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
Apple Drops MacBook Educational Pricing to $899
TUAW noted yesterday that Apple has dropped its regular U.S. educational pricing for the MacBook by $50 to $899. Special pricing apparently available through the University of Maryland's custom Apple Store reportedly even temporarily dropped pricing as low as $728 yesterday, although the offer was quickly removed.
The new $899 price covers Apple's standard MacBook offering updated in October...
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Google Nexus One Appears Set to Launch January 5th
Anticipation surrounding the much-rumored "Google Phone", now apparently known as the Nexus One, has been growing in recent weeks, and it appears that the rumors were correct: Google has announced an Android-related press conference for January 5th, and all indications point to a launch of the Nexus One at the event.
A source has also provided information to Gizmodo claiming that the Nexus...
iPhone Continues Strong Sales in France
French newspaper Le Figaro reports [Google translation] (via 9 to 5 Mac) on the success of the iPhone in France, where observers have previously looked to as an example for the market share growth possible in transitioning from exclusive carrier arrangements to multi-carrier models.
According to the report, Apple is expected to sell between 1.8 million and 2 million iPhones in France for 2009, ...
Nokia Increases Scope of Patent Complaints to Include 'Virtually All' Apple Products
The legal battle between Nokia and Apple has been ratcheted up another notch today with Nokia's announcement that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging infringement of Nokia-held patents by "virtually all" Apple products, including the iPhone, iPod, and Mac. The seven Nokia patents in this complaint relate to Nokia's pioneering innovations that are...
China Unicom Passes 300,000 iPhones Sold
iPhonAsia.com reports on news from Chinese site TechQQ [Google translation] that China Unicom has now sold 300,000 iPhones in that country. The milestone marks a significant acceleration of sales for China Unicom after it sold only 5,000 iPhones during its launch weekend at the end of October and took until early December to reach 100,000 iPhone sold. Today we've learned that China Unicom has now ...
O2 Apologizes for Wireless Network Performance Issues in London
U.S. exclusive iPhone carrier AT&T has received significant criticism for its apparent difficulties in maintaining network performance under heavy demands from iPhone users, but it appears that it is not alone in its struggles. The Financial Times reports that UK carrier O2 has publicly apologized for similar difficulties with its network in London over the past few months as demand has grown...
Apple's Quarterly iPhone and Overall Sales Estimates Continue to Rise
Just two weeks ago, a suggestion that Apple could sell 10 million iPhones during the current quarter began to make its way around the Mac investor and rumor communities. At the time, the claim was significantly higher than analysts' consensus in the 8-9 million range, and was thus viewed with some skepticism.
Tech Trader Daily today reports on an Apple stock upgrade from Broadpoint AmTech...
App Store Download Statistics Suggest Strong iPod Touch Holiday Sales
MobileCrunch reports on data from mobile analytics firm Flurry showing very strong App Store download performance coming from iPod touch devices, suggesting a strong holiday season for Apple's premier iPod line. On Christmas Day, Flurry's data saw download volume from iPod touches increase nearly 1,000% from pre-Christmas levels, spiking well above comparable iPhone downloads, which typically...
AT&T Halts Online iPhone Sales to New York City Market [Updated]
The Consumerist reported over the weekend that AT&T has quietly stopped offering online iPhone sales to customers located in the New York City market. Responding to a reader report, The Consumerist verified the extent of the issue: I went to the AT&T site to verify what Stephen said. Sure enough, the iPhone was available to zip codes in San Francisco and other major cities. It was not available...
Apple Looking to Expand Cloud-Based iWork Experience?
TechCrunch reports on a new Apple job posting that appeared last week that seems to reveal plans for an expanded online "cloud" experience for the company's iWork productivity suite. While Apple has offered an iWork.com beta site for document collaboration since soon after the launch of iWork '09 in January, the job posting hints at a new ground-up project in the works. The Productivity team...
Apple's Research on Tactile Feedback for Touchscreen Keyboard Revisited
In the wake of yesterday's provocative hint suggesting that users would be "surprised how you interact" with Apple's much-rumored tablet, speculation has begun about what that surprise might be. Conveniently enough, a patent application published today entitled "Keystroke tactility arrangement on a smooth touch surface" revisits previously-revealed technology from Apple regarding possible...
Apple Special Media Event Scheduled for January 26th?
The Financial Times reports that it has received word that Apple has scheduled a special media event for Tuesday, January 26th in San Francisco. The event will reportedly be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, site of the company's music-focused events held each fall in recent years. The company has rented a stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for several days...
HBO Releases Application for iPhone
HBO, the popular U.S. premium cable channel, yesterday announced the release of a new iPhone application [App Store, Free] offering schedule information, behind-the-scenes videos, and direct links to iTunes for purchasing content. Using the innovative native functionality (scroll, pinch and zoom) of iPhone and iPod touch, the HBO App allows consumers to easily navigate through programming...
Google's Acquisition of AdMob Delayed for Further FTC Scrutiny
Google today announced that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has requested additional information on the company's proposed acquisition of mobile advertising firm AdMob as the regulatory agency continues to investigate the appropriateness of the deal. As we said when we announced the deal, we don't see any regulatory issues with this deal, because the rapidly growing mobile advertising space is...
Apple Asking App Developers to Prepare for Large Screen Demos Next Month?
Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple has approached certain app developers to ask them to prepare for a demo scheduled for next month. Notably, Apple has requested that the developers prepare their applications to run in "full screen" mode rather than limiting display to the iPhone and iPod touch's 320 x 480 pixels. Apple is preparing to show off a new, larger mobile device with a higher...
Google 'Nexus One' Phone Set for Invitation-Only Launch on January 5th?
The hype is continuing to build around Google's highly-anticipated Android-based phone, dubbed the "Nexus One". Engadget today reveals draft specs for the forthcoming device, as well as information that it is scheduled to launch on January 5th and will initially be available only by "invitation". Our tipster doesn't have information on how those invites are going to be determined, other than the...
Apple Tablet With 7-Inch Screen to Be Announced in January?
Citing a source who has been "amazingly accurate", Boy Genius Report issued a brief note today claiming that Apple's much-rumored tablet will be announced in January and will carry a 7-inch screen. Most rumors have pointed to a 10-inch screen for the tablet, and while the source does not rule out the possibility of such a model, they can only confirm the existence of the 7-inch model. It has been ...
Next-Generation iPhone Set to Carry 5-Megapixel Camera?
DigiTimes reports that OmniVision Technologies has secured orders from Apple for 5-megapixel camera sensors destined for the next-generation iPhone. Sources report that the OmniVision is expected to supply Apple with 40-45 million sensors in 2010 for the new iPhone, reportedly set to launch in the second half of the year. OmniVision Technologies is expected to see CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders...
MagicPrefs Adds Functionality to Magic Mouse
Ever since the release of Apple's multi-touch Magic Mouse just a few months ago, one of the primary complaints from users has been a lack of support for Expos and other functionalities given the limited options available in System Preferences for configuring the mouse.
Addressing these issues, Gizmodo today points to a new menu bar application, MagicPrefs, that greatly expands the...
iPhone Tops List of Most-Used Mobile Phones in U.S.
Media research firm Nielsen today released its lists of top U.S. mobile phones, sites, and brands for the first ten months of 2009, and the iPhone 3G took the top spot among mobile phones with 4.0% of the market. The iPhone placed slightly ahead of Research in Motion's BlackBerry 8300 series at 3.7%, and well ahead of the remainder of the pack, which was led by Motorola's RAZR V3 series at 2.3%.
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