Apple Boots Up New iMacs

Single-purpose devices' days are numbered: Manjoo

(NEWSER) - After yesterday's announcement that the iPod Nano now has a video camera, Apple's future direction is clear, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. Eventually, every iPod will be what Steve Jobs calls a “general-purpose device,” aka a small computer—a music player/phone/camera/web browser/GPS. Sure, Apple still sells dedicated music players. But its runaway hit is the multipurpose iPhone, the App Store is its most popular feature, and "tech is always getting cheaper and smaller," Manjoo observes. More»

With Steve Jobs' ailing health, company looking at options: Journal

(NEWSER) - As much as Apple fans might believe otherwise, Steve Jobs might not be able to run the company forever. With the company CEO on another medical leave , some board members have held discussions with recruiters and the head of another big tech company to talk about succession, says the Wall Street Journal . It describes the talks as an "informal exploration of options." More»

No longer an upstart, Apple needs more openness to succeed long-term

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs' Apple has gone from underdog geek favorite to the No. 2 company in the world (behind petro-behemoth Exxon Mobil), and the new big dog is facing some backlash for its control-freak ways and "highly closed" approach. Apple's stranglehold is giving app developers, publishers, and service providers fits, reports the Independent , but the question is whether growing discontent will spread to Apple's legions of devotees. "This is a brand that was built on being avant garde, obscure and underground and everybody has now got one," says one expert. More»

Company has sold 450K devices so far

(NEWSER) - Two developments today for iPad devotees:

• Apple is rumored to be working on a 5- to 7-inch version for early 2011, reports DigiTimes . The smaller iPad would reportedly sell for under $400, with customers who need it more for reading than typing as the main target.
• Apple has sold 450,000 iPads since they went on sale Saturday, lower than some leading industry analysts had forecast, reports VentureBeat . More than 3.5 million apps have been downloaded.

Firm's secrecy is a disservice to its investors

(NEWSER) - It’s possible, but not likely, that something truly changed in the days between Steve Jobs discounting his health issues as a “hormone imbalance” and deciding he needed to take a medical leave from Apple. That means, writes Joe Nocera in the New York Times, that America’s “most indispensable chief executive … can’t be trusted on the subject of whether he is healthy enough to continue running the company.” More»