Apple Expands iPhone and iPad Trade-In Program to Australia [iOS Blog]
Apple today expanded its iPhone and iPad trade-in program to Australia, giving customers who trade in an older device credit towards the purchase of a new device. Users who trade in an iPhone can earn up to A$250, while users who trade in an iPad can get up to A$215.
According to Apple, its latest models, including the iPhone 5s, 5c, and iPad Air are not eligible for the credit, nor are first-generation devices like the iPhone 3GS or the original iPad. All other devices are eligible, however, and Apple will still recycle original models for free.
Apple’s trade-in program first debuted in the United States prior to the launch of the iPhone 5s/5c, and expanded to the U.K. a few months later. It has also been brought to several other countries, including Germany, France, Canada, and Italy.
In addition to its in-store recycling program, Apple has a similar online mail-in program that requires users to send in their old iPhones before receiving credit. While the mail-in program often offers a greater value for a used iPhone, Apple’s in-store program is more convenient for many customers.
Shazam for iOS Gains Ability to Play Songs Directly in App via Rdio [iOS Blog]
Shazam today updated both its free and paid iOS apps to version 7.7.0, adding Rdio integration. When a Shazam user identifies a song with the app, the recognized song can then be played directly within the Shazam app via Rdio.
While it was previously possible to listen to songs identified within Shazam in the Rdio app, users are now able to listen to songs from Rdio without having to switch apps.
What’s new
This release brings full track playback in Shazam, powered by Rdio. Once you’re connected, you can play any track and carry on listening to the music as you discover more in the app. Shazam a song to get started.
Songs identified within Shazam can be added to the playlist of a user’s choice or an automatic playlist of all Shazamed songs within the Rdio app. Taking advantage of Rdio integration within Shazam requires the Rdio app to be installed and it also requires a Rdio account to be set up.
Shazam has been long known as one of the major song recognition apps and as of iOS 8, its song identifying capabilities are built directly into Apple’s operating system.
Shazam can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Shazam Encore can be downloaded from the App Store for $6.99. [Direct Link]
Apple Considering Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney for PR Chief Position
Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is one of the candidates being considered to replace Katie Cotton as Apple’s new PR head, reports Re/code. In a piece on Uber, Re/Code‘s Kara Swisher suggests that Carney’s name is “being bandied about” for the position.
Carney served as White House Press Secretary from 2011 until June of 2014, when he officially resigned. Prior to that, Carney served as director of communications for Vice President Joe Biden and before that, he was the Washington bureau chief for Time magazine.
Katie Cotton, who was Apple’s VP of worldwide corporate communications before retiring back in May, served for more than 20 years under both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. Cotton was known for being fiercely protective of Apple executives, serving as the gatekeeper for media access and keeping a tight rein on the company’s PR operations.
Since Cotton’s retirement, Apple has been actively searching for her replacement. Tim Cook is reportedly overseeing the search and hoping to find an external candidate with a “friendly, more approachable face” to replace Cotton as the company strives for greater openness under its new leadership.
Apple May Part Ways With Ad Agency TBWA, Plans to Tap Beats’ Jimmy Iovine for Marketing Revamp
Apple may be planning to part ways with longtime ad agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab, according to a new report from The New York Post. Citing industry buzz, the report suggests that Apple is ready to put its entire advertising account “up for grabs.”
The Cupertino company is also said to be planning to leverage Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine to bolster its marketing efforts. Beats is well-known for its aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns that have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity. Most recently, Beats launched a “The Game Before The Game” advertisement for the World Cup, featuring key players wearing Beats headphones.
Beats’ most recent advertisement
What’s more, the industry is buzzing that Apple will look to music maestro Jimmy Iovine, the boss of newly acquired Beats headphones and its sister music-streaming service, to help it regain its marketing mojo.
“Apple bought Beats for a lot of reasons,” said one new business executive at a top agency. “They think they’re marketing geniuses. It is safe to assume Beats would be part of an assessment of all [Apple] partners.”
Apple’s troubles with advertising agency TBWA began back in 2013, after Eddy Cue sent a tense email to the agency following a line of highly popular Samsung commercials with the tagline “The next big thing is already here.”
Apple reportedly considered parting ways with TBWA at that time, but instead began working on building out its own in-house advertising solution while continuing to allow TBWA to produce some of its recent popular advertisements like “Powerful.”
Despite continuing a relationship with TBWA, Apple has pitted its in-house team against its longtime partner and it has also invited outside agencies to offer pitches on major projects, suggesting tension between the two companies has been ongoing.
Apple has plans to hire 1,000 employees for its in-house team, which may end up replacing outside agencies altogether when complete. Most recently, Apple’s in-house team created “Strength,” the company’s newest advertisement that takes advantage of the “Chicken Fat” song and focuses on fitness.
Eddy Cue Auctions Lunch and a MacBook Air to Benefit Basketball Foundation
Following in Tim Cook’s footsteps, Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue is auctioning his time to benefit the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation. Cue is widely known as a huge basketball fan, and has been seen at many basketball games, including those of his favorite team from Duke University, his alma mater.
In an auction on CharityBuzz, Cue is offering a one hour lunch meeting at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters and a 13-inch 1.4Ghz MacBook Air with 256 GB of storage, a $1,199 value. The meeting is valid for two people, with lunch included, at a mutually agreed upon date.
Have lunch with Apple, Inc., Senior Vice-President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue at the Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, California, and bring home a 13-inch MacBook Air!
Eddy Cue is Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Eddy oversees Apple’s industry-leading content stores including the iTunes Store, the revolutionary App Store and the iBookstore, as well as Siri, Maps, iAd and Apple’s innovative iCloud services. Eddy’s team has an excellent track record of building and strengthening online services to meet and exceed the high expectations of Apple’s customers. He is a 25-year Apple veteran and leads a large organization of amazing people.
Cue’s auction ends on Wednesday, July 16 and is currently priced at $9,500 with an estimated value of $10,000. The auction was first listed in June, but was noticed earlier today by 9to5Mac.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation is an organization that supports the charitable and education purposes of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The NABC has been responsible for founding national literacy program Ticket To Reading Rewards and it operates the College Basketball Experience, a facility in Kansas City that includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tim Cook has previously teamed up with CharityBuzz twice, offering a coffee meeting in 2013 and a lunch meeting in 2014 for a collective $940,000. Tim Cook’s proceeds benefitted the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.
Apple Said to Be Working with Intelligent Energy on Fuel Cell Technology for Portable Devices
Fuel cell firm Intelligent Energy may be partnering with Apple to introduce fuel cell technology into future MacBooks and other mobile devices claims a report in The Daily Mail. While the tabloid does not have a strong rumor track record, fuel cells have long been discussed as a possible energy source for portable electronics and there are a few interesting pieces of information linked to the report.
Intelligent Energy recently revealed it purchased patents for mobile fuel cell technology from Eveready in association with a major international electronics company. Though the partner company is not revealed in any public filings, the Daily Mail‘s sources claim the mystery company is Apple.
Intelligent Energy revealed upon floating that it bought a bundle of patents in tandem with a major ‘international electronics company’.
It has kept the identity of its partner a closely-guarded secret. But a source, who has knowledge of the partnership, confirmed that Apple is the big name working with the Loughborough-based firm.
Intelligent Energy already has ties to Apple, hiring former Apple executive Joe O’Sullivan to serve as its Chief Operating Officer in late 2011. O’Sullivan spent 15 years in operations at Apple, and managed the introduction of the original iMac.
Apple is no stranger to fuel cell technology, filing a pair of patents in 2010 and 2011 that describe the use of the technology in portable computing devices. The Cupertino company also uses fuel cells on a large scale to help power its corporate headquarters and its Maiden, North Carolina data center.
iPad Implicated in Pediatric Rashes Diagnosed as Nickel Allergies
Apple’s iPad may be the cause of unexplained allergic rashes in children, reports The Washington Post, which cites a case study of an 11-year-old boy that was published in Pediatrics medical journal.
The Pediatrics article focuses on an 11-year-old boy who may be allergic to the nickel used in the casing of the tablet device. Following the increasing use of an iPad, the patient developed a rash that would not respond to conventional treatment.
His skin tested positive for nickel, one of the most common allergy-inducing metals, and doctors traced it back to an iPad he had used with increasing frequency the past six months. The iPad tested positive for nickel as well, according to the report.
Doctors advised the boy to use a Smart Case that covers the entire outer surface of the tablet. Similar to other reports of electronic device-induced rashes, the boy’s skin condition improved significantly when he started using a case that prevented direct contact with the device.
As noted by the Associated Press, nickel allergies in children appear to be on the rise, with 25 percent of those receiving skin tests testing positive for nickel allergies, up from 17 percent a decade ago.
This iPad isn’t the only device implicated in skin rashes. Earlier this year, Fitbit voluntarily recalled its Force fitness tracker after a growing number of users developed contact dermatitis from wearing the band. The rash was originally attributed to nickel in the charging port of the band, but that metal may not be involved as many users covered the nickel-containing port with tape and continued to experience a rash.
iCloud Mail Outage Hits Small Number of Users for 17 Hours and Counting [Mac Blog]
Users experiencing difficulties accessing their iCloud Mail are not alone, as Apple is currently reporting an outage affecting the ability to receive mail through the service (via Business Insider).
While the issue affects only 0.1% of users, it is notable that it has persisted for approximately 17 hours now, having begun at roughly 1:30 PM Pacific Time yesterday.
Apple has not yet provided an estimate of when the problem will be resolved.
Week Calendar for iPhone now for free!
The most downloaded calendar app, Week Calendar for iPhone will be totally free for two days! This will be between July 15, 2014 and July 16, 2014. Why? As a Dutch company we are very proud our Dutch national team reached the third place at the Football World Cup 2014 and we want to celebrate this with the entire world!
“As a Company based in the Netherlands, we are very proud of what our guys achieved in Brazil. With their courage, strength and cleverness they strive to reach their goal just like us, to be the best! They fought like lions and never gave up. We want to celebrate this extraordinary achievement not only in the Netherlands, but with the entire world!” says David van Brakel, CEO Week Calendar.
| Default price | New Price |
| USD 1.99 | Free |
Download
Week Calendar for iPhone is available for download in the App Store. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id381059732?mt=8
Google Launches iOS Version of Multiplayer Augmented Reality Game ‘Ingress’ [iOS Blog]
Google’s mobile-augmented reality game Ingress today launched for iOS devices, coming seven months after the game’s general release on Android. The title’s product manager confirmed last October that an iOS version of the game was in the works after a closed beta saw over ten thousand active players a month and one million total activations.
The title’s story centers around The Enlightened and The Resistance, two factions who compete against each other to unlock clues about a mystical technology. Events in the game progress in real-time as Google delivers new clues each week, while players claim local landmarks in the real-world to earn points for their respective team.
The World is the Game
Move through the real world using your iOS device and the Ingress app to discover and tap sources of this mysterious energy. Acquire objects to aid in your quest, deploy tech to capture territory, and ally with other players to advance the cause of the Enlightened or the Resistance.Strategy
The struggle is being played out globally. Track the progress of players around the world, plan your next steps, and communicate with others using an Intelligence map.Form Alliances
The struggle to save the planet spans the entire world. Groups of people acting together can be more effective than individuals acting alone. Cooperation across neighborhoods, cities, and countries will be needed to achieve the ultimate victory.
Ingress is a free app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]
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