Briefs: Steve Jobs' folly, Apple's ads

A round-up of the week's Apple news

Photo: Jonathan Haeber. Click for more.

Jackling Mansion coming down: Preservationists who had fought for six years to prevent Steve Jobs from razing a 14-bedroom Spanish colonial mansion he bought in 1984 but never really liked have finally thrown in the towel. Under a plan approved by the city council of Woodside, Calif., last summer, a wealthy Silicon Valley investor -- Gordon Smythe, founder of Propel Partners -- will take possession of the pieces. The town of Woodside and the county museum have first dibs on anything Smythe doesn't want. See here.

New iPad ad: After a brief hiatus, Apple (AAPL) has started promoting the iPad on TV again with a new ad that ten of the device's most impressive apps. ("The iPad is ... delicious ... artful ... social ... magical.") Apple's decision to start promoting the iPad could be linked to the back-to-school buying season or to the fact that supplies are finally starting to catch up to demand. The easiest place to see the new ad is on YouTube.

Quattro bites the dust: Speaking of advertising, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Apple has informed customers of Quattro Wireless, the mobile ad network it bought in January, will be shuttered by Sept. 30. The move was expected, since Quattro's employees were immediately put to work building Apple's iAd network, which launched July 1. How well you think that project is going depends on which reports you read. See here.

See also:

• Time Inc. breaks the iPad logjam
• First casualty in Apple kickback case
• Foxconn stages anti-suicide rallies
• The iPad is coming to China
• Melting iPod snarls Tokyo rush hour

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]

Posted in: Advertising, Apple, Foxconn, iPad, Jackling House, Kickback, Quattro, Steve Jobs, Time Inc., Tokyo

• Melting iPod snarls Tokyo rush hour

  Japanese commuter train halted by the smell of an overheated iPod nano

  Image: Apple Inc.

  The iPod nano may be one of the world's most popular music players, but it's been a headache for Apple (AAPL) in the Japanese market.

  The devices have been known to overheat, burst and, in some cases, burn their owners.

  Only last Thursday did Japan's trade ministry pronounce itself satisfied with Apple's efforts to comply with a government MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 16, 2010 7:22 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Burn, iPod, Japan, Melting, nano, Overheating, Rush hour, Tokyo

• Japan avoids an iPhone 4 meltdown

  The servers slowed but didn't crash in Tokyo Tuesday as customers queued up for hours

  An iPhone 4 queue in Tokyo. Source: IDG

  For reasons that aren't immediately clear, Japan didn't suffer the nationwide meltdowns that brought Apple's (AAPL) and AT&T's (T) servers to their knees Tuesday, the first day of pre-orders for the iPhone 4 that goes on sale June 24.

  There were glitches that slowed the computers at MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 15, 2010 3:38 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, AT&T, iPhone 4, Softbank, Tokyo

• iPad madness in Munich

  Plus videos from the launch in Frankfurt, Milan, Tokyo, Paris, Sydney, London and Zurich

  Apple's (AAPL) international fan base greeted the iPad in nine countries Friday morning with the usual hoopla -- albeit in different accents and with various degrees of self control. The Germans, for some reason, seem to have the most fun at these events.

  Munich:

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 28, 2010 6:21 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Frankfurt, iPad, London, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stephen Fry, Tokyo, Zurich

• iPad camp outs hit Tokyo, Sydney, London

  Customers camped out overnight in cities around the world to buy Apple's tablet computer

  Source: Reuters Tokyo

  [UPDATE: About 1,200 customers had lined up outside Apple's flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district when the doors finally opened at 8 a.m., according to Reuters.]

  Rahul Koduri, 22, had been sitting in front of an Apple Store in Sydney, Australia, since 2 a.m. Thursday.

  In Tokyo, Takechiyo Yamanaka planted his folding camp chair outside Apple's MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 27, 2010 3:36 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Australia, iPad, London, Sydney, Tokyo

• Lines form for the new iPhone in New York and Tokyo

  Here are two postcards from the front lines of the smartphone wars.

  The first, at right, shows three college students from Monclair, N.J. -- Matt Dodd, 18, Sam Epstein,18, and Keith Hobin, 19 -- huddled under borrowed umbrellas in front of Apple's (AAPL) flagship New York Fifth Avenue store to buy the latest in multitouch cellular technology.

  They arrived at 7 a.m. EDT, 24 hours before Apple is scheduled to begin selling MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jun 18, 2009 3:14 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Apple Store, iPhone 3G S, New York, Tokyo