If you hear of a person being referred to as a mule, you most likely think of a drug mule – someone who smuggles drugs to or from countries. A startup called Mulepool is looking to give the model a slightly more legal spin. If the wanted list on the homepage is any indication, forget cocaine and marijuana  –  iPads, MacBook Pros and iPhones may be the new drugs. Minus the cartels, blinged out weaponry and higher than average probability of death or arrest, of course.

Although nearly every page contains a request for an Apple product, there are requests for Kindles, XBOX games, and even NyQuil caps. From experience with weak cold medication in countries outside the US, we completely understand the last one, even if it seems out of place amidst the electronics that dominate the requests on the site.

The site works by collecting payment for the total price of the item plus the mule’s commission, then holding it in escrow until a code is entered into the website and the item is delivered. Food, like Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter, will net mules anywhere from $2-5 on average, but the real money is in electronics.

Someone is offering a $624 commission for a Canon 5D Mark II camera, and the top commission offer for a MacBook Pro would net the mule $337. Most other commissions for electronics hover in the $1-200 range, but 4 or 5 items could actually pay for part of a vacation to Buenos Aires, which sounds like a win/win to us.

Most of the requests are for delivery to Buenos Aires, where the two expat founders are based, but the site lists Brazil, South Africa and Russia on their future planned expansions list.

{via the High Low}

“People didn’t believe in Amazon for many years, but it ended up changing the way Americans shop,” he says. “People didn’t believe in Apple — they thought it was a fringe computer company, but it ended up changing the way people listen to music, and changing what daily life feels like worldwide.”

Given that Charney has made it abundantly clear that he won’t be leaving his leadership role at American Apparel, we can infer that he sees himself as the Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs of the clothing industry.

Well, all of the companies start with the letter A, but that’s as far as we got with the comparison. While we’re pretty sure it will be some time before you see illustrated nudes pitching Apple, the latest investors to save American Apparel from bankruptcy are confident in Charney as head of the company, and the company’s less controversial practices.

A representative from Essentia Equity, one of the Canadian companies who injected capital into the company, cited a weak US dollar, rising Chinese labor costs and increasing transportation costs as reasons why they invested in the company, one of the few American mass market retailers who still manufactures the bulk of their products in the US.

American Apparel’s Los Angeles factory has reportedly recovered most of the productivity it lost after forced layoffs after an mmigration violation. If nothing else, this seems to be consistent with what Charney told us last year, when he insisted that the company would continue to hire in spite of financial challenges.

With the sexual harassment allegations that repeatedly arise against Charney, the provocative ads that define the company, and the repeated brushes with bankruptcy it’s easy to write American Apparel off. As we’ve noted, to do so would mean the loss of some good business practices as well though. We’re not sure if American Apparel is the next Amazon or Apple, we’re definitely not sure about Charney as the next Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos; but the economic conditions noted by Essentia are real, and Charney’s determination remains solid. Whether that will be enough for American Apparel to capitalize on remains to be seen.

In iTunes, you can choose to encrypt your backup data under the Options menu, but there are much larger questions on why Apple is storing this in the first place. To get the same information from cell phone companies would require a court order, but for any users who didn’t know or didn’t think to turn on encryption – we’re guessing that’s actually a fairly large amount – it now only requires leaving your phone or a machine where you’ve synced your phone unattended around the wrong person for a period of time.

If you’re cheating on a tech savvy partner, now’s the time to worry.

Aside from that, Allen notes that chances are there are a limited number of people who would have access to this file, but the ease of discovery will still be troubling for some; as will the fact that there’s no documented explanation for why Apple’s devices collect and store the information seemingly forever.

Though it hasn’t slowed anything down, this isn’t the first time concerns over Apple’s unencrypted data storage and transmission around iOS 4 have arisen. In June, a former employee brought up the issue of the amount of data being collected in the background and the lack of privacy.

Rainy day blues aren't enough to stop demand for the iPad 2.

According to analysts from Piper Jaffray and Deutsche Bank, the iPad 2 completely sold out in its first weekend on store shelves. Now exactly how many iPads “sold out” amounts to is anyone’s estimate at this point.

• Wedbush Securities analyst Scott Sutherland says he “would not be surprised” to learn that the iPad 2 sold 1 million units in its debut retail weekend. {Reuters}
• Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster puts the number at 400-500,000 iPad 2s sold, compared to 300,000 of the first generation iPad. {CNN/Fortune}

Munster goes on to make several estimations, but they’re based on a sample size of 236 people – down from 448 respondents last year. Depending on which sales estimates you believe, that’s less than 1/100th of 1 percent of all purchasers at best. While the findings point to a strong surge in interest in the latest iPad, it’s worth keeping in mind that this means it’s probably not a large enough sample group to draw a highly accurate, apples to apples comparison, but here are the general trends from the survey:

iPad 2 purchasers are more evenly split between Mac and PC people (51% and 49% respectively). For the original iPad the buyers were more heavily Mac users (74%)

No one is abandoning their iPhone for the iPad. Of the 65% of purchasers who were also iPhone owners, 100% planned to use both devices.

No one is abandoning their computer either. 97% of people purchasing an iPad 2 – up 1% from last year’s iPad purchasers – will use both their computer and iPad. Sorry media guys, no one’s totally abandoning the internet for apps. Especially since…

Surfing the web remains the primary activity people plan to use their iPad for. That’s according to 38% of respondents, up 1% from last year. Don’t let that stop you from making interesting apps though: last year only 9% of people listed apps and games as what they’d primarily use their iPad for, this year it’s up to 17%.

What nearly everyone agreed on was that if you didn’t get an iPad 2 this weekend, you’re pretty much out of luck. All of the analysts who called stores for spot checks reported that all of their iPad 2 stocks had been depleted, and weren’t expected to be restocked right away.

The key takeaways for anyone on the content side captivated by the power of the iPad are that it’s definitely a highly desirable audience (the higher priced 32GB and 64GB versions gained popularity at the expense of the entry level 16GB iPad 2), but it’s not an excuse to abandon the open web for more controlled apps.  Though now might be a good time to work on mobile and tablet optimized versions of websites for said open web.

iPad 2 line image via Engadget

Yesterday was the big day when that mysterious “2” invitation was confirmed to be for an event launching the iPad 2. Okay, so it wasn’t that mysterious, but there was one surprise. Notably, it was that Steve Jobs delivered the presentation. Though the stock price of Apple spiked on Jobs’ appearance, many financial analysts are saying it actually created more confusion that relief. For many people, Steve Jobs is Apple. This is of course not true: Apple has thousands of employees, Jobs is a very important one, but by no means the only one. Still, the thought of Apple without Jobs, who has been dealing with an undisclosed medical condition believed to be cancer, is feared by investors who’ve been demanding a succession plan.

While the iPad 2 is thinner, faster and presumably shinier than the original iPad, there weren’t too many seriously groundbreaking features, so Jobs’ appearance may have been a way to make up for that. Some believe an iPad 3 will be here before year’s end (Apple calls 2011 the “year of the iPad 2” so take that as their rebuttal), so it may also be the extra bit of star power needed to push people off the fence.

In case the actual features and reviews are what you’re really interested in though, here’s a roundup of everything iPad 2.

iPad 2 First Hands On {Engadget}

“This thing is insanely fast. We’re not joking — it’s blazingly fast. Everything the iPad 2 does feels like it’s on turbo. We’re uploading a video of the some evidence of this, you’ll be appropriately stunned.”

Visit Engadget for additional videos and closeups.

Why Steve Jobs Emceed Another iPad Pep Rally {Fast Company}

“For many Apple-gazers, the most notable aspect of Wednesdayâ€s iPad 2 launch wasnâ€t any particular feature of the upgraded device. Nor was it the fact that Apple was launching a v2 less than 12 months after it unveiled the first version of its new tablet; it was the command performance by the person who made it: CEO Steve Jobs.”

iPad 2: All the Details {Gizmodo}

“Contrary to the rumors, the new iPad 2 has been improved a lot internally. Faster processor, faster graphics, HDMI Full HD output, the 720p HD camera on the back, the frontal VGA camera… it’s quite a new beast.”

Apple announces redesigned iPad 2: A5 CPU, 2 cameras, ships March 11 {Apple Insider}

“The new iPad 2 will be available in two colors — black and white — and will be available on both AT&T and Verizon 3G networks from day one. It also sports the same 10-hour battery life. A new accessory cable will also offer mirrored HDMI video out to HDTVs for 1080p high-definition output. The $39 cable allows users to charge their iPad while using the video out feature. Another accessory announced by Apple is a magnetic “smart cover,” which covers the front of the device. Covering the front of the device automatically locks the device, while taking it off will unlock it. Microfibers on the screen cover are said to clean the iPad 2 display, while magnets will automatically align the cover on the screen.”

iPad 2 will be at Best Buy at launch (Update: Sams Club+Walmart) {9 to 5 Mac}

“In case you want to sit in the parking lot of a Best Buy rather than the parking lot of an Apple Store: Best Buy will have iPad 2 at launch.  Wooo!”

What was MIA from the big iPad announcements today? {TUAW}

“Life is not all about fawning over every move Apple makes (despite what it feels like some days). As I step outside the Reality Distortion Field, there were some things I wanted to see Apple include.”

iPad 2 Rollout Leads to Massive Deflation in Secondary Market {Mashable}

“If youâ€re planning to trade in your old iPad for a shiny new iPad 2, you arenâ€t alone. In the hours after the iPad 2 announcement, thousands of iPad users have headed for the web to sell off their tablets of yesteryear. This frenzy — coupled with Appleâ€s decision to drop the price of the original iPad to help clear out inventory — has had a drastic impact on the secondary market. That makes this a prime opportunity for savvy buyers to get a good deal on last yearâ€s iPad.”

Just Bought An iPad? Head Back To The Apple Store With A Quickness For A $100 Rebate {CrunchGear}

“Did you just buy an iPad? Why? Donâ€t you pay attention to the Internet? Anyway, if you bought an iPad between now and February 16 you can still pop back to the Apple Store to get a $100 rebate on your recently purchased frisbee.”

]]> http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/everything-ipad-2-hands-on-reviewed-analyzed/feed 0 http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/att-iphones-beat-verizon-on-speed-verizon-iphones-beat-att-on-sales-barely http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/att-iphones-beat-verizon-on-speed-verizon-iphones-beat-att-on-sales-barely#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 01:18:06 +0000 http://198.46.88.49/?p=18569 Remember the life altering release of the iPhone on Verizon? It seems that it hasn’t altered as many lives as expected.

So how did that first week go?

According to Wired, data from the Speedtest.net iPhone app shows that AT&T iPhone data transfer rates were roughly 2 times faster than those of the Verizon iPhone.

There are a few caveats though; the post notes “results did not provide data on coverage reliability or dropped connections,” and the number of AT&T phones providing data outnumbered the Verizon iPhones providing data 3 to 1.

When it comes to sales of that Verizon iPhone, it’s still attractive to new buyers but not in the overwhelming numbers many anticipated.

Boy Genius Report published sales figures from the first 5 days of the Verizon iPhone’s initial launch that “are performing a little under what Apple and Verizon anticipated.”

• Thursday: Verizon = 909, AT&T = 539
• Friday: Verizon = 916, AT&T = 680
• Saturday: Verizon = 660, AT&T = 471
• Sunday: Verizon = 796, AT&T = 701
• Monday: Verizon = 711, AT&T = 618

On the first day, the five Apple stores included in this data (including “very, very prominent” Apple stores which we can guess refer to their San Francisco and New York stores) were selling 68% more Verizon iPhones than AT&T iPhones, but by that Monday the difference in sales shrunk considerably, though the Verizon iPhone is still slightly more popular.

Perhaps that’s because AT&T’s fees helped to stem any mass exodus of customers. According to BGR:

30% of people buying Verizon iPhones were Android users, just over 25% of people buying iPhone 4 were BlackBerry users, and only 14% of people buying the Verizon iPhone were AT&T iPhone owners. The remaining percent didnâ€t want to say, didnâ€t have a smartphone, or didnâ€t have a phone prior to making their iPhone 4 purchases last week.

Now these numbers don’t take into account the estimated 550,000 pre-sales made online, or sales from Verizon stores, but overall it seems to actually be a good thing for Apple.

The fact that people are still buying AT&T iPhones with 2 options available means that even if demand is less than anticipated, the Verizon iPhone represents a new market, not one entirely cannibalized from existing AT&T customers. The real test will come when the next generation iPhones are released though.

]]> http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/att-iphones-beat-verizon-on-speed-verizon-iphones-beat-att-on-sales-barely/feed 2 http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/no-surprise-the-verizon-iphone-launched-today http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/no-surprise-the-verizon-iphone-launched-today#respond Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:13:21 +0000 http://198.46.88.49/?p=17795 In a shock to absolutely no one, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam and Apple COO Tim Cook formally announced that Verizon will be selling a CDMA version of the iPhone 4.

Some expected Steve Jobs to be on stage for the announcement, but perhaps the Apple CEO didn’t want to run the risk of encountering travel delays forecast by many meteorologists. Regardless of which C-suite Apple exec did the formal announcing, it was the expected conclusion to months of speculation.

At the press conference to announce the launch, Cook said that it marked “just the beginning of a relationship between Apple and Verizon.” {Mashable}

The Verizon iPhone will be in stores February 10th, but existing customers can order from February 3rd. Costs are almost exactly the same as the AT&T version with a 16GB iPhone 4 coming in at $199.99 and a 32GB version costing $299.99, both with the purchase of a 2-year contract and data plan.

In addition to the unlimited data that Verizon currently offers (compared to AT&T’s capped 2GB), Verizon customers will be able to use their phone as a mobile hotspot.

Now that the iPhone is no longer a one-network pony in the US, will this mean a more equal competition with Android devices? It’s hard to say if the wider availability means the iPhone will take market share away from any of the smartphone competitors, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 who seem more likely to suffer. Also worth watching, Verizon’s reliability. Some are wondering if the network, which still has a number of Droids and Blackberry devices to support, can hold up to the extra strain iPhone users are expected to place on data services.

]]> http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/no-surprise-the-verizon-iphone-launched-today/feed 0 http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/the-verizon-iphone-is-almost-here-everything-you-need-to-know http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/the-verizon-iphone-is-almost-here-everything-you-need-to-know#respond Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:55:08 +0000 http://198.46.88.49/?p=17753 After months of official denials, the Verizon iPhone is all but a certainty with a formal launch expected tomorrow.

Nearly everyone agrees that the date means that the Verizon iPhone will be similar to the iPhone 4 on AT&T, just configured to work on a CDMA network. The logic goes that if there were significant changes, Apple would be making the announcement themselves. Plus, following the normal Apple release pattern, January is just too soon to expect a new version of a product released in June of the previous year. All Things D reports that a Steve Jobs appearance is likely though, so Apple does find the announcement important. While it’s not uncommon for the iPhone to be available on multiple carriers in countries outside the US, inside the US where Android is gaining market share in part due to the sheer number of handsets and wide range of carriers, adding another carrier is a big deal. By the time the iPhone 5 (or whatever the next iteration is called) does arrive, it will mean a much larger audience and possibly a way to maintain a bit of smartphone market share.

Boy Genius Report has the actual CDMA iPhone going on sale somewhere between February 3rd and 6th based on employee vacation request blackout dates, so anyone foaming at the mouth to wait in a long line won’t have to wait too long for the wait. Verizon Wireless is the largest carrier in the US, so we’ll make the prediction that there will be at least a few lines similar to those that were seen when the iPhone 4 was first released. While standing outside in February isn’t the same as standing outside in June, we don’t doubt the dedication of iPhone admirers who just couldn’t bring themselves to map out dead spots on AT&T.

TechCrunch’s resident iPhone enthusiast also points to an additional selling point for the Verizon iPhone: unlimited data, which AT&T cut off last June. While it’s not expected that the “unlimited” data generosity (actually capped at 5GB) will continue, Verizon’s most expensive data and phone plan is still approximately $200 less than AT&T on a 2-year basis so it could be just one more incentive for new iPhone users to sign up sooner rather than later.

]]> http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/the-verizon-iphone-is-almost-here-everything-you-need-to-know/feed 0 http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/apple-google-facebook-yahoo-a-roundup-of-2011s-tech-valuations http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/apple-google-facebook-yahoo-a-roundup-of-2011s-tech-valuations#respond Mon, 03 Jan 2011 23:06:13 +0000 http://198.46.88.49/?p=17670 Today marked the first official trading day of the new year, and if the commonly held stock trader belief that January is an indicator of things to come for the new year holds true, Apple and Facebook are in for a pretty good year.

Starting with the biggest billions first, Apple now has a market cap of more than $302 billion, which is more than Microsoft ($239 billion), Walmart ($194 billion), Google ($193 billion) and pretty much any other huge, publicly traded company that you can think of besides Exxon Mobil ($375 billion).

Looks like Meizu has a few more M9s to go before they pose a serious threat. Still, it will be interesting to see how long it will take for Android pushes Google’s company value ahead of Microsoft, when they’ll officially become the biggest threat in Apple’s rearview mirror. While Apple has a head start with the iPad, if Android tablets can experience the kind of growth Android phones have enjoyed it’s something which might not be far off.

Apple and Facebook are officially having the best January (of 2011) ever!

On to the not yet public companies, Facebook raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and previous investor DST (a Russian investment firm) at a $50 billion valuation which makes the company worth more than eBay ($37 billion), TimeWarner ($35 billion) and Yahoo ($21 billion). The company is resisting pressure to go public, which most people suspect is to avoid having to answer to shareholders.

Questions Facebook may wish to avoid are on how it plans to add the level of revenue which would justify such a massive valuation. Groupon, who famously rejected Google’s multi-billion dollar buyout offer, recently raised $500 million – DST was the lead investor there also – at a valuation of almost $5 billion. Which is still a lot of money, but considering that Groupon has revenues estimated to be around $2 billion and Facebook has revenue estimated at… $2 billion (as of September). {TechCrunch}

So what makes one young company estimated to have $2 billion in revenue worth 10 times the amount of another company estimated to have $2 billion in revenue? Well, the fact that Facebook has such as massive user base plays into it. As much money as Groupon makes, they still aren’t anywhere near having 500 million users. Then, there’s the revenue split. Though Groupon’s revenue is impressive any way you slice it, they have to split it with merchants, and likely salespeople as well. Facebook isn’t splitting ad revenue with anyone, so net profit is probably a lot higher. Still, is that worth more money than say Time Warner for example? This is the company that owns a cable company, cable networks, magazines and more, and somehow those things are worth less than a single website? Granted it’s a massively popular website which has been innovative in extending itself to other websites, but are we the only ones wondering if this is going to end in an AOL-like drop off in a few years?

For the year ahead though, we’re looking forward to how this all plays out.

]]> http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/apple-google-facebook-yahoo-a-roundup-of-2011s-tech-valuations/feed 0 http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/apples-black-friday-event-isnt-the-best-place-online-for-mac-deals http://198.46.88.49/electrotech/apples-black-friday-event-isnt-the-best-place-online-for-mac-deals#respond Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:55:47 +0000 http://198.46.88.49/?p=16992

Special? Definitely. Best deal? Not on everything.

Lots of Mac fans were happy to hear that Apple, notorious for not discounting their products, would be getting into the spirit of Black Friday but if you’re really looking for the best deal on a Mac, your best bet may be with an Apple reseller.

First, some clarification: if you’re looking for a deal on an iPod or iPad, then the Apple store is where you want to shop. On every iPod and iPad model, the Apple Black Friday specials offer the best price. If you’re in the market for a computer though, we did the shopping around and for quite a few models, you’ll save slightly more by going with a reseller. Here’s a model by model breakdown.

Update: Apple’s Black Friday prices may have been one day only, but most of the resellers still have sale pricing available.

MacBook Pro

15-inch MacBook Pro – 2.4GHz

$1698 with free shipping at Apple (all MacBook Pros can be seen at the same link)

$1660.99 with free shipping at Amazon

MacBook Pro 15-inch – 2.53GHz

$1898 with free shipping at Apple

$1834 with free shipping at Amazon

MacBook Pro 15-inch – 2.66GHz

$2098 with free shipping at Apple

$2029 with free shipping at Amazon

$2043.99 with free shipping at MacMall

MacBook Pro 17-inch – 2.53GHz

$2198 with free shipping at Apple

$2054 with free shipping at Amazon

$2094.77 with free shipping at Mac Mall

MacBook Air

MacBook Air 11-inch with 64GB memory

$999 (no promotion) at Apple (all MacBook Airs can be seen at the same link)

$948 with free shipping at Amazon

$948 with free shipping at MacMall

MacBook Air 11-inch with 128GB memory

$1199 (no promotion) at Apple

$1139 at Amazon

$1139 at MacMall

iMac

On the 21.5″ iMac models, there’s promotional price parity, but on the 27″ iMac versions things get a bit more competitive. Apple’s Black Friday price on the Quad-Core 2.8GHz model is $1898 with free shipping. The same version can be found on Amazon for $1859 + $25.49 shipping ($1884.49 total) and at Mac Mall for $1894 with free shipping.

Prices on the 2.93GHz model are the same – $2098 or $2298 depending on how much memory you go for – at Apple and resellers.