“So what are you going to name your baby, Mr. Smith?”
“We’re inspired by how Apple names things. We are just going to call him ‘new Smith’.”
Yesterday Apple announced both a stock dividend plan and a stock buyback. A dividend of $2.65 per share will start with a quarter later this year. In addition, Apple plans to buy back $10 billion of its own stock over the next three years. Currently Apple has about $100 billion in cash. Do you think this is the right move for Apple? What else do you think Apple should be doing with its excess stockpile of cash?
Apple offered two ways to pre-order the new iPad: delivery or in-store pick up. It appears that both methods have sold out, with the online Apple store showing 2-3 weeks for shipping of new orders. However, it has been reported that Apple stores will still have new iPads for sale on Friday morning for those willing to wait in line.
Many stores have posted an 8 a.m. opening time for Friday. In the past, stores have formed two separate lines: one for pre-orders that have been paid for in advance, and another for everyone else.
In other news, Apple announced that iWork.com will be shutting down on July 31. The free service allowed users to share Pages, Numbers and Keynote documents online. iCloud also has similar functionality and Apple has decided to concentrate on that instead.
“Congratulations on winning first place. However, your project violates a number of our patents. You’ll be hearing from us shortly.”
In Tim Cook’s address last week he announced the new iPad and a new Apple TV. Plus, he ended the event by telling us there is more to come in 2012. Besides the obvious, like updates for each Mac line and a new iPhone model, what else do you think Apple has in store for us in 2012?
Apple announced a new iPad yesterday. Dubbed simply the “new iPad” or the “3rd Generation” iPad in the Apple Store, the device looks similar to the iPad 2 but contains a number of internal improvements. Among those are new quad-core A5X processor, a better rear camera and a high resolution retina display.
In addition to new hardware there are also new versions of many Apple apps. Both GarageBand and iMovie get new features, which Pages, Numbers and Keynote get minor updates mostly to take advantage of the retina display. A new iPhoto app for iPad adds more advanced editing and sharing options than the default Photos app.
The new iPad will be available in Apple Stores on March 16. There are three memory options: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. In addition to the basic wifi-only models you can get 4G LTE-capable models for either AT&T or Verizon. Prices range from $499 to $829. Apple will continue to sell 16GB versions of the iPad 2 starting at $399.
A new Apple TV will also go on sale on March 16. It will be capable of full 1080p HD. A new icon-based Apple TV interface was unveiled today and is available for the original Apple TV 2 via a software update.
Today Apple announced the new iPad. This 3rd generation device includes a high resolution retina display, a faster A5X quad-core processor, 5MP/1080p rear-facing camera, and voice dictation capability. As well as a wifi-only version, there will be 4G LTE-capable versions. It comes out on March 16, and the iPad 2 will remain on sale for a reduced price. There are also new versions of Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie and GarageBand, as well as a new iPhoto app. The new iPad will simply be called “The new iPad” not the iPad 3.
What do you think of the new iPad?
Apple sent out a special announcement to the press this week inviting them to a presentation on March 7. The invite states: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.”
Rumor sites predict that this will be the announcement of the iPad 3 which will sport a new high resolution retina display and a faster processor. Some say there will also be a 4G data connection option. Other reports specify a slightly different case design.
It is hard to predict when the iPad 3 will be available. Sometimes Apple makes new products available immediately upon announcement. At other times a special launch occurs a week or two afterward.
Mountain Lion, Mac OS X 10.8 coming later this year, will include a new feature called Gatekeeper. It divides all third-party software into three categories: from the Mac App Store, not from the Mac App Store but digitally signed by an official Apple developer ID, and anything else. By default the user will be able to only install software in the first two categories. But the setting can be adjusted to allow all three, or only the first one. The second category allows developers to create anything not allowed in the Mac App Store, like system tools, but still take responsibility for their work and allow Apple to take action if something malicious comes to light.
What do you think of this new feature of Mac OS X?
