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Lenovo's UFO-like hub brings Dolby audio to conference calls
Business meetings can be dreary at the best of times, but that's made worse by the flakiness of modern technology. Between hard-to-hear remote callers and a lack of consistent file sharing, it could be hard to sustain what little interest you have. Give Lenovo some credit for trying to fix this sad state of affairs, though -- it's introducing the ThinkSmart Hub 700, a flying saucer-shaped mini PC that serves as the cornerstone of office chats. It promises a big boost in audio quality, for starters -- it revolves around a four-speaker Dolby Audio system that should help your Skype (or Zoom, or BlueJeans) conference calls.
Amazon Chime is yet another videoconferencing tool
Somehow, in 2017 it's still a chore to collect people for a conference call, much less one with video. Now Amazon is taking on Microsoft/Skype, Cisco and the rest with its new solution, Chime. Aimed squarely towards businesses, Chime comes out of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) side of things, running on the company's servers and promising "frustration-free meetings."
Translating the Apple Q4 2013 earnings call into normal human language
Apple earnings calls always create a bit of a three-ring circus on the web. Everyone tries to read into every last boast and stutter out of the mouths of Apple management and predict the future. We do plenty of that here at TUAW as well -- you can check out all the hard numbers from the call on our wrap-up post -- but while the rest of the staff puts on their thinking caps to dissect the transcript, I figured it would be easier to just run a bunch of the most notable quotes from the call through my handy dandy AppleSpeak Translator 4000. Let's check the results! Tim Cook: "We're pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year with record fourth-quarter revenue, including sales of almost 34 million iPhones." Translation: "Ok, listen, we sold a lot of stuff and made a whole bunch of money, but that doesn't really matter to any of you, right? No matter what I say, you're going to scribble your little notes down and the stock is going to dip as soon as I hang up, just like it always does." Tim Cook: "We're proud to be a force of good in the world, beyond our products." Translation: "We make desirable green gadgets, and we're nice people. You can't possible hate us, it's against the rules." Tim Cook: The iPad Air is "the most incredible product we've ever done." Translation: "We made it thinner and lighter and smaller... and more powerful. I already know you want one, I mean just look at the thing." Tim Cook: "We obviously believe that we can use our skills in building other great products that are in categories that represent where we do not participate today. We are pretty confident about that." Translation: "Yeah, we could probably launch the iWatch before this winter's snow melts if we really really wanted to, but did you see how badly Samsung is taking it on the chin with that Galaxy Gear monstrosity? We'll keep the iWatch in our back pocket for now, thank you very much." Tim Cook: "We're selling the iPhone 5c as a mid-tier offering." Translation: "There's no such thing as a bargain iPhone. Apple doesn't make bargain products." Tim Cook: "We had a pretty good quarter in China." Translation: "We launched an iPhone day-one in China for the first time ever, and that should tell you exactly how we feel about expanding our reach in the region." Tim Cook: "We continue to view the tablet market as 'huge.' We see it as a large opportunity for us. We are not solely focused on unit share, as we've said many times, but on usage and customer [satisfaction] and other things that are very important to us." Translation: "We realize Android and Kindle are now forces to be reckoned with in the tablet market, but we're not going to sacrifice the iPad experience just to push a $200 tablet out the door. We'll sell iPads to people who want iPads, and there are plenty of those around." Tim Cook: "It's going to be an iPad Christmas." Translation: "If you're not already making plans to get one, don't cry in the middle of December when you have to drop $1,500 for a new Retina iPad mini on eBay just to keep from ruining your family's holiday."
Skype for iOS now lets you join group voice calls
Can't make it to the office in time to join the weekly conference call through Skype? Don't fret -- Skype has just updated its iPad and iPhone apps to let users join group voice calls. The releases also improve video and voice quality. Either update is otherwise quite light, but those who want to always stay in the loop can grab the new Skype versions at the source links.
Nokia aims to take the drudgery out of concalls with its Conference app
Is your organization still on the fence about BB10 and casting around for alternatives? Then here's a little first-party business app for Nokia Windows Phones that might be worthy of some evidence-based evaluation. It's called Conference and it's only at the beta stage, but it's already able to serve its primary purpose: namely, letting you join a conference call on your Lumia without needing to grab details out of your calendar and key them in. The app receives the invite, with the necessary ID/PIN details supplied by the sender, and then lets you join a call with a single tap -- or a voice instruction if you're on a WP8 handset. It also integrates with Lync and vibrates whenever someone uses corporatese in lieu of gravitas.
Ion unveils cellphone accessories for home phone replacement, speakerphones
If you've cancelled your home phone service, but still yearn for handsets peppered throughout the house, Ion's Bluetooth Cordless Phone Station could fill that void. Slotting a cellphone into the base, which also functions as a charger, allows a trio of satellite handsets to make calls using the docked device via Bluetooth and DECT 6.0 tech. If design and conference calls ares on your mind, Ion's rolled also out a saucer-shaped speakerphone system dubbed Talking Point. The glossy disc connects to smartphones via Bluetooth, packs a top-facing speaker and multiple microphones for capturing audio from several directions. Also tagging along is the Phone Station Plus, which packs stereo speakers, an LCD display and condenser mic, and allows Bluetooth-enabled cellphones to use it as a speakerphone rig. Journey past the jump for the press release, glamour shots and a handful of hands-on photos. Update: We've spoken to the folks at Ion and Talking Point is estimated to arrive this June carrying a $149.99 price tag. The outfit's Bluetooth Cordless Phone Station is penciled in for a September arrival and is set to ring up at $99. As for the Speaker Phone Plus, it's already available out in the wild. %Gallery-174755%
Get down with Dr. Dre's Beats Pill (and take business calls too!)
'Tis the time of the year to get funky at Christmas parties you'll regret having gone to the next day. And who better to get funky with than Dr. Dre? Well, not the real Dr. Dre, but one of his speakers from his line of audio products. The Dr. Dre Beats Pill is an apt little Bluetooth speaker system that makes you music sound good -- and it's a good business write-off as it also functions as a speaker conference calling system. Using Bluetooth, pair any iPhone or Android phone directly to the speaker system. Since it's using Bluetooth, your phone needs to be within 30 feet of the speaker, but that's not a problem for most as we usually have our phones on us all the time. The Pill pumped out sounds that were better than most other portable speaker systems I've tried and the bass was particularly rich. The pill-shaped Pill is a relatively tiny speaker. It's only 19 cm long and 4.5 cm high. On the bottom is rubber girding so it stays in place even when pumping out loud bass. On the back you'll find an audio in and out port, and a USB 2.0 port that you use to plug the device into the provided AC power adapter. But the best thing about the Pill is its dual ability to function as a conference call speaker. If you get a call while your iPhone is paired to the Pill, simply press the "B" button on the front of the speaker to pause your tunes and take the call. The Dr. Dre Beats Pill is US$199 and available in Apple stores, Amazon, Best Buy, HMV and more.
Daily iPhone App: Bridge Call Dialer speeds conference calling
As much as we love the multitasker flexibility of the iPhone, there are situations where you might find it slightly inconvenient to have your email, notepad, address book and phone all stacked atop one another on a touchscreen. Most business professionals experience one of those situations on a regular basis: the simple (or not so simple) conference call. Sure, if your meeting host is using an integrated service that supports iOS directly (WebEx, GoToMeeting, Fuze Meeting etc.) then it's one-button easy to join the call via VoIP or a callback. But most of the time, you'll find yourself jotting down a bridge number and PIN on a piece of paper, or switching between apps hastily to memorize the access code before the voice prompt times out. Not ideal. That's why I'm so fond of AHUB's $1.99 iPhone utility Bridge Call Dialer. The feature list is brief and the interface utilitarian (at best), but what it does it does oh so well. If you've got a calendar appointment with a conference call number listed, pop open BCD and it will scan through the event description. Tap once to enter the bridge number, again to capture the PIN, and then tap "call." Watch, pleasantly relaxed, as BCD hands off the dial string to the Phone app, complete with pauses and octothorpes, to join you to the conference. The current version of BCD lets you save one-click "frequent calls" detail so you can quickly rejoin a regularly scheduled phone meeting. You can also associate a conference call number and PIN with a particular iPhone contact; that way, whenever that person sends you a meeting invite, their conference info will be prepopulated automatically. New in BCD 3.0 is the ability to specify a VoIP app to handle calls selectively (on WiFi or when they're internal PBX calls), rather than using the iPhone's built-in phone. Configuring your VoIP tool in BCD requires that the dialing app support a URL scheme to hand off the number, which not all apps do; Talkatone is explicitly supported, and it looks like Acrobits SIP, Line2 and the open-source Siphon all have the ability to take a call handoff. I'd love to try it with Skype or Bria, which are my go-to apps for calls, but it may take some tweaking. The next time you reach for a pen and paper before a conference call, consider a $2 investment in streamlining your day and treat yourself to a license for BCD.
Liveblogging Apple's 'cash balance' conference call
Apple's already told us exactly what to expect on this so-called 'cash balance' conference call, but what they hey -- we'll be liveblogging it just in case Appel slips in that "one more thing." You know, that "thing" about spending a few billion on an Apple-shaped spacecraft for kicks and giggles. The call will get underway at 9AM ET, and we'll have quotes from CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer, as well as any juicy questions from the media. March 19, 2012 9:00 AM EDT
Apple to announce plans for its $100 billion cash reserves tomorrow morning
A slew of successful, high margin products have left Apple sitting on an almost unimaginable amount of money -- $97 billion as of its last earnings report -- and led to the natural question of just what to do with it. According to a press release just issued, we'll all find out about "the outcome of the Company's discussions" tomorrow on a conference call with CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer at 9AM ET. What does $100 billion or so of iMac, Macbook, iPhone and iPad money buy? Speculation has already included dividends for investors, a spending spree of acquisitions or even a dip into philanthropy. We'd have blown the entire bundle on the largest indoor laser tag facility ever built long ago, so this time we'll leave the question to the experts -- what do you think the folks in Cupertino will (or should) announce? March 19, 2012 08:00 AM EST
Apple hosting conference call on March 19 to discuss cash balance
Apple issued a press release today (Sunday, March 18) saying that CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer will host a conference call bright and early on Monday, March 19 to "announce the outcome of the Company's discussions concerning its cash balance." The call should be of particular interest to shareholders, who could possibly hear of a dividend payment. The press release also notes that "Apple will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash." To listen in on the call, which begins at 6 AM PDT / 9 AM EDT, a webcast is available here. The rebroadcast of the call will be available for approximately two weeks afterwards.
Disney considering 28-day rental window, because 'On Stranger Tides' was that good
That sound you can hear is the studios dashing around as they look for a new scapegoat. Disney's got Redbox and Netflix in its sights as it declares plans to impose a 28-day window before it'll make its titles available for rental. Despite conceding that the studio hadn't seen any impact on overall DVD sales, CEO Bob Iger pointed to a 16 percent drop in quarterly revenue compared to 2010 as the motivation. It's also collecting splinters in its backside as it watches to see how well digital locker service UltraViolet fares with consumers before committing to join the program. Of course, given the legitimacy of First Sale Doctrine, it's possible Redbox will do as its done with Warner titles and just buy 'em at retail -- as long as it can cover its costs as it does so.
Google brings free voice calls to Hangouts, really wants you to hang out
Google's Hangout feature has just become a little more Hangout-y, now that the folks in Mountain View have integrated free voice calls within Google+. Available to users within the US and Canada, this new "extra" feature allows social networkers to place calls directly from a Hangout, allowing the recipient to remotely join in on the conversation at hand. To set it up, all you have to do is start a Hangout, hit the "Invite" button, and dial up your friend's number. Users can also use the feature to place individual calls without setting up a Google Voice account, though they'll need one if they wanna talk to someone overseas.
Apple schedules Q4 conference call for Oct. 18
Use Siri to set a reminder for October 18. That afternoon, Apple will announce its fourth quarter 2011 earnings via a live earnings conference call to discuss the results. The call will start at 5:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 pm PDT) will be streamed live over the Internet so you can listen in. Most of the call is filled with financial information only an accountant will appreciate, but there are always tidbits of information about Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod sales that'll interest Apple fans. And we usually live-blog it which makes it a barrel of fun. Plan to come join us, won't you please? [Via MacObserver]
Apple's Q3 2011 financial results call scheduled for July 19
Apple has announced that its Q3 2011 financial results conference call will take place at 5 PM Eastern / 2 PM Pacific on Tuesday, July 19. Apple usually releases its financial results to the public a couple hours before the call itself takes place, and we'll be keeping an eye out for that when it happens. We will also likely be liveblogging when the call takes place and relay any insights that we get from the call.
Apple posts record $3.25b profit in first full quarter of iPad sales, says more 'amazing products' coming this year
Apple just posted up its third quarter earnings -- its first full quarter selling the iPad -- and, well, it's raining cash in Cupertino. The company posted a record profit of $3.25b on record revenues of $15.7b, which is up from $1.83b and $9.73b from a year ago. The big stat? Apple sold 3.27 million iPads, nearly matching the 3.47 million Macs sold -- and Mac sales were up 33 percent from a year ago to set a new quarterly record. Yeah, damn. iPhone sales -- including the first few weeks of the iPhone 4 -- were up 61 percent from a year ago to 8.4 million, and the iPod continued its slow decline, down eight percent to 9.41 million units sold. Over half of the Apple's sales -- 52 percent -- were international, and Jobs is quoted saying "we have amazing new products still to come this year." Not a bad way to head into back-to-school and the holidays, we suppose -- we've got a feeling those iPad numbers are just going to go up. The conference call to discuss all this is at 5pm ET, we'll be covering it live right here. Update: The call is all done -- the full liveblog is after the break. We didn't learn too much apart from the fact that Apple's selling every iPhone and iPad it can make (Tim Cook repeated this over and over), and that Apple's setting aside $175 million in revenue to cover the free iPhone 4 cases. Of course, given that Apple added an additional $4.1 billion in cash to its warchest this quarter for a total of $45.8 billion, that's pretty much pocket change, but there's the number.
Line2 adds a second line to your iPhone for $15 a month
Would you like to add a second line to your iPhone? Perhaps you'd like to add a business number to the phone, but your existing phone is currently tied to your personal mobile number. You could always carry a second phone, but that's an expensive proposition, particularly if you're an iPhone addict. VoIP provider Toktumi has a solution that may work out well for you. They're now selling an app called Line2 (US$0.99) that mimics many of the capabilities of the standard Phone app, complete with a form of visual voice mail. Purchasing the app provides you with one month of free VoIP service. After that point, each month's continued service costs $14.95 for unlimited calls within the US and Canada. The service is purchased in-app, and was a point of confusion for me -- the app listing in the iTunes store shows a "Top In App Purchase" at a cost of $19.99 for a month. Toktumi's website and the promotional video (above) do show the lower monthly rate. While many VoIP solutions require a Wi-Fi connection to work, Line2 works over both 3G and Wi-Fi. The app has many of the features you might want in a business phone, including call waiting and call transfer, the ability to create conference calls with up to 20 participants, and even integration with Toktumi's hosted PBX service. For small businesses that want to present a more professional image to callers, Line2 might be just the right solution. Toktumi notes that the app also works with both the iPod touch (Wi-Fi only) and iPad (Wi-Fi or 3G).
Apple FY10 First Quarter results conference call liveblog
Apple announces its fiscal year 2010 first quarter results today at 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT, and TUAW will be liveblogging the event. Apple's first quarter was the quarter ending December 31, 2009, including the always-important holiday buying season. You can join in on the call several ways. First, you can listen in on the streaming audio from the event by opening www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq110/ in your favorite browser at the appointed time. Second, come back to TUAW at about 4:50 PM ET / 1:50 PM PT and sign into our liveblog tool CoverItLive to add your questions or comments. If you can't make it to the liveblog, the entire transcript will be available for your reading pleasure after the event. A recording of the conference call will be available at the Apple URL listed in the previous paragraph.
Apple announces Q1 financial conference call
It's that time again. Apple will be live streaming their Q1 financial conference call on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 2pm PDT/5pm EDT. To follow along (Quicktime required), visit this page on the 25th. Of course, TUAW will be live-blogging the event with commentary, so feel free to join us for all the announcements plus a lively discussion. If the analyst's predictions are accurate, we should anticipate a blockbuster report. For example, Brian Marshall at Broadpoint.AmTech has estimated that Apple sold 3.3 million Macs during the last quarter, which would be an all-time single-quarter sales record. Meanwhile, estimates of iPhone sales during the same time period range from 11.30 million units sold (according to Brian Marshall at Broadpoint AmTech) to 8.17 million units (according to Mark Moskowitz, J.P. Morgan). The interesting thing is that the low estimate, 8.17 million iPhones sold, would represent a 10.8% increase from the last September's record of 7.37 million if true. We'll have all the facts in a few days.
Reminder: Q1-2009 conference call liveblog, today at 5 p.m. ET
Just a reminder: Be sure to come back today at 5 p.m. Eastern (that's 2 p.m. Pacific) for Apple's First Quarter 2009 Results Conference Call. We'll be liveblogging the occasion, with contributions from your favorite TUAW bloggers, and yours truly. Apple is streaming audio from the call here. A recording of the call will be available at that page for a few weeks afterward. Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog has its roundup of projected Q1 sales numbers from Bernstein Research's Toni Sacconaghi and Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster: Mac sales. Munster: 2.5 million to 2.6 million. Sacconaghi: 2.57 million. iPod sales. Munster: 18.6 million. Sacconaghi: 18.1 million. iPhone sales: Munster: 6.4 million. Sacconaghi: 3.5 million to 4 million. In related news, AAPL hit a two-year low yesterday, closing at its nadir of $78.20 per share. Also, Bloomberg is reporting that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will review Apple's 10-K filing from last year. Apple hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, but Bloomberg says the SEC wants to make sure investors weren't being misled about Steve Jobs' health. (Via Macworld.) More coverage of the earnings report is available at our sister site Blogging Stocks.
