Macsimum News notes that Apple has moved up to #20 on market research firm Interbrand’s annual ‘Best Global Brands’ list. Interbrand pegged Apple’s “brand” at a value of $US15.4 billion, up 12% from 2008 and enough to boost Apple to #20 from #24 in the rankings.

The recession won’t take a bite out of this Apple. Declining Mac sales and fears for the company’s future without brand visionary Steve Jobs, were outweighed by record high iPod sales, doubling sales for the iPod Touch, and all-time high market share for Mac OS software. Price might be a barrier for cost-conscious consumers, but Apple responded quickly with high margin, low-priced products like the US $99 iPhone and a new, voice-activated iPod Shuffle. The Apple brand is the most supported within its industry, and among the most iconic of relatively young brands in the world.

The 2009 list was headed by Coca-Cola, IBM, and Microsoft, although Apple had the second-greatest increase in brand value (by percentage) after Google’s 25% increase among the top 25 companies on the list.

Via macrumors.com

Hours after Google’s letter to the FCC was published in its entirety, Apple has directly responded to the claim that it has formally rejected the Google Voice application from the iPhone App Store.

In a note to Silicon Valley Insider, an Apple representative Friday reiterated what the company said in its own letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in August: That it has not rejected the application, but it has not accepted it either.

“We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter,” the Apple rep reportedly said. “Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application Read more…

It sounds like a work of fiction – Microsoft allowing and supporting a way for people to browse and search iPhone apps?! Can’t be true, right? Wrong. If you’re somewhat surprised, you’re not alone. The people at CNET seem a little astonished too.

Almost seems like a sign of the apocalypse doesn’t it?

The new Bing Visual Search engine has the look and feel of a digital jukebox at your local watering hole – complete with jumbo app icons that can be flipped through like a box of old records in the attic. And a description pops up when you mouse over the app of your choice, along with price, category, and other vital info.

I have to admit, both the look and functionality of this feature are really impressive. The obvious drawback, of course, is that only a fraction (500, in all) of the Apple app catalog is available for browsing through Bing. Everything is categorized by Bing’s search filters and broken down into titled chunks like “top ten free” or “top ten paid,” etc.

Although some are saying today that Microsoft has developed a better interface for browsing iPhone applications than Apple itself, I won’t go that far. But even if Bing isn’t the best place to explore iPhone apps, it may still be the coolest-looking search portal so far.

And, no matter how you slice it, that’s a win-win for consumers.

via modmyi.com

I was chatting with my TUAW colleagues this morning about Mac versus iPhone programming. And as per usual with these conversations, we veered in the direction of unfettered speculation. It’s an occupational hazard.

As someone who regularly develops on both platforms, I declared that the iPhone represents the future of Mac programming. The iPhone, I posited, offers a great new platform without the need to be fully backwards compatible like the Mac. Our own Victor Agreda challenged me to back up that position. After a bit of time and thought, I decided to do so in this post.

My key point is this: Apple’s engineers have learned a lot of important design lessons during the history of OS X. When the iPhone debuted, it gave those engineers the chance to rebuild an OS and an API from the ground up. Those engineers could craft a platform and its libraries that built on the Mac’s successes without Read more…

Thanks to Saurik for all of his hard work. Below is his explanation from saurik.com on how to downgrade your iPhone 3G S and also how to continue using his server for future Apple firmware updates.

Bypassing the Overlord

To this end, I have constructed a server that duplicates the functionality exposed by Apple’s signature server, except using “on file” results rather than live requests.

All we need, then, is to make iTunes use it. Luckily, most operating systems also have the ability to locally define bypasses on specific hostnames through a file called hosts. Using this, we can redirect requests to Apple’s signature server to Cydia.

So, open the file C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (Windows) or /etc/hosts (Mac OS X) and add the following entry to the bottom of the file.

74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

Now, when iTunes thinks it is talking to Apple, it is talking to Cydia Read more…

Since the launch of the iPhone 3GS, public perception of AT&T has progressively decreased, while opinions about competitor Verizon Wireless remained relatively unchanged, a new study shows.

In a daily survey of 5,000 people 18 and older, YouGov’s BrandIndex tracks companies based on factors of quality, value, satisfaction, recommendation, reputation and impression. When combining those categories, AT&T’s index score of 18.3 on June 16 had eroded to a 14.6 on Thursday — a change company senior vice president Ted Marzilli told AppleInsider is “statistically significant.”

He said the survey could indicate that some people may pause before they buy an iPhone because they don’t want to be locked into an AT&T contract. Though he believes the contract between AT&T and Apple has likely been beneficial to both parties for the last two years, the timing of AT&T’s public perception decline suggests the issue can be traced to the launch of the iPhone 3GS — or, more specifically, the network’s inability to meet the bandwidth needs of users with the device.

“It may be hindering iPhone adoption at this point,” Marzilli said, “and Read more…

In a new interview, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs discusses a number of issues, including the new lineup of iPods, the Amazon Kindle, and his own health and weight.

Jobs spoke with David Pogue of The New York Times, and explained that the iPod touch, unlike the iPod nano, was not given a camera because the company wanted to focus on portraying the device as a gaming machine. Jobs said that the company’s main goal was to lower the price of the iPod touch as much as possible, and he believes it achieved that with a 8GB model for $199.

“What customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine,” Jobs said. “We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw. So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.”

Third-party cases with camera holes and even photos and video of an alleged prototype of a third-generation iPod touch with camera existed well before Wednesday’s event, leading many to assume such a product would be announced. While Jobs said the reason was intentional, AppleInsider received word earlier this week that the camera was removed due to bad hardware.

The chief executive went on to explain that the iPod nano can record video, but cannot take still pictures, because the sensors required for pictures are too thick to fit into the .02-inch thick device. Read more…

Apple lowered the prices of many of its iPod offerings overnight, prior to today’s event, with the 32GB iPod touch seeing the largest price drop, from $399 to $279.

In addition, the 16GB iPod touch dropped from $299 to $249 and the 8GB model fell from $229 to $189. On the iPod nano side, the 16GB capacity decreased to $149 (from $189), and the 8GB offering slid to $129 (from $149). Finally, the iPod classic had its price cut to $229 (from $249).

That means that before Apple even announces any products today, as it is planned to do, the iPod maker has already undercut the price of Microsoft’s upcoming Zune HD, set to launch Sept. 15 with a 32GB model for $290. Prior to Wednesday’s price cuts, the comparable iPod touch model was more than $100 more expensive than the forthcoming Microsoft product — now, Apple has bested its rival to the north by $10.

However, when pitting the 16GB models against each other, Microsoft still comes out ahead by $30.

Apple today is widely expected to unveil a new iPod touch with a camera. Speculation suggests that one model will offer 64GB, and the morning price cuts have likely set the stage for that spot in the lineup.

While Apple normally takes down its store to implement changes and build hype, this time it did not.

Via AppleInsider

Networking to spin further speculation regarding Apple’s event tomorrow. There are various rumors from various sources that we quote in one article.

The first concerns a new version of the App Store that we should end up with the Firmware 3.1. The application, with a new division, would find content more easily, providing greater visibility to all developers. This improvement was also announced by Apple itself but it was never fixed a date.

The second title comes from Mark Armet, the developer of Instapaper and Tumblr. According to him the change of the entire iPod line will result in the disappearance of the iPod Classic for iPod Touch 4 new models with different capacities. There will be an 8GB model will cost only $ 149, up to the 64GB version at $ 349.

Others have focused on the possibility of having the iPhone TV rentals to lead and manage TV shows directly on the iPhone. Fluke firmly believes the arrival of a Beatles album fully remastered.

TechCruch finally argues that iTunes 9 will integrate a service based on a server “cloud” that will act as a bridge between the application of computers and our iPhone, perceptive to watch movies in streaming.

In short, the expectations are really so many, we hope to remain truly surprised!

Via ispzaio.net