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
Dubious Claim of 3G in Next-Generation iPod Touch
Dutch site AppleSpot.nl today reported [Google translation] that the next-generation iPod touch is set to debut in September alongside a new iPhone and will offer 3G data connectivity.
According to the report, the new iPod touch will rely on a SIM card to access GSM networks and will be serviced by traditional carriers in much the same way as the iPhone, although presumably with some sort of...
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Analytics Firm Questionably Pegs Verizon's U.S. iPhone 4 Share at 32%
Mobile app analytics firm Localytics yesterday published a widely-cited report measuring the ratio of AT&T to Verizon iPhone 4s in the United States, finding that a surge over the past two months has increased Verizon's share to over 32% just four and a half months after the device launched on the carrier.Summer has seen significant growth in Verizon's market share. After spending most of the...
Apple Researching 'Physics Metaphor' Gestures for Inter-Device Communication
As noted by Patently Apple, a newly-published patent application from Apple reveals an interesting take on the idea of using metaphorical gestures to share data between devices.
Building upon file transfer mechanisms found in such iOS apps as Bump that allow users to exchange contact information, photos, and other data between devices in close proximity, Apple proposes a number of gestures...
Apple Retail Stores Making Preparations for OS X Lion Launch Next Week?
A pair of reports today are suggesting that Apple may be preparing its retail stores for a launch of OS X Lion next week, with MacBook Air and other hardware updates likely to follow alongside or soon after the new operating system debuts.
9 to 5 Mac reports that Apple has scheduled "overnights" for next Wednesday, July 13th, events where store layouts and promotional materials are tweaked and ...
Apple's iPad 2 Shipping Estimates Fall to 3-5 Business Days in Many Countries
Shipping estimates for new online iPad 2 orders from Apple have fallen to just 3-5 business days in a number of countries, down from the earlier 1-2 week estimates that had been in place since April. The new shipping estimates apply to both engraved and non-engraved models and appear to be in effect throughout Apple's North American and Asia-Pacific distribution channels. Shipping estimates in...
Time Warner Cable Updates Live TV App for iPad, Shuts Out Jailbreakers
Time Warner Cable today announced the release of a major update to its TWCable TV app for iPad, increasing the number of channels available for live viewing to over 100 and adding new channel guide, remote control, and DVR management capabilities when used with compatible set-top boxes.
But as noted by Engadget, the updated app also brings one other unpublicized change: jailbreak detection...
Apple to Launch 'iPad HD' This Fall Alongside Pro Apps?
This is my next... adds some additional color to recent reports of a higher-resolution iPad set for launch later this year, claiming that the new "iPad HD" device will be sold alongside the existing iPad 2 and will target professional users in the video or photo industries. Apple is also said to be planning to debut iPad versions of at least one its pro-level apps such as Final Cut Pro or...
Apple Continues to Shave iAd Buy-In Fees Amid Increasing Competition
Bloomberg reports that Apple has continued to reduce the buy-in fee for its iAd mobile advertising service, dropping package prices for mainstream advertisers from the original $1 million commitment down to just $300,000 in some cases.Apple Inc.'s iAd mobile-advertising business has cut rates by as much as 70 percent as some marquee clients are using rival services, two people with knowledge of...
Apple to Patch Latest Jailbreak Hole in Upcoming Software Update
Earlier this week, the browser-based JailbreakMe.com solution went live once again, bringing a simple new method to jailbreak a number of iOS devices including the iPad 2. The tool has proven popular, with over one million users already having taken advantage of it.
Similar to earlier browser-based jailbreak mechanisms, the latest version takes advantage of a flaw in the way Safari handles...
Apple's App Store Hits 15 Billion Downloads
Apple today announced that the App Store for iOS devices has surpassed 15 billion downloads, having paid out over $2.5 billion to developers and sold over 200 million iOS devices.Apple today announced that over 15 billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store by the more than 200 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users worldwide. The App Store offers more than 425,000...
Apple Experimenting With 'New Way of Charging' for 2012 iPhone
Expanding on its report from earlier today regarding Apple's preparations toward a thinner and lighter next-generation iPhone set for launch in the September timeframe, The Wall Street Journal now reports that Apple is working on more ambitious plans for the 2012 iPhone, experimenting with a number of changes including a "new way of charging" the device.Investors expect a bigger boost to Apple's...
Amazon Responds to Apple's iCloud With Music Storage Upgrades, iPad Player
Earlier this year, Amazon launched its Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services, offering users the ability to store music and other digital content on Amazon's servers for access from a variety of Internet-connected devices. With Apple's iCloud announcement last month, some have been wondering whether Amazon might tweak its offerings to compete with iCloud.
In response, Amazon today announced ...
Apple Gearing Up for 'iPad 2 Plus' Release Later This Year?
As with the debate over whether the next-generation iPhone should tentatively be referred to as an "iPhone 5" or "iPhone 4S", observers are also differing in their opinions on Apple's next-generation iPad. While Apple has so far used the yearly upgrade cycle that has been relatively among the company's mobile devices for the iPad, there have been rumors that Apple is planning to release an...
OmniVision's Production Issues Diverting iPhone Image Sensor Orders to Sony?
Last month, a report claimed that both existing supplier OmniVision Technologies and newcomer Sony had been lined up to produce 8-megapixel image sensors for the next-generation iPhone, with OmniVision said to be set to shoulder 90% of the load.
But Forbes today shares a report from FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger, who claims that OmniVision has run into production troubles that may ...
Analyst Claims Sprint iPhone Likely Before Christmas
Barron's reports on a new research note from Citadel Securities analyst Shing Yin claiming that the iPhone is likely to debut on U.S. carrier Sprint sometime before Christmas of this year. Yin notes that with Verizon shifting to tiered data plans beginning tomorrow, Apple likely has additional motivation to strike a deal with Sprint, which continues to offer the unlimited data plans preferred by ...
HTC Gains Patent Foothold Against Apple With Purchase of S3 Graphics
VIA Technologies today announced that it and its partner investment firm WTI are selling off S3 Graphics to smartphone manufacturer HTC.
The acquisition is notable because S3 Graphics recently won a partial victory over Apple in an initial judgment on a patent dispute being reviewed by the U.S. International Trade Commission. HTC's purchase of S3 will turn those patents over to the smartphone ...
Flextronics Executive Pleads Guilty to Leaking Apple Secrets to Research Firm
The New York Times reports that former Flextronics executive Walter Shimoon has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of security fraud over his role in leaking insider information on Apple's iPhone and iPad plans to research firm Primary Global Research.
Flextronics manufactured chargers for the iPhone, giving Shimoon access to nonpublic information...
Apple Preparing 'Thinner and Lighter' iPhone for Third Quarter Launch
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is indeed preparing a new iPhone for a launch during the third quarter of this year, with an initial production target of 25 million units through the end of the year."Apple's sales estimates of the new iPhone is quite aggressive. It told us to prepare to help the company meet its goal of 25 million units by the end of the year," said another person at...
Bing for iPad Adds 'Lasso' Search Term Selection
While Apple took a fair amount of time developing the current copy-and-paste mechanism for iOS, holding off on releasing it until iPhone OS 3.0 in mid-2009, Microsoft's new update for its Bing for iPad app shows off an alternative method for text selection known as "Lasso". The technique allows users to select text to serve as the...
Verizon's Tiered iPhone Data Plans to Debut on July 7th
Even before the iPhone launch on Verizon earlier this year, the carrier had announced that the unlimited data plans being offered with the device were a temporary program, set to be discontinued as soon as this summer in favor of tiered data packages.
Just two weeks ago, Verizon confirmed that it would be dropping the unlimited data plan in July, with leaks pinpointing the new data plans and a ...
