Last year, Apple and IBM teamed up on a number of new enterprise solutions, and today they’ve released three new apps that join the existing lineup. The new additions to the bunch are Advisor Alerts, Passenger Care, and Dynamic Buy.

The new apps join the current bunch that span industries like retail, transportation and banking. The iOS-specific apps are geared toward specific industry solutions, and there are plenty more on the way this year. The new apps include:

• Advisor Alerts: With the Advisor Alerts app built for iPhone and iPad, wealth advisors can serve their clients more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Push notifications provide updates on transaction approvals, trade issues, account maturity, client dissatisfaction, and relevant market news. Prioritized alerts let them take quick action on changes in market conditions and approve time-sensitive trades. And a simple, intuitive user experience enables them to better prioritize information so clients can better manage their portfolios.

• Passenger Care: With the Passenger Care app, airline customer service agents can check in travelers while in line and quickly get them on their way. To reduce wait times, the app points agents to hot spots where the lines are longest. If there’s a flight delay or cancelation, agents can provide travelers personalized recommendations for alternate flights, overnight accommodations, vouchers, and lounge access on the spot. And with real-time access to seat demand and availability, they can offer discounted seat upgrades as soon as they become available. With iPad in hand, agents are free to meet passengers where they are and improve customer satisfaction like never before.

• Dynamic Buy: trends and product performance as they happen. With the Dynamic Buy app for iPad, they can tap into a simple dashboard to see powerful real-time inventory and sales data including year-over-year performance, performance against plan, and top and bottom performers. Instead of sorting through complex manual calculations back at the office, merchants have instant access to everything they need to make spot buys and inventory adjustments during the season. It’s the ideal way to manage inventory, boost margins, and keep customers satisfied.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the partnership with IBM will bring 12 new apps this quarter, adding to the existing 14 that are currently available.

Source: Apple; Via: 9to5Mac

A new report claims that Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the company’s upcoming Apple Watch will be shipped and go on sale outside the US in April

According to 9to5Mac, Cook told this plan to employees at the company’s retail store in Berlin, Germany last week:

Specifically, Cook said that the Apple Watch will launch in Germany during the month of April. It’s possible that the Apple Watch will launch first in the United States in early April, with Germany and other countries following later in the month, but it definitely appears that the Watch’s rollout will be more aggressive than the first iPhone and iPad launches…

New Apple products often roll out in a limited selection of countries at first, expanding to a greater selection of locations in the weeks following the initial launch. Germany is often finds itself in the first or second wave of Apple product releases.

At the same event, Cook reportedly spoke about some of the apps that were coming to the Apple Watch, such as apps from hotels that allow you to check in from your wrist. Apps are also apparently expected from companies like Panera Break. From 9to5Mac:

On the other end of the spectrum, Cook said that Panera Bread is working on a WatchKit application that will allow Apple Watch users to pay for their carbs with their wrist. Panera Bread was an early Apple Pay partner with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last fall, so it’s not a huge surprise that the company is working to jump on the Apple Watch bandwagon, too.

Cook also apparently talked a bit about enterprise efforts for the Apple Watch, including apps from Salesforce, but little beyond that was said.

Apple is expected to reveal a lot more about their plans for the Apple Watch on Monday, March 9 at their “Spring Forward” press event in San Francisco. iMore will be on hand to offer a first hand report on the festivities.

Source: 9to5Mac 1, 2

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently gave an interview with German newspaper BILD, speaking on topics ranging from the Apple Watch to data privacy, and Steve Jobs.

The interview with Cook hit on many topics, including the importance of privacy. He talked about the security and privacy of Apple Pay, which has yet to launch in Germany. He also spoke about the need to keep communications private, according to BILD (translated from German):

“I feel very close to the Germans because they share my views on privacy. We do not read your e-mails, we do not read your text messages – and we find it unacceptable if someone does that.”

Cook also spoke about the Apple Watch, giving examples as to how he uses it in his daily life:

“I wear the stainless steel watch and that’s the white sports armband,” he says, and pulls the sleeve of his shirt up. “I wear the watch all day when I’m at the gym, at work and at home.” He takes them only at night from the office.

He even touched briefly on the rumors of an Apple Car, saying that he has seen the reports, and is unable to comment.

Finally, Cook spoke about things that he’d learned from the late Steve Jobs:

You’ll probably never read in any book, because people focus on other parts of his personality. He taught me that the journey is the destination. That the target is not a single presentation, the delivery of a product or an award. It is the path itself. “

Source: BILD (paywall)