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Posts Tagged ‘iPhone’

Apple is on top of the world right now, but nothing lasts forever.

The company must find ways to innovate old products, fight off tough competitors, and keep up employee morale high—all without the leadership of visionary cofounder Steve Jobs.

It’s easy to overlook these threats given Apple’s tremendous success to date. But if Jobs’s handpicked successor, CEO Tim Cook, is not careful, Apple could end up facing one of these nightmare scenarios in the future.

The new Apple TV could end up being a complete flop.

Given the success Apple has had entering the smartphone and tablet markets in recent years, it’s easy to assume that the company will do well should it launch a television in the near future. But one analyst suggests the odds are not in its favor.

“Television has been the death of pretty much every tech company that has tried to do it,” said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at The Enderle Group. “People are expecting this thing to be huge, but it could very well not be.”

If Apple’s TV set does flop, Enderle says it could “take the wheels off the cart” for the company. The reason, Enderle says, is simple: Apple is a company that lives from hit to hit. Every successful product brings a halo effect to others—think of the way the iPod and iPhone boosted Mac sales.

The television could be Apple’s new power product that boosts sales and brings more customers into the Apple ecosystem. But if it flops, the company will have to scramble to find another way to juice its product lineup while simultaneously dealing with critics who see the failure as proof that Apple’s era of dominance is over—not to mention customers who have lost confidence in the Apple brand.

Apple never finds another Steve Jobs.

Apple can coast pretty comfortably for the next few years just on the products in its pipeline that were greenlit by Steve Jobs. But the key to the company’s success is its ability to spot the next big market it can dominate. Without a visionary like Jobs at the helm, who will steer the company to that next big opportunity?

 ”Tim Cook is a good manager … but the fire in the belly that led to where they are was Steve,” said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. “The machine Steve Jobs set up is set to work for at least another half decade, but it’s in the out years that it gets unclear.”

Samsung could dethrone Apple as the tech industry’s trendsetter.

If there’s one company right now with the potential to take Apple down, it’s Samsung. The two companies are already locked in a battle to control the smartphone market and Samsung continues to step up its tablet offerings to compete head-on against the iPad. As Enderle points out, Samsung is also doing well in markets Apple might have its eye on, like televisions.

“Samsung has the breadth to take on Apple on all fronts,” Enderle said, which is all the more problematic because Samsung happens to be a major supplier of parts to Apple—everything it needs to build devices, from chips to screens. “So now a major partner for Apple who knows the most about how Apple markets and designs is the major competitor.”

It’s not likely Samsung will put Apple out of business anytime soon, but that’s not the concern. Instead, Enderle says a justifiable fear is that Apple gets knocked out of the top spot and is forced to chase after Samsung’s products, rather than the other way around. This, according to Enderle, could knock Apple “off its pedestal” as the trendsetter for the consumer technology industry.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Every once in a while you might want to save what see on the screen of your iPhone.

Here’s how to do it:

Produced by Daniel Goodman

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Splashtop is a handy app for your iPad, that lets you access your desktop computer from anywhere.

As long as your desktop/laptop has an Internet connection, you can turn your iPad into a remote control.

Splashtop especially comes in handy if you forgot a file on your computer at home and need to access it or even send something to yourself.

Even better, if you want to get around Apple’s Flash limitation, you can stream video from your computer to your iPad or iPhone remotely.

Keep reading for a walkthrough of how to set up the app.

Splashtop for iPad is $4.99 and Splashtop for iPhone is $2.99 it is also available for Windows.

First thing’s first, make sure you’ve downloaded the SplashTop app on your iPad. It looks like this.

Before you go any further with the app do this…

Head here to the Splashtop website and download the streamer app to your desktop or laptop.

After the app is downloaded, begin the installation process by following the on-screen steps.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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The Weather Channel launched a full update for its iPhone app, available now.

The update is in line with the company’s major redesign of their brand. It also recently refreshed the Weather.com homepage.

This is the first big change to the app since 2009, and you can really see the difference.

The update features a major redesign that is easier to navigate and find the the information you want to see like the day’s forecast, highs and lows, hourly forcast, a live radar, etc.

We especially love how easy it is to get to the hourly forecast. The Weather Channel app was one of the most popular apps in the App Store for quite some time.

Now with social integration, you can even personalize the background of the app with any photo on your phone. 

Check it out for free in the App Store.

Tap to open…

You are greeted by a peaceful welcome screen.

The first thing you see in big print is the current temperature based on your location. You can add more locations by tapping the “i” button near the top.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Ever find yourself stuck in the dark and in need of some light?

There is a free way to turn your iPhone into a pretty powerful flashlight. Watch the video to learn how:

Produced by Daniel Goodman and Kamaila Sanders

Don’t Miss:

• The Must-Know iPhone Trick For Heavy Texters

• How To Sync Your Calendar With LinkedIn’s New iPad App

Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »