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
Apple to Offer iPhone 3GS Free on Contract?
While much of the focus surrounding Apple's iPhone plans has been on the iPhone 4S/5 and the possibility of a low-end 8 GB iPhone 4, there have been a few suggestions that Apple could keep its iPhone 3GS around even longer in order to offer a handset available for free on contract. Despite being based on an over two year old design, the iPhone 3GS continues to be the second best-selling...
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Conflicting Reports on Steve Jobs' Potential Attendance at iPhone Event
With Apple's iPhone media event set for tomorrow, many have been wondering whether Steve Jobs will be in attendance given concerns over his health and this being the first public event for the company since Tim Cook officially became CEO. Beyond mere speculation, the uncertainty over Jobs' potential attendance is even reflected among those who have apparently been hearing word from sources who...
SEC Pressed Apple for Information on Nokia Patent Settlement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today published a series of letters it exchanged with Apple between June and August of this year addressing Apple's patent settlement with Nokia.
It was revealed in mid-June that Apple had entered into a patent license with Nokia to settle a series of lawsuits between the two companies, but Apple did not make any disclosure regarding the...
HP's TouchPad Behind Delays in Facebook iPad App Launch?
Mashable offers an inside look at the relationship between Apple and Facebook, exploring how HP's effort to bring a dedicated Facebook application to the TouchPad resulted in a severe falling out of the already-strained relationship between Apple and Facebook.
While the relationship has apparently been mended and the two companies are planning a Tuesday launch of Facebook's iPad app, a...
Apple Seeds iTunes 10.5 Beta 9 to Developers
Just days before Apple's iPhone media event where the company is also expected to make the final public introduction of its iCloud services, Apple has seeded developers with the ninth beta version of iTunes 10.5. The release comes three weeks after Apple seeded the previous beta.
The beta 9 release is a required update for all developers testers of the company's forthcoming iTunes Match...
AT&T Begins Warning High-Volume Data Users of Upcoming Throttling
In late July, AT&T announced that as of October 1st it would begin throttling data speeds for customers on unlimited data plans who registered in the top 5% of heaviest data users. While AT&T no longer offers unlimited data plans, customers who had signed up for such plans prior to their discontinuation, including many iPhone users, have been grandfathered in and allowed to keep their unlimited...
Apple Removes iPod Click Wheel Games from iTunes
Earlier this week, a report claimed that Apple is preparing to discontinue the iPod classic and iPod shuffle, leaving only the iPod touch and iPod nano in its iPod lineup. Supporting the idea that the iPod classic may soon be coming to an end after ten years on the market is a new report from AppleInsider noting that Apple has removed access to the iPod Click Wheel Games section of the iTunes...
Apple TV to Launch in 7 New European Countries Next Tuesday
With Apple adding movie content to its iTunes Stores in a number of new European countries earlier this week, some have wondered whether Apple will be bringing its Apple TV set-top box to those countries to help users take advantage of the new content.
We have now received word that Apple has informed resellers in seven new European countries that the Apple TV will indeed be launching as of...
Samsung Proposes Deal with Apple for Galaxy Tab Launch in Australia
The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung's lawyers have proposed a deal to Apple that would allow Samsung to launch its delayed Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia as soon as next week. Samsung has already delayed the launch of the device several times as Apple pursues a preliminary injunction to officially halt the device launch ahead of a full hearing on alleged intellectual property...
Widespread MobileMe Outage Affecting Mail, Me.com, and Find My iPhone
A number of Apple's MobileMe services appear to have been down for several hours now, and Apple's system status page indicates that the company is experiencing issues with MobileMe Mail, me.com web apps, and Find My iPhone.
Occasional downtime for MobileMe is not terribly unusual, but today's issues appear to be more widespread than usual and lasting a fairly significant period of time....
'iPhone 5' Silicone Sleeves Already Arriving at AT&T Retail Stores
Earlier today, we noted that Case-Mate cases for the redesigned "iPhone 5" had appeared in AT&T's inventory database. The addition yielded the interesting observation that AT&T is apparently placing orders for the cases despite the growing feeling that Apple may not be releasing such a device and instead releasing only the "iPhone 4S" design that is nearly identical to the iPhone 4.
We now...
Case-Mate 'iPhone 5' Cases Headed to AT&T
Earlier this month, case manufacturer Case-Mate drew some attention for promotional images that briefly appeared on its site showing cases for the rumored redesigned "iPhone 5" form factor. Case-Mate quickly pulled the page, however, replacing it with a signup form for potential customers to receive information, as well as a note indicating that the company believes that Apple will be releasing...
Foxconn's $12 Billion Plan for Brazilian iPad Production in Trouble
Reuters reports that Foxconn's previously-announced $12 billion plan to begin producing iPads in Brazil appears to be faltering as Foxconn and the Brazilian government have been unable to reach an agreement.A much-hyped $12 billion plan for Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to produce iPads in Brazil is "in doubt" due to stagnant negotiations over tax breaks and Brazil's own deep structural...
Physical Mockup of 'iPhone 5' with Tapered Design
Although hope for the redesigned iPhone 5 seen through third-party case designs is waning as evidence continues to stack up for the "iPhone 4S" design and no sign of the larger, tapered iPhone 5, that hasn't halted interest in the iPhone 5 design.
And while we took a stab at some renderings of a potential iPhone 5 based on the case designs, benm.at has now taken things a significant step...
Appeals Court Sides with Apple in Dispute over Psystar's Unauthorized Mac Clones
It has taken nearly two years, but CNET reports that an appeals court has ruled in favor of Apple in its lawsuit against Psystar, a company that began selling unauthorized Mac clones back in 2008.Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder ruled yesterday that Psystar's Mac clones violated copyrights Apple holds, and its ban on sales will be upheld. According to Judge Schroeder, Psystar specifically violated...
Apple's 'N94' iPhone 4S Appears in Inventory Database
Yesterday, word surfaced that entries for revised iPhone 4 models had appeared in Apple's inventory database, but at the time there was no sign of new iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 models.
Back cover of iPhone 4S
9to5Mac now reports that entries for an iPhone identified as "N94" have indeed appeared in the database, courtesy of reliable source "Mr. X". The N94 iPhone has been the subject of numerou...
Steve Jobs Tried Unsuccessfully to Defuse Patent Dispute with Samsung in 2010
Dow Jones Newswires and Bloomberg report on testimony from Apple patent portfolio manager Chip Lutton as part of the Australian dispute between Apple and Samsung, revealing that Steve Jobs personally initiated contact with Samsung in 2010 in an attempt to head off the conflict before it headed into the courts.Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc. (AAPL), initiated contact with rival Samsung...
Shazam Brings Back Unlimited Tagging in Free iPhone App
Music identification service Shazam was one of the early hits on the App Store, with the company's free iPhone application seeing 1.5 million downloads over the first few months of availability.
Shazam shifted gears slightly in November 2009, introducing a paid Shazam Encore application and limiting new users of the free application to only five tags per month. Users who had used the free...
'iPhone 5' to Support 21 Mbps HSPA+ '4G' Technology
Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports (via MacPost) that a China Unicom executive apparently confirmed during a presentation at this week's Macworld Asia that the "iPhone 5" set to be announced next week will indeed support HSPA+ sometimes-called "4G" technology, offering a maximum theoretical data speed of 21 Mbps (up from 7.2Mbps). A slide showing the information was photographed by Japanese...
Chinese Authorities Break Up Counterfeit iPhone Ring
Reuters reports on an article from Chinese newspaper Shanghai Daily noting that Chinese authorities have arrested five people in conjunction with the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit iPhones.Police said those arrested were part of an organised gang that bought components for the phones from Guangdong in southern China and assembled them in rented apartments in Shanghai, the Shanghai Daily...
