iLounge

Plodes Studio offers Tab stand for iPad

This is a nice iPad stand ...

Posted by Dennis on January 4, 2012 at 6:20 AM (PDT)

Ballistic to unveil LS Smooth case for iPhone 4/4S

My iPhone is much more safety with this case. Thanks iLounge for this information

Posted by Alexey Brownigan on January 4, 2012 at 2:09 AM (PDT)

Gameloft releases Dungeon Hunter 3

Hi,
I’m curious how you consider DH3 to “expand” on the first two games. I found it to be almost nothing like the first two, sadly. Other than the hack-n-slash battles, it doesn’t really play like a Dungeon Hunter game. I did a quick comparison between the different games. I’m curious to know what others think, as I was disappointed in this freemium game.

Posted by AppUnwrapper on January 3, 2012 at 6:22 PM (PDT)

GameStop sees 'strong' interest in iOS trade program

My wife and I had upgraded our phones earlier in the fall with me getting the 4S and her getting my old 4 which left us with a spare 16gb 3GS.  After sitting in a drawer for a couple months we finally took it down to Gamestop who gave us $104 for the phone.  Considering this was a $99 Wal-Mart phone we ended up making $5 on the deal for using the phone for a year.  Prices are very fair compared to other places/websites, you just can’t expect $300 when you’re trading in a phone that’s 2 generations old.

Posted by Jeff on January 3, 2012 at 9:40 AM (PDT)

GameStop sees 'strong' interest in iOS trade program

My wife wanted to upgrade her 3GS to a 4S, and there is a Gamestop in the same shopping center as our local AT$T store.  Gamestop gave us $112 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS that is in perfect condition.  So take that “up to $300 for an iPhone” with a grain of salt. I took the money, because my wife really wanted the 4S and it was more convenient than trying to sell the 3GS on e-Bay where it is going for about $150.

Posted by Eric on January 3, 2012 at 9:13 AM (PDT)

French retailer sues Apple citing unfair competition

I have to agree with Code Monkey on this one.  It is not like Apple all of sudden overnight started putting up their own retail locations or just started selling online. 
Also, yes they would supply product to their own stores as a priority over authorized resellers.  The potential for higher volume at an Apple store over any single eBizcuss location would warrant that.
Apple has never been a great deal for any resellers.  Even on the PC market, Dell was once great for resellers but then they cut margins so small and with online direct sales most smaller retailers dropped them.  However, Dell is no longer the quality product that it once was either.

Posted by Scottrey on January 3, 2012 at 7:41 AM (PDT)

Apple posts iTunes Match walkthrough video, FAQ

ok i need to put some music on my i pod but all need to show me how to do it and do i need i tunes om my i pod so i can get free music can all text me back so i can put music on my i pod????!!!!!!

Posted by daja on January 2, 2012 at 1:48 PM (PDT)

French retailer sues Apple citing unfair competition

@4: Nonsense. Those customers ARE Apple customers, and as soon as they registered their products would be subject to contact from Apple. For that matter, Apple probably would have contacted these businesses anyhow. The fact eBizcuss supplied them Apple products prior is merely correlations.

I mean, I’ve bought Apple products from Target, Best Buy, Amazon, and Apple, and wouldn’t you know it, Apple sends me emails to buy from them direct. Guess their unfairly competing with Best Buy, Target, and Amazon :rolleyes:

The crux of this case is that a middle man wants to be able to sell Apple’s products *without* Apple competing with them. Regardless of whatever supporting details they are offering, that’s what it boils down to.

Posted by Code Monkey in Midstate New York on January 2, 2012 at 11:01 AM (PDT)

French retailer sues Apple citing unfair competition

But if Apple is contacting there customers directly then there is an “Anti-Trust” case. Price is not a factor, Apple should not be contacting there customers directly for new sales.

Posted by Shameless1 on January 2, 2012 at 8:34 AM (PDT)

Flixster app adds full-length movie downloads

Hello! eaaadad interesting eaaadad site! I’m really like it! Very, very eaaadad good!

Posted by Pharme324 on January 1, 2012 at 1:25 AM (PDT)

Happy New Year From iLounge!

Happy New Year for you too!!

Posted by Eduardo on December 31, 2011 at 10:03 AM (PDT)

French retailer sues Apple citing unfair competition

I didn’t miss the point, I just don’t believe there necessarily is one. Breach of contract and “unfair competition” are not the same thing. Maybe there are contracts in place that obligated Apple to supply eBizcuss to the harm of Apple’s own stores, and that would constitute a lawsuit for breach of contract as opposed to “unfair competition”. However, the article mentions nothing about any pre-existing supply contracts and merely says they’re claiming they were “harmed” by Apple doing what 100% of competent businesses would do faced with more orders than product on, hot items: fill the most profitable orders (their own in this case) first. That’s not unfair, that’s business 101.

I am not familiar enough with French law so maybe anti-trust works differently there than here, but the price thing would be irrelevant unless they can prove Apple was selling hardware in these enterprise contracts at a loss to harm the competition. Selling lower than others while still maintaining a profit is what they call competition, and if all the plaintiff invested was 6.5 million they’re obviously not big enough players to be complaining they can’t offer a 2000 iPad and support contract to a large business at the same or cheaper price than Apple can directly.

As my reputation here proves, I’m very critical of Apple and usually very receptive to EU consumer protections but, in spite of that, I’m not seeing any signs of wrong doing on Apple’s part or anything other than a whining business asking the courts to stop Apple from competing with them directly. Apple founded their first retail store in 2001, and they didn’t do it as a charity, they did it so they can sell hardware at full retail with no middle man (and, heck, their online store has been live since 1997 doing the same thing). Every single business that chooses to carry Apple hardware in a region where there is an Apple store knows the drill: they’re carrying water for Apple and making less profit on the same hardware than Apple is in their own stores. They also know that when a new item comes out that the majority of the units will go to the Apple store and not to them because that’s just how it works.

Posted by Code Monkey in Midstate New York on December 31, 2011 at 5:33 AM (PDT)

French retailer sues Apple citing unfair competition

Code Monkey, I think you missed the point of this case, which involves both antitrust and contracts law. 

To become an apple premium reseller in France, the retailer had to make substantial investments in its stores (6,5 millions € in this case) to contractually comply with apple’s tough supply requirements. However, following the opening of a few apple stores in the area, this retailer has seen an almost complete collapse in supply of apple products despite previous contractual arrangements.

It is my understanding that the part on the price is just another argument to demonstrate that there is unfair competition not only because of a lack of supply but also on the price level (antitrust claims are fact-based).

I have been told that the antitrust claim is likely to prevail because the figures are obvious. But I would love to read the language of the supply arrangement to get whether there is a claim in comtract law.

Posted by Pierre on December 31, 2011 at 12:20 AM (PDT)

iPod nano 6G announced with Multi-Touch interface

its no gd at ol cuz thers no video but its ok 4 work outz

Posted by kn on December 30, 2011 at 3:39 PM (PDT)

French retailer sues Apple citing unfair competition

Even with the EU’s more consumer friendly and arguably anti-big business regulations, I’m trying to figure out the basis for this law suit.

The first part I would understand if Apple were withholding stock from competing retailers to intentionally harm them, but, in essence, the suit is complaining that in times of insufficient supply that Apple should be forced into equally distributing their own goods instead of prioritizing their own stores. They may as well have added to the suit that Apple favors those who order from them direct. The second part seems made of pure insanity: that Apple shouldn’t be allowed to make direct enterprise level sales contracts that middle men can’t meet at a profit. That’s just assbackward, the suit is trying to get the courts to argue in favor of price fixing.

Posted by Code Monkey in Midstate New York on December 30, 2011 at 11:51 AM (PDT)

60Beat debuts GamePad for iOS devices

#1 That is pretty cool.  However, that is the same concern I have is just how many games actually support this.  I’ve not checked this 60Beat outfit’s website, but hope they do provide an API to allow any developer to write new games that support this or update their existing games.

I was also curious to why this somewhat unusual connection scheme through the audio port instead of just going with blue tooth.  Then I got to thinking perhaps for a cost reasons.  With blue tooth, it would also be necessary to include a battery and all its associated electronics (charging, etc) in addition to the blue tooth transceiver itself.  It would most likely ending being an $80+ item instead of $50.  Perhaps in the future, if this product is successful and there is enough demand for it, they will offer a blue tooth version as well.

Posted by SkiBumMSP on December 30, 2011 at 10:38 AM (PDT)

60Beat debuts GamePad for iOS devices

A fantastic concept for the die hard gamers among us, this could be a game changer in the console game war world. Point to note that on the 60Beat website it does state that the game pad only works with ‘compatible 60Beat games’ which currently is 2, with more due for release in February 2012 It will be interesting to see if they make the ability for the pad to be used by other game developers.

Posted by Chris Prosser on December 30, 2011 at 2:32 AM (PDT)

iOS 5.0.1 update poll ends, holiday poll begins

This is a major problem for Apple which if they do not solve will damage their long term sales.
42% didn’t have a problem to fix, which means over 50% of customers have a problem product, not forgetting that the increased numbers of battery charges will lead to the battery (and hence the product) dying sooner.

That is a huge number of problem customers, especially for those needing the phone. I can only imagine what the out cry would be like if a similar problem occurred with Microsoft (I am typing this on a MacBook Air before I am accused of flaming).

I still have not updated my iPhone 4 as I don’t want to take the risk until its sorted,

Posted by Martin on December 30, 2011 at 2:10 AM (PDT)

Photo of the Year: iPhone 4 in Hawaii

No Prize?

Posted by CW on December 28, 2011 at 9:36 PM (PDT)

Apple to build 32-, 37-inch TV sets?

Seems odd that they would choose such small sizes to enter the marketplace. Assuming it will act a some kind of entertainment hub, I would think most people who buy Apple products would want something more “home theater” appropriate (50”+)

Posted by Eric Armstrong on December 28, 2011 at 3:59 PM (PDT)

Google Voice app adds Sprint support, multi-recipient texting

Does the sprint integration mean that I won’t be using any of my minutes when I am integrated with my gv number on my iphone?
Also, what if I text pictures from my phone.  I thought gv didn’t do MMS messages…however, I am receiving pictures on my gv account using the app from some people

Posted by Zotje on December 28, 2011 at 1:37 PM (PDT)

EA releases The Sims 3 for iPhone, iPod touch

Hi, my sims are partners now but their romantic options have not changed. Any suggestions on how I could fix that?
Thank you

Posted by ErIn on December 28, 2011 at 9:48 AM (PDT)

Apple fined $1.2 million over warranty practices in Italy

Expect the same news from Spain where it is also compulsory by law to give 2 years warranty. Apple care is not legal before year 3.

Posted by wsrmatre on December 28, 2011 at 2:28 AM (PDT)

Geneva Lab unveils Model XS sound system

Can we have a review of the model xs please.

Posted by Brian on December 27, 2011 at 9:48 PM (PDT)

iPod nano 6G plays music videos, vodcasts as audio

using an ipod isn’t about the apps and the movies or the picture .

it about the love of the music

Posted by me on December 27, 2011 at 7:16 PM (PDT)