Apple 'unrivaled' in innovation, 'elegant experience,' Cook says

Apple 'unrivaled' in innovation, 'elegant experience,' Cook says
Apple CEO Tim Cook today defended the company's cash hoard, said that innovation is in the corporate DNA, added that the smartphone market may be the best ever and outlined his acquisition strategy. He also knocked the PC industry's focus on specifications and noted the iPad is the "poster child" of the post-PC era.Cook, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco, addressed Wall Street analysts and investors for the second consecutive year. Generally speaking, Cook has been much more open with investors than former CEO Steve Jobs.The overall theme from Cook was that Apple doesn't buy the limits of large numbers and has existing markets -- namely tablets and smartphones -- that can continue to grow.Cook covered the following topics as he repeatedly noted that Apple can continue to grow:According to Cook, the tablet market is a huge opportunity for Apple and the iPad is the poster child for the post-PC era. "It creates an experience that's jaw-dropping," said Cook. He added that more iPads were sold than PCs. "We're in the early innings of this game," said Cook. "You can see the whole of Apple (with the iPad."Cannibalization. Cook said he has been asked about cannibalization of products repeatedly, whether it's the iMac killing the PowerBook or the iPad killing the Mac. "If we don't cannibalize, someone else will," said Cook. He added that the iPad can poach share from the Windows ecosystem for years to come. "If companies worry about cannibalization, it's the beginning of the end," said Cook.The PC market competed on two things -- spec and price. "Customers want a good experience, quality and an aha moment," said Cook. Companies that talk about the specification of something are hiding the fact their products don't deliver a great experience. He added that no one cares about Apple's chip speeds, pixels in a display and other specs. The display comments were a knock on the OLED spec war. "The only religion we have is that we must do something great," said Cook. "We won't make a crappy product."The age-old model of everyone doing a sliver of something is over. Apple can do integration better than anyone," said Cook, referring to the PC market's partner model.Can Apple do platforms around the world? Cook was asked about whether Apple can do cloud services in emerging markets, which limit content and music purchases. "Our App Store is operating in 155 countries," noted Cook. iTunes, iCloud and iBooks also operate in numerous countries. "I really feel like we advanced significantly last year in building our infrastructure around the world," said Cook. "Our intention is to have our ecosystem everywhere."The retail strategy. Cook said Apple continues to grow its retail footprint. "There's no better place to discover and explore our products than retail," he said. "It's the best retail experience. You realize the experience is there not for selling but serving. It helps you get more out of your products." Cook said "store" isn't the right term. The retail outlets are the core of Apple, not the headquarters in Cupertino. Apple will also retool and expand stores as well as add to the retail roster, he said.For Apple, innovation is embedded in the culture. "Innovation is strong as ever and in the DNA of the company," said Cook. "Apple is the center of innovation." He added there's no set formula for innovation and if there were one, companies with a lot of cash would acquire it. Innovation is about skills and leadership. "Apple has skills in software, hardware and services. The model that grew the PC industry where companies specialized. That model is not working for what consumers want today," said Cook. "Consumers want this elegant experience." The real magic happens at the integration of hardware, software and services. "I think we're unrivaled in that," said Cook.Apple has paid developers $8 billion, up from the previous mark of $7 billion noted just last month.Would Apple do a large acquisition? "We've averaged an acquisition almost every other month [for the last three years]," said Cook. Those companies typically had engineers and intellectual property. PA Semiconductor was a prime example of a good Apple acquisition. PA Semi became the engine of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touches.On the laws of large numbers, Apple doesn't believe in limits. "It's because of that Apple has been able to do so many things over the years," said Cook. He added that when he zooms out he sees a growing market that Apple can address with smartphones and tablets. "All phones will be smartphones," said Cook. He called the smartphone the best market ever and noted Apple has a lot of upside in China, the app ecosystem and global expansion. "The iPhone is only available to 50 percent of the world's subscribers," he said.Regarding cheap phones, Cook said "our north star is great products ... We wouldn't do anything we considered a cheap product," said Cook. "That said we have done things to appeal to people more price sensitive." An example is the lower pricing for iPhone 4 and 4S. Cook added that Apple ran out of supply for iPhone 4. "We have made moves to make things more affordable," he said.Cook said that Apple aimed for a less expensive Mac but couldn't deliver a great product. Apple solved the sub-$1,000 PC issue with the iPad.He countered the argument that Apple had a depression mentality about cash---a charge leveled by investor David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital. Cook said Apple is investing in R&D, stores, supply chain and is also financially conservative. "A company investing a pair of 10s over two years [$10 billion in capital expenses] doesn't have a Depression era mindset," said Cook. "We do have some cash, but it's a privilege to be in this position to seriously consider returning additional cash to shareholders." Cook added that the board is in deliberations.Cook added that the cash debate is about the rights of shareholders. Apple is looking at things to improve governance further, said Cook, responding to hubbub over the company's preferred shares practices via Greenlight's lawsuit. He said Greenlight's lawsuit over Apple's cash is "a silly sideshow" and the money used for pay for lawyers should be given to a better cause.This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "Apple CEO Cook: 'We're unrivaled' in innovation."

MP3 player upgrades and transferring iTunes content--Ask the Editors

MP3 player upgrades and transferring iTunes content--Ask the Editors
Q: I am big fan of CNET--I think you guys give the best reviews for a wide range of products. Coming to the topic: I already own a 4GB Creative Zen and I really like the player--I bought it on your advice mainly. I really love the sound quality and the stunning screen, but I don't find it comfortably large enough for watching full-length movies. Can you suggest a good player that has a bigger screen, sufficient for video? It should also have good sound quality and of course a decent battery life, because I am constantly on the move. --Nikhil, via e-mailCreativeA: I definitely agree with you about the screen size of the Zen not being large enough for comfortably enjoying feature-length movies. My suggestion is to pick up a more dedicated portable video player, since you already have a good day-to-day device for music. My top choice for you is the Creative Zen Vision:W, because it keeps everything in the family and allows you to manage content in the same way. Plus, it offers solid sound quality and an above-average battery life of 7.6 hours for video--and the battery is user-replaceable, so you can buy extras to bring with you. After that, check out the Apple iPod Touch (6 hour battery life for video), the Archos 605 (4.7 hour battery life), or the Archos 405 (4 hour battery life).Q: I've had a lot of trouble getting this question answered:I have a Mac and a PC. I have successfully transferred the music library to the Mac and it works. However, if i want to buy a song, movie, etc from iTunes on the PC, how can I get it on the Mac, or vice versa?Is there a way to have it appear on both when I purchase a song off of one of the computers?Please help!!--Vicki, via e-mailA: Unfortunately, there's no way to have the content automatically downloaded to all of your authorized systems when you buy it, but the workaround is very easy. Transfer the purchased content from the initial computer to an iPod or a UMS device. Then, connect this device to the system you want to transfer the content to and fire up iTunes. If you're using an iPod, iTunes should prompt you to back up the purchased content (click Yes). Alternatively, you can go to the File menu and select Transfer Purchases. For a UMS device, use Explorer or Finder to view the files, then drag-and-drop them to the relevant iTunes folder on your hard drive. For more detailed, step-by-step instructions on transferring iTunes content between systems, check out our tip on moving your iTunes library from PC to MacCNET Networks/Corinne Schulze MP3 Mailbox Monday is a recurring feature where I answer a selection of questions about MP3 players and accessories, such as headphones, speakers, and music services and software. Check back often to see if the advice presented here might be of some use to you, or send your questions directly to me. (Note: We never include last names, but if you prefer to remain completely anonymous, please state as much in your e-mail.)

Australia number one in Game of Thrones torrents

Australia number one in Game of Thrones torrents
According to TorrentFreak's now-regular data analysis around Game of Thrones, there were over one million downloads in half a day and at one point over 300,000 torrent users were sharing the premiere simultaneously. Last season's finale managed just 170,000.Using a sample of 18,333 IP-address collected over the day, TorrentFreak reports that 11.6 per cent of users sharing the episode came from Australia, putting us number one in the world. The US follows at 9.3 per cent and the UK at 5.8.If we look at individual cities, Melbourne and Sydney take the first and third spots on the podium, with Athens sneaking in for the silver. In terms of why the torrent traffic is up worldwide, well the show is obviously more popular than ever â€" so popular, in fact, that HBO's own streaming service HBO Go crashed during the premiere and was unavailable for several hours. The theory is that many people who had paid for access to a legal version of GoT ended up using a torrent site during the outage.Locally of course, Foxtel have the rights to broadcasting Game of Thrones for the entirety of this season â€" other services such as Quickflix and iTunes can only sell the episodes after the season is done. This may have contributed somewhat to Australia's higher ranking â€" we were only in the third spot for the season three premiere back when it was available on iTunes in line with the US showings.Timeliness remains a factor as well. Foxtel are showing the episodes "express" meaning they will air in Australia just hours after the US. But a few hours is still a long time in the spoiler-filled world of social media. We've heard rumours that suggested up to 40 per cent of Foxtel subscribers still used a torrent site to get a copy of the GoT S4 premiere. That sounds a little dubious â€" but, along with the aforementioned HBO Go crash, it does suggest a fact often forgotten in discussions of TV shows and torrents: not every downloaded episode is a direct loss of revenue.People who pay for Game of Thrones may still, for one reason or another, be contributing to the torrent statistics. Similarly, people using a torrent site for their weekly viewing may still purchase the whole season at a later date, either through an online service such as iTunes or Quickflix or in an 'old-school' boxed set format. Will the season 4 finale break worldwide torrent records again? No one can tell the future, but we'd certainly be offering even money if we were taking bets...