It’s almost a month to the day that RIM’s PlayBook tablet went on sale and according to one analyst’s prediction, the company sold 250,000 so far.
RBC Capital Markets General Manager Mike Abramsky said in a note to clients on Wednesday that according to his channel checks, sales have been steady since the launch of the device. He also predicted that RIM would sell 500,000 PlayBooks during its first quarter on store shelves, according to BGR.com.
Line 6 on Tuesday released a new version of its amp and effects modeling software, Pod Farm.
Pod Farm 2.5 features compatibility with any USB audio interface and 64-bit support. There is also a trial version that can be downloaded from the company’s Web site.
Included in POD Farm 2.5 are POD Farm Elements, plug-ins that streamline workflow and conserve CPU horsepower by grouping POD Farm models together by effect type. Users can load single amps, preamps or effects instead of loading multiple instances of POD Farm 2.5.
Two of Apple’s devices were presented with awards last night for their advancements in display technology.
Presented by the The Society for Information Display, Apple’s iPhone won the Display of the Year Gold Award for its Retina display. The iPad won the Display Application of the Year Gold Award.
In awarding the iPhone, SID said:
It’s been quite a week of rumor and speculation in the Apple world. There’s been so much that I thought I’d give my thoughts on what’s being said.
There are three things that have been talked about over the past few days: Apple’s retail anniversary celebration, a new product launch to celebrate that anniversary, and the introduction of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology at the Apple retail stores.
None of these make any sense to me.
Rock Band 3 users will soon have the opportunity to celebrate something big with Ozzy Osbourne.
On May 31, Rock Band 3 users will be able to download an 8-pack of songs celebrating the release of Diary of a Madman/Blizzard of Ozz 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. The songs will be available in the Rock Band 3 music store for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles.
iPhone 5 rumors are running rampant these days. The latest speculation is focusing on whether or not the iPhone will include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that NFC will make it into the iPhone at point, but whether or not it will be with the upcoming iPhone 5 depends on who you listen to.
Quoting Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi last night, AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski wrote that the technology probably wouldn’t come in the iPhone 5. He correctly points out that the technology has to be adopted by merchants before it becomes popular among consumers.
Toontrack on Tuesday released Songwriters Drumpack 3, a new collection of MIDI drum grooves for musicians.
These MIDI grooves aren’t like the old hand programmed grooves of years ago. These are played by a real drummer in the studio and captured for use with ToonTrack’s Superior Drummer and other drum samplers.
Conde Nast on Monday added several of its magazine to the growing list of subscription-enabled iPad magazines on Apple’s App Store.
As of today you can now purchase subscriptions to Vanity Fair, Glamour, Golf Digest and Allure. Details for each magazine can be found on their App Store pages.
RIM issued a recall over the weekend for about 1,000 PlayBook tablets. Until now, we weren’t sure of the reason for the recall.
RIM’s PR firm contacted The Loop and said the recall was issued because of an operating system issue. It also wasn’t known whether the PlayBooks in question had made it into customer’s hands or whether they were still in distribution.
RIM executives argued that its PlayBook tablet would change the way people viewed the devices. Apparently they meant it would be the first to be recalled.
RIM has reportedly issued a recall for over 900 faulty PlayBooks. At least some of the PlayBooks were shipped to Staples stores, but it’s not clear that they were the only location to receive the faulty devices, according to Engadget.
James Thomson, the owner of TLA Systems, makers of DragThing and PCalc for Mac, and PCalc for iOS, was served with a letter this morning threatening to sue for his use of Apple’s in-app purchasing system.
Thomson didn’t say who the company was that sent the letter, but on Twitter this morning he said, “They seem to be effectively claiming the rights to in-app purchase, but going after me, not Apple.”
There is a lot of talk recently about how Android is winning the hearts and minds of users, but according to a new study released on Thursday, those users aren’t professional business people.
The study done by Intermedia, a company that manages 320,000 hosted Microsoft Exchange accounts, says that 61 percent of customers activating ActiveSync-based smartphones are choosing the iPhone. Only 17 percent chose Android device.
Apple on Wednesday said it had launched the 100th iAd campaign with real estate company Coldwell Banker.
The iAd allows iPhone and iPod touch users to search for their dream home, scrolling through visually driven search features to find specific homes matching their criteria. You can search by price, zip code, and include images of the homes.
Apple is being sued again over the controversial data location file on its iPhone and iPad devices.
Filed in the United States District Court for the District Of Puerto Rico, Lymaris M. Rivera Diaz is suing Apple, The Weather Channel and Pandora Media for intentionally intercepting personally identifying information.
The lawsuit also names Does 1-10, leaving room to name other defendants at a later date.
Mac and iOS developer Ambrosia Software on Tuesday said it was bringing Soundboard to Apple’s iPad.
Soundboard is an app that features sounds that you can trigger by clicking — or tapping — on the appropriate onscreen pad. Soundboard is used by broadcasters, podcasters, and live event artists.
It’s a big news day for Google, but it’s not all good news for the search and mobile operating system company.
In a new global mobile threat report released on Tuesday, Juniper Networks said cyber criminals are turning to smartphones instead of PCs. Along with that shift is a widening gap between hacker capabilities and an organization’s defenses.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, questioned executives from Apple and Google on mobile privacy. That testimony is now public.
There is also a video of Franken’s opening remarks from the hearing this morning, which has been embedded below. In his statement, Franken expressed concern about mobile privacy, but said he didn’t want to stifle the companies.
Apple’s Vice President of Software Technology, Guy L. “Bud” Tribble, testified before the US Senate on Tuesday answering questions about mobile privacy.
The hearings entitled “Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy” were called by U.S. Senator Al Franken in response to reports that Apple and Google tracked its users. According to AppleInsider, Tribble reiterated what Apple said in its FAQ posted in late April.
Karelia Software on Tuesday released a major update to its consumer-level Web site building tool, Sandvox.
When you think of an “open” company, you don’t often associate using a club to get people to do what you want, but that’s how a Google employee sees it.
A Massachusetts court released email messages from Google last week as the company battles Skyhook Wireless in court. One of the emails is garnering quite a bit of attention.
I’ve used quite a few software applications to record my guitar into my Mac Pro. Avid’s Eleven Rack has some great features that help save you from diaster.
Unfortunately, sometimes I spend a lot of time building a guitar preset only to lose it all by closing the app or changing presets by mistake.
Apple’s iPhone 4 is selling very well, but a new report suggests that even its older iPhone 3GS and first generation iPad often outsells newer devices running Android.
Canaccord Genuity technology analyst Michael Walkley said the iPhone 4 is by far the top selling device at AT&T and Verizon, according to a report on AppleInsider. For instance, checks at AT&T retail locations found that the $49 iPhone 3GS outsold the newer HTC Inspire and Motorola Atrix.
Brand rating firm Millward Brown Optimor on Monday said that Apple ended Google’s four year reign as the world’s most valuable brand.
Apple grew 84 percent in the last year alone to take over the top spot. According to the study, Apple grew 859 percent since 2006. Apple’s value now stands at $153.3 billion.
U.S. Senator Al Franken on Friday announced the witness list for the upcoming hearings of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy.
The hearings entitled “Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy,” will take place on Tuesday, May 10 at 10:00 am, according to the Senator’s office.
Market research firm IDC on Thursday released its smartphone market share numbers for the first quarter of 2011 and Apple is doing quite well.
According to the report, Apple only follows Nokia in worldwide shipments. Apple’s shipments grew from 8.7 million in 2010 to 18.7 million in 2011, an increase of 114.4 percent year-over-year.
Universal Audio on Thursday updated its UAD software platform, fixing a few bugs and adding a new plug-in.
Respected financial analyst Charlie Wolf on Wednesday issued a note to clients and slammed RIM for its recent missteps.
“RIM’s skills as a hardware manufacturer have been more than offset by it ineptness in software development, the focus of competition today,” wrote Wolf. “The blame must be laid at the feet of the company’s Co-CEO’s who in their actions and words, appear to have no clue on how to mount a successful response.”
I imagine as the world changed millions of years ago, Dinosaurs gathered together for comfort — yesterday proved the tech industry isn’t much different.
Not knowing how to deal with their changing world, two tech dinosaurs — Microsoft and RIM — joined forces on Tuesday to fight for their survival. So what is it these two monoliths came up with to fight off Apple and Google?
From the Bing blog:
Apple on Tuesday released a new line of iMacs, adding some powerful new features to its all-in-one line of computers. Company executives took some time to speak with The Loop about the release.
One of the big new features in the iMac is the addition of Thunderbolt, a new I/O interface that Apple and Intel introduced in February in the MacBook Pro. Thunderbolt supports high-speed connectivity with storage systems and other forthcoming devices. With adapters it can work with Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire and USB peripherals, too.
Thunderbolt is a dual channel technology, so you get high-speed from both channels — one doesn’t slow down the other.
We’ve all heard about some of the great work that the people at Make-a-Wish Foundation do for kids, but the latest will be interesting for iPhone users.
Nine-year-old Owain Weinert is battling pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, but he didn’t want to meet a rock star or great sports figure for his wish — he wanted to build his own iPhone game. With the help of the Foundation and PopCap Games, his wish came true, according to GeekWire.