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
Samsung Halts Public Disclosures of Mobile Phone Sales Numbers
Even as its smartphone sales explode and appear set to cruise past Apple during the current quarter to take the top spot in the market, Samsung has instituted "a new information policy" that will see the company cease public reporting of its quarterly phone sales numbers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
While industry analysts will still be able to make some reasonable estimates of...
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New MacBook Air Using Scaled-Down Thunderbolt Chip
Portion of MacBook Air motherboard with Eagle Ridge chip outlined in teal (Source: iFixit)
AnandTech takes a look at the Thunderbolt controller used by Apple in the new MacBook Air, finding that the company has opted to use a scaled-down "Eagle Ridge" controller chip from Intel instead of the "Light Ridge" chip found in larger Thunderbolt-enabled machines.[Light Ridge] features four...
Apple Passes Nokia and Holds Off Samsung to Become World's Top Smartphone Vendor [Updated]
Just hours after research firm IDC released data showing Apple dramatically outpacing the overall mobile phone industry in year-over-year growth for the second quarter of 2011, Strategy Analytics has confirmed that Apple has indeed become the world's largest smartphone manufacturer. In that smaller but faster-growing submarket, Apple dethroned long-time leader Nokia and just barely held off a...
Apple Closing on LG for Title of Third Largest Mobile Phone Vendor With 142% Growth
Research firm IDC today released results for global mobile phone sales for the second quarter of 2011, showing strong growth for Apple as it sits firmly in fourth place and closes quickly on LG in the race for third place among global phone vendors.Apple maintained its number four position overall but closed the gap on Top 5 competitors thanks to another record unit shipment quarter. The...
Pegatron Coming On Board as New Manufacturer for iPad 3?
Taiwan Economic News reports (via BGR) that Pegatron is set to win a contract to produce the iPad 3, at least partially displacing Apple's current exclusive manufacturer for the popular tablet device, Foxconn/Hon Hai.
But while BGR suggests that the iPad contract between Pegatron and Apple is an exclusive one shutting Foxconn out entirely, the somewhat unclear article leaves the situation...
Logitech Slashes Google TV-Based Revue to $99 as Returns Exceed Sales
As noted by This is my next..., Logitech today revealed that its Google-TV based "Revue" set-top box has been a complete flop, actually recording negative sales numbers last quarter as returns exceeded new sales. In response, Logitech has announced that it will be slashing the Revue's price from $249 to a below-cost $99 and taking a $34 million charge to cover the loss.
Google TV had been...
Apple's Existing Mac Lines Tweaked for OS X Lion
While Apple released new MacBook Air and Mac mini models alongside OS X Lion last week, the company also updated its other Mac lines to begin shipping them with Lion. But Apple changed a bit more than just the operating system on those models, as MacTrast details with a comparison of a new MacBook Pro with Lion pre-installed to another MacBook Pro purchased just a few months ago.
The...
BBC iPlayer for iPad Going International: Western Europe Today, U.S. and Others Later This Year
The Guardian reports that the BBC is finally set to launch its popular iPlayer service on an international basis, rolling out a new iPad app to eleven countries in Western Europe today and to the United States, Canada, and Australia by the end of the year.The service will offer a limited amount of content for free, supported by pre-roll ads and sponsorship, but its core business model is...
Photos of Purported iPhone 5 Case Based on Latest Design Claims Surface
Earlier this week, a purported case design for the iPhone 5 surfaced showing tapered edges more reminiscent of pre-iPhone 4 designs along with a possible larger screen and gesture area around the home button.
That schematic is not merely a random design drawing, however, as 9 to 5 Mac has received photos of an actual case apparently manufactured based on that design, which has reportedly been...
Survey: 35% of U.S. Consumers Planning to Purchase Next-Generation iPhone
Earlier this week, shopping comparison site PriceGrabber released the results of a survey of nearly 3,000 U.S. online consumers conducted earlier this month, revealing that 35% of respondents intend to purchase the next-generation iPhone. The strong consumer interest comes even as Apple has to yet announce or even acknowledge such a device and with rumors offering conflicting information on what ...
Apple 'Evaluating' Solar Cell Vendors for Future Products?
DigiTimes reports that Apple and Samsung are both "evaluating" the use of solar cells in future consumer products, with the process having advanced as far as discussions with several Taiwanese solar firms about the technology. Any such products are said to be some time off, however, with projects still in the research stage as vendors work toward increasing efficiency of energy conversion.Samsung...
HTC Looking to Strike Deal, Google and Apple Likely to Drive Up Price of Patent Acquisitions
Bloomberg reports that HTC has expressed willingness to strike a deal with Apple in the patent dispute between the two companies that has seen Apple score an initial victory in front of the U.S. International Trade Commission while HTC has increased its firepower by acquiring a company that had already won a decision against Apple.“We have to sit down and figure it out,” Winston Yung, chief ...
Apple Still Using SSDs With Varying Speeds on New MacBook Air
Several months ago, we noted that Apple appeared to be using two different suppliers, Samsung and Toshiba, for the solid-state drives (SSDs) on its MacBook Air models. Notably, the Samsung SSDs registered significantly faster read and write speeds than the Toshiba SSDs. User reports indicated that Apple was indeed using both suppliers simultaneously, rather making it a luck of the draw as to...
Apple Releases Revised Mac OS X 10.6.8 With Patch for Existing Users
Apple today released a series of Mac OS X 10.6.8 releases, apparently revising the original version as well as offering a "supplemental update" to patch systems that have already been upgraded to the latest version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard.The Mac OS X 10.6.8 Supplemental Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and resolves issues with:
- Transferring personal...
Apple Releases iOS 4.3.5 to Address Security Issue With Certificate Validation
Only ten days after releasing iOS 4.3.4, Apple has just pushed out iOS 4.3.5 to address a security issue with certificate validation.iOS 4.3.5 Software Update
Fixes a security vulnerability with certificate validation.The new version checks in as Build 8L1, and is for the GSM iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, all iPads, and the third- and-fourth-generation iPod touch. A separate iOS 4.2.10 (Build...
Amazon's 'Kindle' App Updated to Remove Direct Kindle Store Links [Updated: Nook]
Following reports that The Wall Street Journal and eBook company Kobo have pulled direct content sales from their iOS apps in order to comply with Apple's new rules regarding in-app subscriptions and purchases, Amazon has followed suit with an update to its Kindle app for iOS.What's new
- This update removes the Kindle Store button from the app.While the Kindle app has always redirected users...
Chinese Authorities Close Two Fake Apple Stores Over Permit Issues
Last week, we covered the story of fake Apple retail stores popping up in China and noted a follow-up report from The Wall Street Journal in which employees of the stores shared their thoughts about simply wanting to provide the highest levels of service to their customers.
Fake Apple retail store in Kunming, China
Reuters now reports that officials in the city of Kunming where the fake Apple ...
Apple Signs Deal for 23,000 Square-Foot Grand Central Terminal Store [Update: Rendering]
The New York Post reports that Apple and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) have signed a deal to bring a 23,000 square-foot Apple retail store to Manhattan's historic Grand Central Terminal. The initial ten-year deal will reportedly see Apple paying $800,000 per year in rent, and potential extensions after the ten-year period would see the annual rent increase to over $1 million.Tec...
AT&T Reportedly Prepping for iPhone Launch in 'Early to Mid-September'
BGR reports that AT&T is beginning preparations for an expected "early to mid-September" launch of the next-generation iPhone, in line with launch rumors and expectations and other reports of Apple beefing up its retail store staffing over a similar timeframe.BGR has exclusively learned that AT&T has begun communicating launch plans internally for Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5 handset. We...
Wall Street Journal and Kobo Pull Direct Content Sales From iOS Apps [Updated]
The Wall Street Journal reports that it will be removing subscription links from its iPad application, deciding to satisfy Apple's new in-app purchasing and subscription rules by removing the purchase links rather than offering subscriptions through the app with Apple taking a 30% cut.People who download the app and want to subscribe will have to either call customer service or visit WSJ.com....
