apple

TiVo adds Web video--but there's a catch

TiVo has added the ability to view downloadable Web videos on the company's DVRs, making good on its announcement at January's Consumer Electronics Show. The update will allow Web videos such as video podcasts to be downloaded with the same Season Pass functionality used by TiVo viewers to record their favorite TV shows. But don't expect to just punch in a URL or an RSS feed into the TiVo remote. Videos must first be downloaded to your PC's hard drive, after which they'll be transferred to your TiVo via your home network. That's a … Read more

NPD: Apple enjoys huge Mac growth in February

Mac shipments were up dramatically in the fourth quarter of last year, and if recent NPD data is any indication, Apple's doing pretty well again this quarter.

AppleInsider spotted a research note from Pacific Crest Securities citing NPD Group data that Apple's Mac shipments grew 60 percent in February compared with the same period last year, while the entire market grew just 9 percent. NPD's data tracks computer purchases made at U.S. retail stores, which means it excludes much of Dell and all online purchases in general, but it does serve as a weather vane for … Read more

Apple considering clamshell iPhone?

Apple could be embracing the clamshell aesthetic for a future iPhone.

Unwiredview.com found an Apple patent application for a "dual-sided trackpad device," which resembles the current iPhone redesigned into the clamshell format so popular with many mobile phones. The key to this design is having touch-screen capabilities on both the top and bottom of the phone when it's open.

This design goes a step further, as well, in that the closed cover of the iPhone could also have trackpad capability. PC makers have experimented with this, adding some basic buttons and capabilities to the covers of … Read more

Apple's AirPort Express gets extra juice with 802.11n upgrade

Apple has updated its AirPort Express portable wireless base station to make it compatible with the speedy 802.11n wireless standard, the company announced Monday.

802.11n, the latest iteration of the wireless networking standard, more than quadruples wireless-data rates to 248 megabits per second from the current 54 megabits per second offered by the 802.11g wireless standard; there are also some security improvements over 802.11g.

Apple's current lineup of laptops, iMac desktops, Apple TV set-top boxes, and Time Capsule backup devices already come with 802.11n.

An AirPort Express allows up to 10 Wi-Fi users to … Read more

MacBook Air rivals, past and present

The MacBook Air focused global attention--for the first time with prolonged intensity--on a small, thin notebook. Until now, this kind of design simply wasn't on many users' shopping lists. (Particularly Americans who choose performance over portability.) Here's a brief look at this notebook category, both past and present.

A few prefatory notes: Because I use a MacBook Air, the topic of ultraportables has taken on more importance for me. But the impact of this category of notebooks goes much further than personal interest. Ultraportables now contain fast Core 2 Duo processors, snappy solid state drives (SSDs), and better … Read more

Revisiting Apple's iPhone strategy

In the post I wrote about Rich Miner of Google saying that the Android mobile software stack will gain more users than the iPhone, several people commented. The general consensus is that Apple is the BMW of the personal computer industry and is the standard for innovation that its competitors, with far more market share, follow. Android is a non-factor.

The challenge for Apple is to keep coming up with proprietary products that fuel its business model, which is based on innovation and R&D around both hardware and software. Since Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company has … Read more

This week in laptops

We're a little more than 48 hours out from that great holiday whose sacred rites (for me, at least) include tucking into a Dublin Coddle and washing it down with a perfect pint of Guinness. (For strict Catholics, the holiday comes even sooner.) So that you can head out for your preholiday warm-up drinking, here's a summary of this week's laptop-related news. Just remember: Friends don't let friends drink green beer.

Speaking of green, Asus has greened its laptop cases by offering an eco-chic bamboo finish. Also, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool released a list … Read more

Gadgettes 81: The I Love You Episode

Our listeners are so supercool. They do things like create Web sites based on things we talk about on Gadgettes. They make us laugh. And for that reason alone, this episode is for you, you awesome-heads. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 81

Dedicated to Dave from Denver http://jackmythingie.com/

Pandigital debuts kitchen TV with extra perks http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9893490-1.html

A digital culinary recipe for the futuristic cookware http://www.gizmodiva.com/home_improvement/ a_digital_culinary_recipe_for_the_futuristic_cookware.php

Lego-touch for iPhone and iPod Touch http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/ legotouch_for_iphone_and_ipod_touch_9199.asp

Monster felted handbag http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/12/ monster-felted-handb.html… Read more

iTunes profitable, Billboard estimates

iTunes is the No. 2 music retailer in the United States (behind only Wal-Mart Stores), and it passed the 4 billion download mark in February, but nobody knows how much money Apple's actually earning from the service.

In Apple's earnings reports, iTunes revenue is lumped into a category called "other music-related products and services," alongside licensing revenue from iPod peripheral makers, and the company doesn't break out expenses or operating profit by segment.

So some Billboard reporters decided to do some back-of-the-envelope calculations, using Amazon.com's expenses as a benchmark for a large-scale e-commerce … Read more