Android Slips as Apple Gains Enterprise Market Share in Q3 2014 [iOS Blog]
Reversing a trend of quarterly declines, Apple’s iOS mobile operating system gained market share this past quarter as it continued to dominate in the enterprise market. Apple’s expansion came at Android’s expense, which lost ground, according to Good Technology’s latest Mobility Index Report (via VentureBeat).
In Q3 2014, iOS device activations in the enterprise sector grew two percentage points, expanding from 67 to 69 percent. Android, concomitantly, slipped 2 percent, accounting for 29 percent of net device activations. Windows Phone remained a very distant third with only 1 percent of activations, a figure that has remained flat for the past six quarters.
Much of Apple’s quarterly gain can be attributed to the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which caused a surge in iOS device activations in September.
Good Technology says “The release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus accounted for all of this gain.” More specifically, iOS was down to 66 percent of activations in July and August, but comprised 73 percent of September activations thanks to sales of the new devices.
In the tablet enterprise market, Apple also remained the dominant tablet manufacturer with its iPad models, but faced an increasing challenge from Android tablets. In the just-ended quarter, Android increased its market share, climbing slightly to grab 11 percent of tablet device activations as compared to the iPad’s 89 percent share.
Apple increasingly has been focused on the mobile enterprise market, updating its enterprise-level mobile device management tools earlier this year and recently partnering with IBM to develop new business apps and services for Apple’s iOS devices. As part of the Apple-IBM collaboration, IBM will provide iOS-optimized cloud services, develop industry-specific apps, and begin selling iOS devices to its corporate clients. 
Target Offering Gift Cards up to $140 With iPad, iPhone Purchase on Black Friday [iOS Blog]
Black Friday, a major shopping holiday in the United States, is quickly approaching and deals have begun to leak out. Last week, Sam’s Club’s Black Friday deals were revealed, and this morning, Target’s Black Friday Ad was leaked.
Target is offering quite a few deals on iPads, providing hefty gift cards with purchase. The company will give $100 gift cards to customers who purchase a 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, or iPad Air, which are priced at $299, $399, and $399, respectively. Other colors and capacities are also included in the deal.
With the purchase of a $249 original iPad mini, Target is offering a $80 gift card, and with the purchase of a $499 iPad Air 2, Target is offering a $140 gift card. Though the iPad Air 2 is regularly priced, a $140 gift card is the best deal we’ve seen on the tablet yet.
Target will also be offering a $30 gift card with the purchase of any iPhone 6 (priced at $179.99) or iPhone 5s (priced at $79) with a qualifying two-year contract, and customers who buy a 32GB iPod touch can get a $50 gift card.
Other deals include $11 off the Apple TV, dropping the price to $89, and iTunes gift cards for buy one get one 30 percent off. Target will also offer the Beats by Dre Solo HD headphones for $97, down from $170, and the Beats by Dre Studio headphones for $250, $50 off their regular price.
Target will open its doors at 6 PM on Thanksgiving Day, and it’s likely popular deals will go quickly. Customers with a Target REDcard can save an extra 5 percent on their purchases.
For more Black Friday discounts, make sure to keep an eye on our Black Friday roundup, where we are aggregating all of the Black Friday deals on Apple products and related Apple accessories.
Pegatron Reportedly Boosting iPhone 6 Production, Adding iPhone 6 Plus to Meet Strong Demand
Apple’s assembly partner Pegatron is boosting its production capacity in order to help Apple increase inventory of the popular iPhone 6, reports Nikkei. According to local press sources, Apple may also be turning to Pegatron to supplement production of the iPhone 6 Plus, which has seen tight supplies as Foxconn has struggled to meet demand.
Local press reports suggest Apple may also tap Pegatron to produce the iPhone 6 Plus since Foxconn has been struggling to cope with demand. Pegatron officials did not comment directly on the media speculation.
Pegatron’s Chief Executive Jason Cheng confirmed in a recent earnings conference call that the company has invested more than $200 million this year in capital expenditures to boost production output, with an additional $300 million planned for 2015.
Pegatron repeatedly has benefitted from strong iPhone sales with an increasing amount of revenue coming from its communications products division, which is responsible for smartphone and tablet production. Though the company’s overall Q3 2014 revenue fell due a dip in its computer assembly business, revenue from its communications division increased 10 percent year-over-year.
Pegatron is a long-time manufacturing partner for Apple, serving as a supplementary assembler for previous iPhone and iPad models. The company took a lead manufacturing role for the first time in the assembly of Apple’s iPhone 5c, which was introduced alongside the iPhone 5s last year.
Barclaycard Launches New Apple Rewards Visa Card With 3x Points on Apple Store Purchases
Barclaycard last week announced a revamped version of its credit card partnership with Apple, the Barclaycard Apple Rewards Visa, offering a new Apple rewards program and financing deals (via AppleInsider).
The new reward card offers three points per dollar spent at the Apple Store (iTunes and App Stores do not qualify), two points spent in restaurants, and one point on all other purchases. Once a customer breaks 2,500 points, they receive a $25 Apple Store gift card.
Within the first thirty days of opening an account, users can also finance purchases made through Apple with deferred interest. Purchases under $498 can be financed for six months, $499-$998 for twelve months, and $999 and over for eighteen months.
The last Barclaycard with iTunes Rewards didn’t have a triple-points reward tier for customers. It started at paying out two points for every dollar spent at the Apple Store or iTunes Store, and one point for every dollar spent everywhere else. Instead of an Apple Store gift card, the payout at 2,500 points was an iTunes gift card.
The card isn’t yet confirmed to work with Apple Pay, but is expected to as both Visa and Barclaycard are participating partners. The new card also supports Chip & Pin security, not Chip & Signature like most other new cards in the United States, with an embedded EMV Chip for security.
The Barclaycard Apple Rewards Visa can be applied for today on Barclaycard’s Official Website. Apple is also promoting the new card, touting its reward and financing options, on the company’s online store.
Apple Reportedly Opening New R&D Center in Cambridge, England
Apple is planning to open a new facility that includes research and development operations in Cambridge, England within the next few weeks, reports Business Weekly (via MacGeneration).
90 Hills Road, which is said to be location of Apple’s new offices in Cambridge
The company’s new offices are said to be located at 90 Hills Road, which is described as a prestigious corporate building and is located near the likes of headquarters belonging to Microsoft and Sony. More than 1000 technology companies have established offices in Cambridge since 1998, with the region earning the nickname of “Silicon Fen” in reference to Silicon Valley. Other companies including microprocessor manufacturer ARM and wireless communications company Broadcom also have campuses in Cambridge.
According to the report, Apple is aiming to start with 20 employees in its new offices, and will look to grow to a total of 40 employees in the coming year. The UK was also said to be working hard for the past 25 years to persuade Apple to establish an office in Britain. Apple has numerous R&D centers around the world, including buildings in Israel, Shanghai, Taiwan, and more.
Fitbit’s activity trackers vanish from Apple’s online store
Those rumors of Apple pulling Fitbit activity trackers from its stores appear to have been well-founded. SlashGear and others have noticed that Fitbit’s gear is no longer available from Apple’s online store; search for “Fitbit” and you’ll come up empty.. We’ve reached out to Apple for more details of what’s going on, although many have suggested that the forced exit is due to Fitbit’s refusal to share tracking data with iOS 8’s Health app. Apple typically sells accessories that are showcases for its products, and it might not want to offer a less-than-complete fitness experience in its shops — even if you’d likely be happy in the long run. The disappearance is unfortunate if you were hoping to pick up a Fitbit Charge alongside that new iPhone, but there will still be plenty of other outlets willing to take your cash.
Via: SlashGear, Phone Arena
Source: Apple Store
Apple finally offers an easy solution to its missing text message problem
If you’re still being plagued by missing text messages after leaving iOS for another platform, then the time has come to rejoice. Apple has quietly launched a tool that will let you deregister your phone number from iMessage and solve your texting problem once and for all. The root of this mess comes from the fact that Apple roots all your SMS through its iMessage system — even after a user switched to a different phone. The result was texts from iPhone users disappearing into the ether. If you forgot to disable iMessage before switching devices, often the only solution was to completely disconnect the device from your Apple account. Now all you have to do is plug your phone number into Apple’s deregistration site, and punch in the verification code sent to you.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: Apple
Apple finally releases tool for de-registering phone number from iMessage
If you or anyone you know has switched from an iPhone to an Android phone, you might be aware of Apple’s infamous iMessage bug. If you upgraded to a new device without turning off iMessage on your old iPhone first, some of your text messages would still be send and received through iMessage, not as regular text messages. This is obviously a problem when you’re using an Android phone, or literally any other kind of phone, because iMessage is exclusive to Apple devices. This bug would cause messages to never be received and sent correctly, which is a massive headache.
Apple has finally come to their senses and released a web tool for fixing this issue. All you have to do is head to the site and punch your number and Apple ID in, and the service will send you a confirmation SMS with a code that will turn off iMessage for your account. Quick, simple, and effective.
Apple obviously doesn’t want users switching out of their ecosystem, but at least they’re playing fair and giving users an easy way out. I doubt this will cause millions of iPhone users to defect tomorrow, but it’s handy nonetheless.
source: The Verge
Come comment on this article: Apple finally releases tool for de-registering phone number from iMessage
Apple Launches Web Tool to Deregister Phone Numbers from iMessage
Apple today released a new web tool for users to deregister their phone number from iMessage in the event they switched to a non-Apple device. To deregister a phone number from iMessage, users simply enter their phone number in Apple’s web tool, receive a free text message containing a code, and submit the code to complete the process. Users who still have their original iPhone can also transfer their SIM card back to the device and go to Settings -> Messages to turn iMessage off.
Users switching from an iPhone to another device were often unable to receive SMS messages from another iPhone due to their phone number still being linked to iMessage. These specific errors with iMessage have been a well-known issue since 2011, which is when the messaging service debuted with iOS 5. They were also made even more apparent this past May, where a server glitch caused widespread message delivery problems. Apple was even sued over the matter in a California court, although the company claimed that it was aware of the issue and could not provide a fix.
Apple’s web tool for deregistering phone numbers from iMessage is available now.
‘Pangu’ Jailbreak for iOS 8.x Now Available for Mac, Compatible with Newer Apple Devices
The Pangu development team today updated its jailbreak for iOS 8 and 8.1, bringing full support for the Mac. The update comes a week after the program saw an update for Windows that brought an automatic installation of Cydia and support for the English language.
Pangu’s jailbreak tool for iOS 8 is the first that is compatible with any device running iOS 8.0 to iOS 8.1, including newer devices such as the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3. The jailbreak method allows users to install content like themes, tweaks, and apps from other sources than the App Store. The Pangu development team recommends that users backup their iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches before using the tool, and notes that devices upgraded over-the-air may need to be restored before being jailbroken.
Cydia administrator Jay Freeman noted on his Twitter that the Pangu jailbreak is “stable enough” and said that developers on Cydia are now able to mark their own apps as iOS 8 compatible. Members on our forums are also maintaining an active list of which Cydia apps are compatible with iOS 8 and Pangu’s jailbreak, and interested users should look there for more specific information.
Pangu can be downloaded for OS X and Windows as an untethered jailbreak, meaning that users only have to apply the method once. The release of the tool follows an announcement by the Electronic Frontier Foundation yesterday stating that a new petition was filed with the Librarian of Congress to extend an exemption that allows jailbreaking to be legal. The exemption was last renewed in 2012 and created by the U.S. Congress in 2010.
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