Apple has announced that its App Store has surpassed 50 billion downloads.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Apple said “We just hit 50 billion app downloads. Thank you. It couldn’t have happened without you. #50BillionApps” along with a link to the App Store.

We just hit 50 billion app downloads. Thank you. It couldn’t have happened without you. #50BillionApps tw.appstore.com/hgE

— App Store(@AppStore) May 15, 2013

Along with the milestone, one lucky person has just won a $10,000 App Store gift card. That person downloaded the 50 billionth app.

Furthermore, the 50 people who downloaded applications right after him or her all received $500 gift cards.

Nonetheless, the identities of people who won have not yet been revealed. Apple said that it will make an announcement soon.

Apple’s last big contest connected to an App Store milestone was last year when the App Store was nearing 25 billion downloads.

Apple began counting down to 50 billion last month by displaying a counter on the App Store home page along with various examples of how big 50 billion is.

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A bidder has won an hour-long coffee date with Apple chief Tim Cook to the tune of $610,000.

The auction was organized by CharityBuzz and the proceeds of the auction will go to the RFK Center for Justice and human Rights.

The bidder, along with a companion if he or she gets invited by the winning bidder, will have a 30-minute to 1-hour coffee date with Cook at Apple’s Cupertino, California campus talking about anything.

The bidder has a year to come up with a time that is mutually agreed upon by him or her and Cook.

The auction was expected to raise $50,000 for the RFK Center but that estimate was beaten quite easily during the first day the auction went live.

On April 25, the winning bid was at $190,000. It went up to $605,000 on May 6 before getting beat by a $610,000 bid a few hours before bidding closed.

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Now that the iPhone 5 is available across the four largest wireless carriers in the U.S., the time is ripe to compare how much it really costs to own the latest Apple smartphone on these companies.

As it turns out, Sprint will cost the most for iPhone 5 users who get the smartphone subsidized by the company.

On Sprint, the total cost of the iPhone 5 for two years is $3,320 but that already includes a mobile hotspot so users are not exactly getting less.

On AT&T, the first nationwide carrier in the U.S. to get the iPhone, the latest Apple smartphone costs $2,840.

That figure is exactly the same with Verizon while on T-Mobile, it would cost $2,260 which is the least among the nationwide carrier. Given T-Mobile’s shift to no-contract deals, this means a subscriber is also not tied for years with the carrier.

They, however, need to pay $99 down and $20 a month for 24 months. Nonetheless, that’s still less than the $199 across the board upfront payment subscribers need to pay the other carriers should they want the iPhone 5.

Read more and compare in the infographic below courtesy of MyRatePlan.

iPhone 5 Cost Of Ownership On The Big 4 US Carriers [Infographic] Social Barrel - The Latest on Social Media

Apple has a dedicated following that gives it devotion akin to the commitment devout people give to their religions.

Read: Apple Devotion is Like Religion – Study

This can be seen as the reason why even now, when Apple has not delivered any groundbreaking new product for a couple of years, the company is still held in high regard by many.

Also part of the admiration for the company comes from the fact that it has released numerous products that today are still viewed as devices which has changed the consumer electronics industry.

There’s the iPod which catapulted Apple past Sony and its Walkman. There’s the iPhone which, despite what detractors will say, shifted the mobile phone industry. There’s the iPad that redefined mobile personal computing.

However, is Apple still heading up? Or is it on its way down? Has Apple lost its edge with the departure of its polarizing but widely-regarded as brilliant co-founder Steve Jobs?

Read: Steve Jobs Passes Away

The signs are ominous, as explained by this infographic from MoneyChoice.Org.

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Owning iDevices is expensive and not only because you pay a premium for the device itself.

Since 2007, Americans have flushed $5.9 billion down the drain to have their iPhones repaired.

Flush, it seems, is a pretty apt word for all this money spent as it turns out that nearly 2 out of 10 of damaged iPhones and iPads in the U.S. have been victims of falling into either a pool or toilet.

That’s according to Cupertino Phone Repair which made the insightful infographic below.

Other insights that can be gained from the infographic are: accidental damage is 10 times more likely than loss or theft, iPhone damage is usually screen case- or electrical-related, and 17 percent of owners have damaged their iPhones more than once.

Not that a cracked screen stops some people. 1 out of 10 iDevice owner still uses their device even if the screen is cracked.

As for iPads, 30 percent will be accidentally damaged in the first three years while 10 percent do not get past the first year without any damage.

Learn about the risks to your iDevices, and more, by reading the infographic made by Cupertino Phone Repair.

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Authorities in Australia are warning people in the country about using Apple Maps as the new system introduced by the iPhone maker with iOS 6 may be life-threatening.

The warning was issued by police in the Australian state of Victoria for people travelling to Mildura.

In a bad case of misplaced locations on Apple Maps, the Apple mapping system puts the city located in northwestern Victoria right smack inside Murray-Sunset National Park which is about 70 kilometers away from Mildura.

The problem lies in the hostile environment inside the park. According to the police, temperatures inside the park can reach as high as 46 degrees.

Authorities in the Australian state of Victoria say that they have actually helped a lot of motorists stranded inside the park for up to 24 hours without food and water.

What is more, some of the stranded motorists who relied on Apple Maps, have already walked long distances through tough terrain just to get a signal on their mobile phones.

Below follows the full statement by the Victoria Police about the Apple Maps issue:

Police concerned with Apple iOS 6 mapping system

Mildura Police are urging motorists to be careful when relying on the mapping system on the Apple i-phones operating on the iOS 6 system after a number of motorists were directed off the beaten track in recent weeks.

Local Police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their Apple i-phone.

Tests on the mapping system by police confirm the mapping systems lists Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, approximately 70km away from the actual location of Mildura.

Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, making this a potentially life threatening issue.

Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception.

Police have contacted Apple in relation to the issue and hope the matter is rectified promptly to ensure the safety of motorists travelling to Mildura.

Anyone travelling to Mildura or other locations within Victoria should rely on other forms of mapping until this matter is rectified.

Acting Senior Sergeant Sharon Darcy
Media Officer
VP24363/2012

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The Apple iPhone 5 is officially coming to the Philippines’ Globe Telecom on December 14.

Globe just sent out an email blast titled “iPhone 5 is coming – Register Now” to subscribers announcing its official release of the iPhone 5.

Along with the announcement comes offers the Philippine carrier is including with the release of the iPhone 5.

These offers include free smartphone insurance for four months, a free subscription to the GCASH American Express Virtual Card, an offer for zero interest installment payment via major credit cards, a discount for shipping and vouchers for up to 50 percent off on iPhone 5 accessories.

The iPhone 5 was launched by Apple in September 12.

MORE: The iPhone 5 Cometh

The current-generation iPhone has a 4-inch Retina Display screen with a resolution of 640 x 1,136 pixels for a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, a faster Apple A6 chip and faster graphics processor, and 1 GB of RAM.

Apple says that this processor is twice as fast as the A5 chip inside the iPhone 4S. The new Apple smartphone also boasts of new and improved cameras, Apple said during its launch.

The iPhone 5 is also LTE-enabled and Globe Telecom is currently in the process of rolling out its LTE network throughout the Philippines.

The full email follows after the break:

Dear _____________,

The wait is almost over—iPhone 5 is coming on December 14! And with it comes a host of genius offers you’ll only get from Globe.

Check out these great deals* that will help you make the most out of your iPhone 5.

• The MOST AFFORDABLE plans with unlimited surfing
• FREE 4 months of insurance under Globe Gadget Care worth P1,596
• FREE 1-year subscription to the GCASH American Express® Virtual Card
• 0% Interest up to 24 months installment with major credit cards**
• FREE and exclusive downloads of new Globe Mobile Apps
• $5 Discount Coupon for every $25 Shipping Cost using your GCASH American Express® Virtual Card***
• Up to 50% off on iPhone 5 accessories vouchers

And with our most customizable plans and a fully-upgraded, future-proof network that will soon be available nationwide, we promise you the best iPhone 5 experience only from Globe.

Sign up now and you’ll be one step closer to getting your iPhone 5 from Globe, the leader in postpaid.

We’re just as excited as you are!

From the Globe Team

* Offers valid until December 31, 2012.

** 0% installment at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months offered to Allied Bank, BDO, BPI, Citibank, East West Bank, HSBC, Metrobank/PS Bank, RCBC/Bankard, Security Bank/Diners Club, and Union Bank credit cardholders.

*** For the first 3,000 existing subscribers who will order.

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Some of the new iMacs being sold by Apple in America were assembled in America.

First noticed by Fortune in this report, the new iMacs sport an “Assembled in USA” mark where the old “Assembled in China” used to come after the “Designed by Apple in California” marking.

According to the US Federal Trade Commission, an “Assembled in USA” claim needs the product to have its “last substantial transformation occur in the U.S.”

This means that a “’screwdriver’ assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn’t usually qualify for the ‘Assembled in USA’ claim.”

“Example: All the major components of a computer, including the motherboard and hard drive, are imported. The computer’s components then are put together in a simple ‘screwdriver’ operation in the U.S., are not substantially transformed under the Customs Standard, and must be marked with a foreign country of origin. An ‘Assembled in USA’ claim without further qualification is deceptive,” the FTC says.

Image from iFixit

MORE:

Apple Unveils Thin New iMac

New iMac Computers May Miss Holiday Season Due To Delay

New iMacs To Be Released On Friday

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We can find users that hate Apple tablets and terminals or we can find users that love it, but even among the latter is quite difficult to find those who love the iTunes software companion.

Apple promised a while a major update of the product and after several weeks of delays, launched the eleventh version of iTunes.

The biggest change will be noticed when you first start the application, the known interface completely changed. The side list and menu disappeared and although they can still be enabled by accessing the options menu button, the default mode presented by Apple is just a matrix of icons, buttons for switching between different types of content and link to the App Store.

The graphics are all changed, starting from the application icon, continuing with the theme, fonts or icons and ending with the internal interface of the App Store, which is now similar to that offered by iOS 6. In terms of functionality, the application offers drag-and-drop far superior to sync content on Apple terminals and the Mini Player has also been updated, it offers more options, Cover Art and search.

The content list is enriched with additional icons for each purchased file or synchronized with iCloud, instead, Cover Flow, which Apple was so proud a few years ago, is gone, just as the iTunes DJ application, replaced by a more intelligent Up Next.

Apple says that the new version is faster and if it is really pleasant to use, the start times remained the same, at least in the Windows version and also with a large library of content.

Download here the iTunes latest version.

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It was only a matter of time before Siri was to be implemented in multimedia systems for cars. Apple’s personal assistant will prove very useful now in taking orders from drivers. General Motors is the first company to introduce support for Siri, and the first vehicles that will boast whit this technology  is Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Sonic. Apple’s personal assistant can work through the Chevrolet MyLink system.

At first, the first phones that will support this system will be iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. Drivers will be able to interact with them without having to take their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. The connection between the smartphone and Chevrolet MyLink system will be done through a Bluetooth protocol.

Drivers can command the phone to play certain songs, to initialize calls and compose messages. More complex tasks, such as loading a web page will be blocked for obvious reasons. As we saw on another occasion, automakers want to be sure that drivers are concentrated on the driving task first.

Along with General Motors, many other manufacturers have promised to provide support for Siri. BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Audi have confirmed that they will allow the Siri personal assistant, from Apple, to communicate with the car’s multimedia system. From here to the question “Where do you want to go today?” is not a long road.

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