American Express Offers $5 off a $5 iTunes/App Store Purchase [iOS Blog]

American Express is offering a $5 statement credit to users who spend $5 on the iTunes and App Stores by April 30th. The rebate, part of AMEX’s “Offers for You” promotion, requires that users opt-in to the offer on the American Express website, and then spend at least $5 on iTunes by the end of the month.

AMEX cardholders need to ensure that their card is set up as the default billing method within iTunes itself. Once a $5 purchase is made and charged to the American Express card, a $5 statement credit will appear on their account.

OFFER DETAILS

Spend a total of $5 or more on iTunes using your enrolled American Express Card by 4/30/14 and get a one-time $5 statement credit.

American Express runs a number of these promotions, though availability does vary based on previous card usage. Some users may not be able to see the iTunes promotion because of how they use their card, for example.

WWDC 2014 Ticket Lottery Ends, Winners Being Notified Via Email

Because of overwhelming demand for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple enacted a lottery to determine who would be able to attend the 2014 event, accepting entries from Thursday, April 5 to April 7 at 10:00 AM PT.

The ticket lottery has now ended and Apple has begun notifying lottery winners by email. According to the WWDC site, all applicants who submitted an entry were supposed to know if they had won (or lost) by 5 PM PT, but it appears the emails are taking a bit longer to be sent out.

In 2012, Apple sold tickets on a first come first serve basis, with the available tickets selling out in just under two hours. A year later, in 2013, those tickets were gone in just two minutes, though Apple later invited additional developers to attend. Demand for WWDC prompted Apple to reinstate its Tech Talk sessions for developers throughout the fall of 2013, which will likely be repeated this year.

Lottery winners will be able to purchase an all-inclusive ticket for the Worldwide Developers Conference that includes access to Sessions, Labs, and special events for $1,599. 200 scholarship tickets are also available for students.

Apple’s 2014 WWDC event is set to begin on June 2 and will likely open with a keynote where the company will unveil upcoming hardware and software products, giving us glimpses of iOS 8 and OS X 10.10, among other things.

iOS 7 Adoption up to 87% Ahead of WWDC’s Likely iOS 8 Announcement

iOS 7 adoption continues to grow, with Apple seeing the operating system on 87 percent of devices connected to the App Store, according to Apple’s App Store developer support page. The numbers come seven months after the operating system’s original release and two months ahead of the expected preview of iOS 8 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in two month’s time.

Apple has traditionally seen speedy adoption of its new iOS releases because it makes it easy for customers to upgrade to the new operating system without too much trouble, and it’s likely that iOS 8 will see similar adoption after its expected release this fall.

iOS 8 is expected to include upgrades to Apple’s Maps app, including possible support for public transit directions and enhanced points of interest, a Healthbook app that assists users in aggregating personal health data like blood pressure, heart rate, and more — perhaps in concert with a smart watch product — as well as improvements to Siri and iTunes Radio, two of the more recent additions to Apple’s mobile operating system.

In contrast to Apple, Google sees only 5.3% of its users running the latest version of its Android operating system, version 4.4 or KitKat, which came out in October 2013 — a month after iOS 7 was released.

The increasing adoption rate of iOS 7 has also led to a drop in iOS 6 usage, with the older operating system now installed on just 11 percent of devices. 2 percent of devices are using older versions of iOS. In early December, iOS 7 usage was at 74 percent, jumping to 78 percent later in December, 80 percent in late January and 85 percent towards the end of March.

Apple’s data, which comes directly from the App Store, represents concrete iOS 7 adoption information for developers.

Emails Show Phil Schiller’s Displeasure with Ad Agency’s Efforts for Apple in Early 2013

Multiple insider details on Apple and its business practices are surfacing during the company’s second patent trial with Samsung, including a series of tense emails between Apple’s head of marketing Phil Schiller and Apple’s longtime ad agency, TBWA/Media Arts Lab (via BusinessInsider).

Following the January 2013 release of an article from The Wall Street Journal entitled, “Has Apple Lost Its Cool to Samsung?” Schiller emailed Media Arts Lab and told them “We have a lot of work to do to turn this around….”

In the article, The Wall Street Journal lauds Samsung’s aggressive marketing campaign for the Galaxy S3, which had the clever tagline “The next big thing is already here.” Samsung has argued that the campaign was a tipping point for the company and that it infuriated Apple executives as the advertising was coming at a time when Apple’s own advertising was in a slump.

Following Schiller’s email about the WSJ article, the ad agency wrote back a lengthy email outlining a plan to put the iPhone back in the spotlight, unfortunately comparing Apple in 2013 to Apple in 1997, when the company was on the brink of going out of business.

The email went on to suggest that the agency be given more freedom to experiment with ideas and that Apple needs to consider specific questions, such as company behavior, sales approaches, and product roadmaps.

Schiller was “shocked” by the email he received from Media Arts Lab, both at the reference to 1997 and the idea that the team should be given free rein to create ideas that had not been pitched in Marketing and Communication (Marcom) meetings.

The advertising agency quickly penned an apology to Schiller and a few weeks later, another email exchange indicated Apple was happy with the advertisements the company was creating for the iPad, but still dissatisfied with iPhone advertising. Schiller noted that he watched Samsung’s pre-Super Bowl ad, saying “I can’t help but think ‘these guys are feeling it’”.

While it’s clear there was some serious tension between Apple and its advertising agency in 2013, the two did not end up parting ways. Later in the year, Apple launched its “Music Every Day” and “Photos Every Day” ads, which turned out to be highly successful. Apple followed it up with a heartwarming iPhone 5s commercial, ending out the year on a high note and picking up advertising in 2014 with the current “Your Verse” campaign.

Intel Expands Thunderbolt Networking with PC Support for Ultra-Fast Connections [Mac Blog]

Intel today updated its Thunderbolt connectivity with Thunderbolt Networking, allowing a PC and a Mac to be paired for the first time using a Thunderbolt cable, enabling fast file sharing with a throughput of up to 10 Gbps.

Drivers in Mavericks have allowed two Macs to connect via Thunderbolt since the operating system was released in 2013, but now a Mac can also be paired with a PC or two PCs can be paired with one another.

Thunderbolt Networking, emulating an Ethernet connection environment, provides 10GbE throughput between two computers. Already released on the Mac with OS X Mavericks*, a PC driver will soon be available to connect two PCs together or a PC to a Mac, adding a new level of workflow flexibility for media professionals. By offering simple and fast file sharing, Thunderbolt Networking enables backup or upgrade across two computers like never before, using existing cables and connectors.

Connecting two computers via Thunderbolt is similar to connecting them via standard Ethernet, but the file transfer speeds are far faster with the former. Intel is currently demoing Thunderbolt Networking at NAB 2014 and expects to release the PC driver soon.

Apple’s Angela Ahrendts Recognized as Honorary Dame For Work at Burberry

In the coming months, former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts will assume her new position as the senior vice president in charge of Apple’s retail and online sales efforts. Before she leaves the fashion world for technology, Ahrendts will be made an honorary Dame of the British Empire for her work at Burberry, reports The Daily Mail.

Because she is American, Ahrendts won’t receive the honor from the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and she won’t be allowed to use the title Dame, only the initials DBE (Dame of the British Empire) at the end of her name. She will be honored at a small ceremony to be held today at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills in Westminister with the UK’s business secretary Vince Cable as the Master of Ceremonies.

Mr Cable will pay tribute to the mother of three, from Indiana, describing her as a ‘landmark figure in business’ and a ‘powerful role model to the next generation of young British talent.’

He will say: ‘She has revitalised this iconic British brand with flair and cutting edge innovation, allied with sound commercial acumen.’

Ahrendts is not the only Apple executive to receive the honorable title from the British government. Apple’s Jony Ive received his knighthood in 2011 and described the honor as “absolutely thrilling.” Steve Jobs also was set to be awarded honorary knighthood, but his nomination was reportedly blocked for political reasons by Gordon Brown, who was Prime Minister at the time.

Samsung’s Goals for 2012: ‘Beating Apple is #1 Priority’

Internal documents included in the second patent trial between Samsung and Apple last week revealed how Apple viewed Android, calling for a “Holy War” against Google and expressing concern about competition from larger-screened, lower-priced Android phones. A new set of documents reported by Re/code and AppleInsider reverses this perspective, showing how Samsung was laser-focused on Apple with the objective of beating the Cupertino company as its “#1 priority” in 2012.

The internal document outlines the lessons Samsung learned in 2011 as it continued development on its Galaxy line of phones and faced a patent infringement lawsuit from Apple. Samsung considered the threat from Apple to be “extremely real and urgent” and communicated to employees that “everything must be [in the] context of beating Apple” in 2012.

Samsung listed the expected features of the upcoming iPhone 5 and predicted how Apple’s iPhone would perform in the marketplace. The Korean company also detailed how it would boost its own Galaxy branding and work with both carriers and retailers to expand its retail presence to combat growing consumer interest in the iPhone.

Samsung also detailed a strategy of “continuous” branding campaigns where “Galaxy Nexus rolls into Galaxy Note into GSIII,” playing upon Apple’s consistent branding of iPhone across generations of its products.

“Drive consumer pull,” Samsung’s Galaxy branding document strategized, hoping that “customers walk into stores asking for Samsung.” To get there, Samsung said it needed to “understand why customers buy Apple,” and then “develop countermeasures by carrier/retail.”

The documents reveal that Samsung shifted its product lineup to serve carriers with 80% of the company’s product roadmap supporting carrier demands for joint projects, exclusive offers and low-cost handsets for entry-level consumers. Only 20% of its product lineup focused on high-end handsets like the Galaxy S3 and the Note II.

Samsung also spent billions on advertising to support its Galaxy phones with Apple-targeted ads that focused on iPhone line-waiters, Apple’s Genius Bar and more. Samsung credits the company’s 2012 “Next Big Thing” advertisements as “a tipping point” for the company’s branding and claimed in its opening arguments last week that Apple was taken aback by the edgy marketing campaign.

LaCie Unveils Three New Thunderbolt 2 Storage Solutions for 4K Video Editing [Mac Blog]

LaCie unveiled three new and updated Thunderbolt 2 storage solutions at the annual NAB trade show this weekend, with the 8big Rack, 5big and 2big geared towards 4K video editing and other professional media uses.

The LaCie 8big Rack is the company’s first Thunderbolt 2 rackmount storage solution, featuring up to eight 6TB 7200RPM hard drives and delivering speeds of up to 1330 MB/s. The 8big Rack also features easy access to components and tool-free maintenance of the included power supplies units, fans, and disks, all while offering a cooling system with three fans that conducts heat away from vital components. The 8big Rack will be offered in 4-disk (12TB) or 8-disk (24TB and 48TB) configurations.

Meanwhile, the new LaCie 5big is up to two times faster than the previous version, featuring multiple 6TB 7200RPM hard disks with speeds of up to 1050 MB/s by way of Thunderbolt 2. Three separate LaCie 5bigs can be connected to a Mac Pro to create a single high-storage workstation, with every device featuring two Thunderbolt ports to daisy chain up to six Thunderbolt devices. An innovative cooling system that composes of a heat-dissipating aluminum enclosure, heat exhausts and a Noctua cooling fan is also included, as the new 5big will be offered in 10, 20, or 30TB capacities.

Finally, LaCie has also refreshed its 2big, with the device sporting a new design, speeds of up to 420 MB/s with the included Thunderbolt 2 technology, and fast performance with USB 3.0 support. The device also offers the ability to hot-swap disks through an easy access panel on the front, while status LEDs on the side allow users to track disk health and RAID build status. The LaCie 2big will be offered in 6, 8, or 12TB capacities.

According to LaCie, all three storage devices are expected to be available this quarter through the LaCie online store and the company’s resellers, with pricing yet to be determined. The company announced its Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 external hard drive this past January at CES, which is available in a 1TB SSD capacity.

Apple Expands iPhone Trade-In Program to Germany [iOS Blog]

After expanding to France and Canada last month, Apple’s iPhone trade-in program is now available in Apple Retail Stores throughout Germany, reports Apfelpage.de [Google Translation]. The launch of the program was spotted through the Apple Store app.

The program allows customers to trade in an older iPhone model and receive a gift card worth up to €230, which may be used towards the purchase of a new iPhone. Apple promises customers that phones traded in will be responsibly recycled, offering a more environmentally friendly option than just simply throwing away a device.

Apple’s iPhone recycling program debuted in the U.S. before the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c last year, and was established in the UK a few months later. The company also offers a mail-in recycling program that allows customers to send in their iPhone to receive credit.

Thanks, Dominik!