Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
Sony Seeking to Beat Apple in Revolutionizing Television
Much has been made of Steve Jobs' revelation in his authorized biography about having "cracked" how to develop a revolutionary interface for an integrated television set, a disclosure that has led to claims of Apple working to launch a Siri-enabled television set by 2013.
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how seriously Sony is taking the Apple threat, sharing comments from Sony CEO...
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Apple Avoids Sharing Australian Carrier Contracts with Samsung
Earlier this week, it was reported that Apple had been ordered to share with Samsung terms of the contracts it held with Australian carriers. As part of its lawsuit attempting to have sales of the iPhone 4S halted in the country, Samsung sought information about subsidies being paid to Apple by carriers and whether the amounts of those subsidies might somehow result in anti-competitive behavior.
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Apple Begins Offering Unlocked iPhone 4S in U.S. Online Store
Alongside today's round of international iPhone 4S launches, Apple also began offering unlocked iPhone 4S models for sale in the United States. Orders placed through the company's online store are currently listed with estimated shipping of 1-2 weeks.
Pricing for the unlocked, contract-free iPhone 4S comes in at $649/$749/$849 for the 16/32/64 GB models respectively. The unlocked device is ...
iPhone 4S Launches to Long Lines in Hong Kong and South Korea
The iPhone 4S officially launched in fifteen new countries today, with Hong Kong and South Korea being two of the highest-profile new markets.
M.I.C gadget followed the opening in Hong Kong, noting that over 3,000 people showed up at Apple's massive new flagship store in the IFC Mall. But Apple staff reportedly allowed only 1,250 of those people to line up for the device, resulting in a...
Apple Releases Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.9
Apple today released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.9, bringing RAW image support to Aperture and iPhoto for a number of new cameras.This update adds RAW image compatibility for the following cameras to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11:
- Canon PowerShot S100
- Nikon 1 J1
- Nikon 1 V1
- Nikon COOLPIX P7100
- Olympus PEN E-PL1s
- Olympus PEN E-PL3
- Olympus PEN E-PM1
- Panasonic...
Apple Releases iOS 5.0.1 to Address Battery Life Issues [Updated]
Apple has just released iOS 5.0.1 to the public, bringing fixes for battery life issues introduced with iOS 5. The release also brings several other enhancements including multitasking gestures for the original iPad.This update contains improvements and other bug fixes including:
- Fixes bugs affecting battery life
- Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
- Resolves bugs...
Nuance Launches 'Dragon Express' in the Mac App Store
Nuance Communications, which provides the speech recognition technology included in Siri on the iPhone 4S, has announced the Mac App Store launch of Dragon Express, a new application that offers some of the same speech recognition and system control features found in the company's more expensive Dragon Dictate software.Dragon Express is an easy and fun speech recognition utility that introduces ...
iPhone-Related Customer Churn an 'Area of Concern' for T-Mobile USA
As highlighted by AllThingsD, T-Mobile USA acknowledged yesterday in discussion of its third quarter earnings that the lack of an iPhone 4S offering for the carrier may have an impact on customer retention, labeling churn rates as an "area of concern".“Earnings improved as we continued to focus on making smartphones affordable to all Americans through our unlimited Value plans, improvements...
Apple Researching Integrated Speaker for iPod Nano and Shuffle
Patently Apple reports on a newly-published patent application from Apple describing the integration of a speaker into the clip of the iPod nano or shuffle. Apple's proposed design includes a recessed portion within the device's clip that would house a piezoelectric speaker.
Exploded view of iPod nano or shuffle case with speaker integrated into clip
As part of the invention's description, ...
iOS and Android Grab 58% of U.S. Portable Gaming Revenue
Mobile analytics firm Flurry today reports on the continuing shift in portable gaming from dedicated devices to smartphones and other multipurpose devices. According to results compiled by Flurry from NPD market research and Flurry's own mobile app data, Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile operating systems will account for 58% of portable gaming revenue in the United States for 2011, an...
iPhone 4S Incorporates Revamped IR Sensor for Siri's 'Raise to Speak' Feature
Apple's new Siri personal assistant feature on the iPhone 4S includes a "raise to speak" feature that allows Siri to be activated whenever an active iPhone is raised to the user's ear. The device is able to sense the raising action using a proximity sensor capable of detecting how close the user's face is to the screen. The iPhone has always incorporated proximity sensors in order to turn off...
Apple Required to Reveal Australian iPhone Carrier Contracts to Samsung
Last week, we noted that as part of its case seeking to have sales of the iPhone 4S banned in Australia, Samsung had requested access to both the iPhone 4S source code and Apple's agreements with the country's wireless carriers. Samsung's interest in the carrier contracts related to device subsidies, with the company curious about whether the amount of subsidies paid to Apple by the carriers...
Apple Releases iAd Producer 2.0 for Developers
Apple yesterday announced the release of version 2.0 of its iAd Producer software that help developers create ads for use in the company's iAd program for mobile devices. The new release brings a number of enhancements to the software first deployed last December.New tools and animation effects in iAd Producer 2.0 make it even easier to build great iAds. Create sophisticated animations with...
Amazon Preparing to Take on Apple's Siri with Acquisition of Speech Recognition Firm?
The Atlantic reports that a Securities and Exchange Commission filing reveals Amazon has quietly acquired voice recognition firm Yap, perhaps signaling intentions to take on Apple and Google in the market.Though the acquisition was apparently completed in September, no public announcement has been made by either company. The filing does not mention Amazon by name, but Yap merged with a company...
Apple Jumps to Fourth in Greenpeace's Environmental Rankings of Electronics Companies
Fortune notes that Apple has risen to fourth place in Greenpeace's annual ranking of electronics manufacturers by environmental criteria, as published in the organization's annual Guide to Greener Electronics. Apple moved up to fourth place this year from ninth place in last year's survey, making gains in the greenness of its products and sustainability efforts in its operations, but remaining ...
Gallery of Storefront Photos from Apple's 357 Retail Stores
Thomas Park has put together an interesting gallery of storefront photos from all 357 of Apple's retail stores around the world. While the photos are simply pulled from the individual retail store pages on Apple's site, the gallery format ordered by date of opening makes for easy browsing and examination of the evolution of Apple's store designs. Some of the stores have of course been renovated ...
Kindle Fire Seen Slowing Some Previously-Planned iPad Purchases
With Amazon's forthcoming Kindle Fire tablet staking out a new position at the bargain end of the tablet market with its $199 price tag, some have wondered how significantly the device will eat into Apple's potential iPad sales.
A new survey from RBC Capital Markets and ChangeWave Research now puts some numbers to that impact, revealing that 26% of those surveyed customers who have either...
Apple Cutting Fourth Quarter iPhone Component Orders?
Digitimes shares a report from Taiwan's Commercial Times claiming that Apple has cut orders for iPhone components during the fourth quarter by 10-15%. The report claims that sales of the device have slowed significantly since the pre-order and launch phase and that shortages of a few components have also been impacting overall production. iPad production may also be seeing some cutbacks.Accordi...
Apple Releases Java 6 Updates for Lion and Snow Leopard
Apple today released a pair of Java 6 updates for users of OS X Lion and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, patching vulnerabilities and increasing reliability and compatibility.
- Java for OS X Lion Update 1 (62.53 MB)Java for Mac OS X 10.7 Update 1 delivers improved compatibility, security, and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_29.- Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 6 (75.45 MB)Java for Mac OS X...
Work on iOS 5 Battery Issues Continues with Customer Testing, Internal Support Notices
Last week, Apple confirmed that some iOS 5 users are experiencing battery life issues on their devices due to some bugs in the operating system, issues that Apple is working to address with iOS 5.0.1 currently in developer testing.
9to5Mac reports that Apple has now expanded its testing to include some of those users who have reported problems with their devices, reaching out to them through...
