Tag: Apple

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Oh no! Not enough iPhone 4s!

In China, there is currently a shortage of iPhone 4s. China Unicom, the mobile carrier of the Apple iPhone 4 in China, has announced that it sold out all of the 100,000 iPhone 4s within four days of its release. China Unicom had previously reported that 200,000 people had pre-ordered the iPhone 4, but stopped online reservations and only allows users to pre-order by going directly to the retail stores. The iPhone 4 sold out much quicker compared to the launch of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in China. It took more than a month for China Unicom to sell 100,000 of the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS when they were first launched compared to the four days it took for the iPhone 4 to sell out 100,000 units. Apple has said that more iPhone 4s will be expected to arrive on October 1. China Unicom is offering customers who sign up for the 16GB iPhone 4 with a 2-year contract and a 286 RMB monthly plan will get the iPhone 4 free of charge. The deal is so striking that it is said to be the cause for the huge demand for the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4 is very popular in China. People in China are choosing smartphones above typical phones with fewer features. There is such high demand for the iPhone 4 because of the media attention. I think that the iPhone 4 is going to be very successful in China, especially when the deal is so attractive to the people in China. People will jump at the chance to get a free iPhone 4 with a 2-year contract and monthly plan. Apple needs to ship more iPhone 4s to China while the demand is high. China Unicom is waiting for the next shipment and is advising customers to check back often to see if the iPhone 4 is available yet. Would you buy one?

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iPhone OS or Android OS?

In September, ChangeWave surveys showed an increase of preference for the Google Android operating system. However, the iPhone OS still remains the number one preference. The ChangeWave surveys show that after the huge jump due to the release of the iPhone 4 in June, iPhone OS preference decreased from 50% to 38%. It also states that Google Android OS preference increased from 30% to 37%. BlackBerry Research in Motion’s operating system preference increased from 5% to 6%. Windows Mobile preference decreased from 2% to 1%.

ChangeWave surveys also report satisfaction rates of the operating systems based on the percentage of people that are very satisfied with his or her operating system. 74% of customers who use the Apple iPhone OS are very satisfied. 65% of customers who use the Google Android OS are very satisfied. The satisfaction rate of the Apple iPhone OS and the Google Android OS are high compared to the satisfaction rate of the Palm OS/Web OS, BlackBerry RIM OS, and Windows Mobile. The Palm OS/Web OS satisfaction rate is a mere 32%. The BlackBerry RIM OS satisfaction rate is only 31% and the Windows Mobile satisfaction rate is only 24%.

In conclusion, the Google Android operating system is becoming the next best operating system, while the current number one operating system, the Apple iPhone operating system, is declining. The ChangeWave surveys demonstrate the upward momentum of the Google Android operating system and the downward momentum of the Apple iPhone operating system. Certain features are probably the reason behind the decline in the Apple iPhone operating system preference. The iPhone OS now allows you to multitask and organize folders, but the Android operating system already had those features. What do you think?

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The U.S. Department of Justice reaches settlement with Apple, and five other companies

Six technology companies involved in no solicitation agreements were ordered to stop by the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Department of Justice filed antitrust complaints towards Apple Inc., Google Inc., Intel Corp, Intuit Inc. and Pixar because of the no solicitation agreements that the companies took part in. The no solicitation agreements among the six companies prevented the companies from soliciting, or trying to hire each others employees by offering more money as an incentive. The agreements also prevented employees from the opportunity of having a better job at another company. Following the no solicitation agreements, the company executives at the six high-tech companies agreed not cold call each other employees. The no solicitation agreements were between Apple and Google, Apple and Adobe, Apple and Pixar, Google and Intel, and Google and Intuit.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated that the no solicitation agreements stopped competition and allowed the company to place a monopoly on their employees. The U.S. Department of Justice and the six companies had later reached a settlement. The settlement prevents the companies from making no solicitation agreements for the next five years. In general, that allows the companies to solicit freely.

I think the settlement was a good settlement. The no solicitation agreements prevented competition, which is very important by-product of capitalism. Business competition ensures that companies survive if it provides its customers with products and services that it needs. The U.S. Department of Justice is very strict on antitrust issues and I think it did the right thing. The six companies still don’t admit that they did something wrong and still insist that they made the agreements to maintain good relations with the other companies. That is still debatable. What do you think about this issue?

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