates of  $36.85 billion.

For its third fiscal quarter ending in June, Apple called for revenue to drop to $34 billion and earnings per share to come in at $8.68. As usual, Apple is trying to downplay results as analysts are looking for Q2 revenue to come in at $37.4 billion and EPS at $9.95. Apple iPhone sales could slow down in this period as buyers wait for the next-generation model of the smartphone which will probably launch in October.

Besides beating estimates on iPhone sales, Apple sold 11.8 million units of its Apple iPad tablet, short of the 12-13 million tablets that Wall Street expected to be sold

Apple had another record-breaking financial quarter over the last three months. But it also hit several other high points…

• Apple now has $110 billion dollars in the bank
• iOS device sales recently crossed the 365 million mark
• There are now more than 600,000 apps in the App Store
• 200,000 of those apps are iPad-specific
• iCloud now has more than 125 million users
• Apple has 363 retail stores (not counting stores within stores)
• Retail stores saw over 85 million visitors last quarter

These numbers are particularly interesting when you consider the short amount of time in which they were achieved. For instance, iCloud has only been around since last October. And Apple’s iOS business is less than 5 years old.

Perhaps most noteworthy, however, is the fact that Apple now has $110 billion dollars in cash and assets. A year ago the company was sitting on just over $50 billion. And it’s not every day that a major corporation doubles its cash hoard in just 12 months.