Apple Stores have opened with interactive iPad displays and more in Australia, where it's already Sunday morning.

Mac Prices Australia reports that iPads are being used throughout Apple Stores to display product information, compare products and even call Apple Store employes to customers who need assistance. Also, store employees are wearing party hats.

As many speculated, Apple took its retail store anniversary as the opportunity to launch some changes.

It sounds like a good time, and we'll have more information with you as it comes in. If you're at an Apple Store and want to share pictures and/or stories, please do!

You'll find more photos after the break.

Continue reading Apple Store 2.0 launches with interactive iPads, more

Apple Store 2.0 launches with interactive iPads, more originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 21 May 2011 21:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple has issued a statement to All Things Digital regarding the tragic explosion that occurred at a Foxconn plant in Chengdu, China earlier today. The explosion killed 2 workers and injured at least 16 others. In the statement Apple said:

"We are deeply saddened by the tragedy at Foxconn's plant in Chengdu, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We are working closely with Foxconn to understand what caused this terrible event."

Foxconn has long been rumored to have dubious conditions for workers, and employees have voiced concerns over workplace safety and standards in the past. Apple even audited the company over its practices back in February of this year. Just three days ago, Foxconn employees protested outside a Foxconn shareholder meeting over wages and its treatment of employees.

For its part, thus far Foxconn has not confirmed what caused the explosion, though the company has said that the situation has been brought under control. Production at the affected facility will be halted until an investigation into the cause of the explosion is completed.

Apple issues statement on Foxconn explosion originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 20 May 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a bit of a surprise. AT&T has dropped below Sprint in consumer ratings, at least according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, as reported by the Associated Press. Both T-Mobile and AT&T are ranked at the bottom, which makes you wonder about the wisdom of the announced sale of T-Mobile to AT&T. Think of the fun customers will have as the two worst companies on the list merge accounting systems and networks. Consumer Reports also ranks AT&T the worst of the cellular carriers.

Sprint and Verizon both get a score of 72 in the survey, which was done by polling 8,000 households in the first quarter of the year. AT&T is at the bottom with a score of 66, down 3 points from last year. T-Mobile scores a 70, also down 3 from a year ago.

At first glance I would have thought there would be some improvement in the AT&T score. We've been reporting on problems for years, and AT&T says it has spent millions in upgrades and says it has been trying to fill in the coverage gaps. What's your experience? Is AT&T getting better or worse, and if you made the jump to Verizon, are you happier?

Is it possible? AT&T drops lower in customer satisfaction survey originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 19 May 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We haven't even officially been told what's up with the data center in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more -- the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to be over 500,000 square feet (with about a fifth of that as actual server space). But the Silicon Valley center will still be pulling its own load when the 2.2 megawatts of critical power load comes online in September of this year. Apple is leasing the space wholesale from a company called DuPont Fabros, and it's not a stretch to think that if Apple needs more data center capacity very soon, DuPont Fabros will be more than happy to provide it.

This one is located in Santa Clara, CA, and here's an interesting tidbit: There are a lot of data centers in that neck of the woods because the local power provider, Silicon Valley Power, offers relatively cheaper rates than Pacific Gas and Electric Company nearby. Hopefully we'll hear what all of this data center space is for soon -- WWDC is just around the corner.

Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 18 May 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've taken a few looks at Algoriddim's excellent djay software before, originally for the Mac and introduced to both the iPhone and the iPad in the last year or so. And the excellent iPad version has just gotten better -- a free update brings the software to version 1.2, including compatibility for all of the processors in the newest version of Apple's tablet, making it faster than ever, and providing for high-end features such as time stretching, looping and advance audio analysis features. The desktop version of djay can do things such as detect beats in your favorite songs and sync tunes automatically, and now the iPad version of djay can do that as well (provided you're running it on an iPad 2).

There are also some updates for the first iPad model, so you should still grab the update when possible. Algoriddim's djay for iPad software is $19.99, but that's a solid price for all of the features an app like this provides. With these new features, the iPad version of the app provides almost everything the full desktop version does in a much more portable package.

djay app updated for iPad 2 originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 17 May 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Condé Nast was rumored to be reconsidering its pricing of subscription content on the iPad, but apparently that won't keep the publisher from expanding its offerings anyway. The company is going to be offering Allure, Glamour, Golf Digest and Vanity Fair on the mix, so users who want to subscribe to that content will be able to so do soon.

In-app subscriptions will run $19.99, with options available for monthly subscriptions or just individual back issues. And of course, if you're already a print subscriber to any of those publications, there will be a way to enter your information and get free access to the iPad content.

That all seems like good news for both Condé Nast and its subscribers. There were a few kinks to work out with iPad subscriptions early on, but it seems like the market is settling down into a place where everyone considers the prices and the options agreeable.

Condé Nast adds additional publications to iPad subscription options originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 16 May 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I write for an Apple-centric site, so I know how much people love any information they can get about Apple. Even so, I never thought such information would land on Amazon's Kindle Bestseller list, but that's exactly what happened this week.

Earlier this month we told you about Adam Lashinsky's "Inside Apple" article for Fortune. In it Lashinsky relays several previously-untold Steve Jobs anecdotes and Apple company traditions. The article was only available to subscribers of Fortune magazine and wasn't posted on the company's website. Non-subscribers also could also buy the iPad edition of the magazine for US$4.99. However, in an interesting (and calculated) move, Fortune also decided to sell the article for $0.99 on the Kindle store. This resulted in a single article landing on the Top 10 Paid Bestseller list among books like Eric Larson's In the Garden of Beasts and James Patterson's 10th Anniversary.

Some people's take on this is that publishers have found a new revenue source for full-featured journalism stories. I think that's doubtful. No one is going to start paying per-article for news, no matter what the length of the article. Instead, I think this just shows how enamored our culture is with Apple products and Steve Jobs. Many people want any information they can get about Apple, and lots of them are willing to pay for it. No wonder Apple has become the most valuable brand in the world.

Fortune's 'Inside Apple' article lands on Kindle Top 10 Bestseller list originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On Friday, a rumor broke that the next iPhone will be called the iPhone 4S and it will primarily retain the same form factor with a few minor cosmetic changes and some new interior parts. Now today, GadgetsDNA posted a photo of a case purportedly for the iPhone 5, which shows a re-located camera flash.

Besides the camera flash, the case also shows a much thinner bezel. However as MacRumors points out, the manufacturers matching current case for the iPhone 4 also has a thin bezel, so that can't necessarily be taken as sign that the "iPhone 5" will have a thinner bezel. If this case is correct, its "iPhone 5" attribution is likely nothing more than a guess or easy identifier by the manufacturer. Jeffries & Co. analyst Peter Misek claimed Friday that the fifth-generation iPhone that will debut this fall will be called the iPhone 4S.

The image of the "iPhone 5" case showed up on Asian parts supplier site Alibaba. Other cases from manufacturers have shown up on the site purporting to be for future models of iOS devices and they have ended up being correct. Usually when a manufacturer is able to build proper cases for unannounced Apple products, they have gotten the dimensions and specs of the upcoming products from people at Asian manufacturers such as Foxconn. As always, there is no way of telling if this case represents the next iPhone Apple will launch, but it wouldn't be the first time case manufacturers stole a bit of Apple's thunder.

Purported 'iPhone 5' case reveals minor changes in next iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 14 May 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Guinness World Records has awarded Apple several world records today for the App Store and the iPhone 4. Additionally, several iOS developers were also awarded world records. Here's the breakdown from the Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition:

Fastest-Selling Portable Gaming System -- iPhone 4: Guinness states that the iPhone 4's first-day sales estimates of 1.5 million make it the fastest selling game system in history. By comparison the PSP only sold 200,000 units its first day and the Nintendo DS sold 600,000 units in its first week.

Most Popular Application Marketplace; Largest Downloadable Video Game Store; and Largest Launch Line-up of Any Gaming System -- Apple App Store: As of the time Guinness made its records decision, the App Store had over 6.5 billion downloads and 259,470 apps for purchase or free download making it the most popular downloadable app store in the world. Of those apps, 37,362 were games, making the App Store the largest video game download store in the world. Finally, when the App Store launched on July 10, 2008, the App Store featured over 500 apps, including 145 games, making it the "Largest Launch Line-up of Any Gaming System."

Apple wasn't the only one to receive app accolades, however. iOS developers were also awarded titles by Guinness: Angry Birds got Top Paid-For App Store Game in Most Countries with more than 6.5 million downloads; Plants vs. Zombies was awarded Fastest-Selling iPhone/iPod Strategy Game with 300,000 paid downloads in its first nine days on sale; and Tap Tap Revenge was awarded the Most Popular iPhone Game Series with a combined 15 million downloads for all the Tap Tap games.

Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition is available on Amazon.

[via LA Times]

Apple App Store, iPhone 4 awarded Guinness World Records originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 13 May 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nielsen announced yesterday that music sales in the US are up 1.6% in 2011. 1.6% might not seem like a whole lot, but for the embattled music industry, any growth is good news. Interestingly, Nielsen seems to ascribe the growth of music sales to The Beatles' deal with Apple. As Nielsen says in its report, "Catalog album sales are up 5.4 percent in 2011, thanks in part to a long-awaited 2010 deal allowing digital distribution of The Beatles' albums for the first time." The Fab Four's music exclusively went on sale on iTunes in November to much fanfair.

I for one hate when someone can't admit when they were wrong, so let me say that I myself didn't think the Beatles news was that big of a deal. If Nielsen is right, it looks like I was very wrong. However, Peter Kafka at All Things D does seems to come to my rescue by saying that he has "a hard time believing the 'Love Me Do' bump extended into March and April," six months after The Beatles' debut on iTunes. But with the music industry the way it is, maybe The Beatles did help fuel a turnaround.

Other interesting stats from the Nielsen report include physical album sales declined year-over-year while digital album and track purchases increased 16.8% and 9.6%, respectively, and digital retailers like Apple's iTunes received more than half of all music transactions.

Are the Beatles responsible for music's digital growth in 2011? originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 12 May 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.