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 COO Tim Cook Speaks at Goldman Sachs Conference
Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook today participated in a Q&A session at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference, and while he did not offer any major revelations, some of his comments offered a bit of perspective on Apple's business, including comments on the Apple TV, iPad sales channels, exclusive carrier relationships, and other topics. Here is a paraphrased summary of some...
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Apple Releases iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 3 for iPad [Updatedx3]
Apple today released an update to its iPhone SDK 3.2 for developers looking to create applications for the company's forthcoming iPad tablet device. The new update is the third beta version of the SDK, and there is no word yet on changes included in the update.
The initial version of the SDK was released late last month alongside the iPad introduction, and was last updated two weeks ago.
...
AT&T Tops 3G Wireless Performance Study
PCWorld reports on the results of its recent 13-city performance tests of wireless carriers in the United States, and Apple's iPhone partner AT&T came out well ahead of the pack in both upload and download speeds while also faring well in reliability. After registering the lowest average download speeds in our 3G performance tests last spring, AT&T's network turned in download speeds that were 84...
Fidelity Introduces Mobile Trading App for iPhone
Fidelity Investments today announced the release of a new, free iPhone application allowing brokerage customers to monitor their portfolios and execute trades directly from their iPhone or iPod touch. "At Fidelity, we recognize the growing popularity of the iPhone and iPod touch, and in fact, nearly half of the customers using our current mobile trading application, Fidelity Mobile, log in from...
Gartner: iPhone Sales Double in 2009 as Apple Claims Third Place in Smartphone Sales
Earlier this month, research firm IDC released sales figures for 2009 showing Apple holding 14.4% of the smartphone market for the year on nearly 82% sales growth over 2008, with the company grabbing third place among smartphone vendors behind Nokia and Research in Motion.
Gartner today released similar results taking a slightly different look at its data by opting to rank smartphone sales by...
Survey Sees Pent-Up iPad Demand, Some Cannibalization of Other Apple Products
In research note released this morning, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky shares the results of a ChangeWave survey of over 3,200 respondents earlier this month revealing pent-up demand for Apple's forthcoming iPad, with demand even exceeding that for the original iPhone in 2007. According to the survey, 13% of respondents are either somewhat or very likely to purchase an iPad, compared...
One More New iPhone Ad: 'Family Travel'
Just a day after Apple released a pair of new iPhone commercials, a third ad entitled 'Family Travel' has begun airing on television and been posted to the company's ad gallery.
Although the new ad returns to Apple's common theme of featuring individual iPhone applications, it is notable because it utilizes a female first-person narration rather than the standard male voice-over used for...
Apple Job Posting Suggests Future iPhone OS Devices
Computerworld points to an Apple job listing posted last week which suggests that Apple is looking to expand the iPhone OS beyond the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad to additional platforms. The position, entitled "Engineering Manager (Platform Bring-Up)", requires that the employee lead a team of software engineers working with hardware and "custom silicon" teams on new platforms and protoypes. Th...
Aerial Footage of Apple's North Carolina Data Center
Data Center Knowlege points to a brief YouTube video posted late last week reportedly showing aerial footage of Apple's massive new data center being constructed in the town of Maiden, North Carolina. It's plenty big, as illustrated by this aerial video posted to YouTube (apparently taken by an area realtor) of the 500,000 square foot facility. The new $1 billion data center will be nearly five...
Apple's iPad Chip Development Cost Estimated in $1 Billion Range
In an article from The New York Times, the cost for a company like Apple to develop an ARM-based mobile chip such as the A4 used in its forthcoming iPad tablet is estimated at approximately $1 billion, even without the need to invest in manufacturing facilities for the chips due to agreements with existing chip foundries for production. At the same time, Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm are designing...
TV Networks Continuing to Resist Apple's Effort to Slash iTunes Pricing
The New York Times reports that television networks are continuing to resist Apple's push to lower episode pricing for their shows to $0.99, down from the current $1.99 price point for standard definition content. The networks reportedly continue to be skeptical of the value of such price cuts, despite claims that some of them have agreed to participate in a trial of the lower pricing to...
Apple Ranks Third in BusinessWeek Customer Service Rankings
In Bloomberg BusinessWeek's fourth annual customer service rankings released late last week, Apple placed third behind catalog retail site L.L. Bean and insurance company USAA, a new high for the company. According to the report, which combined data from consumer satisfaction firm J.D. Power with survey results from over 1,000 of the magazine's own readers, Apple scored A+ ratings for both...
Mac Pro Audio Update Seen as Fixing Performance Issues
Effect of Mac Pro Audio Update 1.0 on Aperture and Compressor tasks
(Times in minutes:seconds)
With last week's release of a software update addressing heat and performance issues experienced by users of Apple's Nehalem Mac Pro models while playing audio, many users have reported significant improvements brought by the software fix.
Macworld today provides some numbers to back up those...
Apple Modifies iPhone SDK to Allow Sweepstakes Applications
Register Hardware notes that Apple has modified the iPhone SDK to specifically allow developers to include sweepstakes and lottery functionality in their App Store applications. The new rule is unambiguous:
"3.3.17 Your Application may include promotional sweepstake or contest functionality provided that You are the sole sponsor of the promotion and that You and Your Application comply with any ...
Apple Updates Me.com Landing Page for iPhone Users
Apple today posted an updated support document detailing recent enhancements to its me.com landing page for iPhone and iPod touch users. The new landing page offers instructions for setting up MobileMe services via the device's Settings application, as well as direct links for Find My iPhone and Apple's MobileMe Gallery and MobileMe iDisk applications. Accessing me.com with your iPhone/iPod...
Hulu for iPad Likely to Be a Paid Subscription Service
Last week, a report that video site Hulu might be making its way to the iPad generated a significant amount of interest, with many users excited about the prospect of free access to television content on Apple's forthcoming tablet device. MediaMemo reports, however, that iPad access to Hulu is more likely to come as part of a paid subscription package than as free access like the computer-based...
Idaho Set to Gain First Apple Retail Store
ifoAppleStore reports that Apple is planning to open its first retail store in the state of Idaho, which will become the 42nd state in the U.S. with an Apple retail presence. Apple's first Idaho store is reportedly set to open in Boise as early as September. Far out and left out. That's the way Idaho residents have felt for nine years without an Apple retail store. Now their laments will end with ...
Apple Planning Smoother Transitions Between Graphics Processors in Upcoming MacBook Pros?
AppleInsider reports that it has received information that Apple is planning an enhancement to its next-generation MacBook Pros that will allow for automatic switching between integrated and discrete graphics processors based on whichever is the more optimal technology (power consumption vs. performance) at any given time.
Since October 2008, Apple has offered two NVIDIA graphics processors in ...
U.S. Trade Agency to Review Apple's Patent Complaints Against Nokia
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has been kept busy with claims involving Apple recently, as the company has found itself involved in several high-profile disputes with major corporations over claims of patent infringement. Just a day after the agency agreed to investigate claims made by Kodak against Apple and Research in Motion regarding possible patent infringement, Bloomberg...
Apple Adds App Store Support for More Countries
Apple today announced that it has added App Store support for a number of new countries, with developers able to update their offerings accordingly via Apple's iTunes Connect service. You can now distribute your apps to more customers with the addition of App Store support in Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, and Uganda....
