Submitted by Jon Reed on
'Twas slow for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) news last week; while there were several work days, I suspect the vast majority was still in holiday mode for the last few days of 2014 and the first couple of the new year. There were still several items of note though.
Apple's acquisition of Beats was further justified when Nielsen SoundScan released its year end statistics last week. The numbers showed a big trend toward streaming audio and a drop off in music purchases. According to the data, there were 164 billion streams in 2014, compared to 106 billion in 2013, a 54% increase. Album sales dropped 9%, to 117.6 million, while song sales dropped 12%, to 1.26 billion.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent for a "communicating stylus" last week. The device would use motion sensors to track the movement of the pen (which could be used on any surface, or just in 3-D space) and relay the information to a device or devices (computer, tablet, etc.) that would display the writing/drawing.
Apple's Start Something New promotional campaign kicked off last week. The site highlights some pretty interesting artwork created on various Apple devices, and endeavors to inspire your creative side.
Apple has decided to save the century old Glendenning Ranch barn located on the site of the company's massive Campus 2, which should be finished sometime in 2016. A refreshing decision, considering modern society's propensity to tear down old, quality workmanship and replace it overnight with crap.