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Breaking: Apple to buy Sony

Mike Evans — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:37:59 +0000

Whoa, now here’s news! Reuters are reporting that Apple has Sony in its sights and are looking to buy the faltering Japanese giant. If true, it’ll be sign of a concerted push by Apple into the homes of us all, and signals that the next great tech battle will be fought around the smart TV.

With Apple TV not really selling well and now facing new competition from Google TV (which, incidentally, Sony is one of the loudest supported of, and has released the first HDTV with Google TV built-in), buying Sony would give the company an instant leg-up in the home entertainment market.

It would also mean Apple could integrate the iPhone with the PSP (something that Sony Ericsson are rumoured to be doing with their next Android phone) and turn Sony’s entire Hi-Fi line directly towards the iPod and iTunes.

Although Apple have obviously denied any of this, the rumours have sent Sony’s shares up by 3%. Apple are sitting on a $51 billion pile of cash, and Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying “…we do feel that there are one or more strategic opportunities in the future,” with Sony, Adobe and Disney all being identified as potential targets.

Of the three, Sony makes the most sense. There can be no love lost between Apple and Adobe, with Jobs laying into Adobe’s Flash and refusing to support it on either the iPhone or the iPad, and no real need for the company to buy it. Disney would move Apple into a distinctly different market, although with Pixar under the Disney banner, there’s an obvious affinity and history there. But it’s with Sony that any deal makes the most sense, simply because its brand, its range of home entertainment gadgets, and the brains of its staff, would all perfectly align with Apple.

[Source: Reuters]

Apple goes for a slice of social pie with Ping

Ian McGurren — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:30:40 +0000

Have you ever wanted to know what your friends are listening to on iTunes? Have you wanted to browse your friend’s music collection, see what concerts they are going to, what they’ve bought or reviewed?

Well Apple think you do, and like a giant hypnotoad they will make you want to by introducing Ping into iTunes 10. In essence Ping adds all this social interactivity to your iTunes / iPod / iPhone/iPad, making it a kind of Twitter for music that Apple hope will help you “discover” (i.e. buy) more music.

It works by updating when you do something in iTunes (or a player on an iOS device), be it buying a track, reviewing an album or simply listening to something. People can then comment or like this action – very Facebook.

You can also be ‘followed’, much like in the Twitter sense, so people who feel you have an impeccable taste in music when you follow Slayer with Vera Lynn can track your Ping movements and “discover” (yes, Apple still means buy) tracks you listen to.

You can post tracks as suggestions for others – a kind of “what do you think of this?” noticeboard – and you can also follow artists with a certain degree of social interactivity coming from them in return, including posts and pictures.

There’s a lot of scope here and to be fair to Apple, it’s a decently implemented social networking system, albeit one piggybacking on iTunes and iOS players. It’s success, though, will depend on how easy it is to use and, crucially, maintain.

There’s no mention of any integration with the established social networks like Facebook and Twitter and certainly we won’t be seeing it outside of Apple circles but it’s a brave move to enter the social arena. Even the giants fall (MySpace) but Apple certainly has the audience and financial clout to make this work.

Want to get in on Ping? You’ll need iTunes 10 from Apple, and on the move you’ll need an iOS 4 device, so that’s at least an iPhone 3G, an iPod touch second generation, or the iPad.

Apple takes on Sony with Wi-Fi TV.

Mike Evans — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:24:33 +0000

A new rumour suggests Apple is working on its own TV. This isn’t the first time Apple has been involved with the TV market. It’s less-than successful Apple TV set top box has been around for a couple of years now. However, the rumours suggest that Apple aren’t just working on another set top box to replace Apple TV, but rather an entire Apple-branded TV effectively pitching the company against the likes of Sony, Panasonic and Sharp.

The rumours suggest that Apple will take the guts of Apple TV and plug them into their own TV, complete with a Wi-Fi connection so that TV shows can be streamed through the device without the need for a PC.

CNet’s Nate Lanxon thinks the move is a good idea. “Apple has really gone to town with the iTunes Store, ” he said. “…Why would it sit back while movie fans go out and buy some generic HDTV to connect up to their PC to watch this content?”

The move into the TV market would see Apple further completing its transition into a home entertainment manufacturer, after the success of the iPod and iPhone have effectively turned the computer company into the world’s most-loved gadget manufacturer.

With the success of the iPhone, Apple must have looked around to see what other gadget it could produce, with TVs being the next logical step, given the video content that’s distributable on iTunes.

Indeed, iTunes has become possibly the most valuable asset Apple has, as all of its recent releases hang off it, with music, videos and more recently, iPhone apps all being sold through the store and helping to drive sales of its gadgets.

iTunes, then, in combination with the adoration of millions of Apple fanboys, are what Apple is banking on to give them the competitive edge over the likes of Sony in the notoriously cut-throat world of consumer TVs.

They might just succeed, too. As a blogger of all things home entertainmenty, the one thing I’ve noticed about HDTVs is how commoditized the market is. There isn’t a single iconic HDTV that anyone can actually name. They all have product names that are just seemingly randomly arranged sequences of letters and numbers. If Apple were to burst onto the scene with an instantly recognizable brand name the same way it did with the mobile phone market, the TV manufacturers might have a huge struggle on their hands to compete.

[Source: ElectricPig]

New iPods galore, but no new Apple TV

Mike Evans — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:14:17 +0000

Well, the Apple Let’s Rock event has finally happened, giving the Apple FanBoys the cool new gadgets they need while leaving the rest of us slightly shrugging our shoulders! Most of the rumours prior to the event came true, which slightly took the gloss off all the new announcements, but at least no-one will be disappointed.

No-one, that is, except for those poor unfortunate few hoping for an announcement on Apple TV, which sadly remained the forgotten child of Apple’s gadget portfolio.

The following briefly lists what actually was announced (courtesy of Engadget):

New iPod Nano – now longer and fatter than ever before, but still looking uber-cool
iPod Touch 2nd generation – functionally identical, a few bugs fixed, integrated Nike+ and much, much thinner than before
iTunes 8 – now with the Genius feature that was rumoured before the announcement
iPhone 2.1 software update – bug fix mainly
In-ear headphones – not, unfortunately, named the “iBud” !
iPod Classic – only one version remains, a slightly updated 120GB model for $249.

And that’s about your lot, at least as far as gadgets are concerned. No big news there, really, but everything’s been made just that little bit better, and I’m sure the Apple Fanboys will be sleeping soundly tonight (unlike the people who bought a now-outdated iPod Nano last week!).

[Source: Engadget]

New Apple iPods and Apple TV to be announced tomorrow?

Mike Evans — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:17:22 +0000

The Apple rumour mill has gone into overdrive again, as Steve Jobs prepares to work his magic on a million fanboys at Apple’s Let’s Rock event in San Francisco tomorrow (actually today, given that I’m posting this past midnight! Ah, the joy of blogging – whatever happened to sleep?!)

All sorts of speculation is up in the air as fanboy after fangirl posts their wishlist of what they want to see Jobs announce.

Top of the list seems to be a new range of updated iPods, with new Nanos expected to be announced. Given the amount of leaked spyshots doing the rounds, this rumour seems to be pretty much a certainty.

iTunes 8 is also expected to be announced, with rumours suggesting it’ll feature all sorts of new ways to sort through the billions of different tunes it now hosts, including a smart new recommendation engine called “Genius” that generates playlists by recognizing certain qualities in a song and selecting other songs with similar qualities (though there’s no discussion yet as to what these ‘qualities’ might be).

Finally, remember Apple TV? No, nor does anyone else, but the rumours are really starting to fly about an updated version called Apple TV 3.0, which hopefully really will be a worthwhile product that might even shift a few units. One of the more excitable posts was from Peter Magnusson, who suggested the following features:

Blu-ray disc player; of course one that can also play DVDs and CDs.
ATSC tuner. That

Pull my finger Apple

admin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:36:29 +0000

Apple were not amused when this developer sent them his application for consideration. They deamed the “pull my finger” joke to be too boring for their iPhone or iPod Touch.

Apple told the developer:

“We’ve reviewed your application Pull My Finger. We have determined that this application is of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community, and will not be published to the App Store.”

Anyway a bit of fun for an evening, and even if you can’t play with it on you iPhone or iPod touch you can enjoy the video.

[Source: macrumors]

Apple turns your iPhone into a remote control

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:34:05 +0000

Our sister-site MobileMentalism.com, recently reported a twist in the use of the Google Media Server which meant you could effectively turn your mobile phone into a remote control. Apple (slightly behind the times) has release a freebie which they are calling Remote… nice to see they thought long and hard about the name. Read on for more details.

Once installed this freebie from Apple will turn you iPhone or iPod touch into a remote control for your Apple TV and iTunes. Apple have reported you can also control iTunes on your PC and Mac, so they have not completely stopped you from using other company’s software. Remote works by using the WiFi capabilities of the two devices to access you media store. Once connected you can access playlists, search your library, and even control your AirTunes speakers.

There is certainly something lacking for me, in a world which is opening up the possibilities, allowing you to access information and applications like never before. Apple is still there saying, you can’t do this, it is ours, we will let you use our software but you will only be able to access the media in your iTunes. This is a mentality which worked once in a while but when you have things like, Google Media Server or Orb, why should you settle for only accessing media in your iTunes when you can access all the media on your PC, Mac or Apple TV.

If all you want to do is access your iTunes then give it a go but keep in mind there are other options out there. If you want to find out some other options open to you check out lifehacker.

[Source: Engadget]

Google's latest application connects PC to TV

admin — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:54:11 +0000

We all know that Google likes to have its fingers in all the pies, well they are now sticking their hands into an area of the home entertainment market coveted by Microsoft and Apple. Google really are taking no survivors; it would seem their company motto isn’t only “Don’t be evil” but also “World domination is a must”.

The Google Media Server can connect a PC to any device that supports Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), a set of computer network protocols that enable devices to share data across a home network. The server uses the Desktop Search to locate media files on the PC and on the Web. So basically all you need is a windows PC running Google Desktop and a UPnP-enabled device (e.g. video-game consoles PlayStation 3 from Sony and Xbox 360 from Microsoft, as well as Hewlett-Packard’s MediaSmart high-definition televisions). Once you have those you can then:

Access videos, music, and photos stored on your PC
View online picture albums
Play your favorite YouTube videos as well as other online videos

I can hear Microsoft quaking in their boots (whether that is from fear or anger I can’t tell).

[Source:Google Blog]