Archive for July 25th, 2012

TODAY! Mountain Lion available from Mac App Store

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

The ninth major release of Apple’s desktop operating system is now available as a download from the Mac App Store. Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for S$25.98.

Mountain Lion OS X, Apple's new desktop operating system is available for download today.

Mountain Lion OS X, Apple’s new desktop operating system is available for download today.

Mountain Lion features more than 200 new features, including iCloud integration, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center.

Pricing & Availability

OS X Mountain Lion is available from the Mac App Store for S$25.98.

Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space.

A complete list of system requirements and compatible systems can be found here.

OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for S$25.98.

The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorised Reseller on or after 11 June, 2012.

Below are some of these key new features.

  • iCloud integration, for easy set up of your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keeping everything, including iWork documents, up to date across all your devices.
  • The new Messages app, which replaces iChat and brings iMessage to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or another Mac.
  • Notification Center, which streamlines the presentation of notifications and provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps.
  • System-wide Sharing, to make it easy to share links, photos, videos and other files quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo.
  • Facebook integration, so you can post photos, links and comments with locations right from your apps, automatically add your Facebook friends to your Contacts, and even update your Facebook status from within Notification Center.
  • Dictation, which allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you’re using an app from Apple or a third party developer.
  • AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what’s on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay.
  • Game Center, which brings the popular social gaming network from iOS to the Mac so you can enjoy live, multiplayer games with friends whether they’re on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
  • The new Gatekeeper, which makes downloading software from the Internet safer.
  • Power Nap, which automatically updates your apps and system while your Mac is asleep.
  • A faster Safari browser.

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Posted in App, Apple, Availability, Browser, Cloud, Mac, Mac OS, Mobile, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Prices, Safari, Software, Specifications | No Comments »

New BlackBerry smartphone: Curve 9320

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

RIM has announced that the BlackBerry Curve 9320 is now available in Singapore at S$328. Get it from authorised BlackBerry partners including local carriers SingTel and M1.

BlackBerry Curve 9320 is now available in Singapore for S$328.

BlackBerry Curve 9320 is now available in Singapore for S$328.

The Curve 9320 has the traditional half-body screen cum signature hardware keypad design of BlackBerry smartphones.

BlackBerry Curve 9320
OS BlackBerry 7.1 OS
Screen 2.44″ TFT
Resolution 320 x 240, 164 ppi
Battery 1,450 mAh
Processor Single-core, 806 MHz
Camera Rear: 3.2mp
Front: Nil
Video VGA, 640 x 480
Memory Int: 512 MB
Ext: 32 GB microSD
Size /mm 109 x 60 x 12.7
Weight 103 g
Price S$328

Customers can interact with their social network in real time, using preloaded apps for Facebook and Twitter.

The new Social Feeds 2.0 app is also preloaded, allowing customers to post updates to multiple social networks simultaneously and capture updates from news sources (RSS), social apps and instant messaging apps all in one consolidated view.

The integrated camera includes a flash and supports video recording, and pictures can be tagged with their location thanks to the smartphone¹s built-in GPS.

The budget smartphone includes a built-in FM radio, allowing customers to tune into their favorite local stations.

(more…)

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Posted in App, Availability, BlackBerry, BlackBerry OS, Curve, Gadgets, Operating Systems, Phones, Prices, RIM, Specifications | No Comments »

Apple misses analysts’ predictions amid wait for iPhone 5

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Apple has just announced its financial results for its fiscal 2012 third quarter ended 30 June, 2012. Profits missed analysts’ predictions.

“Shares of the world's most valuable technology company shed more than 5 percent of their value after Apple - which beats Wall Street expectations with near regularity - reported its second quarterly miss on results in less than a year,” Reuters reported.

Major news agencies reacted negatively towards Apple’s quarterly results.

Compared to analysts’ predictions for a profit of $10.37 a share on revenue of $37.2 billion, net income was reported as $9.32 a share on sales of $35 billion.

“Apple’s profit and sales fell short of analysts’ projections for only the second time since 2003 as customers held off on iPhone purchases while waiting for a new model to be introduced later in the year,” reported Bloomberg today.

The major news agencies don’t seem to have taken the results in positive light.

The consensus seems to be that customers are holding off on iPhone purchases in anticipation of a new model, which is expected to be introduced later this year.

Shares fell some 6 percent in late trading.

This is the first full quarter of sales for Apple’s latest iPad, which was released in March.

Note the 84% growth in iPad sales over the same quarter last year.

Some 17 million iPads were sold in the quarter alone!

Sales growth this quarter
Device Number of units sold Compared to year-ago quarter
iPhone 26 m 28%
iPad 17 m 84%
Mac 4 m 2%
iPod 6.8 m -10%

It’s interesting to note the 10% decline in iPod sales.

It is an indication that it may be made redundant by the proliferation of smartphones which can fulfil the functions of a mobile personal music player cum entertainment device.

On the other hand, Sony is still launching new models in its rejuvenated Walkman media players cum entertainment devices.

Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $2.65 per share of the Company’s common stock.

“Apple disappointed analysts despite reporting profits up 21% year-on-year to $8.8bn (£5.6bn) and revenues up 23% to $35bn, after missing targets that Wall Street had forecast,” Guardian reported.

The dividend is payable on August 16, 2012, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 13, 2012.

This continues Tim Cook’s announcement in March to pay dividends – something that Apple had not done in 17 years until then.

The dividends are estimated to cost Apple about $10 billion a year.

Apple has around $100 billion in cash which many investors have called over the years to be returned to investors.

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Posted in Apple, Figures, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Phones, Tablets, Tech news, Tickers, Walkman | 2 Comments »