Apple is Present in More Than Half of American Households

Apple products can be seen almost anywhere these days. With iPhones, iPads, iPods and MacBooks, Apple is definitely finding its way into the American household. According to a survey that was conducted by CNBC, more than half of all American households own one or more Apple product.

That means that more than 55 million U.S. homes own some kind of Apple product, and CNBC says that this number will only be going up. Of those polled, a quarter of the individuals said that they would be buying an Apple device sometime within the next year.

“It's a fantastic business model — the more of our products you own, the more likely you are to buy more,” says Jay Campbell, the vice president of Hart Research Associates, which helped to conduct the CNBC survey. “Planned obsolescence has always been a part of the technology industries sales model, but Apple has taken it to a whole new level.”

The survey found that the majority of Apple consumers are younger, college-educated males. It also showed that, not surprisingly, the more money that an individual made, the more Apple products that they tended to have. Seventy-seven percent of individuals making $75,000 or more owned at least one Apple device, and on average, owned three devices; while only 28 percent of individuals that made $30,000 or less owned at least one Apple device, and on average, they owned 0.6 devices.

It’s crazy to think how many devices Apple has sold. When the third-generation iPad was released, more than 3 million devices were sold on the first weekend. According to the CNBC survey, it really looks like in the future it’s only going to get better for Apple.

Sources: CNBC - Apples Are Growing in American Homes and PCMag - Half of American Homes Own at Least One Apple Product

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iPad and iPhone Shortages Could Cause Shipment Delays

There could be some definite delays in the shipping of Apple products including the iPad and the iPhone. One of Apple’s key manufacturers, Foxconn, whose factory is in Chengdu, China, is reported to be dealing with a shortage of parts as well as labor.

Digitimes is saying that the alleged shortage could, and most likely will, cause a stall in the shipment of Apple products, particularly the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. Digitimes also reported that so far Foxconn has not directly commented on the possible issue. The only thing that they have said is that "the company's capacity is being arranged fully at the request of its clients." They refused to comment on whether or not the shortages would delay the shipment of Apple products. The company also went on to say that "it has experience arranging manpower to assist its clients in reaching their goals."

Although Foxconn isn’t speaking up about the problem, recent Apple iPad news seems to indicate that the shipping delay rumors could definitely be true. In Apple’s most recent earning report, they conveyed a decrease in iPad sales. In the first quarter sales slipped from the 7.33 million units that the company sold in the fourth quarter to 4.69 million units. According to Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, the company faced “the mother of all backlogs” with the iPad 2.

Cook even said in the earnings calls, "I wish that we could have made a lot more iPad 2s because there were a lot of people waiting for them."

The Foxconn factory that is struggling with the shortage issues reportedly has 52 different iPad production lines, and it supposedly can produce more than 40 million units a year, but obviously, things are not working out as planned.

One of the reported reasons that there have been iPad 2 supply problems is a leaky touch screen, but this issue has supposedly been fixed. Besides the comments that Cook made during Apple’s earnings report, the company has not commented on anything surrounding the issue.

Hopefully, Foxconn and Apple will figure out all of the shipping issues, and there won’t be big delays on their products; or if there are going to be major delays, I hope that the companies will be upfront and discuss the issues with the public. We’ll just have to wait to see how everything turns out.

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White iPhone 4 Thicker than Black, Case Issues Imminent

So, everybody is going bonkers over the iPhone 4, especially since it made the transition from being AT&T exclusive to also being provided on Verizon. And now people are having even more cause to celebrate as Apple has finally released a white version of the Apple smartphone to give customers a nice alternative to the standard black that everyone is carrying around these days. However, with a white iPhone come a few problems that may irritate some and cause others to not buy the phone at all.

What am I talking about? Oh, nothing much, just that the white iPhone 4 is a tiny bit thicker than the original black version. That's it? That's the big problem you all need to hear about? Yeah, it is, especially if you are an iPhone user who just loves buying cases to house your precious iPhone in.

For example, an Incase slider that lovingly fits your black iPhone 4 with ease has to be forced into place on the white iPhone. What is interesting, and unfortunate, is that the white iPhone 4 spec page that Apple is displaying to everybody does not reflect a change in thickness from the black model to the white model. The spec page shows the white iPhone 4 as measuring 9.3mm, the same as the black model. However, it actually measures 9.5mm. There is a tiny disclaimer on the page that says "Actual size and weight may vary by configuration and manufacturing process."

This will undoubtedly cause confusion among consumers as they enter the endless debate of "will my case fit or not?" So why is the white iPhone 4 thicker? Phil Schiller of Apple mentioned that the company needed to add extra UV protection in addition to some other tweaks and that this was done in an attempt to reduce the "unexpected interactions" between the new white cover and the internal components.

This essentially means that Apple needed to sacrifice the slimness of the device in order to have a better functioning white iPhone 4. With this new thickness it seems that we now have four different sized button configurations that need to be taken into consideration before purchasing a shrink-wrapped case for your white iPhone 4, black iPhone 4, white Verizon iPhone 4 and black Verizon iPhone 4. Have fun, Apple junkies. I'll stick with my Android device.

Source: Engadget - White iPhone 4 thickness created issue for case makers, owners

Apple Sued Over Privacy Issues

Apple is being sued by a California man due to the privacy issues with some of their apps.

Jonathan Lalo filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California on Thursday, December 23, because he says that Apple produces devices that give access to ad networks to allow them to track a user’s app activity without the consent of the user. The complaint that Lalo filed mentions names like Pandora, Paper Toss, The Weather Channel and Dictionary.com.

Lalo claims that this ad network tracking occurs on Apple’s iPhone and the iPad, and it allows the networks to see which applications people are downloading, how often they use them, and how long they are using them. Lalo also claims that both iPhones and iPads feature a Unique Device Identifier (UDID), a number that is specific to that device, which users cannot block, alter or delete.

According to the suit, the UDID "is now being used by ad networks to track Plaintiffs and the Class – including what apps they download, how frequently they use the apps, and for how long. Some apps are also selling additional information to ad networks, including users' location, age, gender, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political views."

It continues saying that due to this, Apple and the app developers both “invaded their privacy, misappropriated and misused their personal information and interfered with the operability of their mobile devices." According to Bloomberg, the suit claims that it is seeking justice on behalf of all of the Apple iPhone and iPad users who have downloaded an app between December 1, 2008 and last week.

"None of the defendants adequately informed plaintiffs of their practices, and none of the defendants obtained plaintiffs' consent to do so," one plaintiff of the lawsuit alleged.

So far, Apple has made no comment concerning the allegations.

Issues over privacy have been prevalent of late. Just last week, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal that discussed how mobile apps send certain information out without the user’s consent or knowledge and that the use was “widely and regularly” practiced by companies. The article focused on a study that examined 101 different mobile applications. It found that iPhone apps gave out more personal information without a user’s consent than Android apps did.

The Journal also included a list of the “leakiest” apps that included Pandora, Paper Toss, and TextPlus 4. These apps send out information including age, gender, ZIP codes and user IDs to several different ad networks. The information that is released the most often, which is usually either sent back to the app manufacturer or sold to an ad network, is the device’s UDID because this information allows companies to see what the owner does with his or her device.

The article in the Journal spurred the Mobile Marketing Association to decide that new, more specific privacy guidelines need to be devised that inform consumers about what information is being released to advertisers and how it is being utilized.

Right now there are two separate suits going on. One deals with the
iPhone, and the other deals with the iPad. A partner in the Fears & Nachawati law firm and the attorney of one of the complainants Majed Nachawati said that he would not be surprised if at some point the cases were consolidated into one case by the judges that are presiding over the cases.

Nachawati also said, "We are also looking at Google's Android platform and a lawsuit against them has not been ruled out.”

After these privacy issues have been made known to the public, there now seems to be a growing concern about users' privacy on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Despite the filing of the two separate lawsuits, some experts are predicting that the court cases will not be successful.

In April Apple did amend its developer agreement to ban all apps from sending user data to third parties unless it was information that was directly necessary for the functionality of the app.

The lawsuits say though that Apple really hasn’t taken any steps to implement or enforce the changes that they have made due to the criticism that they received from advertising networks.

Trip Chowdhry, a research analyst for Global Equities Research, said that he does not think that the lawsuits will have a big impact on investors.

“If this were a major issue, all web browsers would have to shut down and there would not be any advertising on the Internet,” Chowdhry said.

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Why You Should Never Be Without Your iPhone...

Public and online polling has revealed that the general public truly believes that the iPhone is the ultimate travel tool. The iPhone allows individuals to stay informed, connected, and entertained. A creative consultant who commutes weekly from NYC and London, Felicia Tumaneng, said, “I wouldn't be able to leave the country without it.”

The iPhone is the best electronic guide available right now. Here are some of the ways that you can use your iPhone as the ultimate travel guide.

In the Car
One of the great features is the new TomTom App for the iPhone. It features “navigate-to-photo,” turn by turn directions, and rush hour and traffic alerts. The TomTom App turns your iPhone into a fantastic GPS system. It is available for $39.99.

The useful GasBook app is available at the Apple store for $0.99. This app offers you the most up-to-date gas price listings at stations nationwide. It also includes a fuel log that will keep track of your vehicle’s fuel stats. This is a very convenient app to have on your iPhone.

Trapster is another great app to have in the car. It is the perfect app for those individuals who might drive a little on the speedy side. This app alerts users when they approach speed traps, red lights, speed cameras, police check points, accidents, and other roadway hazards.

At the Airport
FlightBoard is another amazing app to have on your iPhone and is available for $3.99. It gives you an interactive view of over 4,000 airport and 1,400 airline boards. You can view either the arrival or departure board from basically any airport in the world.

The FLYSmart app is free and is geared towards individuals traveling within the United States. This app allows you to not only track flights but also find restaurants, bathrooms, and clubhouses in airports across the nation.

Bored and Need Entertainment
There are thousands of games available for the iPhone at the Apple apps store. One of these incredibly entertaining games is Words with Friends. It is a game that is essentially Scrabble. It is a great game to exercise your mind and waste some spare time when you’re bored.

Recently an app was released that allows subscribers to watch TV on their iPhone. PlayOn is available for $40/year and allows users to watch Hulu, ESPN, Netflix, Comedy Central and lots of other channels right from their smartphone.

Need a Bite to Eat
There are plenty of restaurant locating apps that are available for the iPhone. Yelp is free, UrbanSpoon is free, and Local Eats is only $0.99. These are all great apps that will help you locate any kind of restaurant you want no matter where you are.

Want to Make a Payment?
You can easily pay your bills with your iPhone. Apps like MobilePay USA allow users to make payments directly from their phones. Users simply enter their account information online. The card’s information is not stored in the phone, and a PIN number is required to access the information online. It is a safe and secure app that can be very useful at times.

These are just a few of the incredibly useful travel apps offered for the iPhone. There are plenty more that can be found at the Apple apps store. It is definitely true that the iPhone is the best possible travel companion. It can assist you with so many of your travel needs. So before you walk out the door, always make sure that you have your iPhone with you.

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