Apple has bought Israel's Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for up to $500m (£319m), the Calcalist financial daily reported on Tuesday, following almost a week of speculation surrounding the companies.

The newspaper said Anobit's management was in the process of gathering its staff to formally announce the acquisition by Apple. There was no announcement at the time of writing on either company's website. The purchase is the first by Apple of an Israel-based company.

Flash storage is used in mobile phones and some computers to store data: it gives high-speed access but because it has no moving parts, unlike a magnetic hard drive, it is immune from knocks and magnetic fields. But such SSDs – solid state drives – are pricier and are a comparatively young technology.

Anobit has developed a chip that enhances flash drive performance through signal processing. The chip is already incorporated in Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and the MacBook Air, where some models use SSDs rather than spinning hard drives. Last week, Calcalist said Apple was interested in Anobit's technology to increase and enhance the memory volume and performance of its devices. The chip may double the memory volume in the new iPads and MacBooks.

At ZDnet, Robin Haris – who has previous spoken to Anobit's chief executive Avraham Meir – said the company has developed systems which improve the stability of flash memory.

"Anobit designs controller chips that make flash behave", Harris wrote. It adds reliability, accuracy, endurance and power consumption improvements to standard flash systems through its proprietary controller chip.

Calling the Anobit acquisition "Apple's biggest hardware bet ever – and it is a good bet", Harris said it would give Apple "a powerful competitive weapon that can be used to both reduce costs and/or increase performance, while increasing product quality in terms of reliability and battery life".

Apple in 2008 bought a chip design company, PA Semi, and integrated its staff's expertise to help design the A4 and A5 chips that run its iPhone and iPad.

Anobit holds or has applied for more than 60 patents which would be applicable to future technologies, he said.

In addition to the acquisition, Apple will also open a research and development centre in Israel, its first outside the US, Calcalist said.

Anobit and Apple were not available for comment.

LOS ANGELES – Apple tonight established an email to express condolences for Steve Jobs. Apple allowed users, employees, and friends tonight to share their “thoughts, memories, and condolences” through the email set up at rememberingsteve@apple.com. Apple confirms to news that it wishes to celebrate Jobs’ life and invites comments about Jobs and how his vision touched people’s lives, worldwide.

Tim Cook issued a news statement upon Jobs’ passing tonight. Cook said “I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today”. Cook said that, with Jobs’ passing, Apple had “lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.” Cook also called Jobs a caring person and an “inspiring mentor.” And despite his passing, Jobs leaves a “spirit [that] will forever be the foundation of Apple” Cook told news this evening.
Cook encouraged others to celebrate Jobs through the Apple website tonight. “We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon.”

Jobs’ family issued the following statement to news tonight. “Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family. In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family.”
Jobs’ family indicated a special website may also be set up for users to remember Jobs. “We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve’s illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.
They added “We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.”

http://www.apple.com/stevejobs
Updated at Saturday, October 15^th 2011

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI9np8CZ95A&feature=youtube_gdata

Sent from my iPhone

This is the new iPhone 4...

Apple's share of the smartphone market is growing quickly enough that it could overtake Nokia's in as little as four years, according to data from Generator Research. The analyst group sees the market almost reversing itself from its situation today and believes Nokia will tumble from about 40 percent share today to just 20 percent in 2013. iPhones, meanwhile, should accelerate and hit 33 percent of the market at the same point. Apple would match Nokia's share sometime in 2011 and ship as many as 77 million phones that year.

The apparent flip is expected to come about both through ideal conditions for Apple as well as an inability for Nokia to pay attention to smartphones as much as it would like. Generator sees Apple as entering a "golden age" of fast growth both because of the combination of the iPhone and the App Store, with one driving sales of the other. It also has the benefit of selling both to smartphone users as well as to existing iPod owners. A crossover device appealing to high end media phone users, such as the $99 iPhone 3G, should also give the company a boost.

Nokia, in turn, is seen as a victim of its own emphasis on low-cost phones. As it makes most of its current money selling budget devices in developing countries where there's still room to sell phones in that category, the company doesn't have an actual financial stake in keeping smartphones at the top. The Finnish giant is likely to try and defend its territory but may be only half-hearted in funding its efforts as the smartphone business won't be where Nokia makes its true profits.

Much of Nokia's already ongoing decline in share is commonly attributed to its own slow response to competitors. While it responded to the BlackBerry's popularity outside of work relatively quickly with the E71, the company took a year and a half to react to the iPhone's debut with its own touchscreen phone, the 5800 XpressMusic, and has only just launched its second in the form of the N97. The rapid expansion of the iPhone's App Store also pushed Nokia to launch the Ovi Store as a central portal for software despite running its N-Gage and music stores with modest success for considerably longer.

Generator is convinced that Apple could speed up its sales further by more tightly integrating the iPhone app ecosystem with carriers, which the researchers believe would let developers target specific networks and perform feats that aren't normally possible with Apple's carrier-neutral strategy. Apps could be written to send individual or group SMS messages for alerts, for example, or could establish calls and customize ringtones.

1. Tablet computer is the best mobile PC solution.

A Tablet PC is compact and convertible which allows you to use your computer in places it would be awkward to use a laptop. You can even use it while standing up. With the wireless Internet support a Tablet PC is extremely convenient to use while being about town.

2. Write notes rather than type.

You can interact with people sitting across from you while writing notes, rather than having a computer screen between you. It’s great because you can use technology and still have that personal interaction with others.

3. Taking notes — easier in meetings or classroom.

Tablet PCs are especially great for students, or in a classroom situation. They are also great in meetings. You can quickly write notes — and then organize and search your notes later. You can even include audio files, or presentations with your notes.

4. A Tablet PC is more personal.

Write emails using your own handwriting. Send messages to friends and family (even those without a Tablet PC.) It brings back the personalized touch of handwritten cards, rather than the impersonal feel of regular emails. Your family will love it.

5. Make comments easily.

Tablet PCs make it easy to make comments (like sticky notes, and highlighters). Personalize what you are reading. Make notes in margins. Draw right on the screen while making presentations.

6. Convert handwriting to text.

Once you have your handwritten notes — your Tablet computer can easily convert those notes into typed text.

7. Search handwritten text.

You can also search your own handwritten notes. This is the coolest feature. You will be the envy of your friends once you show them how you can write their name and then find it just by searching your notes.

8. It’s the next generation of notebook computer.

Windows XP has a version just for Tablet PCs — with some additions. Get all of the security and features of Windows XP — and carry it with you on your Tablet PC. The new Apple tablet will likely have customized functionality specific to the new platform.

9. Tablet computer software.

The cool thing about a Tablet is you get the cutting edge technology of the latest software. There are hundreds of third-party software applications for the Tablet.

10. Multi-Language Capability.

The Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 comes in 20 languages. No specific announcements on the Apple Tablet but based on past performance from Apple, we are certain to see multi-language capability.

WWDC 2009, Apple has built a service that works with the new iPhone 3.0 software launching on June 17 that helps absent-minded people locate and retrieve their lost iPhones in a variety of situations. If you absolutely cannot find your iPhone, perhaps the battery had died. You can send a "remote wipe" command to the phone to more-or-less self-destruct the next time its activated. A new section called "Find my iPhone" on your Mobile Me account will allow you to send a remote command to your iPhone, which will report back a GPS reading and pinpoint its location on a Google Maps anywhere in the world. You can even dispatch a message to your phone that will be displayed on the phone's home screen, like the picture. Think something like "This phone has been lost". For those instances where the iPhone is lost somewhere in your own home, you can instruct the phone to emit a series of loud pinging noises so you can track it down. All of this works in the exact same way, regardless of whether or not you've left the phone in silent mode.

CUPERTINO, Calif., May 5 (UPI) -- U.S. technology giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may be considering a $700 million buyout offer for Internet networking Web site Twitter, a variety of bloggers claim. Bloggers have been wrong before, but they have also been right. Blog site Gawker.com said an unnamed source reported Apple is in "serious negotiations" with Twitter, ComputerWorld reported Tuesday. "The blogoshpere is abuzz," with the rumor Apple is attempting to buy the company, which turned down an offer from Facebook Inc. last fall, ComputerWorld said. Rumors of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) pursuing Twitter also surfaced recently. TechCrunch reported a "normally reliable source" confirmed Apple was pursuing Twitter, ComputerWorld said. In early March, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said his company was "just getting started" and was "planning on building a strong, independent Twitter Inc."

Earlier today, Apple released the Safari 3.1 Web browser for Mac OS and Windows XP/Vista. A couple hours later, Apple Software Update popped up on my daughter's Sony VAIO, offering Safari 3.1 for download. I didn't recall seeing an earlier version installed on the laptop. And I made no mistake: The Apple updater offered installation of new software, not something that had been there before. Whoa.
Apple distributes its software updater with iTunes. Adobe is among the other developers that also distribute software updaters with some products. But Apple has taken an interesting approach: using its updater as a Trojan horse for promoting software not already installed on the Windows PC.
Apple's approach is atypical. For example, I use Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox on my Vista PC. Mozilla's software updater automatically downloads Firefox updates, but it doesn't prompt me to download Thunderbird, which isn't on the laptop.
Already, Apple uses iTunes as a mechanism for distributing QuickTime. One requires the other. The updater isn't a required install with iTunes, and it can later be removed. But the strategy of using the updater to deliver other Apple software is an aggressive encroachment into the Windows desktop.

Twenga allows you to compare prices on millions of high-tech products, at any moment, to be sure that you are getting the best price. The application is available for free on the iPhone for UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.



More info: http://www.twenga.co.uk/iphone/

Tecnology

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So, now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve