Adsense

Showing posts with label 2014 at 08:38PM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014 at 08:38PM. Show all posts
PayPal today announced that its popular iOS and Android mobile payments app will be available for the Pebble Smartwatch (via VentureBeat ).



The PayPal app has let users pay for purchases in certain locations for a while now, and integration with Android Wear has allowed users of Android-powered smart watches such as Samsung’s Gear 2, Gear S, and Gear Fit to make payments via their watches since earlier this year. With the new Pebble app, iOS users can now get a taste of the functionality, which allows them to check into stores and pay for their purchases at locations where PayPal is readily accepted, all without need of using a phone.



Customers can pay for purchases one of two ways: with an auto-generated payment code used when checking out or, with certain PayPal accepted retailers, by checking into a store inside of the PayPal app. If using the latter payment method, the app will automatically communicate with the merchant's point of sale during the check-out process.



paypal_pebble

PayPal's integration with these smart devices in some ways mirrors Apple's own burgeoning payment system Apple Pay, which is slowly rolling out just now, although the two systems have some significant differences. Despite early rumors of a possible partnership between the online payment giant and Apple earlier this year, the talks reportedly came to a halt when PayPal inked a deal with Samsung to allow users to make PayPal payments with the Galaxy S5's fingerprint sensor.



PayPal was subsequently excluded from any integration into Apple Pay. PayPal, in response, launched an ad targeting the public release of certain private celebrity iCloud photos and simultaneously promoting its own intense security.



The PayPal app for the Pebble Smartwatch can be downloaded now for free. Its features can also be taken advantage of in the PayPaliOS app [Direct Link].


















Apple Pay Launch Date Leak

When will you be able to start paying for things using your iPhone? We're still not exactly sure, although 9to5Mac flags a DailyDot report that seems to indicate Apple Pay might launch as soon as November 7th, which would be just before the start of the holiday shopping season.


Continue reading...





Apple may have acquired Prss, a Dutch-based company that created a web app aimed to help people design magazines for Apple's Newsstand and other magazine platforms, reports iCulture [Google Translation]. While there is no solid proof of the acquisition at this point, iCulture suggests that an inside source has revealed the purchase and Prss co-founder Michel Elings recently moved to the bay area.
The Dutch magazine platform Prss was acquired by Apple for an undisclosed amount. This discovery iCulture thanks to a knowledgeable source. This source confirms that several employees of Prss now employed by Apple.

prss

Several other former Prss employees are also now located in the bay area according to their LinkedIn profiles, suggesting an acquisition might have taken place in the summer months. Prss has also shut down its Twitter account and its website.



Prss was known for creating a browser-based collaborative tool that could be used to design magazines for Apple's Newsstand. The tool included a simple drag-and-drop interface and let up to 30 people collaborate on a project, with the team charging 5 cents per magazine download for published content.



iCulture is unsure what role the Prss team will take on at Apple, but suggests the acquisition might have been about talent rather than product.


















Amid all of the leaks today based on photos and videos from luxury modified iPhone vendor Feld & Volk [Instagram page], one additional point worth mentioning is the device's LTE modem. While photos posted to reveal the existence of an NFC chip from NXP has seen identifying marks on many of the other components blurred, a portion of the text printed on the LTE modem is visible, confirming the board does indeed contain Qualcomm's MDM9625M as had been previously rumored.



iphone_6_board_mdm9625
MDM9625M boxed in red



The MDM9625 is a Category 4 LTE modem, supporting speeds of up to 150 Mbps, compared to the MDM9615 Category 3 modem at up to 100 Mbps, which is found in the iPhone 5s, 5c, and 5. Some observers had been holding out hope that Apple might use Qualcomm's even faster MDM9635 Category 6 modem as is reportedly lined up for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Alpha handset, but with Apple's history of conservatism in choosing its cellular technology and questions about production ramp-up for the MDM9635 make it unsurprising that Apple has opted for the MDM9625.



iphone_6_board_wtr
Likely WTR1625L boxed in red and WFR1620 boxed in blue



Part of the speed benefits of the MDM9625 and new LTE-Advanced technology compared to earlier generations of modems comes from the use of carrier aggregation to combine channels for greater bandwidth. With the MDM9625, this carrier aggregation requires a pair of companion chips, a WTR1625L transceiver chip and a WFR1620 chip. These chips appear to be located on the opposite of the iPhone 6 logic board from the LTE modem itself.



On the whole, the use of the MDM9625 in the iPhone 6 sets the stage for faster cellular data connectivity as networks are built out to support its capabilities, and Apple will likely tout some of these improvements during its media event scheduled for September 9.



(Thanks, chrmjenkins!)


















Solar Vs. Coal Power

Rooftop solar panels are becoming such a powerful factor in the energy market that they now can push the price of electricity to negative territory in the sunniest regions of the world. This is possible because powering down fossil fuel energy generators during peak solar power periods would be more expensive than paying customers to use the electricity.


Continue reading...





Apple LogoApple today announced financial results for the first calendar quarter and second fiscal quarter of 2014. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $45.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $43.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.



Gross margin for the quarter was 39.3 percent compared to 37.5 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 66 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an increased dividend payment of $3.29 per share, payable on May 15 to shareholders as of the close of trading on May 12. The company currently holds $150.6 billion in cash and marketable securities.



In addition to the increase in the dividend payment, Apple said it will dramatically increase its share repurchase authorization to $90 billion from $60 billion and will execute a 7-for-1 stock split as of June 9. The company says it expects to spend over $130 billion in cash under its capital return program by the end of 2015. Apple is now paying $11 billion per year in dividends to shareholders.



q22014linechart

Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 43.7 million, compared to 37.4 million in the year-ago quarter, and the company sold 16.35 million iPads, up from 19.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 4.1 million Macs compared to just under 4 million in the year-ago period.
“We’re very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market.”

Apple's guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 includes expected revenue of $36-38 billion and gross margin between 37 and 38 percent.



q22014piechart

Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q2 2014 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.


















Adsense