Apple didn't just unveil its new iPads on Thursday — it announced a separate, less advertised product that could mean trouble for wireless carriers.
With its new iPad Air 2, Apple customers will have the option of buying a cellular version loaded with the company's new "Apple SIM" card, as Dan Frommer at Quartz points out.
A SIM card is that tiny piece of plastic in your phone that allows you to connect to a carrier's wireless network.
Typically, a SIM card is programmed to work with one specific carrier. So, if you buy a phone on a two-year contract from AT&T, it'll come with an AT&T SIM card inside. If you wanted to use that same phone on Verizon, you would have to buy a SIM card from Verizon and put it in that phone.
But Apple wants to change how that model works. Apple's SIM card works with multiple carriers, so you wouldn't have to purchase an iPad or SIM card from a carrier. To be clear, this isn't like simply buying an AT&T SIM card directly from Apple instead of AT&T. With Apple's SIM card, you can switch carriers whenever you please without having to commit to a two-year contract or make any purchases directly through the carrier.
Here's how Apple explains it on its website:
The new Apple SIM is preinstalled on iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi + Cellular models. The Apple SIM gives you the flexibility to choose from a variety of short-term plans from select carriers in the U.S. and UK right on your iPad. So whenever you need it, you can choose the plan that works best for you — with no long-term commitments. And when you travel, you may also be able to choose a data plan from a local carrier for the duration of your trip.
With a device like the iPad, the effect on carriers likely won't be that significant. Many users opt for the Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad, and tablets aren't as heavily subsidized as phones on a two-year contract.
For example, an iPhone 6 through AT&T on a two-year contract starts at $199, substantially less than the full price of $649. AT&T cuts only $100 off the iPad when you commit to a two-year contract, which isn't that much of a difference compared to the iPad's full price.
If Apple rolls this SIM -- For more information read the original article here.
Snapchat is going to run its first paid advertising spot this weekend in its "Recent Updates" section, the company says in a blog post.
The reason: "We need to make money," Snapchat admits.
The ads will only run in the United States, and it's not clear who the first advertiser(s) will be. But Snapchat says its goal is to make ads less "creepy" than other mobile ads, and it doesn't want to target users (although it's not clear what Snapchat could even target if it wanted to — it doesn't collect much user information at all).
"We won't put advertisements in your personal communication – things like Snaps or Chats. That would be totally rude," Snapchat says. "We want to see if we can deliver an experience that's fun and informative, the way ads used to be, before they got creepy and targeted."
This weekend we're placing an advertisement in “Recent Updates” for Snapchatters in the United States. It's the first time we've done anything like this because it's the first time we've been paid to put content in that space. It's going to feel a little weird at first, but we're taking the plunge.
The best advertisements tell you more about stuff that actually interests you. Some companies spend a lot of time and collect a lot of data about you to figure that out. The product we're releasing today is a lot simpler. An advertisement will appear in your Recent Updates from time to time, and you can choose if you want to watch it. No biggie. It goes away after you view it or within 24 hours, just like Stories.
We won't put advertisements in your personal communication – things like Snaps or Chats. That would be totally rude. We want to see if we can deliver an experience that's fun and informative, the way ads used to be, before they got creepy and targeted. It's nice when all of the brilliant creative minds out there get our attention with terrific content.
Understandably, a lot of folks want to know why we're introducing advertisements to our service. The answer is probably unsurprising – we need to make money. Advertising allows us to support our service while delivering neat content to Snapchatters. We promise that we'll use the money we make to continue to surprise the Snapchat community with more terrific products – -- For more information read the original article here.
Unfortunately, the upgrade was disappointing to some Mac mini fans as Apple stopped offering a build-to-order quad-core processor upgrade and dual-drive storage options that exceed 1TB.
Many have speculated that the Mac mini also includes soldered RAM, which has now been confirmed by Macminicolo's Brian Stucki. According to Stucki, the RAM in the Mac mini is "not user accessible," which means those who purchase Mac minis are limited to 16GB of RAM that must upgraded when purchasing the machine from Apple.
All three Mac mini models can be upgraded to a maximum of 16GB of RAM, with the upgrade priced at $300 for the base model and $200 for the mid and high-end models.
While the RAM is not upgradeable, Stucki says that it is possible to replace or upgrade the hard drive, but doing so may void the warranty.
Apple's new Mac mini starts at $499 and comes in three separate base configurations. On the low end, the Mac mini ships with a 1.4Ghz dual-core Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and Intel HD Graphics 5000. At the middle tier, the Mac mini comes with a 2.6Ghz dual-core Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive, and Intel Iris Graphics. At the high end, the Mac mini ships with a 2.8Ghz dual-core Core i5, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB Fusion Drive, and Intel Iris Graphics.
Base configurations of the Mac mini are currently available for purchase from the online Apple Store and will ship in one to three days. Custom configurations ship within three to five days.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
• OWC Announces RAM Upgrade Kits for New Retina iMac, Up to 32GB for $399
• List of Cases Available for Apple's New iPad Air 2
• iPhone 6 and 6 Plus See Low-Key Launch in China as Uber Delivers Phones in Shanghai
• Belkin Announces Keyboard Cases and Folio Covers for iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3
• Apple Updates iLife Apps and Aperture for Yosemite
• Adobe Releases Plugin to Help Aperture Users Transition to Lightroom
• -- For more information read the original article here.
-- For more information read the original article here.