With many people still wondering about the extent to which the National Security Agency and other authorities were peeping in to consumers’ phone and Internet activities, some of the larger firms caught up in the scandal are making attempts at being transparent about what they did and didn’t hand over to the government. However, some are being more transparent than others. [More]
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Apple Says It Received 5,000 Data Requests From Law Enforcement, Doesn’t Say How Many It Fulfilled
By 6.17.13
Apple Exec: I Protected Consumers From High E-Book Prices By Letting Publishers Set High E-Book Prices
By 6.13.13
Earlier today, Apple executive Eddy Cue — the architect of the company’s iTunes and e-book business — took the stand in court to face questions about his company’s role in alleged price-fixing of the e-book market, where he admitted that Apple had actually mulled over an even worse idea than mere price-fixing. [More]
Law Enforcement Officials From Around The Country Ask Smartphone Manufacturers To Install Kill Switches
By 6.13.13
As we mentioned yesterday, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón are meeting this week with execs from Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Google to discuss ways wireless device manufacturers can help deter theft and eliminate the market for stolen phones. Today, Schneiderman and Gascón — along with attorneys general, district attorneys, chiefs of police, consumer advocates, and educators — have launched a nationwide initiative to bring this issue to the fore. [More]
Apple And TurboTax Pass The Buck, Can’t Decide Who Owes Me Refund
By 6.13.13
$65 is a lot of money to Jaden, but he was happy to pay it to file his tax return when of TurboTax for the iPad told him that he was getting a pretty sweet refund. He wasn’t: the app gave bad info and he wasn’t eligible for any refunds due to being on Social Security, which isn’t taxed. Well, boo. That’s where the real challenge comes in: getting the refund from Apple. Or Intuit. Or Apple. Or is it Intuit? [More]
2.8 Million Reasons Why Smartphones Need To Come With Kill Switches
By 6.12.13
Earlier this week, Apple made a lot of customers happy when they announced that the next iteration of its iOS operating system for iPhones would integrate a so-called “kill swtich” technology that enables the owner to cripple the phone remotely when it’s lost or stolen. And that’s a good thing, because a lot of you are being careless with your wireless devices. [More]
Apple Finally Jumping Into Streaming Music Business With iTunes Radio
By 6.10.13
For years, Apple’s iTunes has allowed users to listen to online radio streams from stations that made their music available online, but it has avoided launching its own streaming service to compete with Pandora and others. Today, Apple announced that it will finally jump into the streaming music stream with both feet following the debut of iTunes Radio. [More]
You Shouldn’t Need A Daily Replacement iPhone 5 Days In A Row
By 6.10.13 — Updated: 6.26.13
A few weeks ago, we ran reader Stephen’s sad tale of iPhone warranty replacements and reached out to our readers to see whether anyone else had gone through similar cycles of endless replacements. We’re sad to report that yes, some iPhone users have ended up trapped in smartphone replacement purgatory. When a phone only has four buttons, we suppose things are pretty awful when one of them stops working. [More]
From The Shameless To The Egregious, We Grade The Product Placements In 12 Ad-Packed Movies
By 6.7.13
You’ve probably seen the 30-second TV ads promoting that new 2-hour commercial for Google starring those two actors from that other movie that people really liked eight years ago. We’d like to think product placement has sunk to a new low, but every time we’re convinced that advertisers have hit bottom, someone throws them a more powerful digging implement. [More]
Apple To Reportedly Offer Its Own Trade-In Program For iPhones, Other Products
By 6.6.13
While retailers and wireless carriers have long offered trade-in programs for iPhones, and Apple has an existing recycling program to take your old wireless devices, iPods, and computers off your hands, but now the electronics company is reportedly set to launch an in-store trade-in program that pays customers cash for used Apple products. [More]
Samsung Scores A Big Win Against Apple With U.S. Trade Agency Ban On iPhone 4 Imports
By 6.5.13
Apple and Samsung go together like Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier — the two have been going at it over their various patents for smartphones and tablets for what feels like forever. Yesterday Samsung scored a strong hit against Apple when the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a ban against imports of the iPhone 4 and a variant of the iPad 2, saying that the devices violate one of Samsung’s patents. [More]
Apple Inches Closer To Streaming Music Service
By 6.3.13
Given that Apple reshaped the music industry with the iPod, it’s still a bit of a surprise that it’s been so far behind the curve on launching its own streaming music service. But a new report claims that Apple is now closing deals that would clear the way for it to stream away, right into users’ ears. [More]
My Fifth Replacement iPhone 5 Doesn’t Work Either
By 5.24.13
Usually, it’s owners of Android devices who get cast into the terrifying outer circles of Smartphone Replacement Purgatory, but owners of Apple devices aren’t immune. Reader Stephen first wrote to us back in February as he got his third replacement iPhone 5. Since then, he’s received two more phones. It’s nice that his phone is under warranty and all, but he’s on a two-year contract. Will he be stuck getting replacements every few months the entire time? [More]
Woman Files $5 Million Class Action Over Broken iPhone Power Button
By 5.16.13
The power button on a woman’s iPhone 4 failed, and she’s not able to turn the phone on or off. That pretty much renders it useless, so she ditched AT&T and got a new phone. But she never forgot that shiny, shiny iPhone that broke down shortly after its initial one-year warranty was up. She filed a class action on behalf of herself and other powerless iPhone users. What raised eyebrows is that she sued under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, accusing Apple and AT&T of conspiring together to sell expensive two-year contracts on phones that break after one year. [More]
DOJ: Steve Jobs E-Mails Show That Apple Engaged In E-Book Price-Fixing
By 5.15.13
While all of the publishers involved in Justice Dept.’s e-book price-fixing lawsuit have settled, Apple has continued to maintain its innocence. With the trial set to begin in early June, the DOJ has some evidence it believes paints Apple in a rather damning light. [More]
AppleCare Changes Will Save Money, Maybe Make Customers Happier
By 5.13.13
When you visit the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store with a complaint about your portable iDevice, if it’s in warranty, they’ll generally hand you a new-to-you refurbished device and send you on your way. AppleInsider reported this weekend that for some basic repairs, that’s about to change. [More]
High Bid Of $605K For Coffee With Tim Cook Rejected Because Bidder Used Stolen Credit Card
By 4.29.13
The Internet was all abuzz last week when Apple announced it was auctioning off a coffee date with CEO Tim Cook for charity. But whoever submitted last week’s high bid of $605,000 is likely going to get a date with law enforcement instead — the charity says the bidding is back at $600,000 today after discovering the high bidder used a stolen credit card. [More]
Google Goes Voice-To-Voice Against Siri With Update To iOS App
April 29, 2013
Google Now, the company’s answer to Apple’s Siri voice-activated “assistant,” has been available for around nine months on (some, but not most) Android-based phones and tablets. But today, iPhone and iPad users will have the option of chatting with Siri or Google Now, as it rolls out as part of a software update to the Google Search app on iOS. [More]
What Are America’s Most Damaged Brands Right Now?
By 4.26.13
How mighty brands fall. Bad leadership, bad planning, a run of bad products: any of these can damage a brand in a short amount of time, and it can take years to recover: if, indeed, the brand recovers at all. What brands are the most battered in the United States right now? 24/7 Wall Street rounded them up, based on which publicly-traded major companies are currently dealing with aggressive competition, reputation disasters, and a lack of direction. [More]
