Mac Corner
Recent Apple-related news
By Larry Grinnell, Palm Beach Phoenix Apple Users Group
Some really juicy news items with Apple linkage have hit in the last week or two:
AT&T to buy T-Mobile. AT&T announced on Sunday, March 20, that an initial agreement has been made to acquire the other major GSM carrier, T-Mobile for $39 billion. T-Mobile’s main shareholder, the German firm Deutsche Telekomm, has been trying to shop T-Mobile for over a year.
Perhaps most surprised with this announcement was Sprint, who had also been in negotiation, and thought they had the inside track. Being the shunned party, Sprint is already making noises about possible antitrust issues with this merger, and that it would create two dominant carriers: AT&T and Verizon, who could more easily call the shots for the entire industry.
Spokespersons from T-Mobile are saying that even if this merger does take place, it won’t do so for at least a year, and would likely be even longer before iPhones would be available on that network. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is already calling for investigations by the FCC and DOJ, as well as a possible congressional investigation. We do live in interesting times …
Rumors are circulating that Foxconn, contract manufacturers to the stars, is considering setting up an assembly plant in Brazil for Apple products. This would accomplish several things: first, it could immediately lower the price of finished goods due to not having to pay Brazil’s extremely high import duties, and second, it would improve product distribution in the Latin America market. They already have two plants in Brazil, making products for H-P and Sony.
In other Foxconn news, they are saying they have about 2-3 weeks of material sourced in Japan for the iPad 2. This could mean a big shortage for some period of time, though Foxconn’s supply chain folks are rapidly seeking alternate sources for these parts. Stay tuned.
Microsoft and Asus are heavily promoting their new Eee Slate as an alternative to the iPad2.
Apple may be delaying a number of international iPad2 launches due to projected shortages due to the recent earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.
The online Apple store is offering some really great deals on refurbished units, starting with the 11.5 inch and 13.3 inch MacBook Air starting at $849. The Mac mini Server (with Snow Leopard Server and dual 500GB hard drives) is also available for $849. Refurbed Apple TV units are going for $85, while a 32GB iPad with Wi-Fi can be had for $429. Products sold as refurbs receive the standard factory warranty, and can have that warranty extended with AppleCare.
The popular remote access iPhone app LogMeIn Ignition has been improved with file management capabilities, permitting people to copy files from a connected device to their iPhone.
Apple’s cloud service, MobileMe, is rumored to be going through major changes, such that the existing version will only be functional for another year. In its place, so the rumors go, will be an online media locker that would permit access by IOS and multiple computing devices to music, photos, and maybe even videos through cloud storage.
There was even talk about re-enabling unlimited re-downloads for previously purchased iTunes Store content—something that is not currently supported. If you lose your iTunes library and don’t have it backed up, sorry Charlie. Well, with this “improved” version of MobileMe, you may again be able re-download content you have already purchased.
And finally, The New York Times has officially announced their move to a “for pay” service for news access on web browsers and IOS devices. Everyone can read up to 20 articles a month for free, but will require a subscription for anything beyond that initial 20. Prices start at $15 per month for web and smartphone access, up to $35 a month for web, smartphone, and iPad access.
This policy takes effect on March 28th. Clearly, The Times has learned that advertising isn’t enough, and that they need to monetize their online services. News Corp. has put up a “subscription wall” for the Wall Street Journal for a few years with great success, which only goes to prove that a subscription model can only work if the content is worth it.
Source: The Macintosh News Network (http://www.macnn.com/news).
Mac Corner runs every Wednesday only in Palm Beach Business.com. Click to read the previous column.
About Larry Grinnell: Larry has been working with Macintosh and Windows PCs for over 25 years and worked as a senior technical writer and IT support professional for a major midwest-based consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment manufacturer here in South Florida. His musings on a wide variety of topics from computers to jazz guitar to strange foreign cars from the 1950s can be viewed at the MyMac.com website. Click here to reach him by email.
Writers of this column are members of the Palm Beach Phoenix Apple User Group, a nonprofit organization for Apple Computing Device Users, recognized by Apple Inc., with the purpose of providing educational training and coaching to its members (students, professionals and seniors alike) in a cordial social environment. The club meets the second Saturday (1-4 p.m.) and fourth Wednesday (6-8 p.m.) of each month at the Fire Station #2, 4301 Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach (just two block south of Southern Boulevard). Click here to visit their website. Click here to reach them by email.
