Celebrity iPhone ads score well with viewers

April 28, 2012 · No comments

Apple's new iPhone 4S ads featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel appear to be resonating with TV viewers. Ace Metrix, a firm that does analytics for television and video advertisers, found that those two ads were the "most effective TV ads to break the week ending April 20" for mobile phones.

For some reason, the rather mundane Samsung Galaxy Note "The Best of a Phone and Tablet" and "The Best of Both Tablet and Phone" ads still manage to take the #1, 5, and 7 spots in the Ace Metrix list, while Zooey tied for #1, Sam was in second place, and three other iPhone 4S ads placed 6th, 8th, and 9th.

Ace Metrix CEO Peter Daboll noted that Apple's iPhone ads earlier in the year had been "falling rather flat," and that "This new creative tack that uses likeable (sic) celebrities struck a chord with American viewers."

[via MacRumors]

Celebrity iPhone ads score well with viewers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tim Cook Seen At Valve’s headquarters

April 28, 2012 · No comments

Right now we have got some of interesting news from the folks at Appleinisder where they reported that they have spotted Apple's CEO Tim Cook at video game designer Valve's headquarters. Apple's chief executive Tim Cook reportedly visited the Bellevue, Washington headquarters of Valve Corporation earlier today, inciting questions about new potential for collaboration between the two companies.

After months of rumors that suggested Valve would begin supporting Mac users in Steam, in early 2010 the company announced it would bring a series of its own video games, including Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Team Fortress 2, to the Mac platform for the first time. It also announced it would simultaneously release Portal 2 for the Mac and Windows that winter.

At the time, John Cook, the director of Steam development at Valve, stated that Apple had "been a great partner so far and we look forward to growing our relationship with them over time."

What do you think Tim Cook was doing at Valve’s headquarters? Jailbreak iPhone 4S - Jailbreak iOS 5 Untethered

Apple Looking to Bring EPIX Movie Streaming to Apple TV, Potential Television Set

April 28, 2012 · No comments

Reuters reports that Apple has been negotiating with movie streaming service EPIX for the rights to stream content to the Apple TV set-top box. According to sources, the deal would also extend to future streaming devices such as the much-rumored Apple television set.

Apple, which now sells a $99 set-top box that hooks up to a television set and lets users stream online content from Netflix and the MLB channel, opened discussions with three-year-old EPIX, created by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, MGM and Viacom's Paramount Pictures. One of the sources told Reuters that any discussions would apply to its set-top box and also to upcoming devices that stream content.Sources note that talks between Apple and EPIX remain preliminary and that no deal is expected in the near future. Still, the rumors suggest that Apple is continuing to push forward in its attempts to secure content as it seeks to build a bigger footprint in the living room. EPIX has an exclusive streaming agreement with Netflix that extends through September, so it seems unlikely that any agreement with Apple could go into effect before that time, but it also remains unclear how the financial situation would shake out for EPIX in adding Apple while Netflix loses its exclusivity. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Apple Kills Off Chomp App Discovery Services for Android • Josh Gad Likely to Play Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs Indie Film • Deus Ex: Human Revolution Arrives on the Mac App Store • LinkedIn's iOS App Goes Universal, Integrates Calendar Data • Microsoft Releases Update to Office for Mac 2011 SP2

MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page

How To Use Saved SAM Activation Ticket To Unlock Your iPhone

April 28, 2012 · No comments

Apple has reacted quickly to rectify the issue with their activation servers that allowed iPhone owners to unlock their devices, anyone who didn't get involved when the process was first announced will unfortunately be left with an iPhone restricted to a single carrier. However, if you are one of the enterprising few who jumped into action right away, then read on to see just what you can do with those saved activation tickets. Continue reading this article at RedmondPie.com

Redmond Pie

Study: Apple customer service complaints low, call automation could use work

April 28, 2012 · No comments

A new cross-industry study published on Friday notes that while Apple received fewer customer complaints than tech rivals Dell and HP, the company's automated call answering service is the weakest link in the chain.

AppleInsider

Apple’s New Celebrity iPhone Ads Are Well Liked But Samsung Ad Takes Top Spot

April 28, 2012 · No comments

Apple's new celebrity iPhone ads are well likely by viewers but a Samsung ad takes the top spot. iClarified - Apple News and Tutorials

Twitter for iOS updated to version 4.2

April 28, 2012 · No comments

The iOS Twitter client has received an update that brings some additions and enhancements to its discover, search, and notification features. An activity stream featuring tweets that are favorited or retweeted by people who you follow has been added below the redesigned stories in the Discover tab. There are various enhancement to the app’s search functionality, including pelling suggestions, related searches, access to recent searches, and others.

Version 4.2 of Twitter for iOS also added push notifications for retweets, favorites and follows (classified as “Interactions”), as well as settings for them.

A full list of changes is available on the company’s blog post covering the update. The update, like the app itself, is free on the App Store.

Via [Twitter Blog]

AppleTell

Apple in talks to Stream EPIX to devices including HDTV

April 28, 2012 · No comments

Reuters reported today that Apple has been in talks since earlier this year to stream films owned by premium TV channel EPIX to Apple TV set top boxes and potentially its much-rumored upcoming HDTV product. Three major studios including Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Lionsgate back the channel:

Apple Inc began talks earlier this year to stream films owned by EPIX, which is backed by three major movie studios, on devices including a long-anticipated TV, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations… Apple is widely expected to unveil a full-fledged TV product later this year or in early 2013 to drive its next phase of growth and potentially revolutionize the industry.

According to the report, Apple’s attempts to acquire the content could run into trouble due to EPIX’s $ 200 million agreement with Netflix that gives the service streaming rights through September of this year.

In March, the New York Post reported Apple plans to launch a new TV streaming service in time for Christmas of this year, despite troubles signing up major content partners. The report claimed content providers had “largely balked” at Apple’s unwillingness to negotiate on pricing. It also stated Apple wanted content providers to offer their channels through iOS and Apple TV-like apps. Earlier reports from analysts indicated Apple could partner with its existing carrier partners, such as AT&T and Verizon, to take advantage of their programming for upcoming streaming services.
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Analyst: Apple could use ‘iTV’ moniker for HDTV, partner with carriers for programming (9to5mac.com)
iOSLiveTV.com streams Airplay compatible TV from all over the world to your iOS device (9to5mac.com)
Use AppleTV to make your HDTV a wireless second monitor (9to5mac.com)

9to5Mac

New Trend: Ask Foxconn HR reps when the new iPhone will launch (this time October)

April 9, 2012 · No comments

Remember all the way back to last week when a Foxconn HR/Parking lot attendant told a Japanese NEws Crew that the iPhone was coming in June?

Not so says another un-named HR representative reports Kokatu.

South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper begs to differ. According to a recently published article, the paper asked the head of human resources at Foxconn’s Taiyuan factory about the iPhone 5 release date. The human resources head apparently told the paper, “We just got the order. It [the release] will be around October.”

9to5Mac

Foxconn employee says Apple placing orders for next iPhone to debut in October

April 9, 2012 · No comments

The head of human resources at one Foxconn factory claims that Apple has recently placed an order for its sixth-generation iPhone, and that the device is on schedule to launch in October of 2012.