A series of small news items added up to a pretty big day for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) on Thursday. Here's a rundown of all-things-Apple that you might have missed.
iCloud Most Popular Cloud Service
AppleInsider reports that iCloud is the cloud service of choice for 27 percent of all users. A not so distant second is Dropbox and third, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) Cloud Drive. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Drive was fourth with 10 percent of users.
Ed Barton, director of Digital Media at Strategy Analytics, said, "Music is currently the key battleground in the war for cloud domination. Google is tempting users by giving away free storage for 20,000 songs which can be streamed to any Android device, a feature both Amazon and Apple charge annual subscriptions for."
Although Apple has 250 million active iCloud users, the free service is offered to everybody setting up a new iOS device. It may have to rethink its subscription based music service iTunes Match if Google is giving it away for free.
The Pentagon Will Still Use BlackBerry Devices
According to PC Magazine , the Department of Defense will still use BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY ) devices as part of its mobile strategy. A department spokesperson said, "The department is aware of recent reporting that asserts it is 'dropping' BlackBerry. This reporting is in error. The department recently released its mobility strategy and supporting implementation plan, which clarifies we are moving towards a mobile management capability that supports a variety of devices, to include BlackBerry."
It also noted that the DoD plans to purchase 210,000 iPhones, 120,000 iPads, 100,000 iPad minis and 200,000 iPod touches once the sequester is resolved.
Apple Data Centers 100 Percent Green
In an update to its environmental report , Apple reported that its data centers run off of renewable energy-as in 100 percent renewable energy. The company's next goal is to achieve that 100 percent number for all facilities worldwide. It is currently at 75 percent-a 114 percent increase from the 2010 figure of 35 percent.
Apple Develops System to Protect Devices That Are Dropped
What is quite possibly the oddest news of Thursday, Appleinsider reports that the company filed a patent for a system that would detect when a device is in free fall and change its orientation. This would allow the device to land in a way that would protect the most sensitive parts-like the glass screen.
In what seems to be something very complicated, it involves sensors, gyroscopes, GPS, movable weights and a whole lot of other technology to make it work. Just because it's a patent doesn't meant that it will appear in any device but the idea is certainly interesting.
For the iClumsies of the world, this would be a welcome addition to future iDevices.
(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
