We "know" from rumors that Apple with iOS 8 is planning to introduce a new application called Healthbook said to aggregate health and fitness data pulled from a variety of sources, be it third-party fitness/health apps found in the App Store, dedicated tracking accessories or more.
But that could be just the tip of the iceberg.
According to a mobile health executive who spoke to Reuters, the iPhone maker is looking to create a full-blown health and fitness ecosystem inspired by the App Store...
Production on screens for the 4.7-inch version of Apple's next iPhone could start as early as May, according to a new report from Reuters. Citing supply chain sources, the outlet says that Japan Display and other manufacturers are readying their facilities and could begin churning out panels next month.
Unfortunately, for those looking forward to the oft-rumored 5.5-inch model, it sounds like production issues have forced Apple to delay the handset. Reuters says that manufacturers are running into difficulties with in-cell technology, and the larger displays may not go into production for several months...
Although tech titans Apple and Microsoft both sought to buy parts of BlackBerry, the board shied away from breaking up the company, according to a report Friday by Reuters. The ailing smartphone pioneer has determined that selling the company in pieces isn't in its best interests, despite bids from Apple, Microsoft, Lenovo and others.
I'm not sure the board has necessarily made a wise choice. First and foremost, a full-blown instant comeback is literally impossible this late in the game. And while still profitable, BlackBerry is burning through its cash fast, unit sales are falling off the cliff, users are defecting to other platforms in droves and, worst of all, there are no cool new products on the horizon to be excited about.
And with the iOS-Android duopoly and Microsoft competing for the #3 slot, it's indeed too late to turn BlackBerry's fortunes around. Seems to me they should have just sold off parts of the company to become a competitive niche player, as one analyst suggested in August...
Apple CEO Tim Cook, often compared to the iPhone maker's mercurial co-founder Steve Jobs, is pictured in a new profile as a nuts-and-bolts technocrat able to balance a softer corporate image with the ability to make hard choices. After two years at the helm of the consumer electronics giant that is Apple, Cook is being described as a "methodical" and "no-nonsense" guy not afraid to make tough decisions.
Ahead of launching a new version of the flagship iPhone, Reuters speaks with Cook's co-workers and colleagues, showing the Apple CEO is "as different as could be from that of his predecessor"...
It's a common practice now under fire from Germany's finance chief: giving corporations tax breaks to locate and develop their patents - and hopefully hire local workers. In a Europe struggling with widespread economic troubles, the tactic known as the 'patent box' should stop, Germany asked a gathering of European Union finance ministers.
At the heart of the dispute between Germany and other European countries are reports Apple and others multinationals used local tax laws to save money...
Japan's top wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo still doesn't carry the iPhone, a decision its executive Katzuto Tsubouhi defended in an interview with the Wall Street Journal by arguing that Apple's device is no longer "the god of all smartphones."
For DoCoMo, Google's Android software provides more opportunities to customize the experience by preloading the handsets with a flurry of the carrier's many services and applications, something Apple strictly prohibits.
But holding out on the iPhone has come at a price as NTT DoCoMo since the iPhone's inception lost 3.2 million users of its 60 million subscribers to rival telcos who sell the iconic smartphone. In pointing the finger of blame at Apple the carrier told Reuters that the California firm wouldn't let it put its logo on the device and preload its lifestyle apps...
According to a Reuters report Thursday, Apple is talking to its suppliers and manufacturing partners about producing multiple iPhone models in the next year or so, including a long-rumored less expensive iPhone in a range of color choices and two larger-screen models. The report asserts Tim Cook & Co. are adamant to iPod-ize the iPhone by offering more screen and color choices in order to appease to those smartphone buyers who are increasingly considering larger form-factor devices to enjoy their media, surf the web and enjoy their content on a bigger screen...
The ailing Japanese giant Sony could spin off its entertainment business amid heightened competition from the consumer electronics giant Apple and the South Korea-based conglomerate Samsung, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The news gathering organization writes the CEO Kazuo Hirai confirmed Sony's board will discuss a proposal by U.S. hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to spin off up to twenty percent of its movie, TV and music division because Sony has "fallen behind powerful rivals" such as Apple and Samsung in terms of both profitability and innovation...
Just a day after contract manufacturer Pegatron warned investors its second-quarter earnings could drop up to 30 percent due to softening demand for iPad mini, other tablets, e-books and games consoles comes word that the company has ramped up hiring as it needs an additional 40,000 workers on top of its existing 100,000 employees.
The 40,000 additional workers are needed to presumably assemble a rumored less-price iPhone model for Apple, Reuters speculated Thursday, reiterating it heard from suppliers that Apple is indeed "developing a cheaper model of the phone" in order to broaden its sales base to lower-income buyers in growth markets such as China and India...
Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, assembles many Apple products, including iPhones and iPads.
And with an estimated 60 to 70 percent of its revenues owed to the Apple orders account, Foxconn's earnings are scrutinized for any possible hint which could point to increasing or decreasing demand for Apple products.
Today, the contract manufacturer has posted a nineteen percent decline in sales in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. As you'd expect, Reuters immediately speculated the numbers are down because the company is "hurt by disappointing demand for the iPhone"...
This past Sunday, Bloomberg reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook may be required to testify in an antitrust lawsuit the United States Department of Justice filed against it and major e-book publishers over an alleged price fixing of e-books. Reuters confirms today that U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan granted the Justice Department's request to compel Cook to sit for a deposition.
The Judge said the death of Jobs was a key reason in ordering the deposition. Cook will be testifying for four hours in the lawsuit, a risky move for the CEO and potentially damaging to Apple. The Cupertino company is now the main target of the suit after all named publishers had settled with regulators...
Apple's contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry - also know in the Western world as the controversial Foxconn - and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, will each add 5,000 new jobs just as Apple is conveniently expected to refresh its existing product families and possibly venture into the HD TV and smartwatch markets. If true, the report could also explain "the worst February" Topeka Capital has seen in terms of Apple's supply chain procurement of components...