Apple

Apple has captivated the general public with the iPhone, but has it convinced the business world to take the plunge?

Even after the March preview of the "business-friendly" iPhone 2.0 software for the iPhone released in July, it seems that most iPhones are being purchased by individuals rather than corporations, who still look first at Research In Motion's BlackBerry when it comes to equipping their workers with mobile computers.

But the iPhone is making a guerrilla attack on the business world, brought into the corporate world by influential executives, CIOs rethinking their approach to deploying technology, … Read more

There is a huge market for mobile phones in India, but according to the locals, Apple's iPhone hasn't even made a dent.

That's the conclusion of a long story published by LiveMint.com analyzing the first few months of Apple's foray into India with the iPhone 3G. Analysts estimate that just 11,000 iPhones have been sold in India since Apple launched in that country in September, which is probably equivalent to a week's worth of sales at the downtown San Francisco Apple store.

It doesn't seem that Apple ever thought it would make … Read more

There's little doubt that Apple has thousands of engineers working on all kinds of crazy stuff down in Cupertino, Calif., but are they really planning to take on Google?

That's the theory sort of advanced by TechCrunch on Thursday, with a post titled "Is Apple building a search engine?" Michael Arrington cites "multiple (if thin)" reports that Apple is working on developing its own search technology, presumably to get around using Google as the default search engine in the Safari browser.

The report, however, debunks itself, noting that Apple has not been hiring search … Read more

Here's a rundown of some of the Apple news making the rounds this Wednesday:

Apple may launch most aggressive Black Friday pricing yet--AppleInsider: On a day when the stock market tanked once again on news of shifting priorities in the government's bailout plan, coupled with pessimistic forecasts from huge retailers like Best Buy, this notion doesn't seem all that far-fetched. Last year, Apple offered $101 discounts on MacBooks and other discounts on iPods on Black Friday, and Ben Reitzes of UBS thinks similar discounts could be applied more broadly across Apple's product line on that particular … Read more

Google has customized its search results for the iPhone's display, getting around some awkward presentation issues.

"Results are formatted to be neatly displayed on the mobile screen, so there's no need to scroll side to side. Local search results now include easier-to-press 'Get Directions' and click-to-call links. Maps are shown by default in the case of a single listing or accessible by the 'Show map"' link for multiple listings," said Google mobile team programmers Steve Kanefsky and Rob Stacey in a blog post Tuesday night.

The older look can be retrieved by scrolling to the … Read more

Apple may be searching for ways to make the MacBook Air even lighter.

AppleInsider reports that the company is investigating using materials enhanced with carbon fibers in some of the parts on a future MacBook Air. Given the time and energy Apple poured into the latest redesign of its notebooks, developing a new unibody chassis milled from a single block of aluminum, it's unlikely that the entire chassis would be replaced anytime soon.

But AppleInsider thinks the company could shave 0.22 pounds off the overall weight of the Air if it used some sort of carbon-fiber material for … Read more

The next update to the iPhone might be here in time for Turkey Day.

At least, that's what a Greek site called iPhone Hellas is claiming (via Gizmodo).

Google translations can be tricky things, but the site reports that "The iPhone OS v2.2 will be given in circulation on 21 November '08." That could just mean that developers will be getting an advance copy to test against their applications that day, but it could also mean that Apple plans to release the update as of that date.

The forthcoming update is reportedly going to bring iPhone users the Google Street View feature … Read more

Parallels has released the newest edition of its virtualization software for the Mac, promising dramatic performance improvements for those running both Windows and Mac OS on their systems.

Parallels Desktop for Mac 4.0 is 50 percent faster than the older version and has "silenced our critics with regards to performance," according to Parallels' Rawee Kambhiranond. The software allows Mac users to run Mac OS X and Windows side by side on their desktop, without having to reboot to switch between the two operating systems as enabled by Apple's Boot Camp technology.

Version 4.0 brings the … Read more

Updated 5:15pm with comment from Return7.

The fourth time was definitely not the charm for the developers behind the CastCatcher streaming radio application for the iPhone.

Apple rejected CastCatcher 1.3 from the App Store on Monday, according to Return7 developer Amro Mousa. The reason? "CastCatcher Internet Radio cannot be posted to the App Store because it is transferring excessive volumes of data over the cellular network, which as outlined in the iPhone SDK Agreement section 3.3.15, is prohibited."

If that's Apple's policy regarding streaming radio applications, Mousa is a little puzzled, because … Read more