Apple CEO Tim Cook on tablet market share: ‘We have no idea what our market share is, because we’re

Apple CEO Tim Cook is speaking live at the Goldman Sachs Technology conference, where he is now specifically talking about the iPad and market share.

"I think the tablet market will be huge. It is a huge opportunity for Apple. It is one of those areas that show—what I mentioned earlier—of software and hardware services being integrated and creating an experience that is jaw dropping. In context, HP, the world's largest PC seller, sold 15 million PCs…there were more iPads sold than HP sold of their entire PC lineup. So, there has been a change here. We're in the early innings of this game."

The chief executive also said Apple is attracting people who have never owned a PC, as well as those who owned them but never had a great experience: "If you look at what we bring there, we worked on our experience. Over 300,000 apps take advantage of the canvas that is iPad. Other guys only have a few hundred. We have a big lead in this area."

Cook further said there were twice as many iPads as Android devices bought on Black Friday 2012 and attributed those sales to Apple sweating the details, but he also reiterated that his company does not focus on market share: "I have no idea what market share is, because we're the only company that reports what we sell."

Despite not focusing on market share, Cook said the iPad is also being sold in a large way in all the key markets. The data even points to the iPad being used at a much-higher degree than what the share might be, and he claimed this is because the iPad is superior to the competition.

"The age-old model of everyone doing a sliver of something…customers aren't buying it," he added.

President Obama notes Apple’s plan to bring Mac manufacturing back to U.S. this year in State of the

In his State of the Union address tonight, President Barack Obama mentioned Apple's plan to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. starting with an existing Mac line this year. President Obama's comments came in the larger context of bringing jobs back to the United States:

After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is opening its most advanced plant right here at home. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.

As we previously noted, Apple CEO Tim Cook is in attendance at the State of the Union address. Cook announced Apple's plans to bring Mac manufacturing to the U.S. at some point in 2013 in interviews in late 2012. Cook reiterted the plans in an employee "Town Hall" meeting earlier this year.

Recent speculation and reports have pointed to Apple's 2013 U.S.-built Mac line as being the Mac mini. Apple already sources iPhone components like glass and its chipsets from U.S. based manufacturing plants.

Tim Cook awkward smile during the President's #sotu http://t.co/FMYBX7LU

Apple Releases Firmware Battery Fix for 2010/2011 MacBook Pro 15- and 17-Inch Models [Mac Blog]

Apple today released MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.7, addressing an issue related to batteries with more than 1000 charge cycles. The update applies to Mid 2010 and Early 2011 models of the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro and is a complement to earlier updates addressing the same issue for other machines.

About MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.7

This update addresses a rare issue on some Apple notebooks where a battery that has accumulated more than 1000 charge cycles may unexpectedly shut down or stop functioning.

The update is a 1 MB download and requires OS X 10.6.8, 10.7.5, or 10.8.2.

Microsoft Offers Workarounds for iOS 6.1 Exchange Bug

iOS 6.1, which was released two weeks ago, brought with it a handful of serious bugs. The first bug, which affected 3G performance on the iPhone 4S was fixed yesterday, following Apple's release of 6.1.1 for the iPhone 4S.

The second bug involved an error that caused iOS devices running 6.1 to continuously loop when synchronizing a recurring calendar meeting invitation on Microsoft Exchange. This error, which causes excessive memory consumption, was not fixed with yesterday's 6.1.1 update.

As noted by 9to5Mac Microsoft has published an official support document offering workarounds for the error.

Microsoft offers up several fixes, including the recommendation not to process Calendar items like meeting requests on iOS 6.1 devices. The company also recommends immediately restarting the devices and renewing the device partnership to halt the continuous looping access.

Devices using iOS 6.1 should be blocked or throttled, says Microsoft, in order to reduce the effect on server resources.

While none of these options are true fixes, Microsoft mentions that it is working with Apple to investigate the issue and suggests customers open an Enterprise Support case with Apple, via Enterprise agreement or a pay-per-incident case report.

Apple has Team of 100 Product Designers Working on a Smart Watch

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has a team of about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch computer, according to "two people familiar with the company's plans." The New York Times previously reported that Apple had been "experimenting" with a curved glass smart watch, but Bloomberg believes that Apple's smart watch plans have moved beyond the experimental phase.

The team, which has grown in the past year, includes managers, members of the marketing group and software and hardware engineers who previously worked on the iPhone and iPad, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. The team's size suggests Apple is beyond the experimentation phase in its development, said the people.

Apple's senior director of engineering, James Foster, is said to be one of the managers working on the project, which happens to involve challenges like creating a smart watch that doesn't have to be charged every day. The smart watch, known colloquially by some as the "iWatch," would be able to do some of the same tasks as the iPad and iPhone.

Bloomberg also mentions that Apple had been planning a wearable fitness tracking device, much like Nike FuelBand or Jawbone Up, but that Apple had decided not to bring them to market. Apple CEO Tim Cook is a Nike board member and spoke about his own Nike FuelBand at the D10 Conference last year, also saying that wearable devices were an "interesting area" but that "the book hasn't been written on that one yet."

President Obama Mentions Apple Building Macs in America During State of the Union Address

President Barack Obama tonight mentioned Apple during his State of the Union speech to Congress, mentioning the fact that Apple will again be building Macs in the United States in 2013. CEO Tim Cook disclosed that plan back in December.

Though he didn't mention which line of computers would be made in the U.S., rumors said Apple would begin manufacturing of the Mac mini there, bringing some 200 jobs to the country.


From President Obama's yearly State of the Union speech:

Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing.

After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is opening its most advanced plant right here at home. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.

Tim Cook attended the State of the Union, sitting in the First Lady's box -- a frequent location for guests who are mentioned in the President's speech. He sat behind and to the side of the First Lady, just behind the Second Lady, Dr. Jill Biden.

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