The report notes that Apple retail showed a 7% growth in visitors, hitting an all time new revenue record of $57.6 per visitor. The average revenue per Apple store per quarter reached $13 million, making it the highest for a non-holiday quarter. Similarly, the average number of visitors per store hit 250,000 per quarter, compared with 170,000 visitors per store per quarter three years ago.

“Here are some additional metrics:

Employment has steadied at about 110 per store. This is a remarkable increase from less than half this level in 2007.

Hiring remains closely correlated with visits with visitors per employee per quarter holding to slightly more than 2000.

Average visitors per store has steadied to 250,000 per store per quarter (average for trailing 12 months). This is a quantum increase from about 170,000 per store per quarter in the twelve months ending Q1 2010. The reason for this might be the increase in floor space of newer stores and the renovation of older stores. The new store throughput rate might be an upper bound due to fire regulations”.

The analysis also claims that Apple’s profit per visitor also held steady at about $12 per quarter.

Asymco: Apple Has Set A New Record For ‘Revenue Per Store Visitor’ is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

What’s New in Version 1.2
Easier to use for new users
Improved search experience
Prominent new message action
Chat states show when business or TalkTo agent is typing
Numerous bug fixes

Honestly, TalkTo is one of my favourite apps on my iPhone as it allows me to ask businesses questions without calling, saving me time and patience. No more navigating through complex telephone menus to find out the answer to a simple question.

Questions such as the following to the Apple Store at Metrotown in Burnaby, BC:

The service works great to make reservations, check if an item is in stock, or to find out business hours, with answers sent back to you via push notifications within five minutes most of the time. It’s like a free personal assistant running telephone errands for you. Don’t have a U.S. long distance plan? Use TalkTo to message American businesses for free.

How does TalkTo work exactly? The service has agents based worldwide to provide coverage 24/7 for your questions. If you ask specific questions such as “Can I get a table at 8pm”, the service will represent themselves to business as TalkTo working on your behalf. If you ask a generic question such as “When do you close tonight?” then the service will ask without identifying themselves.

Click here to download TalkTo for iPhone–it’s free. The service is also available on the web to message any business in Canada or the USA. Let me know how you use TalkTo in the comments below!

TalkTo Text-to-Business for iPhone Adds Improved Search Interface is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Previous report had also predicted a single-digit percentage growth during the year for MacBook shipments, compared to an average of 30% growth in the past few years.

“As Apple is ready to release its new MacBook products in the near future, sources from the upstream supply chain has revealed that their orders for MacBook devices are estimated to grow 20% sequentially in the second quarter.

Since there are no major upgrades, the sources believe their shipments for MacBooks for 2013 are unlikely to surge.”

The report also notes that new MacBooks are only expected to receive specification upgrades to Intel’s latest Haswell platform and are expected to be unveiled at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

MacBook Orders Expected To Grow By 20% During Q2 2013 [DigiTimes] is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Fortunately, there is an app for that! Semi-Restore comes to save millions of jailbroken iOS device owners’ neurons from premature death.

With Semi-Restore, jailbroken iDevice users can have a clean install of their current firmware without losing the beloved jailbreak. This doesn’t mean it will completely restore your device, but it is the tool to get close to a clean install without updating your iDevice to the latest firmware.

According to the Semi-Restore website, this only requires up to 10 minutes of your time, but there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled for a successful semi-restore: you need to have OpenSSH and APT 0.7 Strict (Not the LIB) installed on your iOS device, and an SSH client on your computer.

Semi-Restore is currently in beta, but if you are ready to do a semi-restore as it goes live, you can prepare your device by installing the aforementioned apps from Cydia. Meanwhile, you can watch a video tutorial courtesy of Dom of AppAdvice.

Semi-Restore Keeps Your Jailbreak While Restoring iOS [VIDEO] is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

After hearing about the acquisition details well in advance, Yahoo has officially acquired Tumblr for a $1.1 billion cash deal. Marisa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo detailed the news today and reassured the Tumblr community things will only get better:

I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr!

We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.

David Karp, CEO of Tumblr was equally as ecstatic about the deal (he’s swimming in money now like Uncle Scrooge), as shown in his enthusiastic sign off:

Yahoo is the original Internet company, and Marissa and her team share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. I couldn’t be more excited to have her help. We also share a vision for Tumblr’s business that doesn’t compromise the community and product we love. Plus both our logos end with punctuation!

As always, everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community. We won’t let you down.

F*ck yeah,
David

Internet giants such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo continue to acquire booming web companies–who’s next to be acquired?

Yahoo Officially Acquires Tumblr, Promises “Not to Screw it Up” is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

As previous rumours have already highlighted, the fifth-generation iPad will be thinner and lighter than the currently available iPad 4, carrying design elements from the iPad mini. Now, Digitimes’s sources put that change into numbers: they claim the iPad 5 will be 25%33% lighter than the current model.

The display of the new iPad, which will hit market shelves as early as September, will still be a 2,048 x 1,536 Retina display, the same as the one used in the 4th-generation model, except that the new display is built on a glass substrate of 0.2mm, thinner than the 0.25mm one for the 4th-generation device, the sources said, adding the new table will has a narrow bezel.

The touch panel solution for 5th-generation iPad is GF2 (1 layer of glass and two layers of ITO film) instead of G/G bonding used in 4th-generation iPad, the sources added.

The new iPad will use one LED light bar for backlighting, compared to two LED light bars used in 4th-generation iPad, the sources noted.

The 5th-generation iPad is estimated to be 25-33% lighter than the 4th-generation one, the sources indicated.

Completing an April report, supply chain sources say the display of the iPad 5 will be provided by LG Display, Sharp and Samsung Display.

Back in January, iLounge’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeremy Horwitz has shared his thoughts about the iPad 5 after holding a “supposedly accurate and seriously intriguing” mockup of the completely redesigned tablet.

He spread the rumours of the iPad mini-like design — especially regarding the left and right bezels. Since then, we have seen a couple of examples of alleged iPad 5 front bezels and cover glass, as well as the device’s rear shell and a couple cases, all of which seeming to reinforce an iPad-mini-like design.

It remains to be seen whether earlier rumours of more efficient backlighting will materialize at the launch of the anticipated full-sized tablet.

iPad 5 Rumoured to be up to 33% Lighter than Current Model is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

The first report says RiTdisplay was supposed to receive orders for an 1.8-inch OLED display, but Apple has decided to go with a smaller, 1.5-inch OLED display that uses one-glass-touch sensors, allowing a thin design for the product.

This report appears to reinforce a December rumour noting that Apple’s smart watch will sport a 1.5-inch OLED display, manufactured by RiTdisplay.

The second report points to Foxconn, which allegedly received orders for Apple’s smart watch. However, the Taiwanese sources have knowledge only a small volume of smart watches (just over 1,000 units), which could mean the gadget is in the early testing phase.

Rumors of an iWatch surfaced earlier this year, when a couple of reports claimed that Apple is developing a smart watch. Bloomberg claimed that the company has a team of 100 designers working on the project.

Apple Rumoured to Test 1.5-inch OLED Display for Smart Watch is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Of course, the iPhone 4 is an old phone that is slow in today’s standards so smartphone snobs will ignore this. But if your parents or grandparents want an iPhone and don’t care about the latest and greatest, a free iPhone 4 with the $39/month plan is a decent start, plus you get paid $100 in gift cards. Let us know if you’re going to jump on this warm deal.

[via RFD]

Fido iPhone 4 for $0: Sign 2 Year Term, Get $100 Best Buy Gift Card is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

First things first: navigation. If you add a few extra words like “via transit,” Siri can help you choose the preferred apps for directions. It works like this: first you instruct Siri to, for example, “get me directions from San Francisco to Santa Barbara via transit.” With this command, Siri will launch the Maps application and display the routing pane. This allows you to choose the third-party app you prefer for directions.

Another tip when driving: if your car has a built-in speakerphone, you can enable Bluetooth on your iPhone and pair the devices. Now, the fun part begins: when you call Siri (hold the home button) a speaker icon will appear on the right of the Siri button. After pressing it, you’ll get access to a menu of all the available sound inputs your handset can use. By selecting one of them Siri will listen to you using that microphone, and will speak to you using the car’s speakers. In case your car doesn’t have built-in speakers, you can opt for a Bluetooth accessory that has both microphone and speakers.

[Via Macworld]

Two Powerful Siri Tips for In-Car Use is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

image via AllThingsD

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer continues to move the web company forward–this time, with an acquisition of popular blogging platform Tumblr. According to AllThingsD, the Yahoo! board has approved a $1.1 billion acquisition cash deal, set to be announced tomorrow:

The Yahoo board has approved a massive $1.1 billion all-cash deal to buy Tumblr.

Sources close to the board said the deal was a foregone conclusion and was an unanimous vote by the Silicon Valley Internet giant.

The deal will likely be announced Monday morning, said numerous sources.

According to sources Mayer has said acquiring Tumblr was going to be “the stake in the ground of what her strategy is going forward for Yahoo,” to attract younger audiences and remain relevant and “cool”. Younger audiences continue to create popular unique generated pages such as Sh!t Siri Says.

Tumblr’s mobile usage has ramped up as ComScore notes a quarter of its traffic comes from mobile, helped in large part by its iPhone app.

Yahoo continues to ramp up its mobile offerings with recent updates to its mail app, a newly released weather app and also acquiring summary service Summly. The company has previously been reported to be engaged in talks with Apple to play a deeper role within iOS devices.

Yahoo! Board Approves $1.1 Billion Deal to Acquire Tumblr is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource