Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
AT&T Launches Unlimited 'Mobile to Any Mobile' Calling, Requires Unlimited Messaging
In what could be viewed as yet another bid by AT&T to keep customers from defecting to the Verizon iPhone, the carrier today announced that it will launch tomorrow a new "Mobile to Any Mobile" feature allowing unlimited calling from AT&T phones to other mobile phones in the U.S., regardless of carrier.
The feature, which rolls out tomorrow, requires customers to be on a qualifying voice plan ...
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Video Footage of Early Steve Jobs TV Appearance Prep Surfaces
Electricpig.co.uk points to a recently-uploaded video showing a young Steve Jobs preparing for what seems to be his first television appearance.
The fidgeting Jobs is clearly nervous and amazed by the experience, revealing a side of the iconic CEO not seen in his polished public appearances in recent years. Jobs was clearly not feeling well for the appearance: You need to tell me where the...
Adobe Releases Flash Player 10.2 With 'Stage Video' Hardware Acceleration
Adobe yesterday announced that Flash Player 10.2 has exited the beta testing stage is now available for general consumption for Mac, Windows, and Linux. As previously noted, Flash Player 10.2 includes Adobe's new "Stage Video" technology to leverage hardware acceleration for smoother playback with significantly lower CPU consumption. Stage Video lets websites take advantage of full hardware...
Wal-Mart to Carry Verizon iPhone in Nearly 600 Stores Tomorrow
Wal-Mart today announced that it wil offer the Verizon iPhone for sale in nearly 600 of its retail store locations, joining Apple, Verizon, and Best Buy as a launch retailer for the device at its debut for general availability. "We're excited to bring iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network, one the most anticipated mobile phone launches in recent history, to Walmart customers," said Gary...
'Death Hug': Verizon iPhone Demonstrates Antenna Attenuation Issues
With the GSM version of the iPhone having received considerable attention for issues with loss of cellular signal when held in a "death grip" position, observers have been interested to see whether a similar issue affects the Verizon iPhone with its modified antenna design.
iLounge reports that not only has it been able to demonstrate loss of cellular signal strength with the same "death...
MacBook Pro Shortages Continue as Apple Struggles to Deliver Replacement Machines
Reports of tightening supplies for Apple's MacBook Pro models continue today, with one reader letting us know that he was just informed by Apple that a replacement for his faulty machine will likely not be available for 4-6 weeks, and possibly as long as 8 weeks.
The long lead time was reportedly cited for a replacement on a custom-configured MacBook Pro carrying the top-of-the-line 2.8 GHz...
iPod Classic Supplies Tightening Ahead of Possible Update or Discontinuation
Late last month, we noted that Toshiba had introduced new 1.8-inch hard drives topping out at 220 GB and carrying the same form factor used in the existing iPod classic. With Apple's iPod classic currently coming in at 160 GB, the capacity bump would be a substantial one if Apple elected to adopt the new drives.
With that information floating around, observers have been keeping their eyes...
Google Debuts iOS Translation App, Brings Priority Inbox to Gmail Mobile Interface
Google today announced the release of a new Google Translate [App Store] application for iOS devices, offering such features as translation of spoken words and phrases and the ability to listen to translations spoken aloud. Speak to translate
The new app accepts voice input for 15 languages, and - just like the web app - you can translate a word or phrase into one of more than 50 languages. For ...
Apple Seeking to Build New Retail Store in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse
A pair of reports from The New York Observer and ifoAppleStore indicate that Apple is looking to open a new retail store, its fifth in Manhattan, at the landmark Grand Central Terminal. The store would reportedly be located inside the busy transportation and tourist hub and would sit less than a mile from the company's flagship Fifth Avenue store. Apple...
Apple Still Dominates U.S. Movie Downloads and Streaming, But Rivals Growing
Market research firm IHS iSuppli yesterday released data on U.S. online movie downloads and streams for 2010, revealing that Apple continues to dominate the market with a 64.5% share of total spending. That share is down, however, from 74.4% in 2009 in the face of growth of other services such as Microsoft's Zune Video. "The iTunes online store showed remarkable competitive resilience last year ...
Verizon iPhone Carries World-Mode 'Gobi' Chip From Qualcomm [Updated]
Repair firm iFixyouri has started taking apart the Verizon iPhone and 9 to 5 Mac notes that the device carries a Qualcomm "Gobi" MDM6600 wireless chip inside it, technically offering "world-mode" compatibility with both CDMA and GSM networks. iFixit is also performing one of its usual high-quality teardowns of the Verizon iPhone and has seen the same chip.
The MDM6600 supports HSPA+ data...
Best Buy Guesses at a March MacBook Pro Release Date as Supplies Constrain
Late last month, we reported that we had received word of tightening MacBook Pro supplies, suggesting that an update to Apple's popular notebook line might be coming in the near future.
Information has continued to flow in regarding tightening supplies, with Japanese blog Mac Otakara reporting today that supplies in Japan are now pushing out to 2-3 week shipping estimates. The site also...
Apple Still Holding Second Place Among Global Smartphone Manufacturers
Research firm IDC has released the results of its survey of worldwide smartphone sales for the fourth quarter of 2010, finding Apple holding onto the same second-place ranking it earned last quarter as the top manufacturers see their shares decline slightly as small vendors ride the Android wave to greater sales.
Worldwide Smartphone Sales in 4Q10 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC) ...
Verizon iPhone Pre-Orders Now Arriving in Quantity
While it appears that at least one lucky customer was able to obtain his Verizon iPhone over the weekend, the initial wave of pre-orders for existing Verizon customers is now making its way to their doorsteps in significant quantities.
BGR has already received its order and has put together a small gallery of photos showing the device, packaging, and included materials from Verizon....
iPad 2 With NFC-Equipped Accessories, Carbon Fiber Body? 7-Inch iPad Still Alive?
iLounge reports that it has received a handful of details about what may be in store for the second-generation iPad. According to the report, the information comes from a source that has proven reliable in the past but that has cautioned that this information is preliminary and thus some caution should be exercised.
First, the source indicates that Apple is indeed building near field...
iOS 4.3 to Debut on February 14th?
MacStories reports that it has heard from a "reliable source" that Apple is planning to release iOS 4.3 to the public on February 14th at its typical iOS software update time of 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time. According to several reports surfaced earlier this week, Apple is targeting a release of the next major iOS update, version 4.3, in two weeks. We just got word from a...
iPad App Store Gains Search Filters, Install Buttons for Previously-Purchased Apps
Apple made several tweaks to the iPad interface for the iOS App Store yesterday, enhancing users' abilities to filter app searches and to determine which apps they have already purchased but may not have installed on their devices.
As noted by MacStories, the new search filters appear as a toolbar at the top of search results pages. The filters allow users to limit their searches by...
iPhone Marks Fastest-Selling Launch in Verizon History
Verizon today announced that yesterday's launch of the iPhone was the fastest-selling debut in the carrier's history, even with the premiere occurring the middle of the night and limited to existing Verizon customers. "This was an exciting day," said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless. "In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first...
Study Suggests More Bang for Advertisers' Bucks With iAds
Ad Age reports on the results of a recent survey commissioned by Apple and soup company Campbell's claiming that Apple's iAd mobile advertising program results in greater brand recognition among consumers at considerably less cost than traditional television advertising. Those exposed to one of Campbell's iAds were more than twice as likely to recall it than those who had seen a TV ad. Indeed...
Apple Seeds Golden Master of Xcode 4 to Developers
As noted by MacStories, Apple has seeded the golden master version of Xcode 4 to both iOS and Mac OS X developers. The "golden master" designation indicates that this version of the software is intended to be the final version released to the public, barring any last-minute issues.
Xcode 4, which first debuted for developers at WWDC last June, offers a significant update to Apple's...
