Apple would slash prices of its next generation iPhone

In a research note, Katy Huberty, a Morgan Stanley analyst, predicted that Apple would further cut the price of its upcoming Apple iPhone. At present, the Apple iPhone is the top selling smartphone in the world but the smartphone market is getting crowded as more companies are rolling out their own smartphones. To remain competitive, Apple might be lowering the price of its upcoming fourth generation iPhone. eWeek.com reports:

In a note to investors, reported widely on sites such as Apple Insider, analyst Katy Huberty said she expected Apple to launch a new generation of smartphones in June “that offer both a lower total cost of ownership and new functionality, potentially including gesture-based technology.”

Apple’s iPhone 3G S currently retails on the company’s Website for $199 and up, while the price for the iPhone 3G starts at $99.

Apple’s much talked about tablet PC is slated to release in March. Many people are very much upset over the tablet PC’s inability to multitask, lacking USB port, web-cam and expensive data plan. However, industry experts are hopeful that Apple iPad would do great business. Already, many application developers have started to develop applications for the iPad.

On February 25, 2010, the U.S Patent and Trademark Office published a patent of Apple which revealed that in the fourth generation iPhone, user would be able to control incoming calls and voice messages and web-page navigation by swiping their fingers on the lens of the camera and tapping on the back of the phone.

Apple reported under-aged workers in production facilities

Apple’s assessments on its production facilities titled, “Supplier Responsibility 2010 Progress Report” reported that it found 17 core violations of its “Supplier Code of Conduct” including employing under-aged people, paying less than minimum wage, depriving worker of their benefits etc. The assessment covered 102 facilities employing 1,33,00 employees in China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Apple representatives visited these facilities. PC World reports:

Of the three false-records cases, two involved records regarding working hours and days of rest and one involved underage labor.

Apple terminated all business with one of the facilities; it didn't identify the plant or the country in which it was located. This plant in 2008 had falsified its records regarding working hours and days of rest, Apple said. In 2009, the plant again produced bogus records; Apple's investigation and interviews with workers showed that employees had worked too many hours and seven days continuously.

In three factory sites, Apple recovered that eleven under-aged people had been hired by the factories. By the time the workers were hired, they were 15 years old where the minimum age requirement is 16.

In eight facilities, Apple found that workers paid exceptionally high recruitment fees. The facilities are required to reimburse the workers. In the past two years, workers were paid $2.2 million of “overcharged recruitment fees.” Apple started this audit in 2006 when reports came out that workers in a Chinese manufacturing facility, that assembled iPod music player, had been abused.

Hack your Apple TV and enjoy Boxee Beta: Prepare for some minor hiccups

Boxee Beta, the free media software which enables the user to directly access video, photos, TV shows from websites on television, is now available on Apple TV. The original beta version of Boxee had been available on the Apple TV, OS X, Linux and Windows. However, when the updated beta version was made public, the software dropped Apple TV support. Now, you can enjoy Boxee Beta on your hacked Apple TV. In order to run Boxee Beta, you need to use two utilities- atvusb-creator for Apple TV or a TV flash. Business Week reports:

If you already have a hacked Apple TV compatible with the latest Apple TV 3.0.2 software, you can update your version of Boxee simply by moving to the Launcher menu, choosing Downloads, selecting Boxee Beta, and pressing the Play/Pause button to install the beta. If your Apple TV is unhacked or running the version of atvusb-creator compatible with the Apple TV 2.x software, you need to download the latest version of atvusb-creator (currently version 1.0.b13) or aTV Flash and install it on a compatible flash drive.

At present Boxee works with Mac, Linux, and Windows. Users can access content from Netflix, MLB.TV, Comedy Central, Pandora, Last.fm, and Flickr. In December Boxee unveiled its own device in partnership with D-Link, which will released in the second quarter of 2010.

Some news reports said that after enabling Boxee Box on your Apple TV, you might not see Netflix on the list of application. In order to view Netflix content, you need to log into your Netflix account and it is not available on the Apple TV. According to Boxee forums members, Netflix and Silverlight puts too much pressure on the 256 MB RAM in the Apple TV. In addition, you would enjoy Boxee Box better on your Mac PC than your Apple TV because after installing the “atv-usbcreator hack,” often a black screen would appear and in this case you would have to restart your TV.

AP is going to develop application for Apple iPad tablet PC

On February 26, 2010, Tom Curley, AP’s chief executive, announced a new business unit of AP called “AP Gateway,” during a speech to the Colorado Press Association. This new business unit will help AP’s members to develop contents for various devices including tablet PCs, e-readers and smartphones. This would save a lot of money and resources for those newspapers who do not have enough resources to develop contents for new electronics devices. Initially, the AP Gateway will create an application for the Apple iPad.

According to an AP executive, the new application would be available for free at first. Gradually, it will be converted to a paid subscription system which was pioneered by specialized newspapers like the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal who provide access to paid subscriber through web and iPhone applications. Reuters and New York Times are also planning to start their own subscription service from 2011.

The iPad application will show stories, news headlines, photos and videos. For each type of content, the subscriber would be charged. Other news agencies can also participate and share revenue or start their own services.

Apple is now trying to cut deals with various newspapers to provide their contents on the Apple iPad but the newspapers are not feeling comfortable with Apple’s proposal. First of all, they would have to share a third of their revenue with Apple. Another big problem is, Apple is not going to share its customer information with news providers. Many news providers develop content by targeting their customers.

Related articles:

Apple Insider

PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies sold over 300,000 copies in nine days on the iPhone

Plants vs. Zombies has become the best selling product in the history of iPhone App Store. In just nine days, more than 300,000 copies of the games have been downloaded by iPhone users. The game ranked on the number one spot for eight days in a row immediately after its launch on the app store. The game was first launched on PCs in May 2009. A teaser of the game was showed in a music video which became very popular on YouTube. TG Daily reports:

Plants vs. Zombies is a unique take on the huge zombie craze by moving away from the gritty gore and instead creating a really cartoony look and feel. The aim is to set up flowers in a tower defense style that shoot weapons at incoming zombies.

The iPhone version of the games is the only games to earn a million dollars in less than ten days. The game was created by PopCap, a game producing company that was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka. These people have experience in working for Internet gaming companies like Flipside and pogo.com. When the Internet gaming was losing its popularity, PopCap decided to create simple games that people could play on the Internet and it worked.

Andrew Stein, director of mobile business development, PopCap said that while releasing a game on small screen which had been previously released on PC, there is a possibility that something would be lost in the process but user enjoyed more playing Plants vs. Zombies on the smaller touchscreen. On February 25, 2010, Pop Cap also announced that Bejeweled 2, another of its popular games crossed three million units in sales on iPhone and became the first game to do so.

Apple patent unveils new iPhone controls and iMac with new security system

On February 25, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an “Apple patent filing” which revealed that Apple iPhone’s camera would be used for controlling incoming calls and voice messages in the next generation Apple iPhones. There is also a possibility that these features would also become available on iPad, if it comes with a camera. Apple filed the patent on August 21, 2008.

Under the new controlling system, a user would be able control voicemail by swiping his finger on the lens of the iPhone camera. User can rewind, fast forward, pause and perform other functions by swiping his finger on the camera lens while it is idle. Apple is also planning to introduce a new accelerometer that would enable the user to tap on the back of the phone and access his voice mailbox and play, pause message while holding the phone over his years.

The user would be able to control incoming calls through similar actions. He can merge multiple calls, put a call on hold or switch between multiple calls by tapping on the back of the iPhone.

Aside from controlling voice messages, by moving the finger on the camera lens, the user could navigate a webpage or scroll his/her contact list.

Another patent showed that in future Apple would also introduce a touchscreen iMac. Apple Insider reports:

Entitled "Shape Detecting Input Device," the invention, credited to Peter Kennedy, was a continuation of a 2004 application re-filed on Oct. 30, 2009. The application describes a variety of situations where a touchscreen would be preferable to a mouse and keyboard, including common uses seen today, such as ATM machines, point of sale machines in stores, airline ticket e-terminals, library terminals and more.

When first submitted in 2004, the application did not mention any multi-touch technology which has been pioneered by Apple and introduced on the iPhone. Later, Apple equipped its notebooks with multi-touch track pads. In January 2010, Chinese newspaper, Commercial Times, reported that Apple would introduce a 22 inch iMac along with its 21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs. The PCs will be produced by a Taiwanese company named Quanta and another Taiwanese company Sintek Photronic will supply will supply the touchscreen panels.

The touchscreen would enable users to hold an object on the screen of the iMac to gain access to the computer. The object it self acts like a security password. If necessary, user would have to present a series of objects like a combination lock. This security system would be advantageous when the computer is shared by multiple users. Each user would have their own personal signet.

Related articles:

MacRumors.com

Erictric

Apple Insider

Apple iTunes sold its 10 billionth music on February 24th

Like Apple App Store, the Apple iTunes is an immensely successful online store. On February 24, 2010, the iTunes sold its ten billionth music tracks. Apple launched the iTunes store in 2003. Initially, the store only sold music tracks. Later, it started selling videos, podcasts, TV shows and other entertainment contents. The interesting thing about the iTunes store is that it reached five billion download in five years but it crossed the next five billion mark in less than two years. In 2006, the store crossed one billion mark. In July 2007, it reached 3 billion and by June 2008, the store crossed 5 billion mark.

Among the downloaded tracks, “I Gotta Feeling,” by Black Eyed Peas was the most downloaded track according to a ranking published by Apple. “Boom Boom Pow,” another track of the same band group, was ranked number three on the list of top twenty most downloaded tracks.

In order to celebrate this success, Apple announced a reward worth $10,000 iTunes gift card for the user who downloaded the 10 billionth track. That is enough money to fill up an iPod Touch to its full capacity with music. After reaching one billion mark in 2006, Apple offered same type gift card along with a 20-inch iMac, 10 60 GB iPods and music school scholarship. Another great news is that Steve Jobs turned fifty five on February 24^th.

Related articles:

IT Pro Portal

Apple is going to launch Apple iPad in Best Buy

On February 23, 2010, at a tech conference sponsored by Goldman Sachs, Apple COO, Tim Cook, said that the iPad will be launched in Best Buy and other selected retail outlets in the U.S. He said that the launch of the iPad will be modeled after that of the iPhone. The Apple iPad tablet PC was unveiled by Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco on January 27, 2010. The Wi-Fi only iPad will be launched in March and the Wi-Fi and 3G model will be launched April. Tuaw.com reports:

While speaking at the Goldman Sachs annual tech conference in San Francisco, Mr. Cook told the crowd that the iPad will be sold at "... places with really great assisted sales," like Best Buy. There's no word on iPads appearing at other 3rd party retailers, domestically or overseas, but Mr. Cook says that we can expect sales partners to expand over time.

Apple started selling its Mac PC at Best Buy in 2006. Gradually, Best Buy established “store-within-a-store boutiques” that features all the Mac accessories. Many are expecting that Apple iPad would also have its own boutique in near future.

Initially, the iPad created lots of hype but now people are losing interest in the device. As a result, Apple has even decided to cut prices of the iPad if necessary. Apple did the same thing when it launched Apple iPhone in 2007. If you are looking forward to buy an iPad but still not sure, you can check out this post which I wrote covering all the features of Apple iPad.

Apple ranked third in Business Week’s customer service survey

Apple came up at number three position in terms of customer service at the fourth annual customer service survey conducted by Business Week. Business Week collected data for the survey in two ways- from the existing survey data published by J.D. Power and Associates and a survey conducted on a group of Business Week readers in which it considered various criterion including friendliness, competency, overall impressions and return policies. Apple’s overall score increased by 10% compared to its score in 2009. Apple earned an impressive “A+” ratings for its staff quality and efficiency of service. PC World reports:

In particular, the company earned plaudits for its Genius Bar and new roving check-out system. Of those surveyed, 66 percent said they would definitely recommend the brand and 58 percent said they would definitely repurchase the brand.

The companies that took over the first and second spots are- L.L. Bean and United Services Automobile Association (USAA). L.L.Bean is a retail chain outlet and USAA is an insurance and banking company. In a long article about USAA, which was published in Business Week, the company talked about how it improved its service by using technology, especially, an iPhone application that enables the user to deposit checks online and file insurance claims.

In 2009, Forrester Research conducted a survey which also ranked Apple at the top in the customer service segment but it fell behind in other categories due to its poor score for iTunes and iPhone. In addition, Apple also fell behind in a recent reliability study.

To know more about the survey visit:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/02/0218_customer_service_champs/4.htm

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/customer_service_2010/

Apple increased iPhone download limit to 20 MB

Now, you would not have to worry about downloading bigger files on your Apple iPhone for Apple has increased the download limits on the iPhone over 3G networks from 10MB to 20 MB. Many believe that this is a sign that Apple iPad would be coming with bigger multimedia content.

Previously, if any user wanted to download any application from the app store or pod cast which was more than 10 MB, a message would appear on the screen saying the user to switch to Wi-Fi for the file is too large but now they would not have to worry about size anymore.

The download limitation was implemented so that iPhone users do not put too much pressure on its 3G network. In fear of huge traffic, AT&T also disabled iPhone tethering. Recently, AT&T also enabled Sling Player 3G on the iPhone.

In December 2009, “Annual Consumer Reports Study” revealed that iPhone subscribers in 19 U.S. cities are very much unhappy with AT&T’s service. Still, Apple forged a new deal with AT&T to provide data services for its iPad which would further increase the data traffic. AT&T is working on upgrading its 3G network and preparing to launch 4G network on a limited scale this year.

Related articles:

PC World

Apple couple gets married at the New York Apple store on Valentines day

Apple store brought them together and now they got married in that store on February 14, 2009. Yes, Josh Ling and Ting is the happily married Apple couple who met at the New York Apple store on fifth avenue. Both Josh and Ting Li are fans of Apple products. While Ting came to buy an iPod, Josh started a conversation with her. It was Ting who first came up with the idea of getting married at the store. The priest wore a black turtleneck and the rings were brought in attached to a first generation iPod. Telegraph.co.uk reports:

Part of their vows included a passage from the Apple CEO that said: “You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down.”

Mrs Ling, dressed in a strapless wedding dress, had her vows written on a card that said "I love you more than this" followed by a picture of an iPhone.

The news of the wedding was leaked by an Apple Store employee who posted a message on Twitter. The ceremony was attended by thirty friends. Their friend Henry Hu organized the wedding. He had to find dresses that Jobs wore and it was quite difficult. The ceremony was authorized by Apple but staff did not interfere. A local hot dog vendor, who works in front of the Apple Store, shot the wedding on his phone and posted it on YouTube. Nobody knows where the couple went for honeymoon. Here is the video clip:

Apple bans porn applications but not movies with nude scenes and songs with offensive titles

Apple has put a ban on applications that will display “overtly sexual content.” Apple took this step because it has been receiving complaints from consumers and application developers about these applications. Many parents complained that though the apps come with parental controls but they do not work as advertised. Developers also complained against these applications because they produce spam and make other applications “less discoverable.”

An Apple spokesperson said that whenever, they receive any complaints about “objectionable content,” the company first reviews the application and if they find the application in question inappropriate, they remove it from app store and send letter to the application developer to make necessary changes. However, these applications are reported as bugs by app developers. Information Week reports:

Developers have treated the profusion of adult-oriented apps as a bug. It's a clever tactic because Apple has a process in place to deal with bugs and the company has a special bug reporting form that's limited to registered Apple developers. A complaint filed through regular feedback channels may have a hard time standing out among the thousands of spam messages and questions Apple receives daily.

Harry McCracken wrote an interesting article about this ban in PC World. He said that Apple’s application policies are “vastly more puritanical.” Apple does not apply this strict policy to music and movies. Users can download movies that have six of the top twelve best nude scenes ever filmed from the iTunes. These movies are rated “semi-SFW.”The iTunes also has five of the eight “most sweartastic” movies. There are also songs with offensive titles but all these are acceptable. So, the million dollar question is- Is this ban is just another big joke?

Apple is offering MacBook hard drive replacements

A small percentage of MacBook users will have their hard drives changed by Apple. Apple announced that black and white MacBooks with 13 inch displays, processor speeds of 1.83 GHz, 2 GHz or 2.16 GHz, and hard drive capacities of 60 GB, 80 GB, 100 GB, 120 GB or 160 GB, sold between May 2006 and December 2007, apply for hard drive replacements. On February 15, 2010, Apple announced the program on its support site. Those with faulty hard drives should go to the Apple store or authorized dealers or service providers. PC World.com reports:

The laptops in questions are both black and white MacBooks models bought between May 2006 and December 2007; according to a page on the company's support site, the hard drive failures can be diagnosed through a simple, yet despair-inducing method: your computer simply stops working and, upon boot, displays a folder icon with a superimposed question mark.

On the support site, Apple said that the problem can be diagnosed using a simple method. The computer will stop working and displays a folder icon with a “superimposed question mark.”

Apple is encouraging customers, who are eligible for the replacements, to visit their local Apple store or contact Apple’s customer support department to replace the drive. Users who already paid for repairs will get their money back.

Kodak sues Apple and RIM over patent infringement

On February 17, 2010, the U.S. International Trade Commission said that it is going to look into the matter of patent infringement complaint filed by Eastman Kodak against Apple and RIM. In January 2010, Kodak filed complaint against Apple and RIM for possible patent infringement in the U.S District Court for the Western District of New York. Kodak claimed that the cameras of iPhone and BlackBerry are using Kodak’s technology without its authorization. Channel Web reports:

The first lawsuit concerns the iPhone's image preview and resolution technologies, and Kodak also claims Apple is illegally using technology that allows computer programs to "ask for help" from other programs.

Kodak is also asking ITC to ban Apple and RIM from importing devices that feature Kodak’s technology.

Kodak said that it is open to settlement talks with the two companies. In the past, it also showed flexibility in resolving patent issues. The multinational company, headquartered in New York, anticipates an yearly revenue between $250 million and $350 million in the next few years from licensing its technology. In 2009, the company earned roughly about $7.6 billion.

Apple banned iPhone hackers are banned from entering app store

Two Apple iPhone hackers were banned from Apple’s App Store. In the messages sent to hackers- Sherif Hashim and iH8sn0w- it is said that Apple banned their IDs for security reasons. However, the hackers are not angry on Apple over revoking their IDs. Channel Web reports:

Sherif Hashim, an iPhone developer who developed a hack for the latest Apple iPhone OS 3.1.3, boasted in a Twitter post on Valentine's Day at 7:21 p.m. that he received a message that his Apple ID was banned for "security reasons."

"That's what i get when i try to go to the app store, they must be really angry :)))))," wrote Hashim in his Twitter post.

"And guess what my apple ID was, "sherif_hashim@yahoo.com", what a fool was me not to notice :))), can't help laughing, they are babies :)))," tweeted Hashim at 7:23 pm.

Toronto based iPhone hacker iH8sn0w developed XMEN, a tool to unlock “iPhone 3.1.3 radio baseband” for the 3G and 3GS. His twitter bio says that he gets beat up by his sister and eats donuts and is a genius. Hashim’s Twitter bio says that he is a neurosurgeon and iPhone basedband hacker.

Apple is further planning to ban all jailbroken iPhone from accessing the Apple App Store. This could be a big problem for the newly formed “Wholesale Applications Community,” announced at the Mobile World Congress this week. The “Wholesale Applications Community” has twenty four of the largest telecom carriers of the world as its member. The community has been formed to allow any smartphone application developer to develop an application and run it on any device of any carrier. AT&T, the carrier of Apple, is also a member of this community.

Newspaper and periodical publishers are not happy with Apple’s arrangements

The ongoing discussion between Apple and newspaper and magazine publishers is not progressing as the publishers are hesitant about sharing subscription revenue and ownership of subscriber information. Executives, familiar with the discussion, said that it is in “early stages.” Publishers are giving a lot of thoughts over Apple’s proposal because they would have to give up a third of their revenue.

Apple does not share anything except sales volume with its partner which is a

“dealbreaker” according to one of the senior media executives of a daily newspaper. Financial Times reports:

Publishers have spent decades collecting information about subscribers that influence marketing plans and, in some cases, the content of the publication itself. Apple’s policy would separate them from their most valuable asset, publishing executives said. “We must keep the relationship with our readers,” says Sara Öhrvall, senior vice-president of research at Swedish publisher Bonnier. “That’s the only way to make a good magazine.”

Revenue sharing is another big headache. Though Apple’s revenue sharing arrangement have been widely accepted by book publishers for they gained more control over pricing, periodical publishers are not happy with this system. They are saying that their “recurring charges should be treated differently than single-payment content offerings.” Still, publishers are very much interested about Apple iPad and its potential for creating new revenue sources.

Finally, a true biography of Steve Jobs!

Walter Isaacson, former managing editor in chief of Time magazine, is going to write a biography of Apple’s legendary CEO, Steve Jobs. What is so fabulous about it? Earlier, we have seen biographies of Steve Jobs written by Jeffery S. Young and William L. Simon ( iCon: Steve Jobs, the Greatest Second Act in the History of Business) and Alan Deutschman ( The Second Coming of Steve Jobs). Well, the big difference is- all the earlier biographies did not have any co-operation from Jobs himself. This time, Mr.Jobs will give access the writer into his life. New York Times reports:

Now Apple’s chief executive is set to collaborate on an authorized biography, to be written by Walter Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine, according to two people briefed on the project.

The book, which is in the early planning stages, would cover the entire life of Mr. Jobs, from his youth in the area now known as Silicon Valley through his years at Apple, these people said.

Isaacson was not available for comment. Steve Jobs will turn 55 on February 24, 2010. He had been very angry with his biographies and in few cases ordered the books to be removed from Apple stores.

Steve Jobs, who was born to Joanne Carole Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. In April, 1976, Jobs, along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, founded Apple and sold “Apple I personal computer kit.” Then in 1985, he was removed from Apple. In 1997, he again returned to Apple and single handedly turned it into one of the top companies in the world.

Capcom is releasing Street Fighter IV on Apple iPhone and iPod Touch

On February 15, 2010, Capcom announced that it is going to release its Street Fighter IV on Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. The game will be released in March and would come with its popular characters and some new characters. Each of the fighters will have their complete sets of moves including the ultra moves. Capcom will not sacrifice any of the visual affects or overall settings of the game for the sake of small screen. The biggest challenge for Capcom is to provide a good controlling system on Apple’s button-less device. IGN reports:

Now, hardcore gamers coming into Street Fighter IV with lofty expectations are understandably concerned about whether or not Capcom's virtual pad will offer the same, precise controls needed to truly master the game. That's fair because to competitive players, Street Fighter is a contest of exactness and finesse.

The Street Fighter IV will come with a number of “control configurations” out of which, the player will find his/her favorite settings. The game will also have a “Dojo mode” so that the player can practice the game and get used to the setting before heading out for a tournament or a multiplayer match. You can play with another player over Bluetooth just like the arcade or console edition.

IBM is looking forward to develop applications for iPad

At the recently finished Macworld 2010, IBM announced its new series of business focused applications for the iPhone. These include Lotus Connection and Lotus Quickr. The Lotus Connection is a social networking application .The Lotus Quickr is a software sharing document. In January, IBM launched Lotus Notes app and Lotus Notes Traveler Companion for the iPhone and the iPod.

These applications are targeted towards business people who are using the iPhone. In addition, the applications would also run on iPad. Manager of Lotus software said that the applications would allow the company to gain a “foothold” on the iPad application segment. IBM is also planning to release applications specifically designed for iPad which will be launched almost at the same time with the iPad. He also said that the screen size of the iPad gives IBM the opportunity to do some “very interesting things.” Forbes reports:

Apple's ( AAPL - news - people ) iPad seems squarely targeted at consumers, not BlackBerry-wielding suits. But Rennie says that the tablet, like the iPhone, will likely be used by executives who blend their home and work life and want to use their own personal gadgets to do work securely. "Peoples' lives don't segment neatly between work and home. The iPad gives people what will probably be a home device, but they're still going to want to access a full suite of business software on it," he says. "It'll be a device our customers will own, and they'll expect us to support it."

Famous market research firm, IDC, estimates that about four million iPhones are being used in the corporate segment which will increase to 9 million by 2013. In addition, iPhones bought and maintained by companies will grow to more than three million over the next four years.

Unlike Google and Microsoft, who focus on their own mobile applications, IBM has no mobile OS. This is gives the company an opportunity to develop applications for Apple. It would prove to be a big opportunity for the company.