The store is down. It's Tuesday night, and no one really expects anything more than, say, maintenance. Right? Think it's something else? Let us know in the comments.
Well, that was quick: Analytics firm Localytics says that iOS 5 is already installed on one of every three eligible devices, meaning that just a week or so after release, it's already set up and running on a big chunk of the ecosystem. Even taking the iPhone 4S out of the equation (which of course comes with iOS 5 installed), the number's still up to 31%, which is a pretty solid install base put together so quickly.
As you can see from the chart above, the iPad 2 actually has the highest rate of install, according to the data Localytics is looking at. Makes sense that both the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4 would be up there, as those are likely Apple's most devoted users, dedicated to keeping the latest and greatest Apple products running.
But I think in general this information shows that Apple has done a great job of letting its customers know just how important and useful the upgrade to iOS 5 can be. Most devs will still want to support older versions of the operating system, obviously, but widespread support like this make it easy for most devs to support options like iCloud and iOS 5's other new features.
Last week, Apple update the Apple TV to version 4.4, adding the long-awaited AirPlay mirroring features. Now it has rolled out an incremental version (4.4.1) that adds some minor bug fixes and tweaks. This 4.4.1 version was initially released today, October 18, and then pulled after reports of bricked Apple TV units surfaced. The problem with this update was fixed and Apple has made it publicly available again.
This 4.4.1 version may be small, but it builds on the 4.4 firmware update which added several new features to the Apple TV. With 4.4, you can use AirPlay mirroring with your iPad 2 and iPhone 4S and view PhotoStream content that's stored in iCloud. Apple TV owners can also watch movie trailers as well as new content from the NHL and Wall Street Journal Live.
Some AppleTV owners had trouble updating to the 4.4 version without doing a full restore or tethering to iTunes. The 4.4.1 version should clear up those issues.
Along with the iPad, Mac sales were one of the highlights of Apple's quarterly earnings report. In the quarter that just ended, Apple sold 4.89 million Macs, a 26 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was pleased about the Mac performance, but in response to an analyst question he did confirm that some customers are buying the iPad instead of the Mac. It's inexpensive and easy to use, two features that appeal to the average consumer.
But Apple's computers are not as hard-hit by iPad cannibalization as the PC market. Cook suggested today, as he has in the past, that a far larger number of people are choosing to buy an iPad instead of a Windows PC (versus those choosing the iPad over a Mac notebook).
Cook sees this as a growing trend and he said today he believes that the tablet market will someday eclipse the PC market. Considering that Apple currently has 3/4ths of all tablet sales, that's good news for the company's prospects.
Dell CEO Michael Dell spoke at the Web 2.0 Summit, and he discussed his infamous quote regarding Apple. Back in 1997, Dell famously said that if he were put in charge of Apple, "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." Nowadays, given all of Apple's success, it's easy to laugh at Dell's thinking. But Dell today says the quote "was misconstrued." In fact, he says, he was asked the same question a few times, and when he finally answered, it was from his point of view not as a potential Apple CEO, but as the head of Dell, which is where he says he belongs.
"The meaning of my answer was that I'm the CEO of Dell, I don't think about being the CEO of any other company, I'm not a CEO for hire, so if you asked me what I'd do for any other company, it's not really something I think about," he says today. Dell in fact says he has great respect for both Steve Jobs and Apple. "Obviously Steve will be missed and was a friend."
Well, OK then. That makes Mr. Dell sound pretty reasonable, actually. Of course, even if he was CEO of Dell and Apple, he'd still have been smart to keep the company going (and no matter what he says, Apple fans will probably always use his quote as an example of why you should never vote against this company), but sure, thinking of himself as head of Dell always, he'd have good reason to go ahead and shut the company from Cupertino down.
I could have probably told you this without doing all of the research, but Loopt asked around anyway, and found out that Siri was the iPhone 4S' most exciting new feature for consumers. Sure, that camera is really impressive, and that processor will come in handy when running new games and apps. But 45% of those polled say Siri is the killer app for the new iPhone. And that makes sense -- not only is Siri flashy and new (and available only on the iPhone 4S, for now), but it's pretty much the marquee feature for the device according to Apple's marketing.
And since that feature was only available on the iPhone 4S, then who, do you think, were the most frequent buyers of that new device? Turns out, according to Loopt's fairly informal data, that it was actually iPhone 4 owners. Personally, I usually go for a "leapfrog" system of hardware upgrades (and since I already have an iPhone 4, that leaves me out of this round), but that's probably not the case with most iPhone 4S buyers -- some people just need to have the latest and greatest, so according to this data, most day-one iPhone 4S buyers were standing in line with their iPhone 4s already.
Interesting. This information is all based on "Loopt Qs," which are apparently social questionnaires put on by the mobile social network, so it seems like these answers are self-selected and probably not really representative of anyone but the folks who use Loopt. But nevertheless, the insight that Siri is driving iPhone 4S adoption seems legit enough.
CNET UK's Drew Stearne created the video below, a dynamic animation that shows the history of the iPhone. It shows quite clearly how the iPhone came about not as something fully formed from the void but as a consolidation and refinement of existing technologies, many of which have been around for decades. Stearne created the video as a tribute to Steve Jobs.
The video is embedded below. Note that parts of it are very information-dense, so you might have to freeze-frame some parts of it if you want to grasp all the little factoids that fly past in less than four minutes. Aside from that, it's a great video that perfectly encapsulates the iPhone's long history -- a history that began not in 2007, but long before many of us were even born.
iPhone revenues and unit sales for Apple's last quarter dropped significantly compared to the previous quarter. Revenues from iPhone sales declined by 18 percent, while unit sales dropped 16 percent -- a sell-through decline of 2.4 million units over the previous quarter. During the recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives confirmed the main cause of the decline: rumors.
Apple believes the explosion of iPhone rumors during the latter half of the last quarter materially contributed to the decline in iPhone sales over the quarter. Coupled with pent-up demand for a new model of iPhone after Apple unexpectedly didn't refresh the line at WWDC, this amounted to a US$2.3 billion reduction in revenue from iPhone sales over the quarter.
This is the first time that I can recall Apple publicly admitting the impact rumors have had on its bottom line, and that impact appears to have been substantial. Even Gizmodo's early outing of the iPhone 4's design failed to make much (if any) dent in iPhone sales in the quarter preceding the iPhone 4's launch in 2010, but endless speculation about a supposed iPhone 5 launch apparently drove customers to hold off on iPhone purchases in anticipation of a new model.
The good news for Apple is that record-breaking sales of the iPhone 4S may have already offset its lost revenue from last quarter. With four million handsets sold in just the first three days after its launch, sales of the iPhone 4S are likely to drive Apple's holiday quarter iPhone sales beyond anything seen thus far.
Whether the situation will repeat in 2012 is anyone's guess. The rumor mill is unlikely to stop churning, but hopefully next year it won't cost Apple so much in lost sales in the process.
We welcome your comments and questions, but please note that questions are moderated and will not necessarily appear in the liveblog content; also please note that TUAW cannot ask the Apple executives questions, as the call is reserved for financial analysts.
Thanks for joining us here for running commentary and analysis of Apple's Q4 2011 earnings announcement. This liveblog uses the CoverItLive player, which is compatible with iPhone or iPad in addition to all desktop browsers.
We welcome your comments and questions, but please note that questions are moderated and will not necessarily appear in the liveblog content; also please note that TUAW cannot ask the Apple executives questions, as the call is reserved for financial analysts.
Mac sales in the quarter were 4.89 million; iPads were 11.12 million and iPhones came in at 17.07 million, even noting that the iPhone 4S did not arrive in time to impact the Q4 results.
For the full fiscal year 2011, revenues were $108B and earnings were $26B. Apple's stock closed today at $422.24, and is currently down to $404.50 in after-hours trading.
We'll be live at 5pm ET with our liveblog commentary on the Apple earnings call.
Full press release below.
Show full PR text
Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results
All-Time Record Mac and iPad Sales
Highest September Quarter Revenue and Earnings Ever
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple(R) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2011. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $28.27 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.3 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarter's revenue.
The Company sold 17.07 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 21 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 11.12 million iPads during the quarter, a 166 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.89 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 6.62 million iPods, a 27 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
"We are thrilled with the very strong finish of an outstanding fiscal 2011, growing annual revenue to $108 billion and growing earnings to $26 billion," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Customer response to iPhone 4S has been fantastic, we have strong momentum going into the holiday season, and we remain really enthusiastic about our product pipeline."
"We are extremely pleased with our record September quarter revenue and earnings and with cash generation of $5.4 billion during the quarter," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 14 weeks rather than 13, we expect revenue of about $37 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $9.30."
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q4 2011 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on October 18, 2011 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq411. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company's estimated revenue and earnings per share. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company's reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company's products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company's gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company's need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company's business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company's dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company's international operations; the Company's reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company's dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company's products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company's sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2010, its Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended December 25, 2010; March 26, 2011; and June 25, 2011; and its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 24, 2011 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
After the market close today, Apple reported financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter, meeting the expectations of many Wall Street analysts. The company reported revenues of $28.27 billion, up almost $7 billion from the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at $7.05. Gross margin was 40.3 percent, versus 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Mac sales in the quarter were 4.89 million; iPads were 11.12 million and iPhones came in at 17.07 million, even noting that the iPhone 4S did not arrive in time to impact the Q4 results.
For the full fiscal year 2011, revenues were $108B and earnings were $26B. Apple's stock closed today at $422.24, and is currently down to $404.50 in after-hours trading.
We'll be live at 5pm ET with our liveblog commentary on the Apple earnings call.
Full press release below.
Show full PR text
Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results
All-Time Record Mac and iPad Sales
Highest September Quarter Revenue and Earnings Ever
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple(R) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2011. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $28.27 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.3 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarter's revenue.
"We are thrilled with the very strong finish of an outstanding fiscal 2011, growing annual revenue to $108 billion and growing earnings to $26 billion" The Company sold 17.07 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 21 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 11.12 million iPads during the quarter, a 166 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.89 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 6.62 million iPods, a 27 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.
"We are thrilled with the very strong finish of an outstanding fiscal 2011, growing annual revenue to $108 billion and growing earnings to $26 billion," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Customer response to iPhone 4S has been fantastic, we have strong momentum going into the holiday season, and we remain really enthusiastic about our product pipeline."
"We are extremely pleased with our record September quarter revenue and earnings and with cash generation of $5.4 billion during the quarter," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 14 weeks rather than 13, we expect revenue of about $37 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $9.30."
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q4 2011 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on October 18, 2011 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq411. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company's estimated revenue and earnings per share. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company's reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company's products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company's gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company's need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company's business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company's dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company's international operations; the Company's reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company's dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company's products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company's sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2010, its Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended December 25, 2010; March 26, 2011; and June 25, 2011; and its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 24, 2011 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
According to Reuters, Apple's US retail stores will be closed for part of Wednesday, October 19 so retail employees can take part in the companywide memorial celebration of Steve Jobs. The event takes place from 10 to 11:30 AM Pacific time, so it's likely US retail stores will be shut for at least that long while the event is broadcast to the company's stores. Californian Apple Stores are reportedly not accepting reservations for tech support or tutorials during that morning. The Wall Street Journal reports that stores will be closed for "at least an hour," but the event may take up to three hours.
International Apple Stores will view a re-broadcast of the memorial. Reuters did not confirm if Apple's retail stores outside the US will be closed.
Apple released the iPhone 4S on October 14, but its homepage hasn't announced that fact; instead, it remains the simple memorial to Steve Jobs that has been there since the day of his death. Shutting Apple Stores and allowing retail employees to take part in the ceremonies despite the high demand for the newest iPhone is a classy move on Apple's part.
Engadget spent the weekend comparing the cameras of the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, Galaxy S II, Nokia N8 and Amaze 4G. The iPhone 4S camera is a marquee feature of the device with its 8 MP sensor and an f/2.4 aperture lens. The 4S also shoots in full 1080p HD video.
With regards to the iPhone 4S, Engadget generally praised the quality of the photos and video the device took, saying, "The iPhone 4S is a pleasure to shoot with. The camera is ready to capture its first image within a second of launch, and tapping to focus after recomposing is painless and speedy...Its image quality rivals many point and shoot cameras in most conditions...Overall, we were most often pleased with photos we shot with the iPhone 4S."
Of course, Engadget found reason to praise the other phones as well. The Amaze 4G took sharper photos in Engadget's testing, for example. Engadget also noted that Apple's competitors offer more advanced manual controls over exposure, white balance and ISO sensitivity. Of course, there are a number of iPhone apps that provide similar features.
The iPhone 4S lost out big on battery life. Engadget noted that "After about two hours of wandering around town, shooting several dozen photos and about 10 minutes of HD video with each device, the iPhone 4S had just 30% of battery left." The iPhone 4, on the other hand, had 53% of its battery remaining, and that's with Engadget sending some emails and making some phone calls too. The worse battery life while using the camera can mainly be chalked up the fact that the iPhone 4S has to process much larger files due to its 8 MP sensor and 1080p video recording capabilities.
It's a good comparison, and we encourage you to read the whole thing.
Speaking onstage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco Monday evening, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said that Apple was a corporate mentor to the company.
"Those guys [at Apple] are an amazing partner for us. When they think about products and enhancing products they think about editing them. [At Twitter] we're going to offer simplicity in a world of complexity... they're a corporate mentor to us."
The comments were spurred when Costolo was asked about how the iOS 5 Twitter integration was working out for the company so far. That integration could well be the most important move Twitter has made in the last year. On October 12th, the day iOS 5 was released, Costolo said that Twitter saw new user signups from iOS devices more than triple. "The iOS integration is going to be absolutely huge for us," Costolo said. "It's going to be even better than we thought it would be."
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.
You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.
BeeDoc's Easy Timeline is an app that any reader who enjoy tracking events might find interesting. The app allows you to easily create interactive timelines to chart any number of things. After launching the app, select a look for your timeline from built-in themes, then the type. You can choose between three different types of timelines: Date & Times lets you create historical timelines based on dates, such as March 5, 1789; Geological Scale lets you create timelines which track events that span thousands or millions of years; and Quantities lets you create a timeline that tracks anything that can be numbered, such as "Week 34."
After choosing the settings, you can enter events onto it. For each event, you can choose a start and/or end date, a custom name, notes, photos, videos, or audio, web links and tags. After you've created data points for your timeline you can continue to format it by choosing font and text sizes, background images, dateline options and more.
But what's really cool about Easy Timeline is how you can view your creation. You can print it or email it to friends, but the killer interactive feature is a 3D-view of the timeline that lets you advance through an event at a time.
When I showed Easy Timeline to my brother, a elementary school teacher, he immediately saw the educational benefit and said it would be useful to create historical timelines of subjects he was teaching, such as the American Revolution. I have used the software to create two timelines for a novel, one which tracks events as they happen in the book and one which tracks the book's events in chronological order. A councilor friend of mine said she could see a great benefit of the app in tracking the events of a patient's life.
Easy Timeline is $19.99 in the Mac App Store. BeeDoc's also offers a professional version of the software, Timeline 3D, which has more advanced options, such as automatic data imports (from iCal, Aperture, Basecamp, etc), cinematic timelines, and advanced publishing options. Timeline 3D, which unfortunately isn't on the Mac App Store, can be bought from BeeDoc's site for $69.99. You can check out the differences between the two Timeline apps here.
Sears will soon outfit its employees in 450 stores with iPads and iPod touch devices. Sears sales associates will use the devices to help customers find product information, check inventory, and make purchases without having to be tethered to a cash register. Sears will also offer free Wi-Fi to customers so they can use their own smartphone devices in the store.
Sears is following in the footsteps of other retailers like Nordstrom, Home Depot and Urban Outfitters which have announced plans to roll out iOS devices in their stores. Lowes has also announced it'll give out 42,000 iPhones to its employees which will be used to ring up purchases and pull down product information.
Even small retailers are shelling out cash to adopt this technology. Clothing retailer Pacific Sun has plans to roll out 300 iPads now and 600 more by next year. The clothing retailer predicts each device will let its employees handle five additional transactions each day, an uptick in sales that'll quickly pay for the devices.
When we began hearing about Apple's iCloud, a lot of the TUAW staffers thought the same thing -- why doesn't Apple just buy Dropbox? After all, it works the way that a lot of Apple fans think cloud storage should intuitively work. Well, a story by Forbes staffer Victoria Barret spills the beans on a story we never knew about until now: Apple did try to buy Dropbox in late 2009.
There's a great story that will be in the November 7 issue of Forbes talking about the startup story of the latest Silicon Valley success, and how in December 2009 Steve Jobs invited Dropbox co-founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi to a meeting in Cupertino. Jobs made a pitch to buy the company, which Houston promptly nixed. Jobs then "told them he was going after their market," while Houston "peppered him with questions."
We all know the outcome, with iCloud having gone live this last week as a would-be competitor to Dropbox. But Dropbox has done rather well, with 50 million users, one new user signing up each second, and revenues expected to hit $240 million for the year despite the fact that 96% of users don't pay a thing for the service. The company was recently valued at $4 billion, and raised $250 million in capital to grow Dropbox into an Internet powerhouse.
Houston's not too worried about the competition from iCloud and Google's rumored Drive product. The company recently signed an agreement with HTC to add Dropbox as the default cloud storage service for its Android phones, is planning on signing up six more phone firms soon, and is looking at working with PC and TV makers next.
We'll see what happens over the next few years with Dropbox, and whether or not Houston's decision to turn down Jobs in 2009 was a smart move or regrettable choice. Check out the video below for a taste of the Forbes article on Dropbox and the Apple connection.
Apparent Corporation today announced Doxie Go, a new member of their portable scanner family and the first to allow scanning without a computer.
The US$199 scanner won't ship until late November, but there are plenty of reasons to get excited about Doxie Go. To start with, the scanner no longer requires a computer. If you're on the run somewhere and need a quick scan of a document, you can grab it and store it on the Doxie Go. The device has a 600-page memory, and you can use USB flash drives or SD cards for more storage. The scanner can grab a full color page in less than 8 seconds.
Once you're returned to the vicinity of your Mac or PC, Doxie Go plugs into your computer and synchronizes the scans. Yeah, it's not "really" wireless, since you'll still need to connect it to something via USB to retrieve and use the scans.
When you're ready to sync, Doxie Go launches the Doxie 2.0 software (included) and your documents, receipts, or photos are moved to your computer. In December, Apparent will release a $39 accessory for transferring scanned documents to your iPad or iPhone. If you use an SD card to store your Doxie scans, you can also use the Apple Camera Connection Kit to move those scans to your iOS devices.
The Doxie 2.0 software can create searchable PDFs through the included ABBYY OCR capability, and sync to Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs, and other cloud services. Scanned items can be "stapled" together to combine them for a specific purpose. Check out the press release below for more information.
Show full PR text
Scan anywhere: Doxie Go unveiled
Groundbreaking 'Post-PC' paper scanner scans anywhere - no computer required; sync scans direct to Mac, PC, iPhone, & iPad; all new Doxie 2.0 software creates searchable PDFs
RALEIGH, NC, USA (October 18th, 2011) - Apparent today unveiled Doxie Go, the modern new mobile paper scanner that's tiny, cordless, and simple, so you can scan anywhere - no computer required. Doxie's app syncs scans - just like a digital camera - then organizes multi-page documents, creates searchable PDFs with ABBYY(R) OCR, and sends to the cloud - Evernote, Dropbox, and more.
Scan anywhere - no computer required.For all your paper Doxie scans everything from bills and receipts to reports, recipes, ideas, cards, photos, and everything else.Tiny and fast Doxie's tiny size means you can scan anywhere, no computer required. Scan full color pages in just 8 seconds.Built-in battery and memory Scan up to 600 pages with built-in memory, or insert a USB flash drive or SD card for endless storage.Sync to Mac, PC, iPhone, & iPad Doxie Go syncs scans to your computer - just like a digital camera. Doxie even syncs direct to iPhone & iPad.1
Doxie 2.0 software included.Connect to sync Doxie Go syncs scans to Doxie 2.0 when you plug it in - just like a digital camera - and charges while you sync.Simplicity is key Doxie's intuitively designed companion app makes going paperless amazingly easy. Just sync, staple, and save.Create searchable PDFs Award-winning ABBYY(R) OCR technology recognizes the text on your scans and creates searchable PDF files.2Evernote & Dropbox ready Doxie works directly with Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs, and more - send PDFs and images to the cloud.Now Available For Pre-Order Doxie Go is the newest member of Apparent Corporation's award-winning Doxie(R) scanner family, and includes the cordless scanner, Doxie 2.0 software, and a carrying case. Now available for pre-order for $199. The first orders ship in late November. Complete product information and images available here.
Doxie Go web site: http://www.getdoxie.com/product/doxie-go Resources for press and bloggers: http://www.getdoxie.com/press/
About Doxie(R) brand paper scanners Doxie delivers modern, award-winning scanners for digitizing and organizing paper, photos, and receipts. Doxie scans anywhere - no computer required, sends directly to the cloud, and syncs to Mac, PC, iPhone, & iPad. +1 800-550-5470, www.getdoxie.com.
About Apparent Corporation Apparent makes smart devices and software that rocks. Apparent's award-winning products and brands include IntelliScanner home and small business barcode readers that organize everything; Barcode Producer, the industry standard barcode generation suite for graphic designers; and Doxie, the amazing scanner for documents. +1 919-468-0340, hello@itsapparent.com, www.itsapparent.com.
As usual, the earnings guidance ($25 billion in revenue, $5.50 earnings per share) provided by Apple at the start of the quarter is likely to be almost comically conservative; Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Apple 2.0 provides an overview of the results forecasts, and comes up with an estimated "whisper number" built atop the educated guesses of the non-pro analysts with the most consistent track record. The results, by their lights, should be somewhere north of $30B in revenue and $8 EPS. The psychological milestones of a non-holiday quarter with four million Macs and ten million iPads sold are almost certainly going to be passed as well.
At about 5pm ET, the company's executives will hop on their quarterly analyst call to discuss the results. We'll be here for live commentary and consideration, so set a reminder below and join us!
Note: TUAW does not provide financial or investment advice.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm a sucker for wood and Apple products. The wonderful iPad cases from BlackBox and other companies have a great feel, adding a natural counterpoint to the metal and glass of our devices. Now a new company based in Boise, Idaho -- Root Cases --is making and selling beautiful wooden iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro cases, and I had an opportunity to get my hands on several of the cases for review.
Design
Cases for electronic products are all about design -- looking good, yet offering protection for your device at the same time. When you first open up the cardboard box containing your new Root Case, you'll be pleasantly surprised -- it comes in a wooden crate that is a work of art in itself. There's also a business card, printed on 100% recycled stock, that lets you know that you've helped plant a tree in a non-logging location and gives you a 10% discount on your next order.
What's inside the crate? A bit of excelsior and your case. The case is made out of either bamboo, walnut, wenge, or zebrawood, and is felt-lined on the inside. There are cutouts in the appropriate locations, of course. The iPhone 4 case also works with the iPhone 4S, as you'd expect, and weighs only .7 oz (20 grams) using the bamboo material. It's a very nice looking case and really accentuates the design of the iPhone 4/4S. The iPhone 4/4S case retails for US$59, about a buck less than the TwelveSouth BookBook vintage case/wallet.
It's the iPad case that is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, though. The one that appeared here at the TUAW Testing Lab was made out of silky-smooth walnut with a leather-like binding on one side. Unlike the BlackBox cases, which are more of a sleeve design, the Root Case for iPad 2 ($79) is a book-type folio case more like the DODOcase. Just think of a DODOcase made entirely out of beautiful wood and you have the Root Case.
The iPad case has another feature that set it apart from the DODOcase; strong magnets in the corners to keep the cover closed in transit. The magnets are only for that purpose, so don't expect them to turn your iPad 2 on and off like Apple's Smart Cover would.
The iPad Root Case is a little bit heavy (15.3 ounces or 433 grams for the walnut version), but it's well worth the weight for the furniture-like finish and quality of the case. If there's one complaint that I have about the iPad case, it's that getting to the various switches and buttons can be a bit difficult as they're recessed into the case.
Functionality
Both the iPad 2 and iPhone cases are beautiful, but how well do they protect your device? Well, I'm not going to wreck these lovely pieces of art to figure that out, but with both cases I'd say that they offer as much protection as most cases. There's little or no internal padding in the cases, so a drop could theoretically damage your device as well as the case. If you're more concerned about keeping your iPad from damage than good looks, then you might want to consider something like the LifeProof or OtterBox Defender Series cases.
Conclusion
Christmas will be here sooner than you'd expect, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend buying a Root Case for your favorite iPhone 4/4S or iPad 2 owner. If the recipient isn't enchanted by the painstaking attention to detail in manufacturing or the warmth and solid feel of the wood, then you're going to have a heck of a time finding a good gift for that person.
Fantastical by Flexibits has been updated to version 1.1, which offers a slew of new features. Users can now edit events and notes within Fantastical, and changes are immediately synchronized with iCloud. There's a lot to like about this new version, including behind-the-scenes bug fixes that make the whole experience more enjoyable. Here's what's new in Fantastical 1.1.
At last, you can edit events within Fantastical! This is the feature I've been waiting for, and I'm glad to report it works. To edit an existing event, simply double-click its listing in Fantastical. An edit window pops up, ready to accept your changes. You can edit notes in the same way.
The other major change is full iCloud integration and near-immediate synchronization of data. Previously, Fantastical required you to launch iCal (or have it running hidden) for sync with a MobileMe calendar. Now that's changed, thanks to iCloud and Fantastical's CalDAV integration. In my testing, events created in Fantastical showed up on my iPad by the time I launched the calendar app.
Several smaller changes further improve the Fantastical experience. For example, new events now automatically set the start date to the selected date on the calendar, with is a nice time saver. Multiple all-day events are grouped by calendar and sorted by event name, and Outlook events are color-coded by category.
Fantastical has been one of my favorites since I first reviewed it in May. It's out of the way when I don't need it, and quick when I do. Now that I can use it to edit tasks and notes, I probably won't look at iCal very much at all. Fantastical 1.1 is available now from the Mac App Store for US$19.99.
Samsung goofed when it included a modified screenshot of the iOS maps application (above right) in one of its promotional pieces. The promotion shows a Samsung Android handset with Google Maps that unfortunately is not the Android version. It has a rounded text entry box and teardrop push pins that are found in an older version of iOS maps. This particular shot appears to match a three-year-old Flickr image (above left) that's used in a post by Laura Scott at BlogHer.
Samsung is fighting Apple tooth and nail over accusations that its Galaxy lines of devices copy the design of the iPad and iPhone. The Korean company is not helping its cause with high-profile blunders like this.
There are all manner of medically-based uses for iOS devices (the iPad in particular) if you are a medical professional, so it was just a question of time before patients themselves got in on the act (brace yourself, we get all bureaucratic up ahead). According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the FDA has drafted a document titled Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff - Mobile Medical Applications which is a first pass at attempting some standardization and looking at regulating the data and communication requirements of apps like this (for example, having a glucose monitor that can sync readings to your iOS device).
Particularly for a condition like diabetes, which requires tracking and (sometimes frequent) monitoring, it's very handy to have all that data available quickly and easily. Having an official stance, even in draft, is a big step forward. From the JDRF:
Once the information is on a smartphone, diabetes management will become more discrete while at the same time opening up a world of opportunity. You could view glucose levels, determine insulin requirements and make dosing decisions, track your treatment, and share all of this information seamlessly with the people that help with and matter most to your care. You could send alerts and alarms automatically to parents or caregivers, and receive helpful advice when needed.
If this is something you're in favor of, or better yet, could actually use, now's your chance to add your voice to the encouragement. Here's the catch: You only have until October 19th to have your say. You'll find feedback on the JDRF post that you can use as an example to work from. If you or someone you know could benefit from this, take a moment and fill out the comment form. Who knows? Your comment may be the one that puts it over the edge and turns this draft into reality.
iOS owners have another way to view PDFs files on their devices now that Adobe has released its popular Reader app for iOS. Adobe Reader for iOS lets you open a PDF from any app that supports "Open in," including mobile Safari and iOS email. It'll let you open password-protected files and view additonal PDF content like annotations and drawing markups. It also supports bookmarks and thumbnails, both of which can be used for navigation.
The app is desinged to be a reader only and has a minimalistic interface. When you are within the program, you can search the document, copy text to the clipboard and print. The Adobe Reader app is available for free from the iOS App Store.
We're looking at apps that aren't games this week, and today's selection is Any To Do. It's a little pricey, but might be worth it for the right user. I use the excellent 2Do on my iPad, but Any To Do is nice as well.
While it lacks a little bit of the syntactic sugar that 2Do has, it does use a very interesting quadrant view. Basically, your tasks are charted as Urgent, Important or not Urgent or Important. You can see a view of all of your tasks laid out according to those criteria. Most to-do apps chart tasks by date due or time entered, but I do like how Any To Do lays them out, so at a glance, you can see tasks that need to get done right away, or that take precedence on your list.
Another big bonus is that Any To Do will sync with Evernote. Of course you can set up notifications and reminders for your tasks, set up repeated tasks, or send things out to Twitter, Facebook, or another calendar.
Any To Do places less emphasis on organization than other similar apps. It's built more for creating priorities and lists of what you need to do. And of course, that's a great function for someone looking for a very tasked-based to-do system.
Any To Do is available in the App Store for US$5.99 on the iPhone or $8.99 on the iPad. That's relatively price, but again, it's a pretty targeted app, and that quadrant view is something I haven't seen before. There are lite versions to look at, too, if you're not sure how it might work. If it sounds like the kind of task-based app you need to keep yourself moving on various projects and work, definitely give it a look.
Along with the iPad, Mac sales were one of the highlights of 
There are all manner of medically-based uses for iOS devices (the iPad in particular) if you are a medical professional, so it was just a question of time before patients themselves got in on the act (brace yourself, we get all bureaucratic up ahead). According to the 
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