5 things Apple needs to fear

Section: Apple, iPod + iTunes, Mac + Computers, Operating Systems, OS-X, Originals No company is perfect, Apple included.  Every company has some problems and things that need to be worried about.  Apple has been growing quite a lot recently and this growth will hopefully not slow down soon.  It is great to see them gaining popularity in the tech industry.  That said, here are five things that I think Apple needs to be concerned about if it wants to continue to grow so well. 1) High prices. Apple has a reputation for high product prices.  If they really want to keep on growing, this is going to need to stop.  The reason many people I know don’t buy a Mac is simply because of the price compared to a normal PC.  Apple needs to get closer to their competitor’s price to draw more consumers to their products.  I know it can be argued that a Mac’s quality is far greater, but the price can still come down.  Hopefully with more demand, supply increases and prices fall. 2) iTunes competitors. iTunes has had a firm grasp over the digital music market for a long time now.  However, more companies, such as Amazon, are catching on and releasing their own competitors.  Apple needs to keep competitive with these companies by continuing to release more DRM free tracks, signing more deals, and opening up the platform overall. 3) Market share increase. You may be thinking, “What, they need to be worried about getting more customers?” In a way, yes.  With market share increase, comes more users.  With more users comes more hackers and viruses.  Apple needs to make sure it is prepared for theses viruses.  If not, Mac OS X could become very dangerous and lose the trust of many of its users.  It’s great that Apple is gaining popularity everyday, but they need to make sure to remember the security risks that come along with this. 4) A big slip. I think it’s safe to say that Apple has had some slips lately.  For example, the Safari 3.1 auto install on the Windows Update Manager.  In a large company that still has some catching up to do in market share, slips like this should be avoided.  If not, one of these little slips could lead to a major trust loss in the company as well as the loss of users.  Hopefully something like this never happens, but it could. 5) Closing products. Like high prices mentioned above, Apple has also been known to keep its products relatively tied together.  For example, the iPod and iTunes.  These products should also be more open to consumers because closing them down to one platform only hinders their growth.  Believe it or not, some people like other music library apps besides iTunes and may like to use those with their iPod. The overall idea here is don’t stop innovating.  If Apple wants to continue to grow, more advancements and technologies should be brought forth and new ideas should be spread.  So far Apple has been at the forefront of this, and I hope it doesn’t halt anytime soon. Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Sun continues to pursue talks with Apple to have Java applications run on Apple's iPhone while acknowledging a third party's efforts toward the same goal.

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Apple iPhone SDK Beta 4

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_SDK_beta_4_released'; Apple released the fourth version of the iPhone SDK beta today. The iPhone SDK now includes OpenGL ES support for the iPhone (Aspen) simulator. Here's what Apple's developer website says about the update: The fourth beta version of the iPhone SDK includes Xcode IDE, iPhone simulator with Open GL ES support, Interface Builder, Instruments, frameworks and samples, compilers, and Shark analysis tool.You can download the SDK update by logging into the iPhone Dev center and clicking the download link.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!9:31p New beta build is called 5A258f9:31p SDK download is 1.15 GBs9:32p No word yet as to whether pwnage will work with the new firmware--probably not. The last time it took almost a week for pwnage release to catch up (that was version 1.1).9:34p We're getting tips that Apple is sending out e-mails to developers enrolled in the SDK beta. The e-mails include the same message as above,9:35p Firmware sizes about 200+MB each for iPhone and iPod touch9:36p Apple continues with its beta pre-installation advisory. Testing devices may be locked permanently into testing mode.9:37p If you're new to the SDK program, make sure you phone has been pre-activated with AT&T before you attempt to load the beta software. Once the beta firmware is loaded, you may not be able to activate with AT&T's network.9:38p No word yet on any other changes, other than those mentioned in the e-mail / website.9:39p Apple just put the release notes on their website. You can find them here: http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/navigation/index.html9:40p Code signing is now ENFORCED by Apple.9:41p SDK no longer uses the Aspen code name for the simulator. 9:42p Audio Toolbox got a big load of new stuff9:42p NSXMLParser support9:43p UIFont is re-done with ascender and other professional font support that has been long missing. 9:46p Please keep sending in info as you find it out everyone! We really appreciate your tips. If you need anonymity, check out our tip line. Thank you to everyone for the great feedback so far!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

New iMacs in retail system; 3G iPhone redesign rumor; 3G's "D-Day"

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iMac rumored for next week; new iPhone SDK; Apple updates

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