Toshiba’s long-winded sale of its memory chip business is finally completed. The company announced that the sale to a Bain Capital consortium, consisting of Apple and various other tech companies, has been finalized…
Shortly after Apple finalized its stake in the Bain Capital bid for Toshiba’s chip-making division, that bid has now been accepted by the Japanese corporation.
The delay in Toshiba finally accepting the bid was due to Apple demanding new terms, says a report …
The long-running saga of the sale of Toshiba’s chip division appears to be finally drawing to a close. It’s today reported that Toshiba has now ended negotiations with two of the three competing bidders, leaving only the one led by Bain Capital …
In the story that feels like it will never end, Bloomberg reports that Apple is mulling a $3 billion stake in Bain Captial’s bid to purchase Toshiba’s memory chip business. Apple’s involvement in deals to purchase Toshiba’s memory business has wavered, but it now seems that the company is heavily investing in Bain’s bid…
We reported yesterday that Apple was participating in two out of the three rival bids for Toshiba’s chip-making division, and it now seems we can up that count to three out of three …
In what’s beginning to feel like the world’s longest-running takeover battle, Foxconn has been pressing the case for its own bid for Toshiba’s chip division. It faces competition from two rival bids, from KKR and Bain Capital …
The ongoing saga of Toshiba’s sale of its memory chip business seems destined never to end. First it was unclear whether it was Apple or Foxconn bidding for it, then it was both, but possibly neither, then Apple without Foxconn – and in the latest twist, the two are now bidding rivals …
Things had gone very quiet since it was reported back in June that Apple would be part of a consortium bidding to buy Toshiba’s chip-making division. This would help Apple secure NAND chips in a market in which there is strong competition for components.
More recently, it had appeared that Western Digital would emerge as the successful bidder. But a new report suggests today that Apple is back in the running, this time without Foxconn …
Foxconn chairman Terry Gou has confirmed that Apple would be supporting the company’s bid to acquire Toshiba’s chip-making business. Interestingly, Amazon is also said to be contributing to the bid.
We first learned back in March that Foxconn was planning a bid to acquire Toshiba’s semiconductor business, which mostly makes flash storage chips. The following month, it was said to have increased its bid to $27B in an attempt to defeat rival bids, and it was later suggested that Apple would be seeking its own direct stake in the business …
A fund backed by the Japanese government has hinted that it may try to prevent Apple supplier Foxconn’s attempt to take control of Toshiba’s chip-making division. It has been variously reported that Foxconn is seeking either an outright purchase of the division, or a controlling stake – possibly with Apple’s assistance …
Toshiba NAND chip in the 2016 12-inch MacBook (iFixit)
Following earlier confusion about whether Apple or Foxconn was bidding for a stake in Toshiba’s chip-making division, it appears that the answer could be ‘both.’ Reuters cites a report by public broadcaster NHK that Apple would be making its own bid alongside the existing Foxconn one.
Apple is considering teaming up with its supplier Foxconn to bid for Toshiba’s semiconductor business, public broadcaster NHK said on Friday […] Apple is considering investing at least several billion dollars to take a stake of more than 20 percent.
If the deal went through, it could be bad news for Samsung – but there are a couple of hurdles to be overcome before agreement could be reached …
Digitimes cites Chinese publication Liberty Times in reporting that Apple manufacturing partners Foxconn and TSMC are planning to bid for shares of Toshiba’s flash storage business. The move could bolster Toshiba against Samsung which leads in the memory space.
You can get just about anything at the Shenzhen market in China, and that apparently includes an on-the-spot internal storage upgrade for your iPhone (in addition to a long list of counterfeit Apple products). It’s a service that, save for perhaps the most hardcore DIYers, is unheard of stateside.
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Incase Maki Canvas Jacket for iPad 2/3/4 case $10 shipped (Reg. $40)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkVkwH2qbE?rel=0]
Apple has once again retained its top spot in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index in the personal computers category – though three points down on its 2013 score. Apple has now held top billing for eleven straight years.
The ASCI continues to lump computers and tablets into the same category, so the scores reflect satisfaction with both Macs and iPads. Scores reflect customer expectations pre-sale, perceived quality, perceived value, customer complaint incidents and customer loyalty …
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Asia-based rumor site Apple Daily has acquired photos of what it claims are the next-generation iPhone, including the 5.5-inch model we’ve seen much less of in recent weeks. The two photos above show the larger device (with the purple interior) paired with a 4.7-inch version. The wider 5.5-inch model is to the right and the 4.7 display panel is on the left. While some may note that the part on the right does not appear much larger than the part on the left, it is possible that the image’s perspective does not highlight the size differentiation well.
The larger model, which Apple Daily claims will be called ‘iPhone 6L’ also sports a larger 2915mAh battery (seen below), compared to the 1810mAh in the 4.7-inch device and 1560 mAh in the iPhone 5s. The larger display area and form-factor allows Apple to squeeze a much larger battery pack into the phone, but it is currently unclear if this will mean stronger battery life. It’s uncertain if the larger display and more powerful chip rumored for the bigger phone will counterbalance the effects of the bigger battery pack…
Photos of apparent leaked iPhone 6 parts continue, the latest from AppleClub in Taiwan claiming to show complete logic board assemblies. With most of the components hidden beneath shielding, we don’t learn anything new beyond the flash memory chip middle-left appearing to be made by Toshiba …
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Today’s can’t miss deals:
Last Call updates:
Back in stock!
Apple iPad Air 32GB WiFi $490 shipped (Reg. $599) http://t.co/m51xPeqEwg
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) May 20, 2014
Toshiba 5TB Canvio Black USB 3.0 Hard Drive: $189 shipped (msrp. $300)
Kingston MobileLite wireless card reader/power bank for smartphones/tablets $30 w/ free Prime shipping (Reg. $60) 
Foscam wireless/wired Pan & Tilt network cam w/ 8 meter night vision: $49 shipped (Reg. $85), and Foscam FI9821W V2 for $85 shipped (Reg. $149) 
Belkin 20% sitewide coupon: Thunderbolt Express Dock w/ cable $184 (orig. $330), WeMo Insight Switch $48, more 
Nest Learning Thermostat 2nd Generation: $224 shipped (Reg. $250)
Other deals from today:
Urge Basics Soundbrick Bluetooth Speaker w/ built-in mic $30 shipped (Reg. $80) http://t.co/mi7jsxeUlw
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) May 20, 2014
More deals still alive:
New products/useful info:
Microsoft/Google/Android:
Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed,Facebook, Google+ and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Last Call updates:
USB 3.0 External Hard Drives: Seagate Expansion 4TB Desktop $125 (Reg. $170), Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB Portable $95 (Reg. $150)
Daily Deals: Polaroid 1080p Waterproof Camera $90, Logitech Universal Remote Control $80, Craig BT Speaker $18, more
You can still score a FREE HD copy of the hit Tom Hanks movie ‘Big’ (up to $15 savings) http://t.co/gd2thRjDBm pic.twitter.com/bqUVJREqnK
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 18, 2014
Other great deals from today:
More great deals still alive:
New products/info:
Toshiba’s new Chromebook at CES looks a lot like LG, Samsung, and HP notebooks from IFA. “Leading Innovation”
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Both IDC and Gartner are out with their reports for PC shipments in the third quarter today. While Apple is not in the top five vendors for worldwide shipments, estimates from the two firms place Apple’s share of the United States market at 12.5-percent to 13.6-percent.
According to IDC’s numbers (above), Apple captured 12.5-percent of U.S. PC shipments in the third quarter. This is up from 11.8-percent in the same quarter last year. Apple faced a year-over-year unit decline of 7 percent, but market leaders HP and Dell posted shipment declines of 18.8-percent and 16 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, shipments for the U.S. market in total were down 12.4-percent.
In comparison, the same numbers from Gartner have the total market decline at 13.8-percent. Apple hit 13.6-percent of the U.S. market, where as it had a 12.5-percent estimate for Q3 2011. Estimates from both firms put Apple’s market position firmly behind HP and Dell, despite IDC estimating fourth-place Lenovo’s growth at over 9 percent for the quarter:
Four of the top 5 vendors in the U.S. market experienced shipment declines. HP maintained the No. 1 position in the U.S. market despite a shipment decline of 19.3 percent (see Table 2). Lenovo was the only vendor among the top 5 to increase shipments. Both Acer and Toshiba shipments declined significantly due to the tough environment in the consumer market. Apple expected to have a PC shipment decline due to softness in the public market, but the company faced a slowdown in the consumer market.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index is out today with its September report for appliances, computers, televisions and video players/recorders. Not surprisingly, Apple is able to maintain its lead among personal computers despite a drop of 1-point to 86 over previous reports. While the report noted Apple continued to lead the category by a margin of 5- to- 9 points, Apple’s lead is slightly smaller than previously, according to the report, “due to an across-the-board customer satisfaction increase for Windows-based computers.” Apple’s score comes as the PC industry as a whole gains 2.6-points and hit all-time high satisfaction score of 80.
Skipping past HP, Acer and Toshiba, the aggregate of smaller PC makers (including tablet producers Samsung and Amazon) improves customer satisfaction by 4% to 80 while simultaneously gaining market share at a pace that outstrips even Apple… “What may be occurring is that the defection of the least satisfied customers of traditional PC brands such as Dell, HP and Acer to Apple and other smaller tablet makers actually may be boosting customer satisfaction for all,” says Fornell. “The companies that lose market share will maintain their most loyal and happy customers, while those who migrate to other companies in search of new products are more pleased as well.”
From 9to5Toys.com:
Amazon has the KomputerBay 2x8GB 1333Mhz Laptop RAM Upgrade for $59.99 with free shipping. While we don’t have personal experience with this brand, it gets 4+ star rating from 500 Amazon reviewers, many of whom have put this upgrade inside their Macs.
Use OWC’s handy guide to make sure your Mac is compatible. For the most part, 2010 iMacs and most Macs released in 2011 are compatible:
