“It’s almost here.” As I type media types of all stripes are filing into the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to learn about what we are pretty sure is a new device, the iPhone 5. Welcome to our live blog!
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 4:51:44 PM
Okay, we're in. Is this thing on?
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 4:53:27 PM
I'm Shane Dingman, technology editor here at the Globe and Mail, you will be hearing less from me and more from Peter Nowak who is in San Francisco at the Apple press event, ready to give us inside dope. You'll also be hearing from Globe writers Omar el Akkad and Iain Marlow as we participate in the semi-annual ritual of Apple product launches!
One thing I thought about last night was perhaps something that hasn't been mentioned: price. What will the iPhone 5 cost? The iPhone is highly profitable for Apple, but could they sell it a bit cheaper and sell more of them?
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 4:56:17 PM
Al Gore is in the house, just a few rows away. He's standing in darkness so I'm not sure if I can get a pic
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 4:56:41 PM
I have never felt like price was the barrier for Apple sales... but who knows!
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 4:56:52 PM
OK Pete, latest rumour roundup: What have you heard/suspect about an iTunes update and also some new iPods?
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 4:57:30 PM
I must say I haven't heard anything about iPods. Are they the forgotten product?
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 4:58:42 PM
Hey everyone! Hope you're all well. I'm Iain, one of the Globe's tech reporters and the guy here most responsible for covering RIM.
He's starting off by talking about retail stores, beginning with some swanky new digs in Barcelona. "It's absolutely gorgeous." One of the biggest Apple stores in the world
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:01:39 PM
And we have a video of the Barcelona store. Too bad Gaudi isn't still alive... I'm sure they would have hired him to design it
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:02:51 PM
Apple now has stores in 12 countries, 83 million people in them from the April-June quarter
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:04:37 PM
7 million downloads of Mountain Lion, "Fastest selling" OS ever
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:05:29 PM
Apple says it's number 1 in laptop market share in the U.S. for the last quarter. 27% share
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:06:07 PM
15% year over year growth compared to 2% for PC, has outpaced PC for past 6 years
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:06:31 PM
While Tim Cook waxes on about how glorious the world's most valuable corporation is, I'm just going to waffle a bit: I wonder what's going to happen to the older models in terms of pricing with this new iteration. And whether that effects the emerging market strategy (and thus RIM and others like Nokia, Samsung).
by Iain Marlow9/12/2012 5:06:34 PM
Fact checkers, get cooking!
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:06:44 PM
17 million iPads sold in the past quarter
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:07:26 PM
Omar el Akkad wrote a story this morning quoting some analysts on the rapid growth of iPhone sales after a new launch, is partly because of that discounting: www.theglobeandmail.com
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 5:07:45 PM
More iPads sold than any PC manufacturer of their entire PC line. "Yes we are in a post PC world"
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:07:47 PM
"Frost & Sullivan analysts estimate the new Apple device could drive a 75 per cent increase in the company's average quarterly sales, and that between the fourth quarter of this year and the third quarter of 2013, Apple could move roughly 227 million phones."
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 5:07:56 PM
84 million iPads sold through June
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:07:59 PM
Ipad had 62% market share last year. Now it has 68%. "It actually went up"
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:08:42 PM
iPad accounts for 91% of web traffic for tablets. "I don't know what these other tablets are doing"
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:09:03 PM
"They must be in warehouses or store shelves." That got some chuckles from the audience
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:09:30 PM
94% of Fortune 500 companies are testing iPad
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:09:43 PM
TIm always does the Rah Rah Apple is king of the hill (which, of course, it is... highest market cap in the world)
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 5:09:58 PM
Tim is spouting a lot of numbers. Of course, I don't have time to check them right now
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:10:00 PM
The global tablet market share chart Cook just put up shows 68% for Apple. Hmm. What about phablets or slablets like the note? The post-PC era is old. Let's talk about the post-tablet era of thinner, more powerful netbooks!
by Iain Marlow9/12/2012 5:10:20 PM
By the way, he's wearing a black button down shirt and blue jeans. Almost Steve-like. In case anyone was wondering
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:10:21 PM
700,000 iOS apps now
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:10:30 PM
250,000 are specifically tailored for iPad
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:10:39 PM
Average customer is using 100 apps. I know I'm not... maybe closer to 20
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:11:27 PM
I wonder how many of those Fortune 500 companies Cook said are testing the iPad are testing for, you know, that one manager who has an iPad, looking cool and in charge as everyone else scribbles on notepads. (Or am I just conjuring up newsrooms?)
by Iain Marlow9/12/2012 5:11:34 PM
Phone market share is obviously much more competitive, and yet iPhone's are still more profitable per unit than the iPads.
by Shane Dingman9/12/2012 5:11:41 PM
400 million iOS devices sold through June 2012
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:11:52 PM
"Today we're taking it to the next level"
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:12:05 PM
Phil Schiller is on stage to intro iPhone 5
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:12:22 PM
I'm looking forward to the charge on Samsung.
by Iain Marlow9/12/2012 5:12:31 PM
He's the senior VP of marketing
by Peter Nowak9/12/2012 5:12:54 PM
Did Schiller really say "It is the phone that's changed phones forever."
