MacMost: Archives

Apple reported its Q3 financials this week, giving us a lot of data about the company’s performance. The quarter featured record Mac sales and the first quarter with reported iPad sales. Here are the numbers.

Apple’s total Q3 revenue: $15.7 billion. That’s up from $9.73 billion for Q3 last year.

Net quarterly profit: $3.25 billion, up from $1.83 billion last year. That’s $3.51 per diluted share, up from $2.01 per diluted share.

Both the revenue and profit numbers beat analyst expectations.

International sales were 52 percent of revenue in the quarter.

iPad sales: 3.27 million units and $2.17 billion in revenue. This is the first quarter with recorded iPad sales.

Macs sold: 3.47 million, a record, and 33 percent higher than Q3 last year.

MacBooks and MacBook Pros accounted for 71 percent of all Mac sales.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Mac sales grew 73 percent. China had 144 percent growth and Korea 184 percent.

iPhone sales: 8.4 million, a 61 percent jump from last year. This only includes a few days of iPhone 4 sales at the end of the quarter and in only 5 countries.

iPod sales: 9.41 million, an 8 percent decline over Q3 last year. But iPod Touch sales were up 48 percent creating an increase of 4 percent in total iPod sales revenue.

iTunes sales and related services: $1.2 billion in revenue, a 25 percent increase.

The App Store now has more than 225,000 apps, 11,000 of which are iPad-specific.

Apple’s stores generated $2.58 billion in revenue, a 73 percent increase.

Apple Stores sold 677,000 Macs versus 492,000 for the same quarter last year. About half of sales were to people buying their first Mac.

Apple expects to open 24 new stores in Q4.

Guidance for Q4 is $18 in revenue with $3.44 earnings per share.

In other news, Apple held a special press conference last Friday about the iPhone 4’s reception issues. CEO Steve Jobs showed evidence that the problem was not specific to the iPhone, but occured on other smartphones as well. He then announced a free iPhone case program that will allow iphone 4 users to get a free case from Apple. Having a case has been widely reported as alleviating the problem. Details on the program should be posted on Apple’s site by the end of the week.
Apple also released small updates to both iTunes and the iBooks app. The new iBooks app will allow features like video and audio, which can be used by future books published for the platform.

You can create iMovie projects that serve as templates for a future video or series. You can include titles, sequences and placeholders. Instead of starting from scratch with a new video project, you can then duplicate the template.

Learn how to choose your own desktop background, use your own image as a background, rotate through a collection of images and other techniques. Also learn how to create a solid black background and use a third-party program to show video, animation or a web page as your desktop background.

You can use the Help menu present in almost all applications to find menu commands, search documentation and get information. You can also use it as a way to navigate the menu bar using only your keyboard.

Many are still complaining about iPhone 4 reception problems, and Apple has called a special press conference for Friday morning. Speculation about the announcement ranges from free bumper cases for all iPhone 4 users to Apple simply presenting evidence to dismiss complaints.
Meanwhile, developers have received version 4.1 of iOS for testing. The update increases the accuracy of how reception strength is reported on the phone.
This week Consumer Reports declined to recommend the iPhone 4 based on the reception issue, despite giving it the highest rating among smartphones. Others have criticized the magazine’s testing methods, and many of the testing methods used by other media sources.
MacMost’s own unscientific field testing shows that the iPhone 4 without a case does seem to lose “bars” when held tightly. A protective case seems to fix the problem. Call drops have been experienced, but at no greater rate than with previous iPhone models.
In other news, Apple has set up a program for replacing some defective Time Capsule units sold between February and June of 2008. These defective models sometimes shut down unexpectedly or have trouble starting up. Those with the problem should take it to an Apple Store or authorized retailer to be checked out.

Learn how to use Automator to convert selected text, or text from a file, to audio. You can listen to the result on your Mac, iPod or iPhone while on-the-go.

Learn how to use Seashore to create a 32-bit semi-transparent image and then use that image as an overlay to point out or highlight something in your iMovie video.

Many take the file open and save dialogs for granted, but there are a lot of power user actions and keyboard shortcuts that can make these tools easier to use. You can navigate around your drive space with drag and drop, the keyboard, sidebar, the media browser and more.

This week attention remained on iPhone 4 reception issues. A software update is on the way, but some reports say that this update merely changes how signal strength is reported on the phone in “bars” rather than changing actual reception. Other reports indicate that bars are indeed the issue, and that holding an iPhone 4 the wrong way won’t necessarily cause calls or the Internet connection to drop. Many iPhone 4 owners make this a non-issue by simply getting a protective case for the iPhone.
Meanwhile, AT&T said that upload speeds for some iPhone 4 users may not be as fast as they should be, due to a software problem on the AT&T side that should be fixed soon.
Apple continues to update its MobileMe service. After just completing an update of web-based email, there is now a beta test of a new web-based calendar interface. You can see the new interface by going to your MobileMe calendar on the Web, and clicking on a link to request to be part of the beta. Apple has posted a FAQ with details about the new calendar.
Rumors this week include talk of a new Apple TV that may more closely resemble the iPod Touch than a Mac running Front Row. There may even be an app store. Also, fresh rumors point to a new iPod Touch with cameras and support for FaceTime video calls.

Now that there are many different devices that run apps, it can be difficult to determine which ones work on the iPhone, the iPad or both. There are three basic types: iPhone apps, universal apps and iPad-only apps. Learn how to tell the difference and decide which to buy.

Mobile wireless Internet connections have evolved into mobile hotspots: devices that allow you create your own Internet-connected wifi network while on the go. You can get mobile hotspot devices from Verizon and Sprint. This sort of connection has many advantages over USB devices and public Internet access.

Take a look at the iMovie App for the iPhone 4. You can string together clips, trim them, add transitions and titles and export. But you must choose from a limited set of themes and only ;use video taken with your iPhone's camera.

Apple moved 1.7 million iPhone 4s in the first three days of sales to five countries. Steve Jobs called it the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. iPhones ordered online now aren’t scheduled to ship for three weeks. Apple and AT&T stores often receive a small number of new phones each day, but sell out quickly, making the iPhone hard to find anywhere.
Some of those who have been able to get the new iPhone are complaining about a reception issue that occurs when the iPhone is cupped tightly in hand. This same problem occurs on other phones, including older iPhone models, but is reportedly more pronounced on the iPhone 4, which uses its external metal band as an antenna. Using an Apple “bumper” case or any other case seems to eliminate the problem.
One lawsuit over the issue has already been filed against Apple, and others have threatened to sue. There have also been rumors of a coming software fix from Apple that will alleviate the problem.
Other rumors this week also pertain to the iPhone. One has Apple coming out with the iPad iWork apps for the iPhone 4. iOS 4 does support the use of Bluetooth keyboards, which makes using something like Pages more plausible. There are also more rumors this week of a Verizon version of the iPhone coming later this year or early next.

While it is easy to take Software Update for granted, there are actually a few options you can choose and methods of delaying, ignoring or finding out more about the updates. You can also manually download most Apple updates.

Take a look at the FaceTime feature of the new iOS 4. You can make video calls from one iPhone to another when using WiFi networks.

Take a look at the two cameras of the iPhone 4. The main camera is a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash and can shoot 720p HD video. The front-facing camera is a 1-megapixel model that can also take stills and video.

This week was dominated by iPhone news. Monday saw the release of iOS 4, the fourth major revision of the iPhone OS. Thursday morning the iPhone 4 became available across the U.S. and several other countries. During the week, the new iBooks app for iPhone and iMovie app for iPhone 4 were released.
The release of iOS 4 brought new features like multitasking and app folders to the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3rd generation. In addition to these major features, dozens of minor improvements to the operating system and base apps were introduced. Some of these improvements also work on the older iPhone 3G and 2nd generation iPod Touch. iOS 4 will eventually make it to the iPad as well, although not until the fall.
The iPad iBooks app, an e-book reader, is now also available on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Books purchased in the iBooks store can be spread across each of the devices if you own more than one. Bookmarks and your place can be synced between devices as well.
Thursday morning saw huge lines at Apple stores, partially fueled by rumors of iPhone 4 shortages. But reports from around the U.S. suggest that Apple has enough on hand to fulfill all reservations, plus perhaps hundreds of walk-ins per store. Fewer reservations and no walk-ins at all were available at AT&T stores and other retailers that carried the iPhone on launch day.
The new iPhone features a front-facing second camera for video calls, a 5 megapixel camera for photos and HD video, a new design, faster processor and longer battery life.

Take a look at the new iPhone. A new design is nice, but an early bug hurts wireless reception if held in your palm. Better screen resolution and two cameras are primary new features.

Besides multitasking and app folders, there are many other new features of iOS 4 such as SMS character counts, orientation lock, spell checking, app gifting, longer passcodes and much more.

Take a look at iOS 4, available today for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch. You can have multiple apps running at once and store app icons in folders. Apps like Camera, Photos, Mail and others have new features. You can also use Bluetooth keyboards with your iPhone.